Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The downside is where you'll be moving. BUT sounds like you like this place. However, I wouldn't be happy. I like what DC has to offer and living in such an educated city. We also can afford to live in DC and if we couldn't maybe we would feel differently.

OP here. Sigh. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because I didn't list the exact city I was moving to. It's Minneapolis. Which is actually a pretty awesome place that should not be looped in with much of the rest of the midwest. I'm not going to get into the reasons here, but let me just say that it's the sweet spot between culture, educated population, arts, music, jobs, and affordability.

DC is NOT the only city in this country with an educated population. Perhaps it's more educated than where you moved from, but do not paint a broad stroke across the rest of the country that they are uneducated and beneath DC.

Bravo OP! And good GOD, there are educated populations in every urban-ish center!

I haven't been to the twin cities but have friends who go there on business (2 different companies) and it looks like a really great town to go out in!

OP, teleworking is wonderful! I could not be a working mother without it. My work product got better when I started because I am so much happier. GL

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you stay connected to your company and make regular trips back out to DC to get face time with your colleagues. At least 2 times a year and more like once a quarter. Otherwise you will be first to be forgotten, laid off or otherwise let go when the company is struggling or reorganizing.

Or if not trips back here, make sure you push yourself to have a regular (like weekly) networking lunch or networking event.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Must be nice that God answers your prayers but not mine.

Consider yourself blessed.

Hint: that's because god doesn't exist. Mark, head of human resources, answered her email, not her prayers.

Trust me. I realize that now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Must be nice that God answers your prayers but not mine.

Consider yourself blessed.

+1. I hate that I feel this way, but this post feels like a knife twisting in my insides.

Congrats, OP. I am sincerely happy for you. I just wish my wishes would come true.

PP--ITA


Op,
I am genuinely happy for you. I always like to hear stories like these. I just wish that something even remotely close would happen for me as well. At least a better job w/the option to telecommute.

I stopped praying because after 10 years of dedicated prayer nothing had improved. I am at peace with that.

Anonymous wrote:So jealous. Husband and I both had DC based jobs (and salaries) living in an amazing city that otherwise had terrible jobs. It was the dream. Problem was (unlike you), that there were no other jobs to switch to there. So when he was promoted and told to move back, we had no choice. My only comment about this type of arrangement is that it is probably not a forever job. I have done a couple remote jobs, and while i had no problem creating a great home office and getting motivated every day, I found that after a couple years there's an inevitable distance that both affects the employee's enthusiasm for the job, and the employer's long term interest in developing the employee. But you can definitely milk 2-5 years of happiness out of the position, and then move on to something else. Lucky you!

I have a good friend who almost fifteen years ago left the Washington, DC, metro area to follow her DH to California. She worked for a highly-regarded, well-known DC-based, private-sector employer, and asked them if she could continue to work part-time for them from her new home in California. I actually think that the time difference helped, as she could wake up very early to start the business day, take a (DC) mid-morning coffee break to see her kids off to school, and then work most of her hours professionally and quietly from home while the kids were at school.

Long story, short, she did such a phenomenal job over the years with this arrangement over the years that the company shifted and expanded her responsibilities to be one of their lead executives in the western U.S. She currently works full time, as her children are older now. I have been amazed to see and hear her manage business, calls, and responsibilities while attending her sons' baseball games over the years, truly an inspiration. So, OP, congratulations this type of arrangement can and does work very well, but always be professional about the arrangement and work just as well, or better, as if you were at the DC office.

Anonymous wrote:Must be nice that God answers your prayers but not mine.

Consider yourself blessed.

+1. I hate that I feel this way, but this post feels like a knife twisting in my insides.

Congrats, OP. I am sincerely happy for you. I just wish my wishes would come true.

Anonymous wrote:But you can definitely milk 2-5 years of happiness out of the position, and then move on to something else. Lucky you!

This is exactly what I am thinking will happen. At the beginning I am just going to welcome the break from the grind. Having to get up early for the commute, work in increasingly small and closer cubicles with constant distractions. I'll actually be able to focus on my work and really become good at what I do. And be healthier. More sleep, more time to exercise, less stress. And since my skills will be improving without all of the distractions, I will situation myself for great job opportunities once I get tired of this. And I'll bank the money in the meantime. Plus, it will be a good way to transition to my new life there. I won't have to juggle doing the 9-5 while still unpacked and getting my life set up.

The biggest thing of all, however, is just the fact that this is the ultimate reward for sticking with this company for 8 years. It was a very stressful job and I sacrificed a lot for it, including my health at certain points. But the dedication has paid off. The other thing is that I will get to continue to do important work. So many jobs in DC are for the greater good and after doing that all of my adult life, I cannot imagine just working for a health insurance company or something like that.

Anonymous wrote:Just so that I can live vicariously though you, how much $ and what general area (or an area like it)?

$150K and Minneapolis.

Anonymous wrote:Must be nice that God answers your prayers but not mine.

Consider yourself blessed.

Hint: that's because god doesn't exist. Mark, head of human resources, answered her email, not her prayers.

Anonymous wrote:The downside is where you'll be moving. BUT sounds like you like this place. However, I wouldn't be happy. I like what DC has to offer and living in such an educated city. We also can afford to live in DC and if we couldn't maybe we would feel differently.

OP here. Sigh. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because I didn't list the exact city I was moving to. It's Minneapolis. Which is actually a pretty awesome place that should not be looped in with much of the rest of the midwest. I'm not going to get into the reasons here, but let me just say that it's the sweet spot between culture, educated population, arts, music, jobs, and affordability.

DC is NOT the only city in this country with an educated population. Perhaps it's more educated than where you moved from, but do not paint a broad stroke across the rest of the country that they are uneducated and beneath DC.

Please share where you're going.

Congrats, OP!! Lots of good advice upthread, I'll just say, enjoy!