Career (non-Disney) Advice Needed

[cloudboy]

I could use some input on this predicament...

A bit over 6 months ago I was laid of from my job doing computer support. The fact of the matter is I had grown to hate computers but liked the environment I was working in (Architecture), but the real hassle for me was that I spent 2 hours or more each way to drive into the city (and had to pay all that parking and ocmmuting expense, too) to do it. When the opportunity for a layoff came up, I took it.

Unfortunately as it turned out I have not been able to find something closer to where I live. And now that I have run out of benefits, I need to find a job to pay my bills. I have a roof over my head, which is a good thing, but it also means I don't have aq real choice to move cloaser to the city, either.

I have two choices which I can see right now. I can go back into the city, and get a job which will pay a little better, but which only be computers, or I can find something out here, which will pay considerably less than I can afford to make right now, but I won't have to put up with the commute. I am going back and forth on this (no, I don't have a direct job lined up in either case) and what path to persue.

What would you do in such a case?

 

[TURKEY]

How much money would you save by staying closer to home and not commuting?

 

[tigsmom]

We have lived thru this. My husband used to commute 1 hour to work closer to NYC (more $). He also had more aggrivation from commuting, wear & tear on the car, tolls, extra $ for gas, etc.
He finally got fed up with it all. He found a job closer to home (about 20 miles away). The pay is less, but its an easier commute, no more tolls, no more fighting to get over the TappanZee Bridge and far less agita.
Your time is worth money so you have to figure that in. Ideally the best time to find a job is when you have one. You're tired of computers? Is there something else you can do? What about going back to school? Why not try to find a temporary job while you figure all this out. Good Luck, whatever you decide. :wave:

 

[cloudboy]

Turkey leg boy:

It would depend alot upon exactly where the job would be - I was working Downtown Boston (on Yahoo the default dot for the city of Boston was right on our building!) and it was costing me close to $8000 a year counting tolls, parking and gas (I had to drive in for schedule reasons). For a short while I was carpooling with someone who worked about a mile and a half west from me, and I dropped him of a half hour before I got my foot in the door at my work place. But I may be able to find something a little bit away from the center and I figure I might spend $5000 a year on that.

Tigsmom: NYC? Yuck! I can't even imagine what he had to go through. Yeah, now that I won't be collecting I dont have to worry about temping's effect on that. I won't get things like health and such, but it may be an option.

Thanks, guys! (and gal!)

 

[speck76]

Move to Florida!

The cost of living is less (so are the paychecks)

No state income tax!

Traffic no worse than any other big city!

It is pretty warm all year!

(best of luck in finding a new job)

 

[tigsmom]

Originally posted by speck76
Move to Florida!

The cost of living is less (so are the paychecks)

We were looking this. Its an almost $30,000/year paycut!

 

[speck76]

No state income tax (adds 5% back onto your salary)

Lower housing costs!

Less commute (time is money)

Closer to Disney World (you can't put a price on happiness)

 

[tigsmom]

Add 0% interest on the mortgage (Fla. Nurses Act), we can get a better house for less money, but Lil'mermaid heads off to college in 2 years and has a sister that will follow. (Lord willing). Just can't afford it right now.
He would go from # 2 on the senority list (on a union job) and thats just too much to give up. We'll have to wait until retirement.

See all the stuff you have to consider when changing jobs? :brick:

 

[barnum42]

Cloudboy – you drove into Boston every day! Explains how long the commute took and I know the shock of parking prices (My sister currently lives south of Boston, so I have had many vacations there).

I guess quality of life is worth looking at here. When all the money is worked out – how much you save on the commute by working close to home offset by how much less you will earn; decide if having $x less per year is worth not spending all those hours trapped in a car every day. Think of the extra leisure time.

 

[barnum42]

Originally posted by speck76
Move to Florida!

The cost of living is less (so are the paychecks)

No state income tax!

Traffic no worse than any other big city!

It is pretty warm all year!

(best of luck in finding a new job)

Good plan - but being English they would not let me in, other than as a tourist. (Years ago I looked at getting a job at WDW in Entertainment. They said I could only work there if I was able to sort out my own Green Card, something which they said I had no chance of doing).

 

[cloudboy]

Traffic no worse than any other big city!

I'm sorry, but Florida does not have "traffic". They have lights that may be too long, and you may spend a lot of time waiting at them, but you don't have bumper to bumber cabs trying to fight their way one way across the intersection while the tracotr-trailer is trying to make it's way in the other, all while trying to avoid the pedestrians.

I don't think I would ever be able to take the heat or the lack of community down there. That is one nice thing about Boston - when you were able to get out it was a nice place to walk around.

 

[speck76]

I really does not get hotter here than in the northern areas, it is just hot for longer. Growning up in Michigan, we had our share of hot/humid days, but after those three weeks, the weather was nice.

Also, FL is desgined for hot weather....every place has good A/C, which is not always the case in northern areas..

Another plus, no shoveling, icy roads, or warming up your car

(traffic is not that bad here....not as bad as many big cities...a lot of ppl make a big deal about the traffic...probably because they were here 30 years ago when Orlando was just a small city)