Hypothetically Speaking

[ladysprite]

Any of my readers in Ohio have an idea of what the job market is like for project/product managers out there right now?

And, say, the housing market?

If, you know, a veterinarian and a project manager were looking to move out there sometime in the next six months?

Just hypothetically speaking, of course....

Comments

[summers-place.livejournal.com]

I think you'll need to be more specific: what part of Ohio?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Don't care. Job is more important; holding out for an ideal place isn't going to work if it ends up with us homeless.

In a perfect world? Columbus. Barring that, anywhere. I just lit on Ohio because at least I know a few people scattered around the state.

[gmkieran.livejournal.com]

ouch! what happened? Housing market is definitely a buyer's market here in Columbus, right now. Lots of people desperate to get out from under houses they can't afford. Job market not so promising - Matt found a company out of CO that was willing to let him work remote as a PM, but I think it took him close to 6 months to land that. A friend of mine recently sent out an email about a position that might suit Umbran - I'll see if I can pass that along via email, too.

*hugs*

[balthazar99.livejournal.com]

It's not Ohio, but I believe there's a decent market for program managers in the Washington DC area right now. Government work doesn't slow down as much as the rest of the country. asa101 has been looking for this sort of position lately; he'd have more up to date information. I believe that government PM positions are starting to require PMM certification, or at least it's a big plus.

Housing prices are as depressed as anywhere - mostly it comes down to how long of a commute you can stomach.

No idea about veterinarian positions.

[clstal.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about either job market but I know the rental market is pretty renter-friendly at the moment. I'd be happy to help out however I can!

[dreda.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to the job market, but the housing market is completely in the buyer's favour, and what will net you a wee condo here will practically net you a farm there.

Columbus is awesome, but do not rule out the Cincinnati area. Which is also close enough to Kentucky horse country that there are a lot of horses and horse-folk, if you're up for that sort of large-animal thing. (And the dogs and cats that go with barns like icing goes with cupcakes.) Also the area right around Kenyon College is quite lovely, and the area around Oberlin is actually a lot like Amherst. Both Kenyon and Oberlin are excellent small liberal-arts universities that have a surprisingly wide range of jobs. (See also Wittenberg, Wesleyan, and Miami, which is a rather larger school.)

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Also in "not-Ohio" news: The area where I live is - I'm not joking here - in desperate need of a vet. The only one we had retired a couple of years ago, and since then we've been making do with a sort of veterinary equivalent of the Bookmobile. And housing, are you kidding me? People are practically giving houses away.

Of course, there are good reasons for that, primary among them being the fact that, apart from the veterinary void, there are no jobs here whatever, and that it's a generally sort of dismal and heartbreaking place to live. So in all honesty I can't say I recommend it. But there is a vacant veterinary hospital out on Route 157 just waiting for a young and energetic doctor to take it by storm. That part's true. :)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

What happened?

[bluepony0628.livejournal.com]

I've never been there but hugs.

[citabria]

I don't know what happened, but I'm worried and hope nothing is as bad as it currently seems. {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

What happened is my husband has been unemployed for half a year, and this shows no signs of changing in the foreseeable future. And the cost of living out here is hella high, and at least in Ohio we might be able to actually afford to live on my income alone. And maybe somewhere else he might be able to find a job.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

How long does someone have to be unemployed before it becomes as bad as it seems?

was sent here by my friend <lj user="madamruppy">

[mseuphrates.livejournal.com]

*hugs* My ex-husband (my kids' dad) has been unemployed for well over a year now - it's bad. I know.

The job market here is pretty sucky if you're in any kind of IT (as said ex is, and a few others I know who've been having employment issues). I don't know about the veterinarian side of things - I'd think that would probably be a fairly stable kind of thing since it's medical...then again, when times get tough people tend to short their pets first (well, some people anyway). However, as has been stated before, it's TOTALLY a buyer's market housing-wise. I have some friends who just moved to Dayton from LA, and got a SWEET deal (and considering the size of the house they needed with 4 adults and I think 3 kids, that's pretty awesome). And yeah, the cost of living here is pretty average on the whole.

My recommendation would be to hit up monster.com or other job sites and see what you can get jobwise over the next month or two, and do the calculations as to whether you can make it on one paycheck. It just really depends on your standard of living, I guess.

Hope that helps - and I wish you all the sucess in the world. I know how hard this situation can be.
*hugs*

[citabria]

That probably depends on savings, family resources, etc. Teem's been out of work for 18 months now, but I'm trying to keep from doing anything rash. In my experience acting out of desperation, rather than by design, only leads to even more desperate acts.

Here's the big question: do you actually *want* to be living in Ohio? Is that where you want to be building your life? If not, then find other avenues to explore.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

I just don't know. I've lived there before, and I have friends and people I love there. And there's less and less for me here in New England with every day.

This isn't desperation. This is me exploring other avenues. We're not going to ditch everything and flee out there tomorrow - but it makes sense to at least check it out and see if it's a viable option.

[surakofb5.livejournal.com]

Job market sucks here (Columbus). If you're in IT, it sucks even worse. A PhD scientist friend of mine (not IT) has been out of work for a year now. Although a lot of it is in how you market yourself. Another friend of mine only needed about 8 months to find a job, but he was an engineer and MBA with a unique skill set.

But... The cost of living is a lot lower, and you can get way more house here for the money. Take the cost of your house, divide by three, that's probably about what it would cost here, depending on which city.

[bluepony0628.livejournal.com]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Job-competition-toughest-apf-596404489.html?x=0

I don't want to say how long I've been unemployed too. And it only looks worse. :(

[guendalina.livejournal.com]

I know that housing in OHio is significantly cheaper than out here--and cost of living is a lot lower. My husband comes from the Akron/Canton area. And is still shocked at the cost of everything out here (other than seafood) and he's been here since 2002. It is totally possible to find a house under $100,000 and sometimes under 50,000 if you don't mind working on it.

[joannahurley.livejournal.com]

I suspect you have no interest whatsoever in returning to NJ, but if anything here: http://www.sdigovsolutions.com/careers/index.html or here: http://vzwcareers.com/ looks useful, let me know and Jon or I will pass up the "they're a friend" note to HR. FYI: The jobs at the first will all require a clearance, and WILL involve work for the military (I know some folks aren't interested in that). I'm sure you already know the evils of my local housing market. *wry*

[ausir.livejournal.com]

Out here in Northern VA, the housing market is just starting to rebound, but townhouses in decent neighborhoods go for $150 - $200K. (We got ours for 107, but it needed about 15K in repairs.) There's a new animal shelter/veterinary hospital about three miles away, and the D.C. area is usually good for project managers and computer techers assuming you have no moral objections to working for the government, a contractor who is abusing the hell out of the government, or AOL.

I realize it's not Ohio, but wanted to let you know.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I hope it doesn't come to that.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

It already has. Hence the looking.

Re: was sent here by my friend <lj user="madamruppy">

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info and the empathy. Right now I'm just grasping at straws, and at least Ohio is a place where I've lived and been happy before....

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I meant I hope he can find something before you go through the moving process.

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything to add to the other DC area folks... but, ::hugs::

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Good luck. Not a pet owner, so I don't know about the vet situation -- there are many veterinary establishments, though -- and in Ann Arbor, I occasionally see IT job openings cross my desk for positions at UM.