.

[ZJohnson]

Money and job opportunities led my wife and I to Scottsdale. Not sure we will ever move back to Iowa. I certainly miss Saturdays in Ames, bball season and my family and friends, but I don't miss the weather. 100 and sunny for four months isn't a big deal. It beats 85 with 90% humidity.

 

[SayMyName]

Any change would be to Minnesota.

Wife is from Des Moines, I'm from Minnesota so it's not a foreign place to us.

Here's the kicker - my parents have a lake home they are going to sell in a few years because my sister doesn't want it and I can't take care of it from Iowa. We won't make a decision based on that but it does add a personal incentive to move. Plus, we don't really have too many friends now but we do have kids -although not in school yet.

But...you'd have to change your username and everything!

Seriously, the time to consider this is before the kids are school-aged. As for the money question, I'll flip that discussion on it's head: how much future money or advancement potential could you be missing out on by NOT moving? Just something to consider in the tradeoff of pros and cons.

 

[Alswelk]

But...you'd have to change your username and everything!

Seriously, the time to consider this is before the kids are school-aged. As for the money question, I'll flip that discussion on it's head: how much future money or advancement potential could you be missing out on by NOT moving? Just something to consider in the tradeoff of pros and cons.

Yeah, things are going to get really interesting when we get to the point where we're having kids (schools in New Mexico are...special). But the nature of both of our careers limits where we can go, so...it'll be a "fun" series of discussions.

 

[Cyfan1965]

Don't move to a small town where everyone knows each other or are related to each other. If it is just you and one other you are ok. If you upset the townie quotient by adding a third they literally turn away from you and you cease to exist. Townies are jackals!

 

[TOFB4ISU]

I've had 6 professional jobs in 4 states. For my wife and I and our two kids, I think it has made us more well rounded people. Definitely stressful, though.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I'm so glad my super-nerdy answer made sense to someone. I get headhunted a lot to places like San Fran, and I just plug the amount they quote in a COL calculator vs here at my current salary, and it's AT BEST a wash most of the time. And then you factor in all of the things like schools and safety, and it's just always been a no-brainer.

Agreed. I did a very poor job negotiating when I left Omaha. I didn't do a good enough job factoring in a more expensive benefits package and higher cost of living. It effectively cost me 10% in pay. Thankfully, I soured on that job quickly and was able to get a 25% pay bump when another company sought me out. When I took that job from Omaha to MSP, I thought I was doing the noble thing by taking less pay to stabilize our family life. It never even occurred to me that there might be a company out there willing to pay me MORE for less travel.

As with most things, this all comes down to individual preferences. What's it worth to live close to family? Are your parents older and in need of future care? Do you want you kids to see their extended family more often than just Christmas?

Minnesota was an absolute perfect fit for us. The people are very nice and welcoming. We live close to MSP so it's more socially progressive than Omaha. We have all the benefits of the big city, but live in a smaller town on the out skirts of the metro. The schools are some of the best in the country. There are also a lot of outdoorsy things to do that aren't far away. The hardest adjustment was having no Hy-Vee when we moved up here (Cub foods is terrible), but they built one of those by our house just last year. So, it's about as good as we could ask for.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I've had 6 professional jobs in 4 states. For my wife and I and our two kids, I think it has made us more well rounded people. Definitely stressful, though.

This is an interesting topic for me. I see many pros and cons to moving vs. staying put. While studies indicate stability in the formative years is really good for kids, there's something to be said for seeing the world outside of the midwest. My balance is to live in the midwest, but make it a point to get my kids outside the midwest when we take vacations (and not just see the touristy areas of vacation towns).

 

[DurangoCy]

So most replies are “money”...so what is the number? Would you move from your area to a similar area (let’s just say DSM to...Indianapolis, IN) for:

8% raise
10%
15%
More???

25%

 

[jbindm]

Sugar Momma!

Big bucks might be a bit of an overstatement. But she does make more than I do!

 

[mj4cy]

What would it take you to relocate for a new job?

I have a family, near Iowa State, am very involved in my community, etc. How does one quantify those things into a job offer in another city?

What are some metrics I can use to compare these opportunities?

I have a job I love and work from home full time. We also love central Iowa due to family, friends, and ISU.

So it would take my wife getting a great opportunity for us to move. I'd be open to it. Every year, I detest winter more and more.

 

[cyhiphopp]

Big bucks might be a bit of an overstatement. But she does make more than I do!

Still counts. Before I got my new job last year my wife was technically making more than me after my child support deductions were taken out. Now I'm back in the lead though.

 

[azhuth09]

I haven't read the rest of the thread so this may be similar to what someone else has said. I'm originally from Wisconsin, and met my wife at ISU. We since undergrad we have lived in small town Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Rockford Illinois, and finally moved back to Des Moines (all in a matter of 4 years). We have both been compensated well along the way, but the money in no way correlated to life satisfaction. If you move anywhere for work I think you have to look at these few things. Take into account family and friends. I think someone else said that it sucks making friends once your out of school and that is the absolute truth. If you are not really outgoing you can get cabin fever VERY quickly. Secondly, you really want to visit wherever you are thinking about moving before committing. We almost moved to Tuscon, AZ right out of school because the thought of Arizona was very appealing. After visiting we discovered that 75% of the town was a hell hole. We also visited Rockford before moving but were so anxious to get to a new place that we didn't listen to out instincts.

Long story short if you have family, friends, and enjoy being involved with ISU I would not leave central Iowa for anything short of a dream job opportunity. And that's coming from a lifelong Wisconsinite.

 

[jbindm]

Still counts. Before I got my new job last year my wife was technically making more than me after my child support deductions were taken out. Now I'm back in the lead though.

I say good for her. Keep handing me my ass in the finances department. I'll keep up on the laundry and groceries and cooking. Her money is our money, just like my debt is our debt. Everybody wins.

 

[nfrine]

I've had the opportunity to live in Central Iowa but travel extensively (domestic and foreign) for work. Saw a lot of neat places but I always enjoyed coming home.

 

[besserheimerphat]

We (me, my wife and three daughters - ages 7, 6 and 4 at the time) moved from central Iowa to western Washington 5 years ago. I found a job that was a better fit (and has grown into an almost ideal job), offered 20% more pay, and in a part of the country I'd always wanted to see. I grew up in Ames, went to ISU, then got a job in Marshalltown. In high school we took some nearly cross-country trips and I did a foreign language trip, and I knew there was a lot of the world I still wanted to see outside a 100 mile radius from Ames. The biggest thing I miss is going to ISU games. More than being close to family to tell the truth, but we do a lot of Skyping to keep up.

Editing to add: we were in a unique situation in that we were already homeschooling our kids and my wife worked online from home part-time, all of which we've been able to continue seamlessly after moving. If the kids were in public school, or too much older with well established friends, or if we were dependent on my wife's job that wasn't able to move with us, we probably wouldn't have moved. Now that the kids are established here we don't think it's likely we'd move back until all the kids are out of the house at which point the winters will probably keep us away. Also, all my closest friends from Ames High moved away for or right after college so I didn't have a social life keeping me here.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Actually the new American way is to relocate for the opportunity to work even more hours per week with a vague promise of future compensation.

Interstate migration has been on the decline for the past 15 years. Fewer people moving to where the jobs are.

 

[BCClone]

Would move to Minnesota if the wife would. Not that many think it’s a better state, but would move. Only to a certain couple towns area.

Otherwise, it would take a smokin hot 30 year old female that is extremely rich and would basically leave me alone.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

money and lots of it

Needs to be balanced against the cost of living. We took a paycut to move to Iowa from San Francisco, but achieved a much higher standard of living.

 

[Cyfan1965]

Needs to be balanced against the cost of living. We took a paycut to move to Iowa from San Francisco, but achieved a much higher standard of living.

Read an article about the uhaul shortage where it costs 2,000$ to rent one to get out of San Fran but 200 if you live in Reno and are moving to San Fran. CRAZY!

 

[kirk89gt]

cyhiphopp said: ↑
Is this a Midwestern thing, staying in an area to remain near to family?

Seems like people from New York or Chicago are much more willing to relocate. Or maybe that's just something that sticks out only to me.

I can see that.

I don’t mind it - makes it easier for holidays, birthdays, etc.

I think it is what separates us (the midwest) from the rest of the country. Other parts of the country seem more concerned with "insignificant things" (cars, money, houses, keeping up with the Jones', etc.) We (in the midwest) tend to care about the "things that matter" (family, friends, values / morals, etc.) Which may explain why the issues that impact the coasts, seem to not be an issue in the middle of the country. I wouldn't trade this for the world.

As to the OP, pretty content in Iowa - would really like to get closer to the Ames / DSM metro, but life in the Dirty isn't too bad (it's still Iowa), and that is enough for the moment.