Finally moved

[centaur1]

Was born and raised in Southern Illinois, but once I got my license, I was always driving to these bigger cities in the tri state area. Evansville. Paducah, Cape Girardeau, and especially St Louis. I always loved and felt a unique connection to St Louis. So much more here to see, do, experience, and “earn”.

Finally received a good accounting job offer (after several months of searching) in st Louis, so we put our house the market, and are now living in nice St. Louis rental apt until the house sells

The wife and I are so glad we finally pulled the trigger and made the move. Illinois is apparently having many leave the state here recently, but I have been wanting to make the move for personal reasons for literally decades. Finally here and start my new job shortly and and out life has started a new chapter

For anyone who has been wanting to relocate to better yourself, and live a fuller life..... I suggest DO IT. Life is too short to stay confined in your comfort zone, at the cost of more opportunity and a higher quality a life that may be elsewhere.

[bucketfoot-al]

You ain't kidding. Congratulations!!!

[Heavy Metal Spike]

Congrats to you and yours Blake.

A move like that can result in a huge amount of stress, but (based on personal experience) is well worth it.

Although I still miss the UK, our reasons for moving to Canada 19 years ago are still valid (2 of those reasons are now in their late teens / early twenties )

Hope you settle in quickly, and get to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

Ian/Spike.

.

[Zeiram]

Congrats! We’re in the middle (literally) of a move from Los Angeles to Florida that I hope will improve our quality of life significantly. Changing careers too. Should be fun.

[Misellus]

Good for you (and Zeiram). I'm almost there.

I'm in the pre-move stage of decluttering and house repairs with the intent to sell my house next year and move to either western virginia or northern tennessee. I've lived in this house for 40 years (bought it from my parents when they decided to retire and move). There's a huge amount of crap to go through. Every week my goal is to fill up the trash and recycling bins so they can go out on tuesday. Every week my world becomes a little less cluttered. If I paid for a dumpster I could get done a lot quicker, but my schedule is somewhat fixed and don't need to be done until next year anyway.

My plan is to get rid of as much as possible, sell the house, quit my job, move my stuff into a storage unit until I can buy a new house for roughly the same amount (or cheaper). I own the house outright and am willing to downsize into something smaller if it means no mortgage.

I won't have a job waiting for me...it's just me, and I don't need much, I won't have any bills other than utilities and food. I'm willing to work fast food to get it. I hate my job and don't want to continue doing it. I've been here for 22 years and in the field for 28...I'm done.

I'll be 50 next year, this isn't quite retirement, but I'm ready to move on to something else. A year ago I was contemplating van life

m-

[scuzzfink85]

Congrats to you and yours Blake.

A move like that can result in a huge amount of stress, but (based on personal experience) is well worth it.

Although I still miss the UK, our reasons for moving to Canada 19 years ago are still valid (2 of those reasons are now in their late teens / early twenties )

Hope you settle in quickly, and get to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

Ian/Spike.

.

We all know your on interpoles top 10 list
Spike.. no extradition in Canada

[tay666]

To all that have moved, congrats.
To all planning on moving, good luck.

I'm in the pre-move stage of decluttering and house repairs with the intent to sell my house next year and move to either western virginia or northern tennessee.

My father-in-law moved down to Tennessee and loves it. No more winter to deal with, but still not horribly hot all the time. He also loves gardening and mowing grass, so he is tickled that he gets to do that almost year round now.

As far as decluttering, don't forget about Goodwill, or any other local charitable 2nd hand stores.
(our local hospital has a thrift store, they resell the donations and use the money to help low income people with their meds and such)
Also if you have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area they accept donations as well.

[Zeiram]

I won't have a job waiting for me...it's just me, and I don't need much, I won't have any bills other than utilities and food. I'm willing to work fast food to get it. I hate my job and don't want to continue doing it. I've been here for 22 years and in the field for 28...I'm done.

I'll be 50 next year, this isn't quite retirement, but I'm ready to move on to something else. A year ago I was contemplating van life

I hear ya! I don't have a job right now either, but I do have an interview Thursday for something completely different from what I've spent (wasted) my life doing. We won't have a mortgage payment anymore either. Hoping to slow down, and do things that make me happier - like sculpting and casting.

