#ExpensiveCities - Worker Migration

[burbuja0512]

I wish I could work remotely

but having access to 10s of 1000s of patient medical records means on site work only

No electronic health records?    Hopefully your situation could change with a little bit more technology.  Or, perhaps there is another employer with more modern options?

[bluebooger]

I wish I could work remotely

but having access to 10s of 1000s of patient medical records means on site work only

No electronic health records?    Hopefully your situation could change with a little bit more technology.  Or, perhaps there is another employer with more modern options?

its pretty modern here -- big hospital in NYC -- they're just paranoid 

all print outs have to be shredded 

any laptop you bring to work has to be inspected by IT first and have all kinds of anti-virus software installed on it by them before you can connect to the network 

no taking any files home on usb drive 

any files sent to anyone outside the hospital has to go through a special email that requires the receiver verify a code sent by text message

[amilitab4k9]

I work remotely as a freelance finance writer. My end-goal is to work as a financial planner, which I will do remotely as well. I love my home office and feel no need to drive anywhere. The ability to work remotely and around my children's schedules was a major factor in my career choice. 
I believe that if more companies allowed for remote work and flexible schedules, they could tap into one of the greatest resources our country has to offer- mothers! There are a lot of highly intelligent, capable, educated women out there who aren't willing to trade their families for a full-time position, but would love to have the opportunity to work part-time from home. (That's what I'm doing right now.)
Unfortunately, that isn't possible for every position. My husband works at a manufacturing facility, so he has to be there in person. He commutes 45 minutes each way, but that's so that we can stay in civilization, not because it's in a big city.

[burbuja0512]

I work remotely as a freelance finance writer. My end-goal is to work as a financial planner, which I will do remotely as well. I love my home office and feel no need to drive anywhere. The ability to work remotely and around my children's schedules was a major factor in my career choice. 
I believe that if more companies allowed for remote work and flexible schedules, they could tap into one of the greatest resources our country has to offer- mothers! There are a lot of highly intelligent, capable, educated women out there who aren't willing to trade their families for a full-time position, but would love to have the opportunity to work part-time from home. (That's what I'm doing right now.)
Unfortunately, that isn't possible for every position. My husband works at a manufacturing facility, so he has to be there in person. He commutes 45 minutes each way, but that's so that we can stay in civilization, not because it's in a big city.

VERY good point!!!!  The talent pool is shut tightly unless remote workers are allowed.    Mothers are an excellent point.   Many companies hire expensive consultants or hire temps of varying quality.   Either way, the consultant or the temp doesn't get the company culture because they're not in it.   Hiring a mom would take care of that problem and likely be cheaper than either the consultant or the temp!

[Sparklette]

I lived in Seattle proper until April 2017, renting. Rent increased for me from $320 a month in 2010 to $1470 when I left. My old neighborhood went from middle class families to 1 person households of 25-35 year olds making over $100k a year. Single family dwellings were razed to make way for 5 story apartment/condo structures.

[originalamyj]

I live in Austin, and work remotely PT for a Realtor in the CA Bay Area as her assistant. It's just an assistant job, but it clicks on some of the things mentioned in this thread...IMHO she found top talent by being willing to hire remotely, and she found top talent in a mom! Our 2 hour time difference is a benefit in a field that often feels 24hr, plus I'm from her area originally, so I bring expertise to the table that would be impossible to find locally for her at the rate she pays me. Win/Win

My husband is a Creative Director for a small company here in Austin. His commute is one hour each way, and that's only 12 miles. Traffic here has gotten ridiculous. He should work remotely but no one in his company does because the boss has trust issues. If he could work remotely our dream would be to actually get an RV and travel 1/2 the year while still working. People do it, we just haven't found a way yet.

[burbuja0512]

I live in Austin, and work remotely PT for a Realtor in the CA Bay Area as her assistant. It's just an assistant job, but it clicks on some of the things mentioned in this thread...IMHO she found top talent by being willing to hire remotely, and she found top talent in a mom! Our 2 hour time difference is a benefit in a field that often feels 24hr, plus I'm from her area originally, so I bring expertise to the table that would be impossible to find locally for her at the rate she pays me. Win/Win

My husband is a Creative Director for a small company here in Austin. His commute is one hour each way, and that's only 12 miles. Traffic here has gotten ridiculous. He should work remotely but no one in his company does because the boss has trust issues. If he could work remotely our dream would be to actually get an RV and travel 1/2 the year while still working. People do it, we just haven't found a way yet.

I love time differences in remote work.   In my case, it means that I have a lot of work to do early, but late in the day is totally quiet.  

OMG and I know what you mean about the 12 mile one-hour commute!!  I was in the Chicago area and since I do international work, I was able to get to the office at 6:30am and leave around 3:00pm.   But that was the ONLY way to keep the commute reasonable with even a minor delay adding significant amounts of time.

I don't know how people could work from an RV, but I'm sure it could be done.   As long as you could get an internet connection that's fast enough to support all of the programs his employer uses, I'm sure it would be ok.  You could even take the luxury of choosing your own home state.  I wonder if you could just get a fancy PO box, like the ones that sound like actual residences and call that home.     I live in South Dakota now and there is no state income tax.   So I'm not sure it's the best to choose because I haven't done the research, I know that we pay a heck of a lot less in taxes than we did when we lived in Chicago.

I couldn't do the RV thing now due to kids in school, but if you ever figure a way out how to do that, do send me a message or post!

[Ideas]

My husband is a Creative Director for a small company here in Austin. His commute is one hour each way, and that's only 12 miles. Traffic here has gotten ridiculous. He should work remotely but no one in his company does because the boss has trust issues. If he could work remotely our dream would be to actually get an RV and travel 1/2 the year while still working. People do it, we just haven't found a way yet.

I hope he finds something good remote, so you can go for it.

[bluebooger]

..   I live in South Dakota now and there is no state income tax.   ..

what's property tax like ? 
and state and city sales tax ?

[burbuja0512]

..   I live in South Dakota now and there is no state income tax.   ..

what's property tax like ? 
and state and city sales tax ?

Coming from Chicago, the property tax is peanuts.    I don't know the percentage, but I do know that our house pays a little more because it has a pool and sauna.   (I didn't want these features.. they were just part of the house we happened to fall in love with)    But even then, it's still less than half of Illinois.

State and city sales tax seem to be about the same as what I'm used to.   Maybe a little lower but nothing spectacular.   

So, in South Dakota, I have a SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper house, much less property tax, no state income tax and overall lower cost of living.   Plus my town is extremely walkable, so we are going to get rid of one of our cars since my 18 and 22-year olds that live at home can walk everywhere.   


I'm sure there is a cheaper state.  I've heard Wyoming or Florida, but I haven't done the research.    My interest in South Dakota was a combination of factors, only partly lower cost of living.   So if you're looking for the absolute cheapest, I'm not sure which one that is.    And of course for us, the house was important.  We got a great deal.