Kennesaw, Ga (Atlanta, Columbus, Marietta: real estate, health insurance, homes)

[Melanie Stevens]

Have done lots of research on GA...really am interested in Kennesaw..moving with my husband..we are both retired ..daughter also moving with us and will need to find employment (college grad with 2 degrees) ..not having any luck over the internet..what is the job situation really like in Kennesaw or areas very near there..she has her heart set on Cobb schools for her child who will be attending in 2 years...where we currently live unemployment is very high but she does have a job here..

[BobKovacs]

Depends- what are her "2 degrees" in? If they're in philosophy and French literature, she'll have a problem. If her degrees are more in demand, she'll have more options.

[ATLTJL]

It's difficult to say....you haven't told us what her degrees are in.

If they are in English and philosophy, GOOD LUCK! If they are in biomedical engineering and astrophysics, probably NO PROBLEM.

The job situation in Atlanta is bad. There's nothing specific about the Kennesaw area that makes it any better. In my experience, Atlanta is and always has been a lagging indicator. Real estate was in the gutter for a long time before the market here finally responded. Unemployment was through the roof before it started hitting here. I expect Atlanta to also lag in recovery, and for us to stay in bad shape for a bit after most of the rest of the country starts rising out of it.

I think the traditional wisdom applies in your case: do not give up a job you have to move to a new place where you have no job. Get the job first.

Why are so many people insisting on doing things in the wrong order? It's a recipe for disaster.

[Melanie Stevens]

She has a BA in Accounting (not a CPA though) and a BA in Economics..has a very good resume. Currently working as a Financial Analyst for a large Health Insurance Company in Michigan. Michigan is in terrible shape..one of the worst States for unemployment. We are the Auto industry..ha ha..she will not relocate without employment..we are all very tired of the 5 1/2 months of snow.

[ATLTJL]

Full disclosure: I am not in the financial or accounting industry. I'm not positive if what I am about to say is correct.

I THINK that the majority of accounting and finance jobs in Atlanta are going to be found in midtown, Buckhead, and maybe downtown. I believe most of those jobs are 9 to 5 type jobs....what I'm getting at is if you live in Kennesaw, your daughter might be in for a horrible commute.

When you say she will be moving with you, do you mean she will be living with you? If so, I might say hold out for a bit and let her see if she can get a job locally close to Kennesaw. If not, I would say you can go ahead and get a place in Kennesaw and if she gets a job intown somewhere, she could get a place in Smyrna or Marietta or something so she could be closer to her job, but she would also be close to you in Kennesaw.

I understand that her goal would be to work around Kennesaw. That might be possible, but my guess is for every job located in that area, there are 10 intown, so she may end up with a commute despite her desires.

[Melanie Stevens]

She will only be living with us until she gets settled. We don't want to purchase another home until we spend time in the area for a while..she is not willing to communte to downtown Atlanta..isn't willing to spend time commuting when she could be spending it with her child. We did look at downtown Atlanta and there were possibilites but she didn't even apply because of the commute. We are just starting to look at the employment situation..we still have 2 homes to sell.

[lorilove]

Full disclosure: I am not in the financial or accounting industry. I'm not positive if what I am about to say is correct.

I THINK that the majority of accounting and finance jobs in Atlanta are going to be found in midtown, Buckhead, and maybe downtown. I believe most of those jobs are 9 to 5 type jobs....what I'm getting at is if you live in Kennesaw, your daughter might be in for a horrible commute.

Accounting jobs exist everywhere there are employers. There are lots of businesses in the greater Marietta area and south to the Cumberland that are reasonable commutes.

Not all accounting jobs pay the same and not having a CPA puts her at a disadvantage but in the end, the quality of her work experience will be a deciding factor.

[Melanie Stevens]

Thanks for the tips..she did talk about Marietta also. She stopped doing accounting in this area because she was working approximately 60 hours a week, even during non tax times but has lots of experience in both fields. Here we typically work 8-5 not 9-5 soo I guess we could chalk up the extra hour to travel time.. I will give her this info. We have family in Columbus but she likes the schools in Cobb. We will keep looking. Thanks again everyone.

[ATLTJL]

Here we typically work 8-5 not 9-5

I didn't mean she would literally only work 9-5. I just meant she probably wouldn't be able to do shift work or flex time, working 12p-8p or some other shift that would enable her to completely avoid rush hour traffic.

Since ATL traffic starts at 7am and lasts until 9am and then goes from about 4pm until 7:30pm, you have to work significantly outside normal business hours to avoid it.

[Melanie Stevens]

Just curious..if we did live outside of Atlanta (downtown) in Kennesaw..what would that mean for a commute..I can't believe I am asking this..just curious....during rush hour and non rush hour.