- larry

[bucketfoot-al]

Having moved from Europe to the USA (as a kid), then all over the USA for school/USAF assignments, etc, I am kind of weary of moving. Been in CA the past 17 years (but moved within CA several times since then. I would love to be able to move back to TX (where I was stationed for 8 years in the 1990s), but the business we have is area-specific to the 4 counties we cover in NorCal, so no dice...

CA has very nice weather, very good opportunities work-wise for our real estate related business .... and not much else from my viewpoint ... its too congested, too crazy, too high of a cost of living ... but we have pretty much resigned ourselves to staying here while spending more time in the old country once we can afford to semi-retire in a few(?) years ... find a few hours here and there for modeling, of course ... its a bummer when you have to start from scratch in your mid-50s as we did, but hey, live and learn ...

[Misellus]

Glad to hear from some people who understand. Nearly everyone I've mentioned my plans to have asked "Why?" and can't accept that I'm not happy and want to move on. No idea if I'll be happy after the move, but "maybe better" is a brighter future than "definitely sucks"

I've already donated some stuff to goodwill, and given some stuff away. The furniture that's still passable will go to ReStore but that's likely going to be next year as I decide exactly what is going into storage (and how much space I have available). Right now I have around 50 Sterlite totes and medium sized boxes packed. I'll probably do a second pass and some of that will get tossed/sold/donated. Funny how many shelving units I have that are now taken apart.

Some of it simply garbage though. I've found boxes of magazines from the early 70s that are covered in mold/mildew. These have been in the basement for 40 years...the basement leaks. Same with books and clothes (torn up by mice). Nasty and not worth cleaning. Remember the scene in The Time Machine where he touches the books and they disintegrate? I've picked up many a book that has fallen apart in my hand. That's the type of thing I'm throwing away, nothing usable. Last weekend I was in the garage and found boxes of camping stuff covered in lamp/stove oil that leaked decades ago. The camping stuff hasn't been touched since the 90s.

Not happy to hear about perpetual lawn mowing season...maybe I can get a goat and a series of posts to tie him to. My hope is a small place in the country, an acre or two of land, and enough sun to plant several dwarf pear trees. I don't need miles of space between me and the next person, just enough that I can't hear them talking in their backyard. I can't explain the trees, I read about them online 2-3 years ago and they've been part of the plan since I made my decision a year ago. One of those little bright spots.

m-

[Heavy Metal Spike]

We all know your on interpoles top 10 list Spike.. no extradition in Canada

Stop short-changing me - it was top FIVE.

They've left me alone since I helped the FBI with their inquiries.

. . . Not happy to hear about perpetual lawn mowing season...maybe I can get a goat and a series of posts to tie him to . . .

• • • • • LOL

.

[tay666]

Glad to hear from some people who understand. Nearly everyone I've mentioned my plans to have asked "Why?" and can't accept that I'm not happy and want to move on. No idea if I'll be happy after the move, but "maybe better" is a brighter future than "definitely sucks"

Not sure why people wouldn't understand.
I mean, it's not something I ever think I would do personally, but I totally 'get' the idea.
Same with those others who have posted about moving for better jobs and prospects.
If you aren't happy where you are, then a change of scenery is probably a good idea. Sure, it might not work out, but you won't know until you try.
Better to find out, than live your life wondering 'what if'.

[Misellus]

Better to find out, than live your life wondering 'what if'.

20 years ago I had the chance to move to Germany, get married, and live a completely different life. I didn't do it, to this day I wish I had. At the time, I didn't want to move there, she didn't want to move here, and eventually we broke up instead of either.

First 10 years I spent at this job I had a job offer for an equal or slightly better job at least once a year. I didn't do it, I wish I had. At the time I wanted to find a place I could stay at for years and felt the problems here were managable. After 22 years the problems are worse and I no longer get job offers. At my annual review 2 years ago, after 20 years of service, my boss laughed and said he didn't have to reward me, it's obvious I'm not going anywhere. I got the worst raise in the company that year (I do payroll, I see them all). The thought of turning in my notice is another of those bright spots I imagine as part of my plan.

