Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with relocate

moving to san francisco

bananaskin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:09:34 -0800

Is there anyone who has experience living in San Francisco and can give me advice about moving there? I live in rural midwest. I have dreamed of moving to San Francisco, CA for several years. I am sure I could find a decent paying job there, as my job is in high demand.

I am a single middle aged woman. No children. I have to do this all alone. I have no one to help me, and I am a little fearful/anxious about making such a big move, making a mistake and moving to a place I may not know is a dangerous area.

My questions are:
1. How much would rent be on a house/apartment? I want a decent sized apartment (not a studio).
2. What are safe areas to live, and dangerous areas for a single woman?
3. How do I research an area to find out if it is safe/crime or not?
4. What are the fun things to do there....cultural, musical, food, etc. and where?
Thank you everyone.

Is Albuquerque like I am imagining it?

filthy light thief — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:45:12 -0800

I'm looking to move out of California with my wife, with the goal of buying a home for the future filthy light thief family. Mrs. flt's parents have been looking at Albuquerque, New Mexico based on statistics (housing prices, employment, etc) and their brief visit to the city. How is Albuquerque for young families and adults in search of a lively city? More details inside. My wife and I currently live in California, and we'd like to stay except anywhere that seems to have the qualities we enjoy is out of our price range. Albuquerque has a temperate climate that is similar to coastal California, and I love the high desert in terms of appearance. Albuquerque seems to have plenty of open space for hiking and meandering.

We'd like a larger city with more diversity in amenities and attractions, as we've had our fill of smaller towns and college towns. For sake of comparison: of the three large California metropolises, we like San Francisco over the never-ending sprawl of Los Angeles and San Diego (though SF is far from affordable to own, on the salary of a government employee [me] and a high school math teacher [wife]). Does Albuquerque fit the bill?

Bonus points:
- walkable neighborhoods with amenities like parks and business districts a few miles from homes
- lively music/arts scene, local and/or touring
- reasonable public transit (ABQ RIDE is cheaper than local transit routes, if those prices are accurate)

How to move to Canada and bring my UK small business with me?

dflock — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:31:13 -0800

We currently live in the UK and my wife has secured a job in Vancouver, so we're moving to Canada! Yay! However, I am self employed and run my own small business in the UK. All the Canadian Work permit stuff is geared to people who've got a job offer from a Canadian employer, not someone bringing a small business with them. Anyone done this (or something similar) before? Got any advice? It seems there are some Business/Entrepreneur/Investor visa/work permit schemes available in Canada - but that these only apply to people who've got $300k-800k+ kicking around, which I don't. The self employed one is, for some reason, only for Artists, Athletes or Farm Managers. My web development business doesn't really fall under any of these categories.

My research so far indicates that my wife should get one of these: Temporary Work Permit and I should get one of these: Spousal Open Work Permit. Does anyone know if that's the best way to do it, or have any personal experience of this?

Bonus Round: What do I do with the biz when I get there? Setup a new Canadian company, or what?

Thanks!

Egypt Was Good Enough for King Tut

NolanRyanHatesMatches — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:51:34 -0800

MovingFarAwayFilter: GF is dead-set on moving from Brooklyn to Cairo, Egypt, for at least a year. I'm pretty resistant to the idea since I love NYC and, if forced to move outside the US, there are hundreds of cities I'd rather move to. I desperately need some 1st/2nd person accounts of living in Cairo / Egypt to help make this decision. General background: we both work for magazines in NYC, are in our late-20s, social, pretty culturally-oriented (go to concerts/readings/etc. as often as possible, go to parties -- of friends, at warehouses, etc. -- regularly on the weekends), and generally live the lives that you might expect from young, social Brooklynites.

Her background: works in literature/poetry, certified Third Culture Kid, moved around as part of a US State Dept. family every two years, has lived in various Middle Eastern countries (including Cairo in high school for two years), speaks and reads Arabic at a decent level, is desperate to move away from the US, seeks "adventure" but scoffs at the idea of living anywhere in Central America, South America, and Europe. Seems to be basically zeroed-in on Cairo, Alexandria, or another Middle Eastern country. I've floated the idea of staying somewhere / various places for three-four months at a time, but she would rather spend one or two years in one place. At present time, she also seems to value moving away more than job prospects, so she's not necessarily looking for an editing/writing job.

