Move somewhere cheaper and/or somewhere with more jobs

[CreekDog]

How much would it cost you to move if you had to?

Could you afford it if you were already unemployed? (and had been looking for work long enough to consider moving)

And even though I want to know the dollar cost of moving, there are other questions to answer as well:

If you are part of a family, would there be enough money for the whole family to move?

If you have children, would the children lose childcare as a result of the move?

Would children lose regular visits with grandparents, uncles, aunts and other family?


I ask these because it's sometimes said that when people are out of work, they should pick up and move somewhere better, either where it's cheaper and/or where employment prospects are better.

Is that realistic? And if you were really dead broke and unemployed, could you, could the average person in that situation do it?

[Warpy]

1. They say it like you should just put your clothes in a trash bag

throw it into the trunk of your car, and go. They never think about kids and schools and daycare and being tied to a lease or underwater mortgage.

They never think at all, do they?

[Speck Tater]

2. Sure. It's easy...

If you're single, and
if all your possessions will fit in a back pack, and
if you don't mind standing on the side of the road with your thumb out, and
if you don't mind sleeping under a bridge when you get where you're going.

Piece of cake. Right.

[XanaDUer]

3. This happened to me last year

and I CAN do that, since I have no kids, rented, and had enough savings to do so. This is not a realistic thing for most folks to do, however, so throwing it around as some way to solve all our issues in this country, is dumb.

[CreekDog]

7. That's the part that bothers me --telling someone else it's a good idea

even though the person offering the advice has not thought through what's really involved and is offering the advice in lieu of supporting a first world safety net --one the USA does not have.

[Yo_Mama]

95. It's also highly problematic for couples

In many cases, one has a job and one doesn't. If you move so the unemployed person can get work, the other person has to get work also - and then you face the benefits gap, which can be a real problem for many families.

There is a lot of nonsense written on this topic. Unemployment at a national 9% means that there just aren't enough jobs for most unemployed people, even if all open jobs were filled tomorrow. It also means that many jobs out there pay poorly, and won't support a household to move and start anew. Almost all job moves traditionally are for those just starting out or those who are moving for a well-paying position.

There's a trap involved - when your household income falls too low, you may not have the money to move, put down a deposit on a new apartment, etc, so you are often doomed to bunking with family and finding whatever's available in the area. And if you don't have reliable transportation, your options are further limited to certain areas with good public transportation.

When there are kids in the mix, often affordable child care, which might well be Granny or your unemployed aunt, determine where you can live.

[Liberal_in_LA]

112. +5

[former9thward]

4. If you "were really dead broke and unemployed"

How could you afford to stay where you were?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CreekDog]

15. with unemployment, lack of moving costs, perhaps other aid you might lose in moving

for example, if you had Medicaid, if you accumulated enough assets to pay for a cross country move, you would no longer be eligible for Medicaid in many places.

[former9thward]

40. So staying on Medicaid is better than getting a job?

I don't think it is. By that reasoning a person would not take a job if it was next door to them.

[CreekDog]

61. i didn't say anything about being guaranteed a job (with insurance) in the new place

where did i say that?

[former9thward]

64. I think it is implied in the OP that there would be job opportunies in the new place.

Otherwise what would be the point in moving? If you are going to live a decent life you have to take some chances. Sometimes they work out,sometimes they don't. If you are not willing to do that you will just live a marginal existence your entire life.

[CreekDog]

65. not worth it, just not worth it

:eyes:

[jeff47]

68. A Job opportunity is not a job. (nt)

[jeff47]

66. Remaining alive is better than getting a job.

The fact that you didn't see that is an example of our society's problems.

[CreekDog]

84. That is true, although I doubt the person you're attempting to reason with agrees

:eyes:

[saras]

22. Community - the one thing you can't just hook up with immediately in a new town - it takes years.

[lbrtbell]

24. Have you seen how expensive movers are lately?

Have you seen how much it costs for a deposit on a new rental home/apartment?

We downsized, and it cost us $15,000 to move cross-country (that includes storage, because we didn't have a house to move into...kind of hard to find a good place over the internet). If we had been forced to rent, we would have had to pay two months' rent up-front, around $1200. And that's in a place with dirt-cheap $600/month rent.

Then you have to put down deposits for your utilities, which adds up fast.

Then you have to buy new license plates and driver's licenses, etc.

We were lucky to find a nice house in a small town with a REALLY desperate, hungry seller for under $50,000. We had to buy, and thank God we had savings, because our credit was bad due to medical bills, and nobody would rent to us.

If someone has lost their job, fallen behind on their bills, or their house has gone into foreclosure, you can bet their credit is shot, too. So they can't buy OR rent. Hello, homelessness!

