? for those LI girls who moved away.... advice

My FH and I have been doing the long distance thing for 5 years... I will be finishing graduate school in May and am looking for a teaching job on Long Island (impossible, right?) as well as in the Maryland/DC area where his job currently is. I just got a phone call yesterday offering me an early offer of employment in Fairfax County, VIRGINIA. The offer is only good for 2 weeks though. there's no way i'd hear about anything on Long island within that time period. I really am having a hard time reconciling the idea of moving away from my family and friends, but at the same time am trying to look at it as a little adventure with my FH. I know a handful of you ladies have upped and moved to GA, FL, etc.. and was hoping you could share some of your experiences with me...

I know I should be excited that I just got a really great job offer, but at the same time, it's like sealing my plane ticket to move, ya know?

sigh.... thanks in advance!

Re: ? for those LI girls who moved away.... advice

I didn't move away because my DH Loves LI - but I would move in a second if I had the chance. I think the opportunities in the South are so much better than here. Good Luck

Re: ? for those LI girls who moved away.... advice

We moved to NJ for my DHs job -- it was relocated to Central NJ. We are almost 2 hours away from my parents on LI. I will say we make a concerted effort to see our families about once a month. At first it was ok, because we were/are newlyweds and we wanted our privacy, but now it would be nice to have family/friends near by. Knowing what I know now, I still would have moved. There are pluses and minuses to every move, but for us the positive far outweights the negative. Good luck.

Re: ? for those LI girls who moved away.... advice

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Posted by jenheartsrob

My FH and I have been doing the long distance thing for 5 years... I will be finishing graduate school in May and am looking for a teaching job on Long Island (impossible, right?) as well as in the Maryland/DC area where his job currently is. I just got a phone call yesterday offering me an early offer of employment in Fairfax County, VIRGINIA. The offer is only good for 2 weeks though. there's no way i'd hear about anything on Long island within that time period. I really am having a hard time reconciling the idea of moving away from my family and friends, but at the same time am trying to look at it as a little adventure with my FH. I know a handful of you ladies have upped and moved to GA, FL, etc.. and was hoping you could share some of your experiences with me...

I know I should be excited that I just got a really great job offer, but at the same time, it's like sealing my plane ticket to move, ya know?

sigh.... thanks in advance!

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We didn't move but I have been a LI teacher for 13 years now. If I were in your shoes I would accept the job offer for a few reasons...

1. The LI job market in education is very though. Many districts laid people off last year and if there are new positions for next year then they must be offered to them.

2. Who knows what will continue to happen regarding budgets passing on LI this year? My district is currently on contingency. Between the high taxes and the school $$ scandals a lot of taxpayers have decided they are voting down ANY budget... no matter how little or necessary the increase.

3. Cost of buying a house here. I'm 35 and DH is 37 and thank God we are not starting out. He bought a small, real small, ranch in 1998 for 150K. Yes, we put in quite a bit of improvements (new bath/kitchen/deck/heat and 1/2 finished basement) but still we sold for $465K The young couple that bought the house was saving for a long time but they only put down 35K. Honestly, their mortgage payments must be way over $3K a month which shocks me because DH's first mortgage payment on the house was $800. They didn't put down 20%... that would be about $90K so they are also paying extra in PMI... hundreds of dollars a month extra just for insurance. I know Vriginia isn't cheap but you should be able to get a nicer home, faster there.

4. You never know if you will receive another offer from either place. Think of your student loans/wedding expenses.

Just some things to think about.

Re: ? for those LI girls who moved away.... advice

I also just got an early offer from Fairfax! Congratulations!

When I left LI after HS I knew that I wouldn't be going back because of my choice to be a teacher - I knew that it would be too difficult to find a position there.

Fairfax is a great school district... and while the area is very expensive, the salaries are catching up - I don't know what a first year teacher would make, but I know as a second year with a masters on the proposed scale I'll be making just under $50K.

It is tough to move away from family... but it's not a really terrible drive - usually about 6 hours.

I know the fairfax area fairly well (I was born in the area - and my Dad lives there) - and I also have 2 family members who already work for the county. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to get you an answer!

Best of luck with your decision!