Colin Dunn
Supporting Actor
At the end of November, I became yet another victim of the high-tech carnage in Austin. That means: Time to sell off my place in Austin and move to another place, where there is actually work to be done.
With a deteriorating labor market, I am not optimistic about my earning potential. I expect I will probably end up making 20% LESS in my next job, making the affordability of my next home town even more important.
But where to go?
I was initially thinking about Dallas, but now I'm questioning whether or not I should move there. There are lots of companies based there, but the job market there has slowed from the torrid pace of a few years ago. Housing costs are up 15-20% over late 1999 levels. Unless I could make really good money there, now I wonder if it's worth putting up with the traffic.
Houston is another possibility, since it's less subject to home-price inflation. Everyone gripes about the traffic there, but there is still dirt cheap housing all over town. Have the Enron mass layoffs killed off the job market in Houston yet, as Dell did to Austin?
I don't know much about San Antonio. Is there much of an employment base there? Are Windows 2000/NT administrators even needed there?
If I don't go to Dallas, San Antonio, or Houston, I will probably have to move out of Texas. The opens up a lot of other cities, but I don't know much about other regions.
I have ruled out Denver, the SF Bay Area, NYC, and Boston. Those places are horribly expensive, and the tech-heavy job markets have collapsed there, too.
Here's what I think would be ideal in a place to live...
- Stable technology job openings (I have been doing Windows 2000/NT administration). I don't want to lose my job just 18 months after moving, as just happened in Austin...
- Low cost of housing compared to prevailing salaries. I am single, so I need to get as much bang for the buck on one income as possible.
- Reasonable commute times. I left the Denver/Boulder (Colorado) area because I was struggling to afford a small place, and driving an hour (or more) each way to get to work. I'd like to keep the commute to 30 minutes or less, unless I can afford a gigantic house in a desirable suburb (on one income, no less) to make up for the long commute time.
- A liberal-minded, well-educated populace. I would prefer to live where old prejudices and ethnic tensions are at a minimum. Access to arts/culture would be nice to have.
All this would probably suggest I should just stay in Austin, but unless some major companies start hiring in bulk here soon, I'm not going to outlast this downturn...
With a deteriorating labor market, I am not optimistic about my earning potential. I expect I will probably end up making 20% LESS in my next job, making the affordability of my next home town even more important.
But where to go?
I was initially thinking about Dallas, but now I'm questioning whether or not I should move there. There are lots of companies based there, but the job market there has slowed from the torrid pace of a few years ago. Housing costs are up 15-20% over late 1999 levels. Unless I could make really good money there, now I wonder if it's worth putting up with the traffic.
Houston is another possibility, since it's less subject to home-price inflation. Everyone gripes about the traffic there, but there is still dirt cheap housing all over town. Have the Enron mass layoffs killed off the job market in Houston yet, as Dell did to Austin?
I don't know much about San Antonio. Is there much of an employment base there? Are Windows 2000/NT administrators even needed there?
If I don't go to Dallas, San Antonio, or Houston, I will probably have to move out of Texas. The opens up a lot of other cities, but I don't know much about other regions.
I have ruled out Denver, the SF Bay Area, NYC, and Boston. Those places are horribly expensive, and the tech-heavy job markets have collapsed there, too.
Here's what I think would be ideal in a place to live...
- Stable technology job openings (I have been doing Windows 2000/NT administration). I don't want to lose my job just 18 months after moving, as just happened in Austin...
- Low cost of housing compared to prevailing salaries. I am single, so I need to get as much bang for the buck on one income as possible.
- Reasonable commute times. I left the Denver/Boulder (Colorado) area because I was struggling to afford a small place, and driving an hour (or more) each way to get to work. I'd like to keep the commute to 30 minutes or less, unless I can afford a gigantic house in a desirable suburb (on one income, no less) to make up for the long commute time.
- A liberal-minded, well-educated populace. I would prefer to live where old prejudices and ethnic tensions are at a minimum. Access to arts/culture would be nice to have.
All this would probably suggest I should just stay in Austin, but unless some major companies start hiring in bulk here soon, I'm not going to outlast this downturn...