Should You Relocate For A Job?

Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

You’ve been offered a job - but it requires you to move to another city or state. Should you take the job or not? There’s no easy answer to this question and it can depend a lot on the job in question and your current circumstances. Here are just a few of the biggest considerations that could help you to decide whether you should relocate for a job.

Make sure it’s definitely the perfect job

Firstly, you need to consider the job itself. Is it really worth uprooting your life for? Or are you not really that passionate about it? If the latter is true, you may not want to relocate across the country for a job that may not be for you.

The salary is a big factor to consider. Ideally, you want to be earning the same amount of money or more than you are now in order to justify relocating. A drop in income could mean a drop in quality of living (although,cost of living is an important factor to consider – which is covered later).

You also need to be excited about the role and the duties that it will hold. You may have a few nerves if some of the duties seem unfamiliar, but ultimately you should be raring for the challenge.

Finally, you should research into the company, the team and the workplace. If you can, talk to people there and take a guided tour (you could travel there in person or you could organize a virtual tour). Read reviews online left by former employees to check that it’s a good company to work for. It’s possible you may be moving to a branch within the same company, but even so the running of this branch could be very different and is worth delving into.

Research into the location

Next, you need to consider the location you will be moving to. Make sure that there are neighbourhoods local to your workplace that are suitable for you and your family to live.

There should be enough things to do in the area and a good range of local facilities such as stores and transport links. It’s important that there are also schools in the area that are suitable for your kids – this is something you’ll likely want to do a lot of research into and it could involve touring schools in person.

The local people also need to be friendly. Factors such as the crime rate are worth looking into. Also try checking out community social media pages and local news websites to see what’s going on. You could even try visiting the area and talking to locals in person.

The climate and terrain could also be an important factor. What are the temperatures like in summer and winter? Are there any threats of natural disasters such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes or sinkholes? Is there any natural beauty on your doorstep that could be worth moving for such as the sea, lakes or mountains? All of this could be worth looking into.

Compare living costs

The cost of living is another important factor to consider. While your new job may come with a bigger salary, this could all be for nothing if the local cost of living is much higher.

Property prices are the most important cost worth comparing. Many major cities are renowned for having very expensive property prices – both to buy and rent. Make sure that you’re earning enough to cover these costs.

Groceries and other day-to-day items could also be cheaper or more expensive depending on the area. For instance, a pint of milk can cost twice as much in New York as it does in Texas.

There could also be driving costs to consider. Auto insurance can sometimes be higher if you live in a certain area due to a greater rate of accidents of theft. You may even need to use your car more in a certain location, which could mean more money in fuel or even more money spent in road tolls. Alternatively, some locations may not require you to drive as much, saving you money.

View some of the local properties

It’s worth looking at the types of properties that are available in the area that you plan to move to. What you get for your money in your current hometown could be very different in another city or state – there could be less space and no backyard. You need to be sure that this is suitable for you and your family.

When it comes to viewings of properties, you can either view these properties in person or plan a virtual viewing with a local realtor via video call. Try to view a selection so that you can get a more thorough idea what homes are like in your new location.

Talk to your family

If you’re planning on taking your family with you, you’ll need to certain that it’s what they want too. Uprooting your family could have lots of consequences – your kids will have to find a new school, your partner may have to get a new job and everyone will have to make new friends. Your family may not want to make all these changes and it could interfere with their own individual goals.

If you haven’t already discussed relocating in the past, you could find that family members are firmly reluctant to move. Try to convince them to do some research with you so that they can thoroughly consider the possibility of relocating before coming to a decision. View properties together, look up facts about the location and talk about the move. List all the pros and cons and when you feel you have an idea of the full picture, cast a vote. Ideally, it should be a unanimous decision by you and all your family members to relocate.

Young kids are usually able to adjust to relocating quite easily and many not need to be consulted on what they want. However, kids over the age of 7 are likely to be impacted by the change and should be involved when deciding whether to move. When it comes to teenagers, you should be particularly careful of uprooting them without their full backing and you should also consider the impact it could have on their education.

Work out how you will move

Relocating to a new area takes a bit more planning than simply moving a few blocks down. You may have to hire a long distance moving company to help handle the move. There may even be specialized moving services required for vehicle transport or for fragile items. This will all cost you extra money that you will need to find the funds for.

Moving could get particularly complex and expensive if you to ship or fly over possessions (for instance, if you’re moving to Hawaii). Planning to buy items like furniture when you reach your new home could be more sensible in some cases.  

Remember, you can turn back

Uprooting your entire life doesn’t have to be a permanent decision. If it turns out that you and your family aren’t enjoying yourself, you may be able to quit your job and move back.

Of course, you may find that you settle comfortably into your new life and don’t ever want to return. Sometimes you never know unless you take the plunge.