All Articles Tagged "relocating"
Bright Lights, Brownstones & Big Dreams: How to Make Your Move to a Big City
By Erica RivaFlowz Buddington
I’ve been there. I’ve walked through my suburban town agitated by it’s smallness and thought, “I need to get the heck up out of here.” Sidney Shaw taunted me with her brownstone in “Brown Sugar” and the depiction of rain and passion mixed in Chicago’s urban terrain had me yearning to get my “Love Jones” on. Tapas bars, jazz clubs, underground hip-hop shows, networking, after work mixers; I knew there was a wanna-be-socialite heaven in one of United States’ big cities waiting for me.
I was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Unfortunately, I wasn’t raised there. I was uprooted at nine for a chance at better schools. My family and I moved to Long Island, NYC’s suburban area. Immersed in small town gossip and quiet, I yearned for the hustle and bustle of the big city.
Two nights ago, I finally moved back. After tenure at a college in silent Virginia and a bout back home with the parental units, I finally have something within New York City to call my own.
While flipping through the blogs of friends of friends, I’ve noticed a common yearning amongst us. It seems I’m not the only one who wants bright lights, skyscrapers and the metro. I witnessed a multitude of womanly words yearning for their day in Atlanta, Houston, L.A., Chi-town and many other resemblances of the big city. So here’s how:
1. You should start saving. Some people have this illusion that the minute you step on the pavement of the big city, fame and fortune will come to you and record labels, publishers or their new corporate job will take care of the rest. Nope, not at all. Create a budget projecting how much you’ll need to spend each month, make each month and save each month. Start off with a savings of about $3,000-5,000; this will help when fending off rental broker fees, hunger pains and tips for overeager food deliverymen.
2. You’ll need a secured gig. This economy is no joke and even if we were still in the Clinton era, you’d still need a job the minute you get here. Unless you have family/friends that are willing to let you sleep on their couch or in the guest bedroom; don’t speed here to start looking for a job the next morning. Even with a start off fund, you’ll need a gig to keep your head above water. Shoot freelance queries to blogs/publications for some extra side money, apply for certification if you’re taking the substitute/teacher route, find internships and/or find something that’ll keep the lights on until you’re discovered.
3. Don’t wait to be discovered. While keeping the lights on, make serious connections. There are plenty of conferences, events, rare bookstores, open mic spots and more in metropolitan areas. Your kind dwells here. Just look for someone with your attire, a Starbucks cup in hand and goals written all over their face. Networking and surrounding yourself with positive ambition oriented persons is the one of the fastest routes to the top.
4. Pick your borough. I have a friend from Iowa who loves Fat Joe and decided, from a few rap lyrics, she was going to move to the Bronx, New York for her big move. The problem is, she works in Queens. Regretfully, she does a 2-4 hour commute back and forth to work everyday. Use Google maps to find the distance from your desired borough, check out the train/car routes to get there and make sure it’s conducive to your agenda. Come visit before you sign any leases or make any promises! Make sure the spot you’ve chosen is right for you.
5. Go get your spot. Ha! Rentals in big cities can go anywhere from $1,500 to a cool hundred grand. I don’t think so. Unless you’ve got some secret trust fund or just won the lotto, I’ve got some other suggestions for you. Search Craigslist or other real estate related websites for sweet deals. You can rent anything, from a $1,500 cute studio, to a $1,200 ground floor of a two-family residence. Make sure you can envision your writing, painting, planning, meditation etc. area before you say, “I’ll take it!”
Calculating the Cost of Relocating
(Wall Street Journal) — Relocating for a job can be a great career move for someone starting out. And with the still-high unemployment rate, more young job seekers are willing to expand the geographic parameters of their searches. According to a survey by consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 9.4% of job seekers relocated for new jobs in the first half of 2011, up from 7.6% a year earlier. But a move to a different city, state or country can be complicated, with many factors to consider — such as what, if anything, a company will pay to help you move, the cost of living when you get there and if you can adapt to the new culture.
Should You Move for A Job?
(Wall Street Journal) — How far would you move for a job? Moving is complex and expensive, but sometimes job survival means workers don’t have much of a choice, especially if you’re unlucky enough to live in an area plagued by unemployment. Take Nevada, for example, which has the highest unemployment rate among the states, reaching 13.6% in February, according toLabor Department numbers. It’s little surprise that the state, which has been hit so hard by foreclosures, remains troubled. At the other end of the joblessness spectrum, North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.7%. That is, the unemployment rate in Nevada was more than three times the rate in North Dakota. Do employment data like these mean that job seekers, or those looking for greater security, should run from Nevada, or head to North Dakota? As with many difficult decisions, experts say the answer is: “It depends.”
It’s Time To Be Up Out! 8 Signs That You’re Ready For A New City
Do you love L.A. or does it make you want to hop on the first “midnight train to Georgia?” Where you live can positivity or negatively effect your career mobility, social options, and finances. Living in the wrong city for your personality and lifestyle can also seriously steal your peace. Now, every person has a different idea of what constitutes a great place to live. While the exciting, fashionable, concrete jungle that is New York City may be a dream for one sista, the insane pace, high rent, and dirty public transit may be hell for another. So how do you know when it’s time to make that move? Here are some tell-tale signs that you’re ready to say, “peace out” to your current digs and try somewhere new.
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D.C. to Baltimore Exodus Slows With Economy
(Baltimore Sun) — Though Baltimore and its suburbs still attract more people from Washington than the number of people who migrate in the other direction, Baltimore has been rapidly losing ground since the economy soured, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Net migration from the Washington metro area to the Baltimore metro area in 2008 was about 5,000 residents, according to the most recent federal figures. That’s half as many as in 2006, before the recession hit and housing prices in both markets began to fall.
