Should I move or wait till I find a job at the end of my lease?
April 28, 2011 1:47 PM   Subscribe

Lease running out and looking to move, but no job yet. What should I do?

I am looking to move to the Portland, OR area from VA and have been in the process of finding IT work (systems administration, desktop support) for the last eight months. I have had no luck obtaining any interviews but am still very interested in relocating there. I'm currently using a friend's address and set up a local phone number on Google Voice to mitigate any geographic issues that may arise from a resume coming from across the country. I am also aware that that the Portland job market is more difficult than most.

I'm still employed at my current job and my lease is set to run out at the end of June. I'm starting to panic a bit as a result. I'm thinking I should try and sublease or move in with a friend for a few months and see if I hear back on anything. But I'm also debating on just randomly moving at the end of June and try to fend for myself. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
posted by animerion to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Would your landlord be open to a month-to-month lease?
posted by decathecting at 1:48 PM on April 28, 2011


Can you go month-to-month on your current lease?
posted by Bunglegirl at 1:48 PM on April 28, 2011


Response by poster: I've have several discussions about going month to month, even if only for a certain amount of time, ash she won't let me.
posted by animerion at 1:50 PM on April 28, 2011


Find a craigslist roommate. That's what I did. Found someone who already had a place (and a lease in her own name) and was looking for a roommate to help out on rent. Maybe I was a special case, but it's worked out extremely well.
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on April 28, 2011


I know you're aware of how tough the Portland job market is, but what you may not know is that the Portland job market moves very slowly even in good economic times - so nowadays, it moves glacially. Employers here have a huge selection of really good candidates to choose from, especially in IT (which is the field I'm in) so they're ultra-picky and they also interview a bazillion people for each job, which takes a lot of time.

I wouldn't necessarily say "don't move out here without a job", but if you do, you'd best be ready to live for 3-4 months minimum without a source of income. Good news is that by June this rain should stop. Or lessen.
posted by pdb at 2:10 PM on April 28, 2011


Best answer: No matter what happens with your job, this is a great time to start getting rid of stuff in your current place. This will be helpful for several reasons:

1. You're going to have to move anyway.
2. You'll have something to do instead of worrying. Even making a pact with yourself to pack one box of books or get rid of three items of clothes every week is a great start.
3. Hey, maybe you could even get a couple bucks out of it!

You don't know when or where or even (ugh) how, but the easier you can make it on yourself, the better. Assume the worst. Even if you end up in an absolutely plush situation, you'll feel great knowing that you're making a fresh start and have less to worry about.

(And boy, do I feel you here. I was in your shoes two years ago, waiting for either myself or my partner to get a job and pick a new apartment. Blecch.)
posted by Madamina at 2:36 PM on April 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: This is what I would do. (I've moved States without a job many times.) When your lease is up, if you have no job in Portland yet, move to OR but not to Portland. Instead, move to the closest place to Portland that is cheap, not trendy, where you can get an apartment without a job, and where temp agencies/retail jobs/etc are not swamped with overqualified people. Then work on moving to Portland. (OK, I lied. If I wanted to move to Portland, I would. But I'm irresponsible, so I'm suggesting something slightly more stable.)

This is assuming your most important goal is to live in Portland. If your goal is to have a job in your field, wherever it is, stay where you are and look for a new apartment at the end of your lease.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 2:44 PM on April 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: pdb- Thanks for further insight into the Portland job market. I was generally unaware of the slowness of of the job market.

Madamina - I have been slowly but surely getting rid of stuff that won't be coming with me. I agree the distraction is beneficial and preparedness is always good.

DestinationUnknown - Your response made me laugh :) Yeah the ultimate goal is to move to Portland. I am mostly content with my current job but have been wanting to move to that area for while.
posted by animerion at 5:38 AM on April 29, 2011


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