Opinions and advice needed - Moving for your career

[manwiches]

Hi all

I'm not sure where to start with this, and I could use some advice and opinions on those who have gone through something similar.

A bit of background, I've been working for the same company for the past 6 years. We have offices in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. It's been alluded to me many times in the past couple years that a move to Regina would be a great opportunity for me to further my career.

I know that if I stick it out in Alberta, my career will continue to grow. My home is Calgary, always has been. My wife is from Regina, but moved here when she was 13, so Calgary is home to her too. She has said numerous times though that if the right opportunity came up for me to move anywhere for my career, she would support me in that.

If I go to Regina, I know that my career would flourish and grow much faster than if I was in Calgary. I would leap in my career by 3-4 years with regards to the opportunity I'd be given. This wouldn't be a 5-10 year move for me. This would more than likely transplant us for the rest of our lives. But, Calgary isn't far either. I'd be making the kind of money where I could travel back often to visit for weekends.

All this being said, I recently went to Regina for a work trip, and was approached on the subject again. Granted, it's exciting and new, and I need to approach this from an objective standpoint, but it was reiterated to me that the opportunity would be huge. I personally am very excited about the potential opportunity, however I'm also incredibly scared as well.

My wife and I need to sit down and go through all the scenarios, and come up with those that we would be willing to handle to present to my company. I also have to discuss with my company what opportunities they would give to me as well.

So to here I pose the questions. What are your thoughts on career moves? What would make you move? What considerations did you make when moving or deciding to move? What kinds of things did your company offer you? What are reasonable expectations on both ends? Also, above all, any advice.

Thanks CPers

[Cowperson]

In 1987, I left one career and moved to Calgary to start another.

It worked out very well.

Considerations:

We were in northern Alberta . . . . . it was great for early in our lives but as time passed it felt like we were divorced from civilization. It was great to have the advantages and opportunities of a big city. And more summer. Moving to Regina from Calgary . . . . . sounds like the reverse. But only you would know if that would be true or not.

More opportunity - tough few early years getting started but easily worth it the last 15-20 years.

Help from the company? - It was moving from one occupation/company to another. No help.

I came to Calgary while my wife finished a contract in northern Alberta - so we were living in separate cities and a 6.5 hour drive apart for 22 months. That was tough!!! Don't think you'll be making that drive from Regina back to Calgary every weekend. Flying maybe. Driving, no.

in summary, if you're relocating to a place like Regina from a place like Calgary, and it would be a move for life, I'd carefully consider the lifestyle sacrfices that might include - if any - and if that is worth "only" a three or four year jump in your career advancement.

EDIT: Just an add-on to my earlier comments. . . . . in 1987 I also had a simultaneous offer to move to Fort McMurray and stay in the same profession I was in but in a higher position. I could have eventually followed from there to Edmonton/Calgary, a natural progression in that business. But, again, lifestyle and a greater opportunity in a different career path pushed me to Calgary sooner.

Cowperson

[Cheese]

I moved from Calgary to Ontario and it was a significantly positive move for me.
Of course you take the move if the opportunity is significantly better.

If however Regina simply doesnt suit you or your lifestyle then you have to take your chances. Opportunities always come up, some not as great as others.

Make a list...on one side put down all the pros....on the other side put all the cons.

If the pros outweigh the cons by a lot then you have to consider it. If even, or the pros only outweigh the cons by a few points, then you have to really think about your options.

[manwiches]

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming.

Some clarification, in that I am having some difficulty letting go of Calgary. I always thought that if a great opportunity came up, I'd do it in a hearbeat, but the things holding me back include familiarty, friends, and family. Rationally speaking, I know that friends come and go, and that good ones will remain. It's not like I will ever see them again. Family will always be there, no matter what. And familiarty with the city as well as my extracurriculars will also change. I play hockey and sports, but I do it more now to hang out with friends. There are hockey leagues and beer leagues here, so getting sports isn't an issue. Also, I love good food... I don't think you have to be rocket scientist to realize the quality is not as good as Calgary. Again, just the familarity.

Clarification CowPerson: Most of our company's clients are located in Calgary. They do alot of work in Sask though. Our office needs more people to pick up the slack, as there is too much work and not enough people. Here, I would probably be an operations manager here within 2-3 years, whereas in Calgary I probably wouldn't get there for at least 10 years. I'm a pretty ambitious person, and I wouldn't settle for being bumped up 3-4 years and sitting pat. Even in Calgary, I still try to push, but there are rungs on the ladder I can't pass as soon as I could in Sask.

Also, adding to the clients in Calgary part, I would fly back alot to meet clients, and in essence be in Calgary more often. i.e. Fly on Friday to meet, stay the weekend.

