would moving save me money/worth it

[brwonsugal]

Good afternoon fellow canucks!

I have a serious dilemma. I have been unemployed for the past year (a year and a half in april) and have been supported by my fiancee. I'm not a homemaker or anything since we are young and have no children. For some reason I can't seem to find employment.

As a solution, I was thinking of moving to a different area of the province (ontario) for me to find work. I dont have a career, so it would pretty much be whoever would have me. My finacee doesn't have a career either and works night shift in a job he HATES.

I've seen houses in some areas for as low as $60 000 and thats something affordable on two incomes. At least it seems so to me.

So here are my questions.

1. Do you think it is a good idea for us to basically pack up and move to another area in hopes of finding a job?

2. Should we move into a more affordable home ($60 000) to start our family

3. Do you think moving will be better for me to find employment?


All of you opinions will be appreciated. Please don't feel the need to be sensitive or nice. TOUGH LOVE!

[MortgageQueen]

It's interesting you bring this up. . .just yesterday on CBC, they were saying the YUKON is desperate for people. The only thing they don't need are teachers and loggers.
As you are young with no family, this could be a Golden opportunity. They alluded to the fact that there might be assistance with education opportunities as well! If neither you or your fiancee have a career, this could be perfect. Take a few years. . get a career/education (and an adventure!) then come back and start your family from a solid position.
Starting a family in your situation, I would never recommend. You're basically starting out handicapped. Raising children is both wonderful but stressful too. Better to have some economic stability in order to focus on your kids like they deserve.
Why don't you go on line and check it out at least? Let us know if you find anything interesting. .

[brwonsugal]

In terms of , start my familly I meant getting married NOT children! thanks. Thats something we will look into

[matrix82]

maybe if you say what kind of work you do, then an SC person may know of a job in the area. Moving may be your best bet. I know I am contemplating moving, as my husband cannot find suitable work. It took him 7 months to get a call center job (and that was with applying for everywhere). I have a good job, but there are many openings in my field across the country.

What about moving to calgary, there is lots of work there in many different fields. The cost of living is higher but so are the wages.

[ashedfc]

It's interesting you bring this up. . .just yesterday on CBC, they were saying the YUKON is desperate for people. The only thing they don't need are teachers and loggers.
As you are young with no family, this could be a Golden opportunity. They alluded to the fact that there might be assistance with education opportunities as well! If neither you or your fiancee have a career, this could be perfect. Take a few years. . get a career/education (and an adventure!) then come back and start your family from a solid position.
Starting a family in your situation, I would never recommend. You're basically starting out handicapped. Raising children is both wonderful but stressful too. Better to have some economic stability in order to focus on your kids like they deserve.
Why don't you go on line and check it out at least? Let us know if you find anything interesting. .

The reverse is also true sometimes.... that, By the time people get some economic stability, it can be too late to start a family. So, one should always keep time on the horizon..
As far as economic stability, any job is as stable as water (unless its unionized & govt jobs which are hard to get anyways).

[super807]

I would caution you about moving to a community with low housing costs if you have no job there. Many of the communities with low housing prices also have very little employment opportunities. And the rest of the cost of living (like food, gas, electricity, etc.) is sometimes quite high. My dh and I lived in a small town in NW Ontario for a few years because I got a fabulous job there, and he ended up on EI for the first time in his life because he couldn't find work. In the 3 years we lived there, he worked a job at half time for a year and he had a couple of 3-4 month contracts. Financially we were fine because of my job, but it was really hard on him to not be working. So don't assume that by going where housing costs are lower all the rest will be fixed.

That said, it may be worth considering relocating if you can find a job somewhere else. I don't know where you live, and the cost of living is quite variable across Ontario, so you really want to look into things before choosing to move. Also, many smaller communities, if they are isolated, don't have all the ameneties you might be taking for granted where you are.

As for the Yukon, yes, they need workers, but the cost of living in the North is really high. Housing, food, gas, everything. I've worked with a number of people who have lived in the North (all 3 territories) and it's quite different than life for us here in Southern Canada.

[brwonsugal]

I don't do any " kind" of work/ I don't have a career and so basically customer service, fast food, light warehouse etc. I live in the GTA (Greater toronto area) Some good points were brought up.
Still not sure what to do

[marstec]

Were you actively looking for a job over the past year, or had you given up? I wonder if it wouldn't be best for you and perhaps your fiance to see about some training or other educational opportunity? I know getting a degree or diploma doesn't guarantee anything, but it may help open some doors.