I grew up knowing that I'd move to NYC and have loved living here, love our extended group of friends, love pretty much everything the city offers. My job is here (although could be done, with some effort, outside of the city), my friends are here, and so is my heart. I really, really don't want to move (but love to travel, just not relocate). But, I love my GF (long-term) more than any of it, and she wants to head out, no question.

Were I forced to move, I'd probably pick either a metropolitan city in Central America, South Amerca, or Europe: Mexico City, Quito, Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Lima, Belmopan, Barcelona, London, Dublin, Rome, Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, etc.); or, a sleepier town, bucolic town in C/S America or Europe, of which I know hundreds, and there are probably thousands that I don't know about that I would love.

Basically, what are the chances that I would enjoy living in Cairo? How heavy is the cultural bend towards Arab/Muslin trends? Will there be clubs to go to at night? Might I enjoy the music scene there? Is there a healthy cultural conversation w/r/t Western literature? Would I be somewhat shocked by what the law disallows? Is there a chance that I'll feel as if I'm in a European metropolis? Will I have a tough time continuing my online work from Cairo? Can I get by with English, or will I have to spend serious time learning Arabic? I get the feeling that I might like Cairo over other big Middle Eastern cities, but I can't shake the supposition that I'd other big cities that I know and love over Cairo.

I'd love to hear any 1st/2nd person experiences about living in Cairo, or any suggestions of websites/blogs that chronicle what day-to-day life is like in Cairo. I'd like to be open-minded about the prospect of living there, but I can't seem to find any information sources that will help me make the decision, and I think I have a deep-seated wariness of being a Westernized guy living in Egypt / Middle East. Any help at all would be much appreciated

Moving to Oneonta?

pjs005 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:23:08 -0800

My wife and I and our 2 dogs are thinking about moving to Oneonta, NY., as we have friends and family nearby. Any thoughts on living in Oneonta. Thanks

Moving to the Upper Valley

billtron — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:23:02 -0800

Mz. Billtron and I are moving from Brooklyn, New York, to Hanover, New Hampshire, this summer. I know nothing about that part of the country and would appreciate any advice or recommendations that will make the transition a great one. We're going to need a car. We'd get a Prius if we were moving elsewhere, so what should we get for the snow?
I am going to miss my Gorilla Coffee. What should I switch to?
Where should I buy beer? Where should I buy beer-making supplies?
What's a reasonable distance to travel to do something interesting, and what's within that radius that I should check out?
My dad really wants to canoe down the Connecticut River. Is that the best place to go canoeing nearby?
What else should I know?

applying for work in another city

diode — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:58:19 -0800

I am wanting to move back to a major metro area from my current locale, about 10 hours drive. I've been living in relatively small town for about 3 years now. The job opportunities in my previous locale are much greater and I'm getting tired of swimming upstream. I'd prefer to have work there before moving but it's problematical applying long distance. What's the best way to apply for work in another town? To make a long story short, I'm thinking of three ways to apply for positions in another geographic area. I can apply acknowledging up front that I am currently located in another locale. I can conceal that I am living elsewhere and put a friend's address and local voicemail on my resumes, or I can move and hope for work while applying locally.

Moving is certainly an option but it entails a lot of stressors including no income while I get employed. I think I can relocate inside of 30 days when I have a new position.

Just wondering what people have done in the past? While honesty is the best policy, I wonder if it wouldn't substantially slow down the process if people think I am not local to the area. An accurate resume would show my work history in my current area plus the work history in my previous location.

I don't know that's there's some perfect picture. I'm inclined to simply give it a shot with my 'real' profile and see if anything comes my way. If that doesn't work in 1-2 months (meaning no replies), then I would tempted to try to stealth apply using local address information.

Need help with recruiter

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:11:38 -0800

I need help finding a corporate recruiter for IT and Management. Do you have a suggestion for one? And is now the right time (with the job market being what it is) to even look? My wife and I are both in a medium-to-small sized city. I am in IT, with 12 years of experience in the field. For the past 7 years I have been a programmer with knowledge of .NET, VB, etc. I am in a good position that I took a bit over a year ago but it's becoming quite clear that my job has no future.

