Hi everyone,
So my wife and I have been wanting to get out of New Jersey for a long time now. The harsh winters, high cost of living, and just the feeling of not wanting to live in the same area our entire lives have taken a toll on us and we're ready to move.
We've been looking at Florida for quite awhile, in particular we've been looking into Jacksonville or Orlando. My wife and I both have family in Florida and the cost of living there is insanely cheaper from where I live now.
We have enough money in the bank to last us quite awhile thanks to MMM. The only issue is that I most likely will not have a job when I move down there. I've tried doing the job search from here, but we've both just gotten to the point where we just feel like we're wasting time in NJ. I think I can find employment within a few months, I work in finance, I'm young, with a bachelor's and about 2 years experience under my belt.
I obviously know that salaries will be lower, but running the numbers, I almost wonder why we haven't moved already. I currently make 50k as a contract worker (I accepted the position before I knew how to negotiate, I am much wiser now, I was paid much lower before I negotiated a raise). The median salary for my position in FL is around 45k. I looked on the bestplace.net cost of living comparision, and that's equivalent to over 70k in my area!
Has anyone had experience in situations like this? I know it's a risk, but I feel like it's a short term risk for a long term gain.