Anyone ever moved states/countries without a firm job offer?

[catmustache]

If so, how did it work out? Was it worth it? How do you do it mustachianly? Resources or tips?

[2527]

I did in 2007. I had finished my 21 year Air Force career, retired, and moved back to my home town in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  Frankly, I would say it was difficult. 

Socially, to new people we met, we looked like weird people who move there unemployed.  Employers had trouble related to me and my experiences.  Because I bought the house, and then found the job, I ended up living 30 miles from the job.  Because I had trouble estimating my income, I had trouble picking the size of house to buy.

If possible, get a job, then move.  If not, rent, get a job, then buy a house.

If you are confident you can find the job you are looking for, you have less to worry about.

[Rural]

I'll second the "rent first." It also helps tremendously if you can arrange to have a spouse who has a firm job in the new place before the move. Failing that, save a lot and rent for a little. If you can get together an online side gig, even if it only brings in a little bit, it can help to extend your savings and buy you a lot more time.

[lauren_knows]

Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but in 2004, after a year of waiting tables after college graduation, I moved to the Washington DC area to be closer to my college girlfriend. I had 1 months rent saved, thats it. Got a job waiting tables, and finally after 4 months found a "real" job.  I've been married to that same woman for 6 years and we have 1 kid :)

Renting without an actual income is hard.  You'll have to probably get some sort of co-signer.

[impaire]

Countries: I almost did... I wanted to give a shot to living in the US, so I got myself hired by an international company (in my home country) and requested a transfer after 18 months. I was told that I had to wait at least two more years, so I decided to just go to the US on a tourist visa and see if I could find a job there (a long shot, but I could afford it).

However, when they realized I was ready to resign, my company gave me the transfer I wanted instead. Apparently they were queen on keeping me then. A good thing too, as US work visa are hard to get for the type of work I did.

Was it worth it? Totally. I did it in a fairly mustachian way by selling everything I owned that did not fit into a regular baggage allowance before boarding my plane, rooming with other people at first, and afterwards only re-purchasing things when not owning them became a nuisance. For lodgings: I knew someone on a co-renting situation, and I took over his spot upon arrival. That had been planned long before I had a job.

States: did move without a job from the East coast to the Midwest. It was hard at first, as I couldn't immediately find a job, and had a difficult time meeting people or relating to them. Cost money upfront, but had that saved. I started volunteering, worked from home on building my own freelance business, and asked local people in my profession for informational interviews. Took about 9-12 months to get settled, but then it was a good life. Not a life for me, but I got some opportunities I would never had had anywhere else, so it was worth it.

Resources or tips would really depend on wherefrom/whereto you want to move, and what exactly you'd like tips about...

[Daleth]

If so, how did it work out? Was it worth it? How do you do it mustachianly? Resources or tips?

A bit over 15 years ago I moved to France without a job. Had just graduated, so I was eligible for a work permit program that's open to students and recent students. I went to Paris, sublet an apartment within a week and got work as an English teacher within two weeks (there's a booming market there for language teachers because all employers have to set aside some tiny percentage of payroll to fund continuing education for all employees, and a lot of employees choose language classes). I had a master's in English, that's what sold them, but a TESOL certificate + undergrad degree would've worked just as well. So, within 2 weeks I was earning just shy of $20/hour plus health insurance, paid vacation and a free transit card (the employer paid for my monthly metro pass).

So yeah, it can be totally doable, depending on the country, the job you want, etc. I spoke fluent French and was pretty familiar with Paris so I knew how to dress, how to format my resume, where to look or not look for apartments, yada yada.

It was beyond worth it. Great memories. And mustachian because all I took with me was what I could carry--suitcase, carry-on and purse--and I found a cheap sublet near a cheap grocery store.

[expatartist]

We've done the DIY route a few times to several countries - most recently to where we live now (Beijing) - and early on (in our late 20s/early 30s) it was enjoyable and really worth it. Like posters above, we did it with just our luggage and a degree/certificates/local contacts, and were ready for anything.

It was frugal, and left loads of options open, if not exactly mustachian - it's nearly always better financially to be transferred/hired internationally rather than be a local hire. For example, my current colleagues earn nearly double what I do if you include perks like free housing, plane tickets home, etc.

This was probably our last DIY move. We're older now, we like our furniture and STUFF and the security of definitive contracts. [Also I think we're a bit wiped out by the constant moving and want to put down something like roots.] I think it depends a lot on what you want to do with your past and future. Having done this in the past has given us a lot of confidence to navigate between cultures and currencies, and I believe more exposure to the local way of life than many more 'expat-ty' methods.

[catmustache]

Thanks! This is quite helpful.

My husband and I both work for our state making about 30k a year with a J.D. and a B.S. respectively, so there's not a real possibility of transfer or growth in our current jobs. My job is on a year-to-year contract that runs out in 4 months.

We're thinking of moving to a less rural area/over-saturated state with comparable COL when my contract runs out and have researched some of growing areas in the U.S. (Tennessee, North Carolina, etc.), hoping that we can make at least make equivalent salaries waiting tables or temping and eventually more in our fields. We've never really been to any of those places, but we've been considering the "sell your stuff, rent out the house, rent a place" route, but I don't know if that's unrealistic without having been to one of those cities at least once.

[Albert]

I moved back from US to Europe 4 years ago without a job offer albeit with an interview in my current company already arranged. I wasn't particularly worried, though. If that option hadn't gone through finding a job in my home country (Eastern Europe) would have been trivial. Of course money would have been much less and early retirement unlikely, but it still would have been more than adequate for local conditions.

[MoneyCat]

No.  I made sure I had a firm job placement before I moved.  Otherwise, you are really setting yourself up for trouble (unless you have a lot of money in the bank and can potentially spend a year or two looking for work.)

