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What would you do? E Coast (fed job, no family) vs. W Coast (no job, family)
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Anonymous
| We've been living for the past 2 years on the West Coast but my husband's job is moving to DC. The details are kinda complicated, but the short of it is, if we don't move, he loses his job. We've lived in the DC area before, for 4 years. We had a hard time in DC financially (he is the main breadwinner, I do occasional part-time work and am trying to finish my grad degree) and we had trouble finding a community of like-minded friends. He's been looking for other work (federal and not) for a month or so but hasn't found anything except for part time ($12/hr). He has a very specific job that doesn't translate well to other job fields. He's decided to go to graduate school (on the West Coast) in a year to change careers and broaden his chances of getting another federal job. So our options are.....(a) move back to DC for a year, live in a cheap apt far out (he works from home most days so commuting isn't too big of an issue), try to save money, incur moving expenses, and have a reliable income OR (b) stay where we are while we try to make ends meet for the next year, get on public assistance (food, possibly housing), be near cousins for our kids (toddler and baby), and family/friends for us. Either option would be for one year, until he's in graduate school. Thanks. We've been thinking about this for so long, we just don't know what to do. It makes me cry to think about leaving but it is also stressful to think about staying and financially struggling. |
Anonymous
| Ugh. Honestly I would be wary of counting on public assistance, esp. for housing. I would probably move. |
Anonymous
| Thanks. OP here. To clarify, I don't mean Section 8. The city we live in has good low-income housing networks. I could take student loans ($20K) for the next year to help us out, too. I wouldn't have to do this in DC, though. |
Anonymous
The %^&* isn't done hitting the fan for state and local budgets, so I expect it's hard to know if those programs will still be open to newcomers in the next year or two? And taking out student loans isn't much of a solution really (unless you really can expect to be employed at a decent salary fairly soon after you finish school). I'd just say that I am conservative about this stuff -- one of my mini-regrets in life is that I didn't up and move to the West Coast out of college because I had no job and couldn't see how I could get by there w/o one, and I ended up in DC because my job moved here too-- but to me it doesn't sound like not moving is really a viable option. How certain is it that your husband will go to school on the West coast next year? Maybe there's an argument that it's not worth moving x-country twice in two years. |
Anonymous
| I don't think a plan based on public assistance is a good plan. That sounds like a huge risk. |
Anonymous
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Thanks. We will be moving twice in 2 years because he will def. go to grad school here in the West because he wants to study forestry, there are good programs here that would hopefully set him up with a internship or experience with the Forest Service, and then he'd hopefully get a job with them (in the W).
I don't know if it matters, but the public assistance we're specifically counting on is food and WIC (we think it'd be somewhere between $400 and $600 per month for this). |
Anonymous
| Can you pause your grad degree this coming year there y freeing up tuition expenses plus enabling you to take on more work, and your husband could pickup whatever pt work he could find. Then I'd stay on the west coast. |
Anonymous
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Thanks again. That would work, but I'm in a doctoral program and I have to be "continuously enrolled" because I've already taken 2 semesters of leave (when I had my 2 kids). Then I'd have to finish up my degree when my husband starts school, which sounds like a nightmare too.
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Anonymous
| Two cross-country moves in two years with two small kids sounds like a nightmare to me. Relying on public assistance would also freak me out, but I'd exhaust every possibility for a job for your husband where you are before moving to DC and then back. |
Anonymous
| I would 10000000 percent move for his job and keep the steady income, health insurance etc through his job. An unexpected medical event for any of you could bankrupt you. The 12 an hour jobs are indicative of this horrible economy. I would dig in, grit my teeth and do the move. Sell or ask friends or family to store items you don't want to move back and forth. |
Anonymous
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Since it is only for a year, can your husband move back to DC by himself? Is there anyone you and the kids could live with for a year?
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Anonymous
| You're in agony for only one year? I can't see that it makes much of a difference either way. |
Anonymous
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Who pays for the movers and the flights? Go with the DC job to keep benefits and remain in the employment arena. You have 2 kids.
On the west Coast perhaps live with family to get through the grad school period - at least store stuff there. |
Anonymous
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On one hand, you're husband will be employed and able to support the family. He'll have a steady income, medical and other benefits, and a decent commute. You'll be able to save some money.
On the other hand, he quits he job, tries to scratch together part-time work at $12/hour, likely loses all benefits. You will take out $20k in student loans (this in advance of him going to grad school for forestry, which is another discussion altogether). To supplement this, you PLAN on going on public assistance - low-income housing and WIC. But you'll be near family and friends! Are you freakin' kidding me? This isn't even a discussion (or shouldn't be, at least). I have to say, OP, that you're even considering the second option is offensive. Public assistance isn't for gainfully employed parents who just choose to give up their jobs. WIC is for families who really need help, not people who can't be bothered to keep the jobs they have. It's a last resort, not a freakin' choice. To actively consider going QUITTING and going on public assistance is disgusting. You have two young kids, for cryin' out loud. Act like a grownup, and take care of them. |
Anonymous
If he wants to do Forest Service, have you thought about finding out if one of the various Forests, Fish and Wildlife Refuges, or Parks have volunteer/pt seasonal positions open with housing available? I know they do have positions sometimes, as I have friends who have done that over the years. Or even RV/trailer hookups available? How old are your kids? In school? If not, this might be a viable alternative for a year while he's waiting to go to grad school (if you can find a trailer situation). It's not ideal, but neither is living on public assistance for a year. |