Bunch of other bad decisions that seems good at the time, mostly involving money and getting myself into huge debt. I pay off the last credit card in 3 months and my car in 12. After that, I don't owe anyone.

"what if" will kill you. Time to stop saying no. To quote Tom Cruise, sometime you just have to say what the f**k

m-

[bucketfoot-al]

Absolutely agree Misellus. As an old saying goes "Its never too late to live happily ever after".

The past is gone and done with. All we have is today. We only live once. Go for it.

[centaur1]

Thank you for the well wishes and congratulations; much appreciated

Yes, It is an extremely stressful transition to go through, in fact I was searching for just the right job for almost 7 months before I finally accepting one I felt I could stay with for good (I am not much of a job hopper) i was rather lost being without a job for the first time in over a decade But finally my searching and persistence paid off; I was offered the exact kind of accounting position I was looking for, and in a very nice area of St. Louis ( Chesterfield ) and to top that off, the company offered to pay me 10,000 more than what I was asking for. Have my own office nowfor the first time, as well

It took quite a while but it finally worked out very well. I was almost out of unemployment when this job offer finally came through.

The wife has already landed a job after being here only a few days, and she starts tomorrow

Getting our house ready to put on the market was also an enormous, stressful task ( it was just me doing it all, while also searching for a job And driving back-and-forth to interviews-full-time job in itself )I had to renovate our garage top to bottom, run ceiling slats, molding to hide exposed brick, paint the floor, etc..., as well as repaint a few rooms in the house, and also rework quite a bit of the landscaping, not to mention getting rid of an enormous amount of useless clutter we had accumulated in virtually all rooms -

but the house is finally looking good and on the market as of about 8 or 9 days ago. Our house is getting good response so far; hope it still shortly Because until it does, I am having to make both our rent payment in St. Louis, as well as the House Payment In So. Illinois

good luck to everyone else looking to move and make a life transition for the better. You can do it; hang in there

as has been said; life is too short to spend it saying “what if “

Although in my case there is no “if “ involved. it was a certainty that a bigger area like St. Louis would have so much more career opportunities ( and fun weekend activities to entertain ourselves with ) than a very rural, remote area like we came from had

I wish we had done it years ago. Now that we are here and settling in, it’s unforgettable sense of achievement and pride- that of stepping outside your comfort zone, and pursuing an uncertainty ( at first) that you know, deep down, will lead to a more fulfilling, more enjoyable life

[RickDTM]

We uprooted ourselves 15 years ago to move to MD in search of a better oppoortunity to advance in my career field. It was a scary proposition as we were newlyweds, w/out a lot of money. After some discussion, we decided to look at it as an adventure. Sold the house, packed up everything and went. It was likely one of the best decisions of my life. Advancement did come, and through that advancement, it enabled us to finally move back to TX to be w/ family again. Looking back on it now, there were those "What if" moments, but as Missellus said,"Sometimes you just gotta say WTF..." and move forward.

Congrats to all of those who are deciding to be happy where ever you wind up. Bloom where you're planted.

[Zeiram]

Hey Rick, I waved when we drove by San Antonio on Sunday.

[RickDTM]

I saw you guys!!! LOL

[Scooke123]

There is a lot to do in the St. Louis area for sure. I grew up in North St. Louis county and moved a little west to St. Charles county about 30 years ago. I'm not too far form Chesterfield near Hwy 64 and Hwy 94. I worked in Creve Coeur for many years. Welcome to the neighborhood!!!!!!

[tay666]

I was offered the exact kind of accounting position I was looking for, and in a very nice area of St. Louis ( Chesterfield ) and to top that off, the company offered to pay me 10,000 more than what I was asking for. Have my own office nowfor the first time, as well

The wife has already landed a job after being here only a few days, and she starts tomorrow

Great news on both counts!

Getting our house ready to put on the market was also an enormous, stressful task ( it was just me doing it all,

Boy, do I know that song and dance
Yeah, lots of work.