Would you relocate for a job?

[CFFJR]

My wife spoke to my oldest friend today, and he apparently heard about a job opportunity in Texas.

I know very little about the details here, so forgive that please. He got a call from his dad who lives in Houston I believe, who told him about some small town or something that apparently struck oil recently. I guess they're hiring all kinds of people to get this oil out and they're paying well.

My friend is planning to go down there, and he wanted to know if I would do it too.

My thing is, whether or not its a great opportunity (which I'm not commenting on here) I'm just not willing to leave. I love Colorado to death, most all of my family is here, I grew up here. I have a good life. Plus, I'm really close to my dad and always have been, and I can't really imagine being unable to go see him whenever I felt like it.

Perhaps I'm being stupid, (and you can weigh in on what I should do if you feel like it) but as much as I love to travel, I've always been set that I would never move from Colorado. My wife has no qualms about it, so there's that at least.

I'm not asking for advice, as this is meant to be a discussion. The question is, what would you do in a similar situation? Would you break ties with your whole life as you know it and move on if a good opportunity presented itself? For those of you who have done it, as I'm sure there are a couple, was it worth it?

[MrPopo]

I did move for my job. Was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, but once I graduated college I moved out here to Seattle to work for Amazon. I left behind my family, my friends, and my girlfriend, who found herself unwilling to make the same choice. But it's not as if these people are no longer part of my life. Regular emails, IMs, and phone calls are standard, and I try to go back to visit the family a few times a year.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

Sounds like things are going well for you the way things are now, so why change that. I'm sure your friend would understand.

[Bradtemple87]

I believe if the opportunity is right, then dont hold yourself back. I am in a personal situation, but the same type of decision. I am in a serious long distance relationship. My girlfriend has another half year of schooling and we are heading in the direction that one of us will be moving at some time next year. California to New Hampshire is a long way to travel, but for the woman I love I would be up for it if the decision came down to that.

[Redifer]

There are a great many factors involved in such a decision. As for me, I'd definitely rather not. I like it here. If I moved for a job, I'd be living to work, not working to live. In other words, it would mean that the job is the #1 most important thing in my existence. I just can't imagine that. Now if the place where the job was is a place I am familiar with, had friends and/or family, etc I would be more likely to consider it. If it was just across town and moving would make the commute easier, then that would be fine as well.

[J T]

I moved for graduate school and plan to stay. I'm not moving for my internship or job afterwards, though I have been advised to.

So, I can see both sides. It's actually real hard to move away from friends and family. It's not bad for a limited period of time, but after awhile it becomes hard to not be regularly involved in their lives and to not have that close and easy access to home and family.

That being said, I don't intend to move back to Utah where I am originally from. I've come to love Seattle. It's just about the perfect city for me, except for the lack of sunshine (though summers are fantastic). I'm building my own family here and I am taking chances career-wise to stay here.

My opinion is that if you love Colorado and your family and friends there, you should stay. Personal life is important. You need a job so you can pay to continue enjoying your personal life. If you're not destitute and you're happy with how you're living, then don't take on an "anything for money" attitude. Money can't buy you what you already have.

[neilencio]

I dunno, housing and relocation is a bit different in my country, and may be a bit more difficult. But if stuck in a similar situation, I would try and rent first while trying to see if the job and the place really is for me. I don't want to have to move back if the work is not really for me and/or I can't stand the neighborhood.

Of course, that's just me. Relocating has always been so hard for me.

[Inazuma]

It all depends on how much money the new job would pay. Weigh your options carefully and make the best choice.

For me, I really don't want to move, but I would consider it if the pay was high enough.

[Xeogred]

If it was like $50 an hour or something, then money might win me over. But in general I don't think I'd "do it for the money", however if I was stumbling into a career I want to tackle and stick with, that's an excellent opportunity, then that'd be a bigger factor than money I'd say. If I were chasing my dreams perhaps. But I have no idea what I want to do for a living now, so can't say much else here.

If some major drama happened and I needed a change of environment, maybe I'd do it then ... but overall yeah, I think it'd be hard to leave my friends and family.

Google's moving close by in a few years anyways, so why should I leave...

Really though CFFJR, basically what others have said... sounds like you got it all going pretty well right now, so I see no reason to change that.

[gtmtnbiker]

I did move for my job. Was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, but once I graduated college I moved out here to Seattle to work for Amazon. I left behind my family, my friends, and my girlfriend, who found herself unwilling to make the same choice.

Similar situation for me. I moved from the Central Jersey suburbs to the Boston area a few days after college graduation. Would I do it again, certainly. You make new friends/acquaintances and you develop new experiences.