In many cases, you have no choice but to stay where you are.

Before you judge others in the future, will you please at least consult with someone who has had real-world experience, since your life has apparently been so charmed that you've never faced harsh reality?

Thank you.


(Edited for spelling)

[exboyfil]

50. My family had two dramatic resets growing up (another not so dramatic)

In the first I had just finished first grade in 1969 and my parents moved with only what they could pack in a 1960s Impala. Everything else was sold or given away. My dad had a Bank of America Card. We traveled on that and probably went five times past the credit limit. He did pay every dime back later. We moved from Huntington, West Virginia to Southern California (it was our second attempt at California - the first was when I was a baby).

The second time was 1981 when I had just graduated from High School in Mississippi. My dad had quit his very stressful job a few months before (he would have been fired anyway - not for his performance but because his boss was a crook). Our plan was to move to California after visiting my grandparents in West Virginia. I had already been accepted to Purdue on a Naval ROTC scholarship. He never made it to California stopping in Illinois instead for a job (years later he moved with that company all the way to California).

Moving around for jobs is stressful, but I have had to make four moves in my professional life after college. I think it is reasonable to expect individuals to move around after a certain point for jobs. I had to do it, and my father had to do it. I expect my children will have to do so as well. A bigger problem is, with the erosion of the industrial base, it is hard to make a move to a place like California because it no longer exists now.

[CreekDog]

55. yeah but i was asking about moving because one's unemployed

there's no assumption there's a job waiting where one is moving to.

is it reasonable to expect people who are broke, who would be expected to go somewhere with lower unemployment (but no actual job offer)?

[exboyfil]

88. My dad did not have a job with either move

We sold basically everything and carried what we could in a car the first time and a car and a trailer the second time.

Should a societal expectation be that a job will always be down the street from where you are living irrespective of what you invest in yourself to be a more valuable employee? I don't even think a completely planned economy could make this happen.

I do know right now that someone like my dad would be in trouble in today's economy because his type of industrial job has become rare. We definitely need to fix that.

[CreekDog]

89. the safety net should be on par with other wealthy nations

who are all less wealthy than our own.

then people would not be forced into the very depths of poverty and all its effects before being asked to do the nearly impossible relocate without resources to do so.

that's all.

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Survival isn't always easy. n/t

[bluestateguy]

6. North Dakota

and many single young men have done just that. It may be the only state where jobs are plentiful.

[CreekDog]

9. you didn't answer the question

not sure if you even bothered to read it.

so nevermind.

[bluestateguy]

20. The point in the OP is well taken

and sound.

[Fumesucker]

12. I did it with a young family but I had help and some money saved, no mortgage..

And little enough stuff we could get it all in big U Haul trailer.

I also had a place to stay when I got there.

In fact come to think of that I've done it four times but always had a little help.

[MedicalAdmin]

107. I'm 42 and I've had to relocate 8 times in the past 22 years.

That is once every 3 years.

IT sucks and it costs big bucks. Every time. The one upside is that I no longer have a lot of stuff and don't want a lot of stuff.

[Yupster]

86. West Texas

There isn't a business in town without a help wanted sign on it.

Last time I posted this a few months ago the response was, the person would rather not have a job than live in West Texas.

Kind of insulting to me since I live here.

[bluestateguy]

87. I could live in West Texas

I like high school football too.

[MedicalAdmin]

108. Jerry Jeff Walker.

Among others is from west Texas. I would be happy to live down there and hang out with the great musicians.

[KamaAina]

105. And there's no place for them to live

the oil companies are hastily throwing up "man camps" -- makeshift dornitories.

[Angry Dragon]

8. .............

[alp227]

10. what do you mean "cheaper"? Rural areas? Red states?

North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. That state has Republican governor and legislature. But the conservative theories "Democratic governments are business-unfriendly" is crap since red/blue has no correlation w/unemployment rates. Vermont (with that socialist senator Bernie Sanders) has a lower unemp rate than Louisiana? Whodathunkit?

[jeff47]

69. ND has low unemployment because they're experiencing an oil boom

Has nothing to do with the governor's office.

[XemaSab]

13. One of the things that I thought was flaming bullshit about "Nickel and Dimed"

is that nobody but nobody will actually pull $500 together, throw a bag of clothes into the trunk of a car, and drive to BFE to look for minimum wage work.

Either you get a job and relocate for the job, or you lose your job and relocate where you have friends or relatives who can help you out while you're poor.

