When moving on actually includes moving

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

During tough economic times, moving to a new city is sometimes your only option. But workers who relocate today for brighter employment horizons face major obstacles.

Many don’t have the luxury of time because they’re in a financial squeeze, being forced to make rash decisions on where to live. And for those who own homes in depressed markets, they can expect difficulties when the “For Sale” signs go up.

Lillian and her husband live in Detroit and they are considering moving to New Mexico.

“We have struggled for the past two years, but for the last six months it seems the economy in Detroit is getting worse,” explains Lillian, who did not want her full name used.

She works in accounting, but her husband, who has a background in construction and aviation, has been unemployed for two years. “We are living off my income, and when you fall behind you can never catch up,” she says.

They’re planning a trip to New Mexico in June to scout out the area, but they still have a house they have to unload. “The market in Detroit is very bad. … Actually my mortgage is more than what I can sell my house for. Right now, I am trying to look at a short sale, but no luck.”

Sylvia Carson already made the move to Atlanta from Chicago five months ago for a new job as director of public relations for Southern Polytechnic State University, but her husband is still back in Chicago. They have been unable to sell their home, and he has yet to land a job in Atlanta."

“My husband and I are going through a commuter marriage,” she says.

While Carson says her move was partly motivated by a desire to work in higher education, the high cost of living in a suburb of Chicago motivated the couple to relocate.

“Property taxes were high, the sales tax was on the rise. It just wasn’t a good cost of living equation,” she adds. “I wanted to get out, and the opportunity became available in Georgia where the cost of living is more reasonable.”

These experiences shed more light on how working stiffs today are feeling an economic pinch.

“We’re seeing more and more moving by necessity,” says Eric Winegardner, a vice president at Monster.com. “There’s a willingness on the part of job applicants to consider opportunities outside their current location.” About one-third of resumes created on Monster.com so far this year have indicated the job-hunters were open to relocating.

According to a survey by United Van Lines, more than 63 percent of people the company moved over the past year said their move was job-related. That’s up considerably from the 40 percent who typically say they move for work.

“This is a sign we’re probably way into a recession,” says Robert Trumble, professor of management at Virginia Commonwealth University and director of the Virginia Labor Studies Center.

“During the Great Depression, huge areas of the country just uprooted and moved great distances without having any job lined up. They just knew that they were hopeless where they were,” he says.

Today, he continues, thanks to the Internet and mass media, “individuals can start looking for a job from afar,” taking some of the unknown out of the process.

So where are people going? And there are definite winners and losers when it comes to which towns most people are moving in and out of.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM CAREERS

Careers Section Front

Are you a workaholic? Time to unplug Your Career: Gas gouged? Try telecommuting Newsweek: Companies asking for ‘love contracts’ Employers pulling the plug on Facebook Your Career: Getting out of prison and into a job Your Career: Is it time to move on (literally)? Your Career: Don't fall for work-at-home scams Your Career: More try moonlighting How to tell if someone is lying to you So you’ve been promoted to boss — what now? Careers Section Front   Add Careers headlines to your news reader: