Moving cross country for a job offer

Hey Guys, I wanted to get some opinions for people that have made big moves for job offers. I currently have an offer in the southeast and am debating the move.

Offer Background:

The offer is at an M&A Boutique and compensation is above street. The city has a relatively low COL.

Personal Background:

I’ve grown up in the Midwest my whole life and all of my family and gf are here. My gf would not be able to come with me, so we would be doing long distance.

Job Experience:

As far as my job experience I was a seasonal analyst for 13 months at an M&A boutique in my home city. I saw multiple deals from engagement to close and have some great experience on my resume.

Current recruiting situation:

I’m from a non-target in the Midwest with a good GPA. I actively network and follow up with job listings and contacts. This isn’t news to many, but the recruiting market is obviously thin right now, so getting offers in the Midwest has been nearly impossible. I’ve worked long hours while being a full time student and genuinely love the work.

I want to hear some advice from people and their experiences when having to deal with this situation. I know it’s hard to guide someone in a personal life decision, but I would greatly appreciate some thoughts.

The start date would be February 2024, so I have some time to figure stuff out.

Thank you everyone in advance, and I apologize if I sound ungrateful.

 

It sounds like you are still a fairly young guy. I would take the opportunity and move across the country.  If the comp, is a nice increase and you are not moving to a higher cost of living/higher taxed state then the extra earnings can really set you up for life. In this market and quite frankly any market, breaking in as a non-target can be hard and if this is truly the career you want to pursue I would do it.   

 
Most Helpful

This happened to me when my girlfriend and I still lived in Miami and then I applied to a job that was listed as being in NYC, and then when they offered me the position, they said it was actually in San Francisco. The pay was too good to refuse so I took the job, even though my girlfriend was moving to NYC.

The job has been everything I hoped it to be. The pay is great, the culture and people are great, the hours aren't bad, and I've had the opportunity to go to many conferences and build a strong network.

The first year of long distance with my girlfriend was incredibly hard. We had lots of long conversations about whether or not we should stay together but I was determined to make my way to NYC eventually and that I would visit as much as possible. Thankfully my group has team members in the NYC office, so I was actually able to visit NYC nearly every month this past year and the long distance has not been that bad, although still not easy. It takes a lot of trust and communication to make it work. 

Finally, a few weeks ago my manager approved for me to fully transfer to the NYC office this coming January. So, the work and commitment my girlfriend and I put in will finally pay off and we can be together. My advice is to have a plan for you and your girlfriend to be together again. If you plan on moving to the southeast for this job and have no future intension of making your way back to the Midwest, or alternatively if your girlfriend has no intension of eventually moving to the southeast, then the future of your relationship will stay in a grey area, and it won't be healthy for either of you. My girlfriend and I had the understanding that I will move to NYC as soon as I possibly could, so we jointly had something we have been looking forward to. 

Talk this out with your family and girlfriend. I'm grateful I took the job offer I was given, and my experience in SF has been a good one. My career trajectory wouldn't be nearly as good if I didn't take this job, and it's finally working out that I get to move to be with my girlfriend. Family should always be priority 1 so make sure you take everything into consideration and not just your pay, although if it's truly a dream job, it could be worth making it work. 

 

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