OK here is the deal. There is a job posting (high level sales position) in my company that has been lingering for some time due to fact it has been difficult to find the right person. I think it is fair to say, I could grab hold of this job and do an excellent job with it. I suspect my managers would feel the same way. However the job carries some baggage. I would have to relocate, pretty far from where I live. The position has been open for some time, which is always bad for a sales position. This is clearly a case of “be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it”
If it was 2-3 years ago I would easily have put in for this job and hit the ground running. However now I am somewhat confused as to how I should proceed. Some of the factors that concern me are;
Selling my house, it is a new build that we moved into Jan-2006
Finding suitable housing in my price range in the new place (central/south florida)
The business climate in florida/as much of my success revolves around building/remodeling
Up rooting my family just as they are starting to get really settled
One thing to note is that I am also dealing with some bullshit in my extended family life that I wouldn’t mind getting away from. I know that some of that will get better over time, so I don’t want it to cloud my judgment.
that being said, and i’m not really sure what my thoughts are worth, sounds like you have an interesting position on your hands. the south florida alone would be enough to turn me off, but thats just a personal thing. as for a job thats been sitting there open for that long, i would be a little slow in jumping on something like that.
I don’t see how the RE issue plays in at all if you are trying to move to a comparable house. What you lose on the selling side you will make up on the buying side.
The business climate in Florida is a as good as anywhere in the country. Unemployment is negligible. Construction is obviously down from the peaks, but that is true everywhere.
I do have to say I don’t have a clue what is going on in the credit markets right now. I also don’t like the fact the job has stayed open. There is a story there. You are inside the company. You should be able to find out what the story is.
Also, many of the normal selling/buying/relocation expenses will be covered by the company as part of the relo package. I know most of the reasons the job has been open, but like as you say, not all of them and that is scary.
Hopefully, you would be given the opportunity to interview for the job, just like an outsider would. An interview is a two way street. You need to ask. If you piss someone off by having the temerity to ask questions, that tells you what you need to know. Hopefully you already know enough to determine whether you are getting a line of BS or not since you already know some of the answers.
Tough call, I go through similar situations(somewhat) myself. Currently work for County Gov’t but have always wanted Fed. position, went thru the process in 1999 did not work out. I have always wanted to apply again, but the last time thru I was single. I now have a wife and 3 wonderful children and we are doing pretty good. If I tried and it worked out I would have to re locate as well. I am not sure I want to do that, I like the area we are in(SO WI). If I didn’t have children it may be different, but taking them away from grandparents,uncles, aunts etc… would not be good. Like you have stated the pos. has been open for a while, that would cause me some concern. Good Luck in whatever you decide. I now it sounds cliche but do what feels right, it will come to you. When I did that things have always worked out.
Do you have kids? If so, what grade they are going into and how well they’re doing in their current school would be a big part of my decision. The older they are, the harder the move will be. Also, if they’re doing amazing in their current school, then it would be hard to take them away from that.
Only you can answer the job issue - is it something that you would enjoy and that would be a good step up for you either from a responsibility perspective or a change in what you’re doing? Can you see yourself doing this job for the next 5+ years? If not, then it’s probably not worth the hassle of moving.
Where specifically in SoFla? As someone who moved from Cleveland to Miami, I may have some insight for you. There is also a big big difference between somewhere like Miami and, say, Naples. I’d move to Naples in a heartbeat. Even Miami has some huge perks - depending on what you are looking for.
Just know that the cost of living is going to be a lot more than what you’re used to in Cleveland. As far as I’m concerned, you guys live in one of the most affordable areas in the country. And if you have kids, I’d seriously look into private schools if Miami/Ft Lauderdale is the area that you’re looking at.
There are some really nice little towns outside of Tampa and Orlando, too. Plus… ocean. And no snow to shovel.
I could never live near the lakes again. I can’t deal with the cold, windy, overcast, drizzly days from November thru March. Most of the apartments I had in Miami didn’t even have heat… just to put things in perspective.
I have 2 kids, they are 6 and 4. One is just getting started with 1st grade, the other is going to go 3 days/week in pre-school.
The job is an unknown, potentially it could springboard my career, or it could be not much better than I have here. It will be up to me how it all turns out.
