Employment out West

[Poser]

This is just me and I’m single with no kids (42), but I hustled for 4 months working extra jobs to save money and just moved to CO. I picked up/lucked into a transitional job teaching college part time for a Year and I worked a second job as well. After a little over a year, I landed a “real” job. If you can find relevant companies in isolated towns that could benefit from your experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to send them cold resumes. Unlike the cities, these places have very limited talent pools and while you will not get a relocation package, they may not pass up the opportunity to hire talent that comes their way. For a frame of reference, there were only 4 potential candidates for the job I have now and the company hired 2 of us even though they only “needed” one because they couldn’t pass on the talent. You’d think that there would be overqualified people fighting for a real job in a place like Durango, but apparently there were only 2 of us. While there aren’t a lot of real jobs, there’s also not much motivated talent.

Think outside the box: pitch yourself to ski resorts and outdoor brands. Look for bigger money companies based out of mountain towns because there are random PR firms and asset management companies based out of these types of towns. There is a very successful payroll company that has offices in 30 western towns including places such as Telluride.

 

[Muleys32]

I guess I'll just keep digging. I didn't mean I needed the exact same salary, would just like to maintain a similar standard of living. Here in Iowa, banking, insurance, and investment firms are all over the place. But it seems like careers in those industries in much of the West are tough to come by unless I'm either living right in a large city or close enough to commute.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Western ND has a ton of opportunity across all fields. Short trip to MT and SD for hunting and awesome mule deer bow hunting in the badlands here. Probably not looking to work in a bank here in in there finance/insurance/lending departments but if you PM me I could point you to a very family oriented bank here that is blowing up and their employees seem phenomenally happy to work there.

 

[Poser]

Not to hijack your thread, but I'm pretty much in the same boat. I've been actively looking for jobs out west but finding something that either doesn't require current residency (I'm looking at you, state of CO) or wouldn't be a significant pay cut even after cost of living changes from Chicago has been difficult. I'm in corporate investigations (due diligence, background investigations, internal investigations, etc.) and unfortunately there don't seem to be a ton of open positions for those jobs that aren't NYC/LA/CHI/SFO/DC.

You could possibly look into city/county jobs with that background. Probably doesn’t pay near as much, but lots of time off and good benefits.

 

[Jimbob]

I can attest to small towns wanting qualified people. I cold called my school here in Smithers, BC and ended getting a full time permanent job. They were like "This guy wants to come and live in Smithers then we need to find a way to hire him". Most people want to be in the southern part of BC so Northern BC has a much harder time finding qualified teachers.

Maybe your dream town is what most people want to avoid, it can work in your favor. It never hurts to make some phone calls.

 

[kingfisher]

I live in Montana. Cost of real-estate is ridiculous right now. $400-500K for houses that in the midwest were going for $180-220K. Americans love their debt, so the market keeps rising.

 

[Bbell12]

I'll be in the same boat in a few years (looking for employment out west), tired of not being able to hunt, fish, or hike and camp. Job opportunities are a dime a dozen where I live in west TX but I'm afraid that won't be the case in most places out west, although I'm hoping that my experience that I gain here will help catapult me into a decent job. Looking at Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jackelope]

I live in western Washington. King county to be exact. The land of Microsoft and amazon and all sorts of other big money tech firms. I make a lot more money here than I ever expected to make and a lot more than I could make living in a lot of the rest of the country but the cost to buy a house is ridiculous. I live in east King county and drive into the city every day for work. My town is about 8k people and it’s nice but here’s an example of the real estate market. We’re in the process of selling our house and buying a new house. Our house is 20 years old and 1460 sq ft on a 7500 sq ft lot and we’ll list for $499k ish. It’ll probably end up in a bidding war and go to $520k. The house were buying is about the same age, 2170 sq ft on another small lot just a few blocks away from our current home. We’re paying $600k. I drive 19 miles one way to work and it takes me 35 minutes to get there and an hour-ish to get home. So real estate is expensive, traffic is bad, the weather is depressing as hell in the winter time. Otherwise it’s a great place to live. Seriously I don’t know why but I love it. Wdfw has screwed up hunting and fishing, accurate, but it’s still better than where I grew up in the northeast part of the country. The money is here for sure, there’s no doubt about that. But you’re going to spend it to live here.

 

[Clarktar]

I live in western Washington. King county to be exact. The land of Microsoft and amazon and all sorts of other big money tech firms. I make a lot more money here than I ever expected to make and a lot more than I could make living in a lot of the rest of the country but the cost to buy a house is ridiculous. I live in east King county and drive into the city every day for work. My town is about 8k people and it’s nice but here’s an example of the real estate market. We’re in the process of selling our house and buying a new house. Our house is 20 years old and 1460 sq ft on a 7500 sq ft lot and we’ll list for $499k ish. It’ll probably end up in a bidding war and go to $520k. The house were buying is about the same age, 2170 sq ft on another small lot just a few blocks away from our current home. We’re paying $600k. I drive 19 miles one way to work and it takes me 35 minutes to get there and an hour-ish to get home. So real estate is expensive, traffic is bad, the weather is depressing as hell in the winter time. Otherwise it’s a great place to live. Seriously I don’t know why but I love it. Wdfw has screwed up hunting and fishing, accurate, but it’s still better than where I grew up in the northeast part of the country. The money is here for sure, there’s no doubt about that. But you’re going to spend it to live here.