My wife is a manager in health care, with experience in health care, banking, and telephone industries. In all those jobs she has worked with various technology systems, giving her job an IT bent if not being IT proper.

We are both looking for new positions that will (a) aid our careers (b) have opportunities for future growth for said careers (c) relocate us to somewhere else in the country.

We have heard that there are recruiters who will work for "couples", ensuring both can be relocated to the same area about the same time.

We are planning to do this shortly after the new year.

So my question is: does someone have a recruiter they can recommend? And is now the right time for us to be looking for a recruiter, or should we just sit tight until the economy improves?

If you need follow-up information, I can be reached at anonmefiperson@gmail.com

How do I move back to New Orleans?

ultraultraboomerang — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:03:38 -0800

How do I move back to New Orleans? Or, in light of the economy here and elsewhere, should I stay in Baton Rouge and suck it up? I moved (reluctantly and luckily) from New Orleans for a job about a year before the storm. I've been an hour down the road in Baton Rouge for four years, and I just never made friends with this town. Also, I never made friends in this town. I'm paid pretty well for what I do, but all I do is go to work and come home. My boyfriend is in NOLA, and that's starting to be a problem, now that I'm getting sort of old for that kind of arrangement, especially when it costs $30 in gas just to get there and back.

I work in academia and could almost certainly get a similar job there at about a 20% pay cut. When I sell my condo here I'll end up with about $10k profit when all is said and done, which will be a nice cushion but is not enough for a down payment on anything (my current mortgage was no down payment, but since people bought million dollar houses with those and defaulted, I'm unlikely to get another one even though my credit is excellent). I have around $30k in retirement but I know I shouldn't even think about tapping in to that. (Right?)

So how do I do this? I make a good living here but have literally nothing else. Moving to New Orleans is risky for the obvious reasons, but it's the only place I can imagine having an actual life, with friends and a real boyfriend and things to do. Should I stay here and suck it up, having a weekend boyfriend, until something miraculous happens? Should I even be thinking about buying real estate there? (Obviously I'll be looking at the higher ground, probably Metairie.)

I guess I'm just looking for thoughts on the New Orleans economy in general (as perceived from inside and out), and thoughts on whether or not it's worth the sacrifice, in the midst of this economic clusterfuck, to give up a decent job and a decent (but boring and isolated) life to take a chance at a real relationship and a life that includes some friends who live in the same zip code.

How to get to the land down under the land down under.

hal_c_on — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:19:13 -0800

What is the best way for an American nuclear family (2 adults, kid) to emigrate to New Zealand with permanent residency? We have SCOURED through tons of NZ emigration websites. We kinda know the ins and outs of the process, but want to know more than just THEORY.

My wife and I (along with the kid) are all us-born citizens. We're both college grads (one with advanced degree), make adequate money, have NEVER been in trouble with the law, and are in great health in our early 30s. We're thinking Auckland, but if it were non-Auckland vs. non-NZ, we would definitely move somewhere else (Christchurch, Wellington, etc).

We are waiting to finish up a few things in the states this summer (academics, legal stuff, etc), before we actually send in an "expression of interest". After this summer, we want to get to NZ asap. We want to move there, start jobs there, setup all aspects of our life there.

Anybody have any tips? Should we do something first, or not until we get there? Does anybody want to trade residency in NZ for ours in the US (haha...unless we can actually do that)? What helps, what is a detriment?

Any legitimate help would be appreciated. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them asap. Please feel free to send me mefi mail as well if you don't want to post here.

My god, I love this site. Thanks mefites.

Move to Prince George?

canoehead — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:18:54 -0800

Prince George B.C. (Canada), possible employment. Need relocation info please. I'm from Alberta but have never been to Prince George. Tell me as much about it as you can please. Have heard negative things about air quality, crime, lack of amenities - set me straight if neccesary.

Need opinions on Oregon, Portland areas..

mrflibble — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:00:16 -0800

Places to visit in Oregon, costs of living, etc.. Heading out to Portland and surrounding areas in a month. May move there.
After speaking with many about it I'm becoming quite enamored.

