Moving back to Louisville ... (apartment, lease, insurance)

[chwilson0607]

Group,

I am hoping to move back to Louisville very soon - after being gone for 22 years. I have always come back to visit a few times a year (most of my family still lives there or nearby). I currently live in the Maryland/Metro DC area. After working for a while in the computer field - which has been a good industry in this area - I would like to move to a slower paced, lower-cost-of-living, and more firendly area. Not to mention, it would be nice to live close to my family once again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on coordinating how to go about selling our current house, looking for a new house, finding a new job, and (possibly) a new baby on the way? I have some ideas but I am curious if there is a recommended way for relocation, what others may have done, etc.

I realize the whole process may take a while. The hardest part, I am envisioning, is selling our house due to market conditions. Thanks for any insight you all may be able to offer.

Carl

[missymomof3]

Hello Carl! Glad you are coming back! I wish I could help but I have never lived anywhere else (yet) but aren't there relocation realtors who could maybe help?

[Chinchilla17]

How quickly are you wanting to relocate? I have a lot of relocation resources and if you have any questions feel free to email me alyssonriffe@gmail.com.

[nlschr0]

If you're in a high-demand or professional/executive career, you might try getting a job first. Many bigger companies will offer relocation packages for new employees, including everything from hiring moving vans to offering assistance with selling your house. Some places will even buy your old home if it doesn't sell within a specified time limit.

[Floridahater]

Originally Posted by chwilson0607

Group,

I am hoping to move back to Louisville very soon - after being gone for 22 years. I have always come back to visit a few times a year (most of my family still lives there or nearby). I currently live in the Maryland/Metro DC area. After working for a while in the computer field - which has been a good industry in this area - I would like to move to a slower paced, lower-cost-of-living, and more firendly area. Not to mention, it would be nice to live close to my family once again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on coordinating how to go about selling our current house, looking for a new house, finding a new job, and (possibly) a new baby on the way? I have some ideas but I am curious if there is a recommended way for relocation, what others may have done, etc.

I realize the whole process may take a while. The hardest part, I am envisioning, is selling our house due to market conditions. Thanks for any insight you all may be able to offer.

Carl

Carl:

I grew up in Rockville, MD and attended Richard Montgomery HS and graduated from the Univ of MD in College Park. Now, I have no desire to live in the Wash-Baltimore corridor. It's just too crowded and expensive. Good luck in your pursuit to liberate yourself from the overcrowded environment of suburban MD. Honestly, it was a wonderful place to grow up years ago, and the schools were in the top 5 in the nation; however, as the years have gone by, Montgomery Co has gone the way of PG Co. I guess that's progress (or the lack thereof)!

[tomocox]

Get your employment set first. Unless you are in one of those fortunate fields where there just aren't enough of you (Nurses for example) The housing market is the same as it has always been. Supply verses demand sets price and time on the market. I assure you that priced right, your DC home will sell fast. You may not like the price, but I'd bet that unless you recently purchased in the DC area, you'll still walk away without any housing expense for the time you lived there. Surely beats rent.

Be sure that you get a great Realtor to help you sell, not just a good one, but a great one. Hire the best. Don't fall for the hype. Make certain that you are getting value. Its all about value. A great realtor won't have to sell you, his/her professionalism will glow with obviousness.

Once your DC home has a serious contract, btw...ask for a 30 day rent free occupancy following close. That will give you 45-60 days to come home and find the home you'll adore.

[DHNLouisville]

Carl,
I am also moving back home from Houston, TX after being gone for 13 years. My situation is different than yours in that I am single with no children. So the risks associated only effect me. I've been lucky. I actually sold my house last year and moved into an apartment because my employer begged me to stay for some special projects/circumstances. I signed a six month lease here and then went month to month. A little more expensive and a lot less space but it gave me the flexibilty to be able to move quickly. I have read other postings about others whose plans were to have one spouse move to the new city while living off the other spouse who stays behind until a new job is found in the new city.
I am also an IT professional with my MBA but I've been working for a VERY small company which is a detriment to my job search. I've been "actively" looking for 5 months. Here's my recent input/experience.
--I don't have many networking contacts back home so I've only really done the job boards (monster, careerbuilder, dice, etc.) so this is my definition of "active". You say you've been home several times per year so you should have solid networking contacts (unless your family is like mine). I also bought the Book of List from Business First which contains many local company addresses, urls, phones, faxes, etc to do some cold calling/mailings. Working on incorporating it into a website/database to manage my contacts and efforts.
--Louisville is big in healthcare, financial and insurance and most postings ask for "healthcare knowledge", etc. I don't know your industry but mine is not any of those. However, I'm still getting some interest/phone interviews so industry experience may not be all that important, especially in IT.
--It seemed that I didn't get much interest until I had a local address/zip code. When I used my sister's address, I'd get more calls than when I used my own. Then, I'd get the "oh, so you're not actually IN Louisville yet then..." response when I explained I was planning to relocate.
--I didn't seem to get much attention from recruiters/employers until I had a definite, close move date. Even then, the recruiters are "out of sight/out of mind". The ones I work with the closest are the ones I came to Louisville and met face to face.
--I have seen VERY few jobs that indicate relocation assistance of any kind and the few I have seen are very senior level. I've had several phone interviews but no in person interviews unless I arranged it while in town for other purposes/came on my own.

