Community Chat

[Laura14]

I know I have come to the right place for people with an opinion.    A lot of you have been godsends with your points of view in the past so I am coming back to the well. 

Longtime job probably coming to an end in March

Already have credentials and licensure for new career path which is primarily minimum wage and won't go much above it

Probably have ability to start new career locally and remain around small family circle and cheaper living situation but in a high rent area that will force me out once my family is gone

Or I can move cross country to a somewhat familiar small town and start over without any help financially or otherwise

Door #1:  Would you stick close to current home and try and make it work as long as you could with family and finances

OR

Door #2:  Would you take the leap and completely start over somewhere else all by yourself to set up the rest of your own life before you get older and the area gets more expensive?

What say you and your life experiences? 

[cindyNC]

I think it depends on how much you love living where you are now.  I separated, moved back to my hometown for a year and then moved south to a locale where I knew nobody.  

I'm 65 now.  I'm glad I made the move away as it was better for me financially.  But my office closed and everyone I worked with transfered away or live out of state. But I don't see where I am now as permanent either. 

How close are you to the relatives where you live now? How often could you afford to go back? Do you like the weather there and is the healthcare good? How soon do you want to decide? 

Good luck with your decision - it's such an individual choice!

[Preds]

At one time I would have chosen #2.  I didn't and regretted it for a while.  DD chose #2.  She loved the new job, but was lonely.  She made lifelong friends there, but she came back closer to home.  She would also move tomorrow if she found the right opportunities for her and SIL.

That's a decission only you can decide because it is your life.  Being away can be very exciting at first, but very lonely, too.  No connections are harder for some than it is for others. 

[phoenixbrd]

My first concern would be the ability to support yourself.  Will the license and certificate be honored in another state.  Write a list of pros and cons for your choices.  Only you know your your priorities.  With the right mind set you will be successful in any situation.  Wishing you the best.

[bikerbabe]

Do you love where you live or are you just there because of family? Is your family a positive influence in your life or do they cause more stress? Where can you be better off financially long term in your new career?
It sounds like you’re hinting that the long-term is probably better in this other town but you are scared to make the leap.

[Porcelain]

I always got an opinion! lol Thanks for giving me the opportunity to offer one. @Laura14 

Are you interested in / is there the possibility of doing something similiar to your current job at a different employer in your current town? I'd be getting my resume out to similar local companies that have a need for similar duties to the ones you're doing now.

Not sure I would put my future in a job that can only ever pay minimum wage, as a full time job. Unless the tips were super good! Now as a stopgap measure, sure. In those cases, you gotta do what you gotta do for a while.

I wouldn't move unless circumstances or an unmissable specific, concrete, in-the-hand opportunity forced it.

[MandyG06]

go with YOUR gut instinct. you can get a zillion answers from us, but it's only yours that matter go get it, girlfriend! whatever you want to do, you'll be great at

[Laura14]

@cindyNC   My family is actually around the corner and down the street but I don't see them much because they have kids.  Both have mentioned moving away in the next few years as the kids get older but it would still be around that general part of the country.   

It's really my mother who does come up from Florida every month and it does weigh on me that she is older now and I feel like I am walking out on her and won't see much of her before the inevitable happens although she's fine and travels all over the world at present with her husband. 

[Peaches McPhee]

How old are you?  How close to full retirement age?

Do you know how long until your family is gone?  (Are they graduating from school, for example?)

Going by what I know so far, I'd stay put.

[occasionalrain]

Option #2. As long as you remain where you are, you will see yourself in terms of your family, influenced by how they see you. It's a comfort zone. You need to move away, be on your own.