For most people, up and moving from California to Missouri to wait tables for minimum wage makes NO SENSE if California is where you have someone to look after the kids for free, someone to float you $100 to get you through payday, someone to let you stay at their house for a while while you're looking for a job, and so forth. One of the things that's also a factor is that if you're broke in the state you've lived in for a while, you're eligible for government services like unemployment and food stamps that you might not be eligible for if you up and move.

Also, even though there are some areas with a better job market than others, even the places with a GOOD job market aren't leaving positions unfilled for months at a time. If 5 people relocate to a town where there's a server position open at Denny's, there's going to be 4 people who are hanging out unemployed after one of them gets hired.

Finally, moving is expensive, even if you're moving for a job. When I got my first job out of college, I camped in the woods for two weeks before I saw a paycheck and could afford to rent an apartment. I was fortunate in that I was moving to an area where that was an option.

[CreekDog]

62. Hi Xemasab...just want to note your post b/c it mentions homelessness

there are two posts about people here having experienced homelessness due to lack of money, through moving while looking for work.

the USA has a very poor record on this.

[raccoon]

91. Good post. Thanks for sharing. nt

[guitar man]

14. Been there, done that

Many times. Tramped all over the country chasing work when I was younger. Now I'm getting too old for that shit. I paid off my home and I'm staying where I'm at. Here's and idea, how about improving conditions all over the country so people don't have to pack up and hit the road out of sheer desperation? :banghead:

[Abin Sur]

16. Ok...answers.

How much would it cost you to move if you had to?

I've never moved more than 40 miles (as an adult), so I'm not sure; at a guess, it would cost at least $1000.

Could you afford it if you were already unemployed? (and had been looking for work long enough to consider moving)

Since I have enough savings and assets to survive for years without work...yes.

And even though I want to know the dollar cost of moving, there are other questions to answer as well:

If you are part of a family, would there be enough money for the whole family to move?

Yes.

If you have children, would the children lose childcare as a result of the move?

I don't have children. N/A.

Would children lose regular visits with grandparents, uncles, aunts and other family?

N/A.

I ask these because it's sometimes said that when people are out of work, they should pick up and move somewhere better, either where it's cheaper and/or where employment prospects are better.

Is that realistic? And if you were really dead broke and unemployed, could you, could the average person in that situation do it?

In my case, yes.

[CreekDog]

23. In addition to answering the question poorly (if you're broke, you won't have money to move)...

i am not going to waste my time arguing with someone who has called themselves a materialist and seems to be quite proud of that.

i'm advocating for a proper safety net, like other first world nations have --one that we do not.

[Abin Sur]

37. You said, and I quote:

How much would it cost you to move if you had to?
Could you afford it if you were already unemployed? (and had been looking for work long enough to consider moving)

I would consider moving after having been out of work and looking for it after a year had passed at most. I can live on my savings and assets for at least 5 years...therefore, I would not be broke under the scenario *you* set up.

i am not going to waste my time arguing with someone who has called themselves a materialist and seems to be quite proud of that.

:rofl:

i'm advocating for a proper safety net, like other first world nations have --one that we do not.

In other words, it was an elaborate set-up for a rhetorical question.

[CreekDog]

51. you chose to answer the "broke" question based on if you weren't broke

you didn't have to answer that question, nobody forced you. you could've answered the others, you could've posted random stuff.

you decided to answer that question and you did it wrong. that's on you.

[Abin Sur]

53. In your scenario, I have "been looking long enough to consider moving".

I would move in one year at most under these circumstances. I have enough savings to last at least 5 years, therefore I would not be "broke".

I answered the question accurately as you posed it. I'm sorry that your rhetorical question didn't work out as you planned.

[CreekDog]

60. you just think you're being pedantic, but you simply got it wrong

and displayed a remarkable lack of concern for the poor in the process.

congratulations, in your own mind, you have nothing to be faulted for --and to be fair, that is quite a feat!

[Abin Sur]

67. What does whether or not one is at fault (for what, I don't know) have to do

with the subject at hand? This is the first time "fault" has even been brought up.

You are correct in one thing (credit where's it due, after all). I haven't expressed concern for the poor on this thread.

So what?

[CreekDog]

73. this thread isn't about you

:hi:

[Abin Sur]

80. Then why do you keep talking about me?

As the King of Siam said..."Is a puzzlement!"

[MedicalAdmin]

109. Are you autistic?

I ask because you take a literal view of many things. I'm just curious.

[lbrtbell]

28. You think it costs $1000 to move?

The movers won't bother showing up at your house for that kind of money.

[uppityperson]

31. DIY moving. Pack up what you can in a car and go. It sucks to do that

Renting a truck or trailer to haul more gets you more but costs you more. I've moved many times, never hired a mover.