Or you can live further away, commute to make the big city money but live where costs are less (190k for a house for example).

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Jackelope]

Or you can live further away, commute to make the big city money but live where costs are less (190k for a house for example).

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Like Cle Elum? Probably an hour and a half drive each way? Only trouble with that for me is I have to be at work every day. I can’t risk pass closures etc. and Bellevue or Seattle to Issaquah stretch of I-90 sucks at rush hour.

 

[Clarktar]

Like Cle Elum? Probably an hour and a half drive each way? Only trouble with that for me is I have to be at work every day. I can’t risk pass closures etc. and Bellevue or Seattle to Issaquah stretch of I-90 sucks at rush hour.

Or quilcene, seabeck, eglon, hansville,

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[AustinL911]

I live in Montana. Cost of real-estate is ridiculous right now. $400-500K for houses that in the midwest were going for $180-220K. Americans love their debt, so the market keeps rising.

This blows my mind. Do people in this country not remember what happened to the market just 10 years ago? I honestly don't know where people get their money these days. They're either maxing out every credit card they can get their hands on, or I'm doing something wrong in life.

 

[semperfidelis97]

Interest rates are still historically low, and wages are increasing. People are having their confidence boosted by a strong economy/jobmarket. I don't think that what is going on is sustainable forever, there will be a correction eventually.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[Trial153]

^^Yea but back the truck up while you can....

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[gabenzeke]

Thanks everybody. The cost of living in certain places is definitely concerning. Here in Iowa, I have a 290k house, and from the looks of it, something similar in some of the smaller towns/cities in WA are going to run 700k. It's bananas. And that makes me nervous owing that much money. It's also expensive in certain places in other parts of the West. But, I have always wanted to live out there. In fact, right out of high school I had visited a guide school in MT and was all set to go but got a promotion at my job and decided to save one more year....and here I am 15 plus years later. So given our kids are so young and my wife is ready to consider it, I'm seriously weighing the options. I did find out this morning my current employer will allow me to telecommute, but my boss told me something to consider is that it's a large company, and if you're not inside their footprint, it makes it easier to be displaced. So I don't know. A lot to think about. Thanks for all the info though.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Poser]

Or you can live further away, commute to make the big city money but live where costs are less (190k for a house for example).

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

But then how much is your time with to you? If you spend 10-15 hours a week commuting, do the math. If you can afford not to spend 10-15 hours a week in your car, rather, spending that time with the family or on hobbies, then that is money well spent. I maintain that you should live as close as you can afford from a financial standpoint because the lifestyle cost is just not worth it.

But then, what do I know? Tens of millions pack themselves in their cars for hours a day to save ~$1500 a month and end up missing life with no complaints. Lifestyle is at a premium.

 

[S.Clancy]

This blows my mind. Do people in this country not remember what happened to the market just 10 years ago? I honestly don't know where people get their money these days. They're either maxing out every credit card they can get their hands on, or I'm doing something wrong in life.

Household debt is at an all time high. Save your money and, god forbid, don't keep up with the Jones's. In my experience, 90%+ of people are absolutely moronic when it comes to money.

 

[Clarktar]

I've always been one who lives close to where I recreate and commute to work. Try commuting out of the city (Seattle) to go to something (camp with family, hiking etc.). Likely that all the time you save from your work commute is now at the expense of paying for it when you want to head out and recreate with the family.

And the math. For my particular situation the difference in pay was around 45,000 a year (that is +45000 a year for taking a job in the city and putting up with a commute). The house we have now away from I5 would likely be around 450k, we paid less than 200k due to the distance from I5. So it's more like 3000-4000 a month as opposed to the 1,500.00 in your example (in wages alone, not taking into account taxes, real estate etc..).

Everyone has their own preference. But the time I spend with my family is much recreating then commuting to go recreate. We are spoiled with miles upon miles of trails only 5 miles from our house (many just 1mile) and alot of coastline and ocean to explore. Perhaps this spoiling makes the idea of commuting for a few hours in traffic to go on a hike unsatisfactory.

But then how much is your time with to you? If you spend 10-15 hours a week commuting, do the math. If you can afford not to spend 10-15 hours a week in your car, rather, spending that time with the family or on hobbies, then that is money well spent. I maintain that you should live as close as you can afford from a financial standpoint because the lifestyle cost is just not worth it.

But then, what do I know? Tens of millions pack themselves in their cars for hours a day to save ~$1500 a month and end up missing life with no complaints. Lifestyle is at a premium.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[IdahoElk]

Paradise ain't cheap!

 

[2ski]

I haven't read any of responses si if I'm repeating anything apologize. Bozeman has tons of new places starting up all the time. Software firms probably looking for someone like you maybe.

Sofi has an office in Helena. That's financial. Big Sky Western bank is traded publicly and is based in NW MT. 1st interstate is billings based. Lots of both those banks around MT. So they are big and you never know if you could find a spot at one of them.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk