Examining the pros and cons of moving for a new job opportunity can be quite complex. There are many factors, both practical and personal, to be considered. And unless you do your homework before making the final decision, you could get an unpleasant surprise – OR, you could miss out on a wonderful opportunity to advance your career and improve your way of life!
Moving across the country for your job can often be a great decision to make, but first, here are some matters you’ll need to sort through and research:
1. Practical Matters
You need to find out if your salary and work-based benefits would increase after making the move. Will you get a promotion and a raise? Are the costs of living higher or lower where you’re going compared to where you are now? What about housing costs? And how easy/fast will it be to sell your current home and buy and move into a new one that fits your needs?
And of course, you have to consider your moving expenses. Will your company cover at least a part of the cost of the relocation? (If not, will the move be cheap enough or will it be beneficial enough that that’s not an issue?) Many say that you need a 10% to 20% or more raise to justify making a long-distance move for work; but of course, this varies from offer to offer.
Note that you can normally deduct work-related moving expenses from your taxes, so long as you moved far enough – anything a hundred or more miles from your current home residence could well qualify, depending on the distance/direction of your drive to/from work.
2. Personal Matters
There is, however, a second set of factors determining your decision to move, which are more personal in nature. For example, you’ll want to know if the area has a good school system (if you have school-age kids) or if you can afford a local private school.
You’ll also want to explore the local social scene. What kind of amenities are available? Where will you shop, eat out, and recreate? Where will you go to church or synagogue? What about the local medical facilities? And, will it be easy to make new friends for you and your kids?
Also consider how your spouse, if you have one, feels about the move. Will he/she be able to find new work as well? And will he/she be happy in the new environment?
3. How Long Do You Plan to Stay?
You also need to seriously think about whether you conceive of the move to be more or less permanent or if you’ll only live in the new area for a few years. That may determine whether you rent or buy your new home – and that will affect your costs of living and the neighborhood and neighbors that will become your own.
4. Is This a Path to Future Advancement?
Besides weighing the immediate benefits of the new position and location, you should seriously map out your potential path forward in the years ahead.
Often, your first promotion and relocation will put you on course for additional ones. That would affect your ultimate standard of living at the new location and make a move worthwhile even if you have to struggle a little at first.
Plus, if future promotions also entail new relocations, the prospect of advancement will also affect whether you choose to rent or buy.
5. Don’t Forget About Your Car
One thing often overlooked by those who relocate long-distance or out-of-state is how it will affect their vehicle. First, there are registration and taxation issues. But also, you may want to have your car shipped by a professional car-shipping company, so you can fly (and skip a cross-country drive over unfamiliar territory) and still have the use of your car as soon as you arrive.
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