Biggest concern, Near(ish) Portland and more to the west, hows the costs of living? For those who may be familiar with Michigan, I'm in Birmingham, Troy, Clawson area for comparison.

Also, & I think I already know the answer but, are mountain biking and rock climbing abundant? Lots of biking / rollerblading trails as well? I always used to say that there was more bike path in Colorado than roads.
Perhaps a bit off the wall, any skydiving out there?

Last one, anyone who's lived in both states, hows Oregon compare to Colorado?

Thank you.

How long would it take to move from the US to UK and be ready-for-work?

pokermonk — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:01:18 -0800

If I (a Chicagoan with an expired US passport) were to be offered a job in London, how much time would it take to properly document and relocate myself (hypothetically assuming zero-to-little assistance from the employer)? (this is a technical curiousity so don't worry about periphery issues)

Grandparent timeshare?

n'muakolo — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 06:41:25 -0800

Polling all grandparents - would you be willing to move/spend part of the year in a different city in order to spend lots of time with, and provide daycare for, your grandkids? It looks like, for professional reasons, I will be living in a city that's about 8 hours by car from my parents, and a 2 hour plane ride from my boyfriend's family. Neither one of our families has any grandkids, but they would very much like them. The idea has been tossed around that either/both sets of grandparents could spend part of the year near us, helping to raise the grandkids & generally being a part of the grandkids' lives. My parents have friends & 1 sibling who are essentially providing day care part of the week for their grandkids, and reputedly loving it. In part I'd like the help, but also in large part I want my kids to spend lots of time with my lovely parents (who are older - 65) and his parents (who are more like 55), and our parents want to spend lots of time with what they hope will be lovely grandkids. (We talk about part time because they have such a connection to where they live, and I would hate to completely transplant them from that.)

So my question is, first of all, is this too much to ask (or too much to accept if they seriously offer)? They have lots of friends and a fun, established life where they live.

Also, what would the logistics of such a part-time residence entail? (Assuming, for now, that we wouldn't have an in-law apartment, or anything like it.)

None of this is anywhere on the horizon, but I'd be interested in your take on the idea. I've always wanted family involved in my kids' lives, but modern life/career is making that look undoable, particularly since we come from different cities, so both sets of grandparents couldn't have the grandkids to living near them, and neither set particularly likes the idea of the grandkids living near the other set.

Is the Alberta job market really that hot?

Alterscape — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 05:31:22 -0800

What's the job market for IT/audiovisual really like in Alberta? As you might've guessed from my posting history, I'm a recent college grad floundering around in the employment waters trying to find someplace that'll pay me to be skilled in the care and feeding of computers and/or audiovisual equipment. I have family up in Calgary who've been telling me that everything in the world is open up there, job-wise. I know the oil boom is fueling a lot of economic growth, but I'd like to start gathering more information on the conditions in the job market..

What's the entry-level IT and/or AV employment market really like up there now? I'd like to hear from people actually working in the area. I'm not picky about what part of Alberta, etc, just looking for general impressions. As a talented but not yet proven grad, do I have a hope? Where should I look? Is the job market REALLY as hot as I'm told it is?

For the record, I have dual US/Canadian citizenship, so legal approval to work isn't an issue.

Average costs of utilities and entertainment in Los Angeles?

holyrood — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:02:20 -0800

Is there an information source that gives average costs for utilities, rent, and other necessary expenses, broken down into categories, in specific cities or areas? I was offered a job 2500 miles away from my current home, but need to sit down and do some math to make sure I can afford to live in Los Angeles/metro area. I am hoping to find information about how much specific services or things cost in LA or California (things like high-speed internet service, average utility costs, car insurance rates, emissions testing costs, etc.).

I can find plenty of cost-of-living calculators, but they just tell me I need to make X dollars to live at my current lifestyle. My current lifestyle is "living below the federal poverty line," and is totally untenable for LA or any post-grad-school life (like, I ride my bicycle everywhere; grow my own food; buy everything used; share rent, utilities, and car payments.) As this new job will make my earnings well above the poverty line, I would like to have a higher standard of living than the one I have now. I just need to know things like if high-speed internet service will be closer to $50 a month or $100 a month. And if car insurance is $300/year or $1,000/year.

Does anyone know of anywhere to get this type of data, on or off-line? I feel stupid asking this because I just got hired as a librarian and should be able to find this stuff, but it is eluding me.

Where should we move?

gottabefunky — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 13:16:07 -0800

Should we move to the Bay Area, Portland or Denver? O boundless wisdom of the collective MetaMind, help us plot our life’s course… Two mid-30s self-employed professionals, able to work anywhere, currently living in a funky-but-too-small city in the Southwest, looking for more social options, outlets and people to enjoy them with (i.e. bigger city) without sacrificing beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Plus a place to finally buy a home and, eventually, raise kids.

Here’s our understanding of the three leading options:
1. Bay Area: beautiful, incredible art/music/etc scene, very diverse, traffic/crowding a problem sometimes, but pretty ideal overall except real estate is so stupidly expensive that all else may be moot.
2. Portland: people rave about it too, still relatively affordable, rare manageable-size city, weather the big question mark (especially after 360+ days of sunshine per year here), very homogenous (i.e. white) city, funky social scene (hipster central), great outdoors options.
3. Denver: the dark horse, still affordable up-and-coming metropolis, great outdoors options, traffic/crowding occasionally a problem, affordable real estate, moderate social/ethnic diversity (?), social options...?

So – what are we missing/misperceiving? Does California’s absolutely insane real estate rule it out completely? (For a house, 300k is doable, 400k a stretch.) Will Portland’s weather drive us to self-harm? (Everyone says “the summers are great,” which makes me suspicious.) Is Denver more fun or dull? Where should we head?

Possible to relocate car seats?

Jackson — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:14:12 -0800

Is it feasible to relocate a car seat to provide more legroom? I'm tall, and the new cars I'm interested in do not have enough driver legroom. Are there companies who can move the seat hardware back? Will this void warranties or otherwise damage the car? I'm thinking of some of the smaller Hondas and Toyotas such as the Toyota Matrix and the Honda CRV.

Know a retail recruiter in ATL area?

thinds66 — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 20:30:02 -0800

Friend is hoping to move. How can I help him by finding him a good retail management recruiter in ATL area? A friend of mine who lives in CT wants to follow some friends down to the ATL area. Online job sites don't seem great for retail management positions. He's had a relatively easy time finding other jobs in CT when needed, but he's finding the trans-state transition a bit harder. Has anyone had a successful experience with retail recruiters in the ATL area? Can you point me in the right direction to help him out?

Moving to the UK?

yaquina27 — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 21:30:57 -0800

My wife and I would like to move from the US to the UK. How difficult is it? We own our own business, which will continue operations in the US after we leave. We have good managers in place, so there's no concern about selling the company. In fact, we would like to expand to the UK. Our business is essentially a brokering business with a potential market in the UK. Any input, ideas, or feedback?

How does one relocate?

suchatreat — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 09:53:38 -0800

How does one relocate to an area they're not familiar with? What resources are out there, what steps do you take? My SO and I are considering moving further down the East coast. I don't need town/city suggestions. I am looking for practical advice on how we would accomplish this. We wouldn't know anyone in our new city, so how do we find jobs, housing, etc...? In what order should we do these things (job first?)?

Where are people most friendly and civil?

filmgeek — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 20:58:57 -0800

People are rude. Really. Don't say thank you, run over your feet. Don't hold doors open. If you could live anywhere, particularly where people are friendly and civil, where would that be? More: Several cities I've been to recently (on the east coast) all have a consistency - people complaining about the lack of civility and behaving as such. I do believe social manners are the lubrication that keeps us from killing each other.

Little things: Thank you. Please. Running the yellow/VERY RED light.

What is Albuquerque like?

wanderingmind — Sun, 20 Jun 2004 19:15:09 -0800

Never lived outside of California, but here I am moving to Albuquerque in a few weeks... I've visited a few times and like it enough there to be happy about the move (I'll be a grad student at UNM, living in a studio apartment north of campus), but what can I expect as far as actually living there goes? What are the people like? The climate? The culture? Any New Mexican MeFites willing to give me their views and advice about the place?