[readmoreoften]

41. Who the hell with a family can just "pack up in a car and go."?

Get serious. If you're older than college age and there's more than one of you, this is patently stupid advice.

[newfie11]

46. me too!

[jeff47]

76. You think you can do DIY moving for $1000?

That will barely cover gas and food for a long-distance move. And since we're talking about moving to where economic conditions are better, it has to be a long-distance move. The truck rental will cost more than $1000. Trailer rental costs about $400-600.

Alternatively, you're talking about only taking what will fit in a car. But you're not moving to a place where you have any support. So showing up with nothing larger than your clothes isn't going to cost less than $1000. You'll have to get a bed and supplies for your kitchen once you arrive, plus your gas, lodging and food while in transit. Plus your first, last and deposit on a place to live.

[uppityperson]

79. It depends on how much and how far.

Moving from where I live to the city (2 hour drive away), yes, I could. Moving across country? It depends. It would severely limit what I could take, and how far. That is all I'm saying.

Having moved a bunch of stuff a couple yrs ago, I found Penske the least expensive by far. Still costs a lot but not as bad as Uhaul or other ones I had access to. Just throwing this in in case someone needs to rent a truck or trailer. Go Penske.

[jeff47]

94. 2 hours isn't going to get you a significantly better economy.

The OP's situation seems more like moving from the rust belt to the south or west.

[uppityperson]

110. For me it would. Big difference between living in a town of 9,000 and city of 1 million.

I agree, OP sounds like moving a larger distance, but still, yes, some places 2 hours can get you a big difference.

[MadrasT]

98. I moved with what I could fit in my car...

...and I lived in a shitty, depressing, one room apartment for a long time with:

- a sleeping bag on the floor
- no TV
- two metal folding firehouse chairs and cheap Ikea table
- one bowl, one spoon, one fork, one knife, one pot, one pan, and a can opener

I added household goods as I could afford to pay cash for them. (It was two years before I could afford a microwave.)

Five years later I had found a better job and bought a nice condo and had a relatively "normal" life again. Y'know, with furniture and TV and stuff.

Point is, we maybe can have some funny ideas about what we "have to have". We really don't need very much.

Sometimes I miss my shitty one bedroom apartment with the sleeping bag.

[Abin Sur]

35. I said at *least* $1000.

The last time I moved my family, friends and I loaded and unloaded the truck.

Less than $1000.

[readmoreoften]

42. Yeah, that's what it costs single college kids. Not a whole frickin family.

Newsflash: the OP wasn't talking to *you* as an *individual* but the average moving cost for the vast majority of Americans. Your personal circumstance is pretty irrelevant to the discussion.

[Abin Sur]

43. The OP used the word *you* 6 times, and then only spoke of the "average individual"

in the closing line of the post.

[CreekDog]

54. the post is meant to encourage empathy for those in hard situations

i doubt my hopes were realized in you.

:shrug:

[Abin Sur]

56. Perhaps you should have worded it differently, then, rather than focusing

on the person reading it as you did.

[CreekDog]

59. i've never seen you express empathy here...and nearly everyone else has

it would be wonderful if you did express empathy for the poor, for those who have been harmed by the economy and so forth.

most people here do that.

if we can't get through to you, then that's not on us.

[Abin Sur]

63. I'm puzzled...why does it concern you that I'm not expressing empathy for the poor

on a particular thread of a particular message board?

[LanternWaste]

97. You appear to be among the few who inferred "you" as a particular singular

You appear to be among the few who inferred "you" as a particular singular. :shrug:

So quite possibly, the problem may be with inferring rather than with implying.

[arcane1]

36. Not only that, the moving-in costs are even worse

Having to pay a security deposit, and assorted deposits for electricity or whatever, plus money to pay those bills and rent, plus money to eat and gas up the car to look for work. And it has to be enough money to maintain that until you find a job that can cover it.

That takes a LOT of savings!

[Abin Sur]

38. I've never been out of work, so that hasn't been a factor in my previous moves

of which I was speaking. Were I out of work as per the OP's scenario, such factors would come into play.

I'd still have enough savings, though.

[uppityperson]

71. What if you used up those savings? Serious question.

What if you moved, still couldn't find work, had some serious health thing happen that your insurance didn't cover so you used up your savings. What then? What if you used up those savings?

[Abin Sur]

85. Then at that point I would, as per the original OP, have difficulty affording another move.

My life would then presumably be much less enjoyable.

