I'd like to hear from any of you who have had success in relocating to a new area. I've never lived more than 30 minutes away from my childhood home, and I'm really wanting a change in scenery and a new start. There's a somewhat large-ish city a couple hours away from me that seems like a cool place to live, and I feel like now is a good time in my life to give it a shot.
But how do you go about finding an apartment and a new job in an area you don't live in? The cost of living is unfamiliar, I don't have any friends or family out there, and it just seems kind of overwhelming. I have decent work experience in fields like tech support, customer service, and administrative roles, so I don't think I'd have too hard of a time finding a job. But how do you send in applications knowing it'll be some time before you'll have a place to live in the area? Likewise, how do you find a place to live without knowing how much money you'll be making if you don't have a job yet?
I have decent work experience in fields like tech support, customer service, and administrative roles,
Any chance you can start getting interviews or checking in with headhunters in that area? There's a chance that the interviewer will have some info on housing, cost of living, long distance moving companies, etc.
In this economy you will be hired almost immediately. If you really want to move, you'll need to start the process ASAP.
Packing is a pain in the ass, pack everything you need to move before you start sending applications. Have enough money for two week's living in a hotel or AirBnB so you can immediately move there when hired. Don't use U-Haul unless you or someone else knows how to drive large trucks imho. The POD system where you throw stuff in a cargo container they pick up works awesome for small apartments.
Meeting new people:
Meetup.com is a good place to look at if you vibe with the city and what kind of people live there.
Take a class at night at your local community college. Cheap way to meet new adults in your area.
