One of the biggest challenges I’m facing currently is the prospect of moving for the new job I will (hopefully) start working at soon. My belongings are spread throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and there’s a real chance I won’t end up living in any of these states by the time February rolls around. The prospect of starting over somewhere new is one part exciting and one part terrifying, with some definite ambivalence and nap-desire mixed in as well.
Of course, I should be concentrating on filling in knowledge gaps and polishing old work and soliciting new work so that I can actually obtain said new job. But hey, it’s 2015, and with a few pecks of the keyboard I can sample the world’s great cities and mentally try them on to see how they might fit. Wherever I can find “ruby on rails” or “web developer” as a job description, that city has at least a few minutes of my attention.
I’ve lived on the West Coast, the East Coast, Texas, and the South. I’ve found things to love about all of those places, so I’d be happy anywhere. The Northwest is attractive for novelty’s sake, I’ve fallen in love with the people of Houston, I want to swim with the sharks in New York, have family in Philadelphia, and thoughts of Europe are most attractive of all when my gypsy heart clamors for attention.
The weird thing is that I wouldn’t even really be thinking about this if my current home city or state were more focused on encouraging technology and web development. I know there have to be others out there, but I’m typing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, right now and as far as jobs that I qualify for and would desire, there is basically one job in this state. There’s one incredible company in New Orleans that I will start pursuing immediately when my portfolio is ready and I feel ready for some code challenges. (More on that later as I step out into the web dev world, but even though this company looks amazing, it’s frustrating to feel like it’s “all or nothing” when it comes to remaining in Louisiana.
So Limbo is where I am right now. Neither here nor there, and left to look at things like cost of living, availability of jobs, and potential starting salaries to determine the “best” for me to launch my career. I’m lucky in this time of life that I’m single and don’t have anybody depending on me for their welfare, but at the same time that reality is really pushing me to find a place I feel like I can really put down some roots and build a life and hopefully a family as well.
I wish I had something concrete to share right now, haha. It seems like most blogs I read are so quick to hand out advice and I would certainly do that at almost any other season of life. But you can’t give advice before you’ve even run the race (or at least you shouldn’t… I’m looking at you, internet “experts”…”).
If you want to know how to survive an intense webdev bootcamp, hit me up. If you want to know what it’s like to be out of work for half a year and how to humble yourself and rely on your friends and family for support and encouragement, I’m your man. If you want to know what it’s like to your lose your dad in your twenties when you’re just trying to figure life out, let’s get coffee – or actually let’s go to your favorite bar, this conversation will require some alcohol.
The point is, I’ve lived some life. At times it feels like I’ve lived multiple lives. But you never escape the need to start. You always have to take the first step, no matter if you’re starting a new job or just a new day. I’m taking those first steps now, and it’s exhilarating and frightening and kind of hilarious all at the same time. I hope it’s also helpful and educational and life-giving and even humorous for you, too. Let’s see where 2015 takes us.
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