I don't mean to be discouraging but if you want to move home, it will take you at least twice as long as if you were already in Louisville. And unless you are in upper mgmt or some very special skills, you'll be competing with others already there.
DH

[cobolt]

Yes, I"ve also heard that being geographically local is the hiring trend in LVile. I am a bit put off by that. I"ve never had problems getting hired cross country. I never had to be on site to find a job before. It seems easier to get hired long distance if you are relocating to the coasts. I had no problem getting a job on the west coast and in Alaska when I was living thousands of miles from either of those places. I find it a bit discouraging that I'd have a better chance if I first picked up and moved without having a job lined up. That might work well for younger people who aren't established in their careers, but for those of us who are, why would you take such a risk?

[northern girl 54]

Having relocated here with my spouse transfer and promotion 5 years ago, I can say this area has a odd somewhat narrow,different cultural view regarding certain things, ie many families here go back for 4-5 generations and none of the group will ever consider relocating out of the area due to family ties and friendships, so my experience has shown it is almostimposssible for outsiders to be really welcomed in to the community (and for jobs )except superficially. This sound harsh and negative but I got a job only after we moved here. We have lived in many areas and never before had difficulties making friends or getting jobs when my spouse was transferred like in Louisville. I felt there was a lot of superfilus conversation and advertisement about hospitality that was false. I grew up in Memphis till age 18 and moved away to go to school to a big ten school and most of my adult life lived in multiple large cities or their suburbs,so I really was a transplanted southerner who moved to the midwest who then came back to Kentucky. I must say, I many times have been treated like a DAMN YANKEE, and most of the time I was the genteel, hospitable, polite , warm one. People here simple do not accept outsiders easily except superficially, so this may be a reason and not only the business reasons( of costs for not hiring someone longdistance). I think most definelty plays a factor. Most of my friends here are from many other places and I have made a large group and all feel the same. To be accepted here you need to get in a church and build a group of friend from there and then network. It seems that is how it is done. Stuff revolves around church and heavy BIBLE BELT influences and large generational families and even busunesses and dont let anyone tell you different. Incidentally, I am relocating again real soon to the upper midwest and found a great job quickly, and have already been warmly welcomed into the company and they are helping us with everything as my husband has now retired. The area is beautiful scenery, but be prepared for narrow, shallow thinking in general and to feel like the area is a step back in time with the rest of the country.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by northern girl 54

Having relocated here with my spouse transfer and promotion 5 years ago, I can say this area has a odd somewhat narrow,different cultural view regarding certain things, ie many families here go back for 4-5 generations and none of the group will ever consider relocating out of the area due to family ties and friendships, so my experience has shown it is almostimposssible for outsiders to be really welcomed in to the community (and for jobs )except superficially. This sound harsh and negative but I got a job only after we moved here. We have lived in many areas and never before had difficulties making friends or getting jobs when my spouse was transferred like in Louisville. I felt there was a lot of superfilus conversation and advertisement about hospitality that was false. I grew up in Memphis till age 18 and moved away to go to school to a big ten school and most of my adult life lived in multiple large cities or their suburbs,so I really was a transplanted southerner who moved to the midwest who then came back to Kentucky. I must say, I many times have been treated like a DAMN YANKEE, and most of the time I was the genteel, hospitable, polite , warm one. People here simple do not accept outsiders easily except superficially, so this may be a reason and not only the business reasons( of costs for not hiring someone longdistance). I think most definelty plays a factor. Most of my friends here are from many other places and I have made a large group and all feel the same. To be accepted here you need to get in a church and build a group of friend from there and then network. It seems that is how it is done. Stuff revolves around church and heavy BIBLE BELT influences and large generational families and even busunesses and dont let anyone tell you different. Incidentally, I am relocating again real soon to the upper midwest and found a great job quickly, and have already been warmly welcomed into the company and they are helping us with everything as my husband has now retired. The area is beautiful scenery, but be prepared for narrow, shallow thinking in general and to feel like the area is a step back in time with the rest of the country.

What part of Louisville did you move to?