Husband Laid Off After Moving Here For Job..Devastated (Dallas: buying a home, unemployment benefits)

[triciaandpat]

My husband and I moved to the Dallas Area in November for a job in Richardson. They made him a good offer through a recruiter and though it was less pay than his job in Southern California we took it because he grew up in Fort Worth and his whole family is here and with our daughter at Baylor he was anxious to "come back home". We also knew the cost of living was less. After a positive review and a bonus from his company 2 weeks prior he was called in at 4pm the day after Easter and told "we are going in a different direction". Apparently they hired an outside consultant who wanted one of his contacts in my husband's position. (They also took his 2 weeks of accrued vacation which I soon learned employers can do here in Texas, it is illegal in California as it is earned/accrued based on hours worked) He has been an IT Director in the Healthcare Industry for the last 15 years and has ever experienced a layoff. This is particularly devastating because we have not had time to network here and all our contacts are back in California. We had signed a contract for a new home build and they were nice enough to give us the bulk of our deposit back (his company even encouraged him to buy a house in the area!). For all those newly relocating I can't stress enough to anyone who moves here to have that "emergency fund" because we were totally blindsided by this. We have about a 5 to 6 month emergency fund before we have to dip into our deposit we were saving for our home here and I expect his job search to take longer due to our lack of local connections. So the moral of this story is to have the emergency savings, don't wait to network and pay off debt before buying a home because you just never know.

[UnfairPark]

This is what I was ranting about in kitchen thread. I'm sorry for you OP and wish you best of luck. This is a rough time for you but on bright side, this too shall pass.

[Cheesesteak Cravings]

That's the downside of "business friendly" Texas. There are some pretty crappy people out there. Good luck, DFW is booming so if you stay I'm sure you'll find work.

[dallasboi]

Just look at it like this.....Everything happens for a reason. One unbelievably good door closes for an EVEN MORE unbelievable door to open.

There's a silver lining in every situation.

Moral of story....His next job will pay way more and will be tons better.

[Katana49]

Sorry to hear OP.

However, I believe the other posters are right... if you're out of a job, this is a GREAT place to be living, as new companies and new opportunities are springing up constantly. There's also been a big increase in the number of hospitals and healthcare facilities in the northern suburbs. I'm confident your husband can find another job soon.

[Texan#1]

McKesson and AmerisourceBergen are currently expanding in the area. Maybe he can start looking there? Best of luck!!

[WorldKlas]

Changing jobs is always a risk.

[iberanon]

File for unemployment benefits immediately and avoid working for small companies. Go dual income and build up your savings.

[TurtleCreek80]

I'm sorry that happened to your husband, but that's business - in Texas or anywhere else. Change in management / ownership / direction often leaves talented mid-level managers out of a job. Lucky for your husband, the DFW area is a great place for healthcare and IT industries so he should leverage his recruiter, California contacts, his local family (never know who might know someone!) and just start cold networking here. He'll land somewhere and things will be ok. He's far from the first person this has ever happened to!

I do agree with the pp - if he hasn't filed for UI benefits, he should do so ASAP. That's what they're there for.

[Threestep2]

I am not familiar with the fact that accrued PTO can be wiped out in TX. Can someone please post a link to that?