Also check about improving your resume and interview skills, you need to have confidence and motivation in order to get that job. Best of luck to you.

[Minou]

Things seem to be pretty good in Winnipeg! I don't think you'll find a $60,000 house, though.

Consider that buying/selling homes and moving are also expensive. There are a lot more expenses than you might expect.

[couponandoff]

GO FOR IT! This sounds like an ideal time in your life to test the waters in others communities or even provinces. I suggest both you and your fiance job search online & apply for any jobs if the community appeals to you. Once awarded a job(s) & living accomodations are found you can start working the job that brought you to the community and start applying for even better opportunities once settled. Small towns often have community colleges that offer 1 year diploma programs for Carpentry Framing, Early Childhood Education, Chefs training, Office Manager, Human Service Worker, Nursing Support or even first year towards a degree! Many of these programs can be taken part time while you work. If you move to an isolated northern community after you've completed your training, some provincial govts will forgive a great deal of $ left owing on your student loan and pay you a northern isolation living allowance. Extra money made up north can be banked for a down payment on a home in the next community you move to. Armed with new experience and perhaps education you'll have increased work opportunities, a financial foundation for family plans and a wider scope of communities to choose from. You're asking all the right questions - It seem to me your adventure has already begun! Fly! Best wishes

[Diane de Poitiers]

If you can't find any type of employment in the GTA, moving to an area with a much smaller job market seems really iffy.

[matrix82]

What about commuting into TO for work? Would that be possible, using the go train system, since you are in the GTA? How far have you been looking for work? Just in your town or have you widened the search?

Have you tried employment counseling through your local unemployment office? Just to make sure that your resume and coverletter are up to par.

The area I live in has a 22+ percent unemployment rate, and most of the jobs here you need to be bilingual for. So it's been tough.

What about some of the work from home call centers? They always seem to be hiring, like minacs and convergy's? Have you contacted your local government official to see if they know of any jobs available?

Are you healthy? What about starting up your own business in the meantime, like snow shoveling, house cleaning etc? It wouldn't allow you to make a ton of money but it would at least give a couple bucks in your pocket and have something to put on your resume. Check out kijji for job listings etc.

Before you move, you would want to have a job. You could stay at a hostel for a while before you got your own place. I would honestly just look at the unemployment rate for an area before you move, and take a look at the jobbank.gc.ca site for the area to see what kind of jobs are available.

Good luck.

[matrix82]

If you can't find any type of employment in the GTA, moving to an area with a much smaller job market seems really iffy.

I was thinking how much I would love to live in the GTA right now, there are hundreds if not thousands of jobs there. My husband could find good work there. Instead we are in a small community with a 22+% unemployment rate, and english in a bilingual/french area. The GTA would be so much easier for us at least.

[ashedfc]

Following things you can do:
1. Contact employment agencies directly, as most of the jobs are routed through employment agencies. Don't be choosy, pick up a job whatever is available, atleast it will provide you with a decent source of income. even the minimum wage is $10.25/hr
2. Blast your resume online to where-ever you feel comfortable, there are several job search sites.
3. Redesign your resume to make the content relevant to the position you are looking for.. These are just mere re-wording of your resume, & if you can take key-words from the job position (specific to each job), than, your chances of picking your resume is much higher.
4. keep yourself busy (just do something), volunteer or part-time consulting, whatever, it helps in the continuity of your profile in our resume.
5. Take up a course (of your interest) in a community college, this will make your profile a bit stronger & will help professionally..
6. GTA has the highest number of jobs & reasonable cost of living. Chances of succeeding here is much higher than a place where there are very few jobs..

Do some temporary work .. or work for a charity organization, just to keep busy. Idle mind is another problem area, you don't want to put yourself into.

I personally suggest...... to do some course, so you can prepare yourself for future & this world is changing very fast. Jobs which were in demand couple of years back may become obsolete in the future; so you have to prepare for the future (not the past). So look forward & plan..

[MortgageQueen]

In line with the job thread so far. . if you want to really know where the future is. . .geriatrics. Unless we have some kind of plague that kills off older people, we are going to be inundated with seniors.
Anything in health field (nutritionist,physiotherapy,supportworker,nurse, RNA, Denturist or even business management for all those retirement homes that will have to be put in place. . . .