Rather self-evident, really. Luckily, there's very little prospect of such a scenario happening. I plan on retiring in 7 to 10 years, and I'm saving as much as I can. While one never knows the future, I'm taking all reasonable precautions so I can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle in my twilight years. :-)

[bhikkhu]

72. If you're hiring movers, you're talking about a different situation I think.

I moved around a lot when I was younger, and usually what couldn't fit in the back of a pickup truck just got left behind. It'd be rough with a family, but I can't even imagine hiring movers...

[XemaSab]

81. It certainly costs that much for a deposit

and it probably will cost you that much in hotel bills until you can find a place.

[Curmudgeoness]

17. The picture you used tells it like it is.

Yes, it is theoretically feasible to find some way to relocate, as The Grapes of Wrath showed us. And what happened then?

[CountAllVotes]

18. it can be an horrible thing to do

Many issues come to mind.

However, I'll share this one w/you.

About a month ago I was driving home in a huge storm late at night and the fog was quite thick giving little visibility.

Suddenly, I see a pair of eyes in front of me. I had no choice but to hit whatever it/they were.

It seems it was a pair of emaciated dogs out there on the freeway -- two of them and both of them apparent purebreds that were dumped after their owners that couldn't afford them simply drove away.

Nice job there ass-wholes!

Not only is my car a wreck, a dog is dead that sadly I may have done a favor to.

Another unloved animal dead because of some greedy dog breeder that didn't cut it. :grr:

Kids = no different.

Other things, including houses may be physical entities but other living things live around them.

I guess it is realistic if you don't care about other things, both living and physical.

:dem:

[sad sally]

19. I'm really sorry this happened to you - and the dogs.

None of my business to ask, but you said one died on impact, what happened to the other one? And I sure don't mean to imply that you were responsible for it, just asking...

[CountAllVotes]

21. I don't know

The other one disappeared as they weren't tagged of course. It seemed to be a younger dog. The one I hit died on impact. :(

On edit: Had I not known the rules of the road I might have opted to brake and perhaps avoid the dog. However, I would have likely spun out and caused a huge accident and many humans, myself included could have been killed.

Damn these people just drive away leaving their animals and other critical unsettled business behind! It is beyond comprehension to me. I can see driving away if and only if you have your affairs in order and that includes care of all animals and others in your household that may require attention! :mad:

[lbrtbell]

29. Sadly, drug dealers often leave animals behind

If the cops get too close to them, they'll leave in the dark of night and leave animals behind. There have been numerous instances of this shown on Animal Planet over the years. :(

[CountAllVotes]

33. these appeared to be greyhounds

Can you imagine what an emaciated greyhound looks like? I don't think drug dealers were involved for this reason -- this breed of dog is not highly desired by drugs dealers I do not believe. The area where this happened has many rich people that bought during the boom. House prices have eroded by as much as one-half here taking the economy with it (many foreclosures).

It was some used-to-be-rich folks (or thought they were rich) that went poof.

The local sheriff is investigating this incident and I was advised that they are seeing more and more of this sort of thing, children included btw, as the economy becomes worse.

:(

[MADem]

25. I have way too much stuff.

I also have too many family ties to move easily. I don't have to worry about unemployment, I have a pension that is sufficient for our needs.

I did have some cousins who did that eons ago---but they wanted to get far away from a crabby mother. They settled on the opposite coast and beyond!

[rbnyc]

26. If there are jobs, it's not cheaper...

...if it's cheaper there are no jobs.

Cost of living is very high in and around New York City, but I have a pretty good chance of remaining employed in this area. Still, salaries in my industry have been frozen for years. So I can remain here, under-earn and struggle to keep food on the table, put off going to the doctor, etc. etc. Or I could move somewhere cheaper and earn even less money should I be able to find a job at all.

And yes, it would mean moving my child away from his grandparents. But even if we did decide to do that, no one would ever buy this house.

There are many immigrants in my suburb from South America and Central America who are living in very bad conditions - many families in one house or even in tent cities. Many of these people have left their children back in their home countries and send back their earnings to keep them fed and housed. I'm grateful I do not have to make that choice.

Many people in my area resent the immigrant population because they feel they are in competition with them for resources. It's amazing to me that someone from my vantage-point, employed, living in with my family in a single-family home, eating every night, rarely working more than 50 hours in a week, would look at our neighbors from El Salvidor or Ecuador and feel threatened. If we can elevate our neighbors we can elevate ourselves.

http://www.pbs.org/programs/not-in-our-town/

[notadmblnd]

27. My sister who has just started working a part time job at minimum wage

has been talking about nebraska lately. She has no way to move there, no place to stay if she got there and has no one who could help. How does she move to get a better job? It's not gonna happen.

[newfie11]

47. I am in western NE

There are jobs out here but she would do better looking in WY or ND.

