Relocation Wisdom

[videoguru]

I am young guy, getting married in 27 days (August 6th). God may be opening an opportunity for me at a church across our state. I currently live close to Atlanta, GA and the opportunity is in a savannah area.

I only just recently moved out into my own apartment in preparation of getting married, so I have no clue what the process of relocating would be. No one in my family, in their adult life, has moved anywhere than across county.

I am a calculated individual that likes to have all the details before making a decision, and if they do decide to hire me, I do not want to waste precious time figuring this out then. Also, I would like to keep these specifics in my prayers, so any Wisdom you more experienced people have would be appreciated.

Some of my worries are: Standard of living in that area, House v.s. Apartment, How to prepare for working with a new team and relearning people's ticks, Salary comparison as my wife will not be providing any income while she finishes school.

Thank for your wisdom and always taking the time to hear me out.
-videoguru

[Esoteric]

Well, not sure what you were looking for but....

Any salary increase is a good one!

As far as moving expenses you will have to buy your way out of your new lease (usually 80% of the total value of the lease) or find someone to pick up the lease (someone acceptable to the complex). Some complexes allow subletting, but you are taking a huge risk as you are responsible for any damage they cause.

As far as your stuff, if you get friends to help move it is a little bigger task and usually you will need to do something like put them up in a hotel overnight and buy them a nice dinner for helping, or you can higher professional movers (for cross state moves this can get very expensive).

You are going to need new deposits for everything (since I doubt you will be able to keep electric or water/gas providers).

Also you will need a new drivers license (police, at least here in Texas are a lot less forgiving about having a license from another city across the state than they are a different address across town).

Moving may also effect your car insurance rates.

Also, not sure if you guys have car registration or inspections, but those might need to be redone in the new city.

As far as house vs apartment as long as you and your wife don't have children, there is no real difference. Of course many people will tell you it is better to be putting money into the equity of a house rather than giving it to a land lord, but property ownership isn't what it used to be. It is nice to be able to call someone else when something breaks. Also, my wife and I have been living in an apartment for 2 years. We are paying just $600 a month rent while we save up to buy a house instead of paying $1000 a month for a rent house and not saving anything.

As far as the new team, just keep an open mind and know that you are going to learn to do things their way. But also, don't be afraid if you see a good opportunity to improve efficiency or quality to point it out. Don't go in pointing things out constantly, but show them you have initiative and want to help make the team better.

By the way it is not totally out of the question (depending on what position you are taking) to ask them to help pay or pay for your relocation expenses.

Mike

[[Admin] osborn4]

If you're just moving out of your folks house, don't buy a lot of stuff that you'll need to move. Consider selling/donating things you have and buying new/used when you get there. Compare that cost to the cost of hiring movers and/or renting u-hauls.

I've seen u-hauls rented for more than the worth of what was being moved in them. OK. That may be an exageration. But seriously weigh the cost of moving something vs. the cost of replacing it.

Don't buy a house or condo until you are sure this is where you want to be. Dave Ramsey suggests that newlyweds not buy until they have been married at least a year. By then, you should know each others habits and how much space you might really like or really need. And you should also know by then how far away from the in-laws you want to live (Dave's line, not mine).

Also, having a house bring with it the responsibility or repairs/upkeep/yard work that cost time and money.

Best of luck. Sounds like you've got some good options opening up for you.

[petereit]

I would guess that moving from the Atlanta area to the Savannah area would actually decrease some of your costs of living. Less congestion = less gas wasted in traffic jams and better insurance rates. Agree heartily with the advice to not buy anything now that you'll just need to move (or that you're new wife will want to throw away!)

Pray with your bride-to-be and don't even think about moving if she doesn't have total peace with it (that's my 15 years of marriage experience speaking there.)

Then there's Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." VERY important that you distance yourself from your mother in your early days of marriage. I can't emphasize that enough. That might be THE best reason for you to go ahead and pull up steaks and move across state.

[Gracetech]

After moving 40+ times in my life all i can say is God takes care of things. The past 8 times i have moved has been pretty rough because... i got married. At this stage in your life if you can't fit your stuff in a 14' Uhaul then you are going to have serious issues later on when you have kids.

The best way to plan a move is to go to the area that you will be moving to and find either a extended stay Hotel or something similar. Yeah it's going to be cramped but it will give you time to learn the lay of the land and figure out where you would like to live. I've been blessed to have people put me up over the years while i figure things like that out. I actually like staying with other families for a few weeks. Not only is it cost effective but it's interesting to get to know how other people live.

Plan on shelling out an extra months worth of expenses to establish yourself. In some places that might be even more. It seems like you would be moving to a better standard of living so it won't be as hard financially.

Generally i like to stick to houses since i'm a light sleeper. In apartments i usually turn into a zombie unless they are townhouses. Town houses are generally alot quieter since you don't have anyone walking above you.

Financially it's always hard to gauge. You should ask for what you think is right and then hopefully they agree. If they come in lower you always have the ability to walk away. Never go in low balling yourself or they will take advantage of it.

Hope things work out for you.

crt