Cheese: that's what my wife and I will be doing this weekend probably. I need to make thsi decision sooner than later.

I have broached the idea of working in both places, and home base is Calgary, but Sask needs the prescense here. Some idea that came to mind to present include working 3 weeks here, and going back for a week.

Just spitballing.

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by manwiches

Also, adding to the clients in Calgary part, I would fly back alot to meet clients, and in essence be in Calgary more often. i.e. Fly on Friday to meet, stay the weekend.

This is a great plan but could easily lead to resentment from your wife if you both miss Calgary but you get to return all the time.

I moved to Grande Prairie from Calgary with my wife for work. Similar boat as you except that I was fresh out of school and just starting with the company. There were better opportunities in GP and room for faster advancement.

Something you may want to consider is to suggest a 5 year plan to your company. You work there for 5 years and grow then when a position opens up in Calgary in 5 years you can apply to slot back in with the experience and growth that came from Saskatchewan.

[nik-]

I've thought about this a lot, and I don't know how much more money it would take me to move for a job. Probably close to double. I'm just not a mover I guess.

[manwiches]

nik-, those are close to my thoughts as well. I would need to be making what my wife and I both make combined, and some. It needs to be worth our while.

My wife would be giving up a great job with a union in Calgary, and would be starting fresh here.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by manwiches

It's been alluded to me many times in the past couple years

Nothing is ever alluded.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Nothing is ever alluded.

[psyang]

A couple other things to think about:

This is different for each family, but what toll will your constant travel to Calgary take on your marriage? I ended up leaving my employer and going independent partially to have more control over my schedule and reduce travel. I've had about 6 business trips in the last 6 years, all of them short road trips to Edmonton. This compared to travelling all over north america before, a couple times mere weeks after my first was born. I found travel exciting when I was single, but much less so after I was married, and even worse after kids.

Speaking of kids, if you have kids or they are in your future plans, will being closer to family be helpful/beneficial in this regard?

My wife and I moved from Ottawa to Calgary when we were expecting our second. We had a great life in Ottawa, but the prospect of having our kids closer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. made the decision for us simple (my wife and I are both from Calgary, so lots of family here).

[Table 5]

I'd move for a job and career, I'm just not sure I'd ever do it to move to a place like Regina unless it was a significant step up in position/money. Especially if this is a "lifetime" time of move, because man, that's a lot of Regina. Career and money is one thing...but you actually have to live there too. Having said that, my NY-born wife moved to Calgary (which I would consider an even more drastic step down in certain ways), and she seems to be adjusting fine.

If you really want to move up fast, maybe look out for positions with a new company? I think it's always easier to move up a ladder with a new job, than it is to wait it out at the old one. I think coming into a new situation as the boss (as opposed to being promoted over people who considered themselves your peers not that long ago) is also just easier for everyone to accept.

[Bonded]

I moved from Calgary to a 50,000 something town in Kansas. I miss Calgary but the opportunity was worth it and I will be back in Calgary in a year. I've adapted fine. But, mine is not permanent.

[rotten42]

Not sure if it applies here but with many companies if they have been telling you the move is good for your career they are telling you to take it. Otherwise you move down the pecking order in the compnay and will mkore often than not get passed over in the future.

[corporatejay]

Do you have kids? How old are they? Are you going to have kids?

We have a little one and having family, who literally at the drop of a dime, can watch him almost any time, we have so many options that my wife and I still get "date nights" on a fairly regular basis.

Don't underestimate the ability to get caregivers for your children, it helps keep us sane and increases our overall happiness to be able to get out like that.

[redforever]

I grew up just north of Regina and most of my relatives still live there.

You will for sure miss outdoor recreational opportunities. Calgary has nature in its backyard...and not only nature, but just about every aspect of it....outside of warm lakes. Yes, we have lots of water, but most are cold mountain streams. Even the type of outdoor recreation you participate in might be different. For instance, snowmobiling. There might be more snow and there might be miles of tracks In the Regina area, but they are flat, flat, flat.

Now not all of the Regina area is flat. You don't have to go very far north of Regina to get into a bit more interesting terrain and topography...but it will never be the same as having the mountains in your back yard.

Regina has very nice homes and like most cities, it has its areas where housing is certainly more compromised. The native population of Regina is now upwards of 35% so factor that in as well. Regina also has very high taxes, higher than Calgary, and their roads are not as good either. They have more heaving from winter and their tax base is not as large. That is changing though as the oil and gas business increases its presence in Saskatchewan and as people move there permanently.

