Thinking about moving away...

[35th-ANV-SS]

So I've lived in Northwest, IN my entire life now. Have pretty much seen and experienced everything this area has to offer. I'm now toying with the idea of moving. I've lived in my current home since I was about 24, or 9 years now. It was my first house I ever bought so it's nothing fancy. It's a smaller ranch with a basement, 2-1/2 car garage, small yard, and sits on about a 1/4 acre lot.

I've recently been in a bit of a slump and I think moving to a new area might be a good chance for a fresh new start.

I do have some friends I'd miss, but most of the people I associate with are more like acquaintances than friends so I don't really consider that a big loss. I can always make new friends. I do have (2) younger brothers and my parent's live less than 5 minutes away though. I've had the talk with my mom already and she's pretty devastated at the idea as we're pretty close with one another.

After December I'm in the clear from my current job as far as paying back any funds for schooling as I had to sign a 2-yr contract agreement to stay. They paid for my MBA.

Right now I'm a senior project engineer. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and graduated with honors with my MBA in December of 2009.

I'm looking to find a more challenging job which will open more avenues for me as far as advancement. I've been with my current company since 2001 and while they've treated me well and I'm doing pretty well for myself at the age of 33, I know I'm capable of much more. Plus, I think I'm underpaid by about 20K a year.

Anyone else ever move out of state or far away from where you grew up? Away from friends and family?

I really have no idea where I'd even want to move to right now to be honest. I think the job might dictate that somewhat.

[0rion]

I think the job will be your biggest hurdle. Still though......not out of the question. Some companies even pay for relocation if you find the right company. That would definitely make things much easier. My buddy and his wife just moved here from out in PA and the company his wife went with took care of everything. A truck showed up and packed all their old shit, drove it out here, and unpacked it. The company also hooked them up with a realtor and finding a new house and even settled up utilities at their new and old houses. It's all in the company you find. If you do move away pick a cool place......with good weather. haha I moved to Ohio from Missouri right out of highschool. It all worked out I guess but if I had it to do over again Ohio would be near the fucking bottom of the list as far as somewhere I'd want to live. Weather here sucks.

[TLS_Addict]

Jon.....the North East is the way to go. We have lots of gas wells now plus cool people like me and Jeff. We also have Zapper.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Yeah, I definitely only plan on moving really far away if I score a great job. I'd want a signing bonus and relocation assistance. I have 10 years of engineering experience now and with my MBA I'm hoping to transition over into management, or maybe even technical sales or marketing. Not quite sure yet. I'm doing pretty well right now, but it's just not enough for me and I think if I stay in engineering it never will be enough, unless I get into a VP of engineering role.

As far as finances go, I don't really have a lot of liquid assets (I have a bit, maybe enough to live off of for 6 months in the event I didn't have a job), but after the end of next year I'll have both my FI build paid off and my Impala paid off so that would be an additional $1,000/month after-tax cash in hand. Most of my money is tied up in my 401K, Roth IRA's and other long-term savings avenues.

I'm leaning towards going west. I keep hearing great things about SD, California or maybe even northern AZ. I know real estate out that way is expensive though.

I've always been a huge fan of the wilderness, but also like the atmosphere of the big city so ideally I would like to live close to a large city wherever I end up at.

I'd certainly go visit a few places several times before I pulled the trigger on anything. I don't foresee this happening right away as I have a few things I need to get done to my house first before I can put it up for sale (mainly refinish the basement), but it is definitely in my radar.

Not quite sure how home-sick I might get.

[SMWS6TA]

I would highly recommend staying away from places like Cali, NY, & NJ you'll end up hating it because your toys won't be able to run unless on a track (Cali emissions), you'll end up losing your savings due to taxes and high cost of living.

I've moved so many times in my life I can say the longest I've ever lived in one place was for 7 yrs. Military Family and also joined. I'm retired now, but have moved 3 times in the last 7 yrs. All due to accepting jobs. In today's market Orion is right, employment is going to be your biggest challenge. Get that lined up first the rest will work its self out.


Right now the hot spot for jobs is

[35th-ANV-SS]

I've considered Texas. I know BP is big down there in/around the Houston area.

[SMWS6TA]

What type of engineering experience do you have? Oil industry is always looking for Engineers.

[jrbonds]

Moving is good for the soul. Your Mother will be okay with it, give her time. Lots of oil companies in Texas other than BP. Try and find the job first, and location will follow. I'm sure if it doesn't work out, you can always go back. I couldn't imagine living in one place all my life, but I'm also a military kid.

[35th-ANV-SS]

What type of engineering experience do you have? Oil industry is always looking for Engineers.

Mechanical mainly. I've worked in the railroad industry designing brake systems for freight cars the last 10 years. Typical engineering work: design, manufacturing, sourcing projects to help reduce cost, project management, writing technical specifications/instructions/manuals for products, etc. I also get involved with any testing that needs to be done on new projects, write the test plans, and any follow-through that needs to take place once I review the results. Also have experience with Pro/ENGINEER modeling software (way over 10,000+ hours) and Finite Element Analysis.

Been at the same company since 2001 (graduation / 1st job) so my role here is pretty diverse. I get involved with production, engineering, marketing, sales, and customer service.

I love engineering. My main problem is, I don't think I would make enough moving and staying in engineering.

[SMWS6TA]

My sister works for a rail company in FT Worth. Can't remember the name. Also a lot of aviation companies in the DFW area to. Bell Helicopter and others

[DaveHo]

Not married, no kids? Just do it. One of if not the biggest regret of my life is accepting a job near where I grew up. Now that I'm married, have kids, a house, & the wife's family all lives in the area I'm stuck here. My house is literally 10 miles away from where I grew up. Right now life is boring as hell & I don't see it getting much better.

[35th-ANV-SS]

That's correct. I'm single with no kids...and by the looks of it and my luck, that will probably always remain to be that way

[jiveass]

houston is definately a good spot for mechanical engineers. my company has a fresh batch of engineers coming through every month with no end in sight. great car scene down here too. plenty of oil companies to support your field.

[02ragtop t/a]

Everybody always bashes the NY, NJ area but that's where the $$$$ is. Try hooking up with NJT ( new jersey transit ) or BP here in NJ. I have a cousin working in each and they are doing excellent. If you live in South Jersey, you can get a nice house w/ property for a good price now due to the crappy market. The commute would be about an hour, but that means you get to drive your car!! If you are interested, PM me with any questions.

[pajeff02]

How about going on a few trips to check out some different parts of the country -- get a feel for the regions you might be interested in and then go job hunting?

[35th-ANV-SS]

My sister works for a rail company in FT Worth. Can't remember the name. Also a lot of aviation companies in the DFW area to. Bell Helicopter and others

Trinity is located in Fort Worth. Not sure if that is who you are talking about or not.

[TLS_Addict]

I worked for the company who made the NJT trains.

[35th-ANV-SS]

How about going on a few trips to check out some different parts of the country -- get a feel for the regions you might be interested in and then go job hunting?

This is/was my intention. I think it's the smart way to go about it. If I really like an area I can focus my job search in one specific area.

Ideally I'd like to be debt free when this happens. At the end of next year I'll have 0 debt other than my house. I'm definitely not making any hasty decisions. I'll have my ducks in a row before I decide on anything.

[TLS_Addict]

You have ducks!?!?

[Tobynine9]

Tejas!!!

BP is in Houston.

Chevron is in Houston.

COP is in Houston.

Shell is in Houston.

Starting construction in 2012, Exxon/Mobil is building a HUGE facility in the N. Spring/Woodlands area (talking hundreds of thousands of office square footage.)

Marathon Oil is in Houston.

I could go on and on.