[Quantess]

30. It does make it easier if you are childless, single, have few possessions,

and maybe start by renting a room from someone on craigslist, or something. I've done it.
But it would be a lot harder if I had kids.

[MedleyMisty]

32. I wouldn't move for anything

I love my state. I'm like freaking Scarlett O'Hara and Tara here, and yes, I do have Irish blood. :) I think moving out of North Carolina would kill a large part of my soul.

[Abin Sur]

44. I wouldn't want to move out of the Mountain West. The idea of living in a large city is, well...

Blech. I certainly wouldn't like it.

[newfie11]

48. yep I lived there too. LOL

[Rhythm]

101. I grew up in your part of NC, so i understand the attraction...

Still, i now live in north-central West Virginia, and love it here all the more.

[nenagh]

34. Next door to me, there is a lovely lady whose husband has...

gone to the Yukon to work..One of those jobs where you stay a long time and fly out for a break. He is a carpenter. They need the money for the mortgage..

I'm in Canada... but there is not much employment where I am..But I think that they made the decision to accrue a nest egg for themselves.

The weather was -20 degrees and he is working long shifts outside putting siding on a hospital or a school.

They are such a wonderful little family..... and this is very difficult and lonely.

[Worship Money]

39. Where I live (Ohio)

People complain and whine about how "talented young people" are leaving the area to more exciting places to work.

I gotta tell you, it pisses me off hearing this. I'm been out of work since graduation, and I'm looking for a job RIGHT HERE. Yeah, I'd love to jet off and go work someplace with more to do, better weather, etc. I'd do in a heartbeat if I could, I won't lie. But I also know damn well those places are even more devoid of jobs, and I certainly don't have the money to just pack up and move to a place without employment.

I post my resume a hundred times a week and can't get a job in this area, while they complain about losing young people. I try not to get too bitter over it, but it's been a losing battle so far.

That said, I can understand that other people are in a far worse situation. With families and lots of financial responsibilities. That would make it harder to move by many orders of magnitude, I imagine.

[newfie11]

45. I have done this as a child with my parents and as an adult

My husband (retired now) was the director of a Cancer Therapy Center affiliated with a hospital in Northern MI. The powers that be decided to put his position under the director of X-Ray and abolish his position. He was let go.

So I continued working (had 3 kids in school)while he took a position as Director in a southern IL hospital cancer dept. My salary was enough to hold on to the house but we were scraping bottom on car loans, CC, etc. We moved to IL (kids, dogs, cats, horses, and 1 goat (rented a farm). We stayed there about 2 years but hated the pollution. Our son graduated high school there. Our home had sold in MI and my husband took a position at a hospital in Rapid City SD. After working there 5 years, there was an upper level management shakeup and the folks above my husband were let go. A year later they got rid of him too. Just felt he wasn't what the new folks wanted. At that point we talked about going somewhere else but his heart wasn't in it. He retired.

How did we move. We were lucky as places looking at hiring him payed for the move and we lived on CC's.

Now let me tell you the other story.

My dad was an IBEW electrician. He was told by the union where there were job opening and we would move there. Mom, 4 kids, and a dog and possibly a cat. These jobs lasted only 3-5 months and we moved on. There were no CC's in those days. If Daddy didn't have the money for gas I don't know what he did. Maybe borrowed it from family and paid back the first check. Everything we owned was in a 2 wheel trailer pulled behind the car. The problems were sometimes when we got to the job, the openings had been filled. I remember eating cheese and crackers for supper and sleeping in the car once and camping out in the NM mountains for a week waiting for another job to open. Later my folks bought a mobile home that my dad pulled behind the pickup. In today's world these folks are now using RV's and staying at RV parks.

My point is you do what you have to do. Someway! People that refuse to leave an area because all their family and friends live there but they cannot find work is very hard for me to understand.

I loved moving, ( 40 schools later) I loved meeting the different people, different customs, accents, etc. across the country. I loved working on the Lakota Rez in SD and that is due to my adaptability from moving.
Now I want to move to Ecuador.
Good luck to you.

[CreekDog]

52. yours is the second mention of homelessness in this thread

our safety net is not adequate. based on what other countries do for their people, and considering they have less wealth than ours does, this is shameful.

[newfie11]

75. maybe but I was a child

I am now 65
Guess things haven't change
d much.

[RebelOne]

49. I have been unemployed since 2010.

But since I was already 70 years old, I decided to retire. Even if I had to move, I couldn't live anywhere cheaper. I own a mobile home and only pay $367 per month including garbage pickup and water. Fortunately, I am collecting social security and can afford to stay here.