What are the benefits? I would have to make at least double in order to justify disrupting my family. Job security? Is this the type of job that you can settle into for a good number of years? Putting your family through a move for a job that may only last a year or two is not a great idea. Commuting? Cost of living in the new area? Have you visited the new area to even determine if you’d like living there?
You need to tell more about why you want to do this.
I would not have to live in South Florida, I could live wherever I wanted as travel is a large part of the job. If I chose to live in Orlando or Tampa I would have to travel to Hialeah and Coral Gabels approx 2X per 8 weeks. All the other time would be spent in Tampa/St. Pete, Sarasota, Orlando and Jacksonville. I would want to live closer to Central Florida I think because that would manage the travel better.
I do not want to live in Jacksonville, it seems yukky to me.
There are some really nice little towns outside of Tampa and Orlando, too. Plus… ocean. And no snow to shovel.
I could never live near the lakes again. I can’t deal with the cold, windy, overcast, drizzly days from November thru March. Most of the apartments I had in Miami didn’t even have heat… just to put things in perspective.
I was born in Hinckley, OH, but from age 4 I was raised in Dearborn, MI (just outside Detroit). When I reached adulthood and married, my wife and I could have gone anywhere in the country. She is an RN and she could have 5 jobs by the end of the work day if she pursued them. I was trained as a firefighter and a paramedic. It would have been more difficult for me, but I would have found something…somewhere.
Anyhow, like I was saying, we could have gone anywhere, but for some reason we choose to stay in MI. Now I am pretty much tied into my career with the department I am working. I like the job, but the weather in the winter absolutely blows, especially if you are thin-blooded like me. I kid you not when I say that long-underwear for me is more of a calendar event than it is a weather thing!
I will say this to shed a positive light, our autumn weather is unbeatable. Between the fresh, crisp air and the cool nights and the warm days…paradise! Now I just need to find somewhere to go when they hit the switch in November.
At those ages, the kids will be fine with the move, IMO. Better now than in 5 years when they’re 11 and 9.
It may sound dorky, but I think this is one of those situations where you need to write down the pros and cons of each and decide which one you can handle. Moving your family to a new state is a big deal and you have to make sure that there’s major benefits to that move either for your career or personally or both.
I manage a network of distribution for a line of wood finishing products manufactured by Sherwin Williams, but not sold in any of their stores. We only sell through companies that fit out model of distribution, and focus on the kitchen and bath, and wood furniture industries. However my territory right now is Ohio/Indiana/Kentucky/WV. In this territory I share responsibility with a more Senior Sales person who has been bringing me along and teaching me the business. Right now I have 2 customers and nearly $8mil of business. However both of my customers have multiple locations. I manage 4 of 7 locations for one customer and 2 of 3 locations for the other. In the new position I would have the entire territory by myself, with a chance in the future to add another sales person to the business just as this Senior Sales person has added me. If all this plays out it puts me in a great position for future management opportunities in my division. If it doesn’t work out, my career may stagnate. All sales jobs carry that risk though.
The Gables is beautiful. Very beautiful. 1920’s style Spanish architecture… very affluent. I lived in Coconut Grove, which is also amazing…
But, yeah… It would make the most sense to live in the center of your territory. Miami is very land-locked: west is the everglades, south is the keys/water, and east is the water. There’s an incredible amt of urban sprawl and traffic is a bitch. Miami was named as the city with the rudest drivers for the 3rd year straight. If Hialeah is in your territory, I’d highly recommend that you be multi-lingual (but I don’t know what you’re selling so maybe it doesn’t matter that much). Miami is extremely multi-cultural - probably more than any other city in the US… and it is just as common to hear English as it is to hear Spanish. In fact, I found that it was hard to get service without speaking Spanish.
There are some really nice cities in Central FL… I’d look somewhere like Vero Beach, Ft. Pierce, Stuart, or Port St Lucie. These are all pretty central-ish, near the turnpike, and close to the water. They are still pretty small towns and are very nice. There’s some nice (but flat) biking in West Palm Beach that I’ve done. You could probably talk to Mark in FL - he lives in WPB.
Just know that hurricane season can have a big impact on housing, the economy, and insurance… So. Fla has been VERY lucky since Andrew, but I can’t imagine that streak will last forever…