My BIL and SIL have a special needs child and services do not exist at the same level as they do in Calgary...so keep education in mind as well. Not that their education system is terrible...it is not, but they don't have the tax base to provide the same services.

They also do not have the same selection for shopping. They have all the box stores of course, but they don't have the variety of small and unique stores that Calgary has.

There is a huge difference in climate between the two cities as well. Calgary is much more temperature where as Regina has hot hot summers and long cold winters with lots of snow.

Keep in mind the ages of your children if you have them. If they are Junior or Senior High, Regina would be a huge adjustment for them. However if your family is younger, they will adapt quite well.

If you are young and feel this would only be for a few years, go for it. Sometimes opportunities present themselves and then we let them slip by...and we end up regretting that or wondering what if?

[manwiches]

Thanks for all the advice and insight.

I have talked to our HR Manager and also my boss here, and laid everything with regards to my expectations on the table. I was more candid with my HR Manager then my boss, however they are both aware that it will pretty much take an offer I can't refuse to make my wife and I go. Further background is my wife has a very good job here she worked very hard to get where she's at. My HR Manager is aware that the offer would have to cover that loss of income in addition to my bump in salary as well. I also told them that this would be a long term move, and we are treating this as permanent. Thus I need assurances and expectations at milestone years (1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 10, etc).

Does this sound unreasonable? My HR Manager said it didn't, as she said it's better to lay everything on the table, so my wife and I aren't offended at a first offer, if the company didn't know my expectations.

It's looking more and more like I will be making the move. I'm nervous/excited/scared all at once. I've been going through a rollercoaster of emotion and logic for the past week.

Can anybody give me more insight into Regina as a city? Thank you redforever for yours. I'd like to know more about areas to live, areas to stay away from, eating out, eating in, things to do, things that make Regina special compared to a place like Calgary, education system, racism and prejudice (we are both asian, but born and raised here), the people, cost of living compared to here (specifics if you can)....

I really thank you guys for all the insight and help. I'm the kind of guy that needs to know what I'm getting into from the start

[GGG]

Can you handle the cold. I grew up in Saskatoon, (so I hate regina in an hating edmonton kind of way) but winters are cold. Think Calgary winter with no chinooks and 5 to 10 degrees colder.

Summers are awsome, but get a house with air conditioning. Lots of nice lakes in Saskatchewan that you can swim in.

Racism against natives is highly prevelant throughout Saskatchewan I didn't notice it against other races although I am white so it needs to be pretty overt before I notice those kind of things. Definately a union city with a lot of crown corps and government jobs. Leans left politically compared with the rural areas and Saskatoon. I would recomend becoming a Rider fan. The area down by Wascana lake is nicely developed similar to Prince's Island Park.

I think the toughest thing will be getting used to the smallness of the city. When I go back to Saskatoon I really notice that it is smaller.

What kind of things do you do in Calgary, it may be able to give better info if people know what kind of lifestyle you want.

[manwiches]

Thanks GGG

Lifestyle wise, I play rec hockey and soccer (I did some research, and found some beer leagues, so that's no issue). My wife and I really enjoy our food, and we both know we're taking a hit there. One of my wife's passions is doing makeup, so wondering if there is any insight into that market out there (Bridal, boudoir, etc).

To be honest, we're really simple people. We both love the idea of settling down and having more of a family focused lifestyle out there. The most difficult aspect for us is leaving our friends and family, but we know that they will all be still here for us when we come back to visit. We've been discussing starting a family for a while now, and if the move is happening, we will probably start right away.

With regards to standard of living, we currently live in Panorama in a +/- 2000 sq ft house. We would want to either live in something similar, or we were even considering something of a smaller town house type home in a nice area too, and have some capital to invest in other areas.

My cousin in law out there drove me around and showed me the Wascana area, which is nice but quite expensive too (similar to Springbank here), and also showed me some newer areas (North end and South End, forgot the names), that reminded me alot of Panorama. DT is out of the question or anywhere near there. It's a hole there, not like Calgary. But we also wouldn't be opposed to a character home too.

So many things to consider etc, but any advice or insight is appreciated.

[Rudee]

I was just talking to someone recently who had just moved their family from Regina to Calgary, because they didn't like Regina all that much. I've been there a couple times myself, and winters there are not pleasant at all. Not one bit. Just month after depressing month of just cold... Say goodbye to t-shirt wearing Chinook weather. Say hello to months of endless cold. Albertan's are much friendlier people too.

[manwiches]

Yea, I'm aware of the cold. I have a bit of extended family out there (don't see them all that much or have too much in common with them) and my wife is from there originally.

That being said, if the offer is right, the cold will be one thing we are willing to sacrifice for.