Relocating without a job?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Has anyone relocated without a job? What did you do? How and why did you do it?

And for those who have relocated with a job was it expensive? Hard?

How late would people relocate with kids?

[dczech09]

I relocated for my first "real job" about one year after I graduated college. It was not really hard- the company paid for the moving expenses, and I have been able to meet people and get settled in.

I moved with a job, which made things inexpensive and easy. Although the move did take some time to get used to.

[Caoineag]

We moved without a job after college. Did it because my home state had an extremely high unemployment rate and I wanted to be able to get a professional job. The move was fairly inexpensive as we didn't try to move much and we moved it ourselves. We had saved up for it but we also kept expenses low so only one of us had to get a job to pay the bills.

Totally worth it for us, we both had jobs fairly quickly (I got one that paid the bills the day after I moved and kept it for 6 months before getting a professional job, DH got a professional job about 3-4 months in).

Can't speak towards kids as we don't have any but I remember other kids moving into the area and it always worked best if they moved in by middle school (multiple elementary schools came together in one middle school in our area so new groups of friends were emerging for everyone at that time).

[Leraldo]

But why don't you like to find a job first and relocate once you sign the contract? You may even get relocation expenses compensated by the company.

[riverwed070707]

Has anyone relocated without a job? What did you do? How and why did you do it?

And for those who have relocated with a job was it expensive? Hard?

How late would people relocate with kids?

We haven't but we've considered it. I'd really, really like to live abroad. DD is 5 and I kind of feel like we are at a time where we have to decide to leap now or wait until DD graduates high school... I know its not totally that cut and dry but she's flexible now and isn't tied to her school, friends, etc. DH and I both have marketable skills but not the type we would likely be hired and relocated overseas for. Its much harder to convience a long distance employer you're worth moving than it is to convince a local employer you're worth hiring.

Anyway, in planning for it some major considerations for us were needing to be able to visit before we move, whether temp housing is available until we decide where to live, detaching from all of our "stuff" because it really isn't worth the expense to move non-essentials and we want the flexibility to move again if the location we choose isn't what we were looking for and the availability of good (bi-lingual if non-engligsh speaking area) schools.

To the last question, I kind of expressed my thoughts about an international move but assuming you are talking in the states, kids are more adaptable than most people give them credit for. As long as the location your moving to takes their needs into consideration I'd do it at any age. I moved a lot as a kid and now I love to travel and have very little attachment to places or things -- I don't think its a coincidence. Will it have an impact on them? Yes. Will the impact be negative? Not if they have a good supportive home environment. Will they be sad at first? Probably, but that's normal with all big changes, not an indication that its a bad idea.

[creditcardfree]

We have relocated twice with the military. Lots of things paid for, so not terribly expensive, but all the bills are different. Different rates for electric, gas...ect. Different taxes for property and income.

The first relocation was the best. Great schools, made friends fairly quickly. Kids were first grade and fourth grade. Still really miss the town we were in.

This last one was about 20 months ago. Kids were 10th and 7th grade. Oldest daughter actually adjusted the best because she quickly made friends in marching band. The youngest has had a harder time because of how classes are set up. She isn't as involved in things. The house is great, neighbors fine, but having a harder time making friends here. The schools are great here too, we do make that a priority on our list when we move.

Moving is stressful, you have a lot of decisions to make initially. You have to find new doctor's, grocery stores, understand the layout of the town. You have to get your kids into their routine. It is also exciting to learn a new town, too. New activities to try, museums and parks to visit.