[annann]

I think it makes a lot of difference where it is you are going.  I moved from Florida to DC with one suitcase and $100.  I stayed at the YWCA and immediately found temporary work.  It all went extremely well.  But DC is an easy town to find temp work and employers are comfortable with new folks in town as it is a very transient area. 

In contrast, I tried to move from Florida to a small town in Georgia and could not find any type of work anywhere.  You had to be locally connected to do anything.  I didn't stay around trying for long and my decision to leave was the right one for me.

Also I was single with no children and could always return to Florida if necessary.

[canga]

I know of a medical professional that received a job offer in Hong Kong, but did not receive confirmation of their working visa.  After quitting their job, moving and renting an apartment, the working visa application was promptly rejected.  Make sure you have your visa sorted out before you move to a foreign country.

[Bakari]

That question made me laugh.

I've never tried to get a firm job offer before doing anything.  I just do stuff (like quitting a job I'm bored with, moving somewhere new, enrolling in school, or buying something expensive), and assume that everything will work out in the end.
So far, it always has!

I guess this is why I am so behind the curve in FI!
 :P

[EmEmEm]

Yup. We won green cards (aka Immigrant Diversity Visa) and moved to the US in 2008 with my hubby and no job offers (and not even sure if my experience would translate to the US market or if I'd have to work fastfood or similar).  Saved like anything for the year before we left (and had always lived pretty well within our means anyhow). Sold a few things that were worth any money, stored the rest in the inlaw's basement just in case it didn't work out & we had to move back to New Zealand. Stayed with friends for a month or so while we bought a used car (with cash, as we had no credit history), got our social security docs sorted, etc. Travelled around the states for another couple of months before finally ending up in CA where hubby had been talking to a company about a job as we travelled (didn't receive an actual job offer until we arrived in CA). Stayed in a cheap motel for a week while we found a place to rent. Ended up renting a slightly higher end apartment as it was a 5 min walk from his office, and we didn't know how far I would have to commute if/when I found a job. Outfitted the entire apartment fairly luxuriously from Ikea for around $3000 (craigslist would have been cheaper, but we weren't trying to do things super cheap). I only applied for local jobs as I didn't want a commute, managed to get one (and in my field) about a 30 minute light-rail ride away (or 10 minutes if I'd driven). Shared 1 car for the next 4 years, despite having 2 kids within that period (just upgraded to be a 2 car family this year, but mainly cos hubby changed jobs & has to have newer car for work and our other one isn't worth anything to sell).
The key is having a good stash saved up so you can do it without the stress of "having" to find a job straight away.

[EK]

After college my then-boyfriend (now husband) packed up and moved to NYC together, sight unseen.  We spent the summer after college living with family and saving up as much as we could.

We weren't mustachians at the time (and arguably aren't even true mustachians now either), but the way we got around the how-to-rent-an-apartment-with-no-job issue was to convince the landlord to give us a 6 month lease that we paid in full up front.  It was mutually beneficial- he got a nice lump of money, and we had a place to live while looking for work that we wouldn't be locked into long-term in case we didn't find jobs that paid enough for us to afford to live there. (We did, and we stayed.). We lived on rice & beans and ramen until we got jobs.  Furniture came from Craisglist.  We started with 2 living room chairs and a mattress on the floor.

It was a most excellent adventure, and I don't regret having done it at all.  Actually I think moving to a new place with nothing but a few dollars and having to figure it out as we went was the biggest and best learning experience of my whole life.  Right now we're trying to be more responsible, but I can't wait to sell everything and move again.  That's my official retirement plan, in fact!

I grew up in Raleigh, NC if that's on your list (you mentioned NC).  It's nice.  I describe it as a suburb of nothing, but I say that with affection.  Good place to raise kids if that's something you want to do.  You would definitely need a car- it's very spread out.  I'd say chances of finding stop-gap kind of work while you look for jobs in your field is probably good.  I was always able to get seasonal or temp work.

[Caoineag]

Moved states. Went to college in my home state (MI) knowing that jobs were scarce there so would be moving after graduation in 2005. We (DH and I) left for Colorado the day after graduation. Had already rented a place to move to in advance, landlord gave me a 6 month lease and only required a 1 month deposit and they knew we were moving without jobs lined up. Sold anything that would cost money and kept the expenses down. I had a paying job within 2 days of moving that helped pay the bills until one of us ended up with a professional job (2 months for him). I kept the job for 6 months until I found another (more professional) position I was interested in.

The key was we were both flexible about initial employment and we kept our initial expenses low.  We had run up debt but once we both had solid positions, we sat down and made a plan to deal with it.

Initially we had thought we would do this every couple of years but we liked Colorado so much that we haven't thought of moving since. Both of us have career fields that can be had most anywhere so we have kept our options open in that regard.

Funny thing though, we got a lot of respect from people when they realized we had moved without a safety net, halfway across the country, lol.

[adesertsky]

When I was 23 I moved from So Cal (where I'd spent my whole life) to Chicago with a couple friends.  I had friends there to stay with initially and had saved $5K which helped make it easier.  Before leaving I sold most stuff I owned- almost everything I had fit in the trunk of my car and I just had a few other boxes shipped.

For the life of me, I do not know how we got an apartment (and a nice one, at that) since we were all unemployed.  I can only think it is because we had savings, good credit scores, and histories of employment.

I got a job after only 2 months and, 9 years later, I still work at that company.  That was back when jobs were much easier to come by.  I have no regrets in doing it- I love the Midwest and enjoy my life here.

That being said, I look forward to picking up and going somewhere new someday when I retire.  Life is short and, although I'm a homebody, I would like to experience living in another place.