No matter how good or bad the economy gets, switching jobs is a career constant for many professionals. Amidst all this movement, relocation hangs in the background as an option to consider if the right opportunity comes along. Moving is not an insignificant ordeal. On top of the logistics of physically moving all your belongings from one space to another, lives must be uprooted, relationships must be redefined or left behind to fade away and new connections must be made in an unfamiliar city. All this is a roundabout way to point out that it is not easy to decide that moving for that perfect job is the right decision for you. Here are a few things to consider when weighing your options.
Cost of Living
The amount it costs to achieve a particular lifestyle can vary wildly from city to city. Housing, taxes and transportation costs are just a few of the many variables to take into consideration when trying to determine if this job offer puts you in a better, worse or unchanged financial position in the new city. Understanding the salary amount you need to keep your current standard of living, or reach your desired level, is vital to figuring out if it’s worth it to pull the trigger on an offer.
Family Concerns
Single professionals don’t have to worry about how moving will affect anyone but themselves. However, that large segment of the working population that has a family must take the feelings and well-being of everyone in their household into account when contemplating a move. How will this affect your partner’s career? If you have any, how will your children adapt to new surroundings and a different school? These are just a few of the questions you will need to work through in your decision-making, but the bottom line is that you will need to determine whether the move will be advantageous or detrimental for your family.
The New Job
Blinded by the excitement of advancing their career, many often neglect to consider the specifics of their new position as well as whether they’ll even like the new city. Is this job a stepping stone to something better or a potential dead end? Will you fit into the office culture? Is the economy booming with jobs for recent grads, or is the workforce stagnant and aging? Outside of salary and benefits, people can forget to look at the overall quality of the opportunity and really think about if this is the career path they want to follow. And this shortsightedness extends to their happiness living in the new location. You know yourself well enough to guess if you will like the new city and enjoy experiencing its culture and people. If not, you won’t be happy and at some point you will begin looking to move again.
Getting a new job offer is exciting, and a good sign that your career is taking off as planned. That said, if you find yourself faced with the prospect of moving, try to take a step back and look at the big picture. Will your family be struggling to cope with uprooting their lives while you prepare for a new job? Can you afford to live the way you want to in the new city? Where will this new job take your career trajectory? Whatever the questions that apply to your situation, make sure you ask and answer all of them before accepting any offers.