[TBF]

57. This depends on so many things -

I left college with a couple suitcases and moved across the country but that was 25 yrs ago. I was excited about the opportunity and had only myself to worry about (no money either - but I was going to a job so I was fine). At this point in my life, married with children, we'd move for a job but my husband would probably move first & I'd follow after the school year or at a break. If we were unemployed it would be much harder. It would have to be a decent paying job and we might put stuff in storage and just move ourselves at first (my brother did that recently and doesn't have a family - but he thought it would be easier to just come back and get it later or I could send it to him. He was in my area for awhile but then the job he finally got was elsewhere). He sold some higher ticket items, packed what he could in his car, put the rest in a small storage unit and took off - and it has worked out well for him. Much easier to do when you're single both logistically and in terms of finances.

But a lot would depend on opportunities too - whether the company is moving you and that sort of thing or if you're just blindly moving somewhere with only hopes of getting a job there.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

58. Unfortunately, I think that's part of the "big picture" for the Reps.

It's part of their 50 State plan to redistrict the U.S. Labor/Dems move out and districts turn red. Already blue districts get "bluer."

[bhikkhu]

70. I'd sell my house at a loss, the kids would lose all their friends

...and then when you live in a small town for awhile you get to know everyone and you kind of have a feeling of belonging that's hard to walk away from.

Those are the two big things. Fortunately I have a decent job and we're doing ok - this year is better than last year, and last year was better than the one before.

[southernyankeebelle]

74. If you have a family with a support system where your at I'd think twice about

making any moves. It is extremely difficult when you have children.

[provis99]

77. ask yourself: What would the 1% do?

no doubt they would demand government aid and subsidies to move...

[JoePhilly]

78. I left my home town for a better career ... don't be surprised if our kids have to leave the country

Growing up in Philly, none of my family ever left. I grew up in the same house my father grew up in. After my father died, we moved into the house my mother grew up in.

Most of my friends and their families has always lived in the same neighborhoods.

During my twenties, I left for college, then graduate school. And my career has never given me a reason to move back to that area. Some of my old friends live very close to the neighborhood where we grew up. I think almost all of them live within 20 miles of where we grew up.

I changed states a number of times to find a better life.

And if we as a nation keep electing Republicans, our kids might have to change countries.

[SheilaT]

82. In 1962 my mother packed us five kids

into a VW bus. We filled it with our clothing, a few family treasures (the good silverware, some books that meant a lot), strapped a couple of bicycles to the top, and moved from upstate New York to Tucson, Arizona. We could only take what would fit in the car, and with five kids there wasn't much room left over for non-essentials.

Mom did not have a job lined up, but she was an RN, and knew she could get work once we arrived. Back then, nurses could not collect unemployment if laid off, because the assumption was that they could quickly get another job. There were several other professions like that back then.

We were moving to escape an abusive alcoholic father/husband, and it was the best thing Mom could ever have done for us. We were very poor for the first few years, and this is before things like food stamps. We rented a very small furnished two bedroom house, and a year or so later we moved to an unfurnished three bedroom. Friends gave us furniture, and we bought other stuff second hand.

To pay for the move Mom cashed in her retirement from the hospital she'd worked at for about seven years. It was a thousand dollars, and half of it was used up by the time we'd travelled across the country and rented the first place.

You seem to have set up something of a straw man by asking if you can do it if you're dead broke. Probably not, or only with help from family and friends.

And losing regular visits to grandparents or other relatives shouldn't even be an issue. I'm constantly surprised at people who aren't willing to move any distance away just because they have family where they already are. If there's a good job elsewhere, make the move.

Three years ago after a divorce I moved 800 miles to start a new life. I didn't have a job lined up already, although I was not dead broke, and I know that makes a difference.

[Snarkoleptic]

83. We're all Tom Joad now.

[Laelth]

90. It is not reasonable to base govt. policy ...

... on the assumption that people can simply move to where the jobs are. For most people, such a move would be either impossible or unwise.

To base govt. policy on such an assumption in the United States is both reckless and heartless given the shoddy state of our social safety net.

This, I think, is what the O.P. was trying to communicate. Many people seem to have missed the point, sadly, but this thread has proven to be fertile ground for various, unrelated trips down memory lane.

-Laelth

[jeff47]

93. It works as long as there are policies to back it up.

Say, the government creates the "United States Moving Company". Hires unemployed people to be movers. Offers free moves to low/no-income households.

[Laelth]

104. I like those ideas.

I don't see it happening, but I would support legislation to implement your proposals.

-Laelth

[Gormy Cuss]

96. +1

[Marrah_G]

92. Moving costs a ton of money

I recently had to move and just getting into an apt (first,last, security) and renting a Uhaul took every last cent I had, literally. If I had to move again I would be screwed.

[GoCubsGo]

99. I expect that I'll have to move.

There are no jobs here for me. If and when I ever move elsewhere, I will get rid of a lot of my stuff, much of which is on its last legs anyway. That will make the move cheaper. Since I am broke, I will wind up borrowing for rental down payment, and make monthly payments to the movers, as most employers no longer pay for relocation. If a miracle happens and my house sells, I pay it all off then. Gotta do what you gotta do. I don't want to stay in this hell hole anyway.

[JNelson6563]

100. Sadly that easy answer is usually too expensive.

Once you've been unemployed for a while you've likely tapped out all your extra resources. That is if you weren't barely scraping by paycheck-to-paycheck when you were employed.

I think most who flippantly make the "move somewhere cheaper" remark just have no idea what they are talking about. I'm sure they mean well but they don't understand what it's like to be down to nothing regarding assets.

Julie

[Blue_In_AK]

102. Two of my kids have moved Outside, one's still here,

but I'm staying. We're on fixed incomes, and we could probably do well in a cheaper part of the country, but our living situation is good here (I own a HUD duplex that I purchased during the last downturn 1990), renter pays most of the mortgage, and I just don't think we could get a better deal anywhere else.

Besides Alaska has so much to offer that other places don't, it would break my heart to leave.

[wickerwoman]

103. And the poorer you are, the more important informal networks are.

Moving to a place where you don't know anyone may mean giving up free babysitting from the grandparents, giving up bartering with neighbors for chores or stuff from the garden, giving up "donations" and used items from family and friends who are doing a bit better, giving up potential job connections through high school friends or people in the neighborhood.

In a tough economy more than at any other time, it's who you know not what you know. There's every chance that staying in a place with high unemployment but where you know a lot of people will be cheaper in the long run than moving to a place with low unemployment where you don't know anyone and nobody knows you.

[haele]

106. We just moved across town. It cost approximatly $1500 just for the move itself.

Not only the $500+ for U-haul(between milage costs, the gas, and about a week's worth, off and on, of rentals) and the final, desperate, hiring of a pair of bonded haulers to load and unload the truck at $180 for four hours (two hours on each end of the move)because the kidlet's friends that were supposed to help bailed and we just couldn't find anyone to help us on the last moving day, the $500 Junk-king trash removal of all the 6 years worth of clutter and stuff we didn't need just so we could get about 1/4 of our deposit from the old place back, and the approximatly $300 in utility costs up front just to get our basic utilities started.
This cost does not count the moving supplies purchased, the rental deposits and first month's rent required to get into a "cheaper and larger than where we were originally living" house (those which ended up being around $3500). Or the time taken off work to move, or the pain, the doctor's visits and the meds needed for that pain and minor injuries sustained during the move.
Lucky thing we didn't go for the apartment that cost the same, because even though it didn't have as much of a deposit initially, there was absolutly no storage and we would have ended up having to pay for a storage shed.

We only moved because we had to. If we didn't have to, we'd have sucked up the $50 a month rent increase that was sure to come and stayed put until our credit cleaned up enough and we saved enough to buy - which is, at least in San Diego, much cheaper than renting if you're fairly handy around the house and buy a mild fixer with Fannie Mae Homestead loan.

Total for the four mile move that ended up taking about two weeks ended up costing us almost just over $5K. But still, the costs just in the move was around $1500. And if we had to move out of state to find a job in a town where the housing would be "cheaper", it would have cost at least the same.

When my folks retired and moved 2 of their 3 bedroom household's worth of stuff to Albuquerque from Seattle in 2004, it cost them close to $7K - even after leaving their appliances and having a yard sale, packing their stuff up themselves, loading up their mini-van, and using a moving company only for the big stuff and heavier boxes.

Moving is expensive, especially if there are kids involved or you've lived in the same place for more than a couple years. Even the cheapest ways to move can be costly. Renting a truck or a trailer is not only the cost of the truck per day, but around 59 - 70 cents a mile traveled, plus you have to pay for the insurance on a daily basis,pay for the gas and make sure it's returned or dropped off at the same gas level and in the same condition as you rented it.

Then you have to get set up in your new location.

That's why people need a good reason - an already secured job or family agreeing to put them up for a while, for instance - to move any distance.

Haele

[jtuck004]

111. Interesting picture in the post. The movie version was a little pepped-up

from the book. They reversed the order of the camps, and put the "future" speech more toward the end so it would look like the family was moving up in the world, more hopeful.

In the book their conditions got much worse toward the end, into a barn and breast-feeding a starving man.