# Unemployment - boo hoo, you can't live at your first choice. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428 "2011-07-09T17:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/21 "2011-07-09T20:04:08Z")
I have a mortgage on a house that in today’s market I wouldn’t have a snowball in Hell’s chance of selling. Moving isn’t an option for me, and I guess a lot of other people in the same situation. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/22 "2011-07-09T20:04:21Z")
> [@howye](#): > > What if your spouse has a job and moving would then put them out of work? Denver has ( or at one time had) a higher cost of living than Columbus. How would my family’s situation be improved? What about the mortgage on my existing home? Do I walk away from that existing debt? How do I then get a home in the new city or I am supposed to rent for the rest of my life? > > Moving may not be as simple as you make it out to be. I am a lawyer, moving to Colorado would require getting licensed in that state which may include retaking the bar exam. My wife is a teacher, moving would require navigating another state’s certifcation process, no easy or quick thing these days. This kind of goes back to the thread about how much ready cash should a person have on hand, and why my answer to that in these economic times was “two years”. Moving can be a bitch, no doubt. Sometimes circumstance doesn’t allow it. But location alone has to be way down the list of priorities when you need to put bread on the table. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/23 "2011-07-09T20:07:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This kind of goes back to the thread about how much ready cash should a person have on hand, and why my answer to that in these economic times was “two years”. Moving can be a bitch, no doubt. Sometimes circumstance doesn’t allow it. But location alone has to be way down the list of priorities when you need to put bread on the table. You are seriously out of touch of you think the average person has anywhere close to two years cash - or any hope of having it. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/24 "2011-07-09T20:21:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This kind of goes back to the thread about how much ready cash should a person have on hand, and why my answer to that in these economic times was “two years”. Yeah, and my answer to the question, “who should I be in a loving relationship with?” is Natalie Portman. Nice dreams, both our answers. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/25 "2011-07-09T20:29:56Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > So, according to the chart linked in the OP, California currently has an unemployment rate of 11%, compared to Wyoming’s 6%. If we assume that approximate half of California’s 37,000,000 population is in the labor force, that gives us a total of .11 x 18,500,000, or 2 million unemployed Californians. Four times the _total population_ of Wyoming. Somehow, I don’t think they’d all find jobs if they moved there … Just quoted this because it was the point i was going to make, and i wanted to reiterate it. The OP is a flaming retard if s/he thinks a willingness to move to Wyoming or Nebraska or North Dakota would have any appreciable effect at all on the unemployment rate. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/26 "2011-07-09T20:34:15Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I have a mortgage on a house that in today’s market I wouldn’t have a snowball in Hell’s chance of selling. Moving isn’t an option for me, and I guess a lot of other people in the same situation. Fuck you! You’re unemployed! You take unemployment so I get to decide everything about your fucking life since you a loser and obviously can’t make decisions. Why the fuck do you spend money on the internet? If you’re so poor you should do noting but look for work and take the first fucking job offered you so I don’t have to pay your unemployment again. You think you should decide where the fuck you live? You are completely incapable of making good life decisions so I’ll make them for you. BTW, I totally believe in small government. (this is what we unemployed people hear just about every day. Fuck all of y’all) ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/27 "2011-07-09T20:39:04Z")
Two years worth of cash on hand? Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. Pahleeze. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/28 "2011-07-09T20:42:05Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Fuck you! You’re unemployed! You take unemployment so I get to decide everything about your fucking life since you a loser and obviously can’t make decisions. > > Why the fuck do you spend money on the internet? If you’re so poor you should do noting but look for work and take the first fucking job offered you so I don’t have to pay your unemployment again. > > You think you should decide where the fuck you live? You are completely incapable of making good life decisions so I’ll make them for you. BTW, I totally believe in small government. > (this is what we unemployed people hear just about every day. Fuck all of y’all) Maybe if you had opposable thumbs I’d feel sorry for you. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/29 "2011-07-09T20:54:57Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Speaking on behalf of the country-minded folk, please ignore the OP. Stay in the cities. They’re far better. We’d hate to force you to come out here with us. Ick, ick. No, those dirty noisy unpleasant cities are where you should stay. And I’d like to add that many of us country folk carry _ **guns** _ around during hunting season. They might go off and kill you. Far better to stay where the gang-bangers only _sometimes_ do drive-bys. Much safer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/30 "2011-07-09T20:55:09Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > Two years worth of cash on hand? > > Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. Pahleeze. I didn’t say it was easy; in fact, it can take years to have that much put away a bit at a time. But the peace of mind it brings is worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/31 "2011-07-09T20:56:46Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > You are seriously out of touch of you think the average person has anywhere close to two years cash - or any hope of having it. And your reading skills suck ass. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/32 "2011-07-09T21:10:49Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And your reading skills suck ass. I’m not sure they do. You said that, in these economic times, two years is “how much ready cash should a person have on hand.” I don’t know about you, but when i make a statement about what “a person” (talking generically) “should” have, i’m usually talking about an average or typical person. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/33 "2011-07-09T21:24:01Z")
Full employment corresponded to an unemployment rate somewhere south of 5.5% before the Little Depression. Here are the states with unemployment less than 6.0%: Vermont 5.4 Oklahoma 5.3 New Hampshire 4.8 South Dakota 4.8 Nebraska 4.1 North Dakota 3.2 Those are not high population states, either individually or collectively. Most (not all) people gain employment via networking, and most (not all) people have networks local to their region and perhaps one other. Also, it looks like the boom centers are focused on agriculture and mining: those are notoriously volatile economic sectors. Hey I’m all for geographic mobility, but that won’t get us out of this mess. We’re in a depression: we know how to cure depressions – better than most other policy challenges. But Obama lacks the will and the Republicans are pushing policies to make things worse. Very unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/34 "2011-07-09T21:27:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I didn’t say it was easy; in fact, it can take years to have that much put away a bit at a time. But the peace of mind it brings is worth the effort. You have to live beneath your supposed means in order to do it, but I agree, it can be done. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/35 "2011-07-09T21:28:46Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Fuck you! You’re unemployed! You take unemployment so I get to decide everything about your fucking life since you a loser and obviously can’t make decisions. > > Why the fuck do you spend money on the internet? If you’re so poor you should do noting but look for work and take the first fucking job offered you so I don’t have to pay your unemployment again. > > You think you should decide where the fuck you live? You are completely incapable of making good life decisions so I’ll make them for you. BTW, I totally believe in small government. > (this is what we unemployed people hear just about every day. Fuck all of y’all) > [@kidchameleon](#): > > Maybe if you had opposable thumbs I’d feel sorry for you. Pot, kettle. At least he’s an adult quadruped. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/36 "2011-07-09T21:32:33Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And your reading skills suck ass. Please point out what I misread in your post in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/37 "2011-07-09T21:32:58Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > No, the entire US is not falling to pieces. Suck it up, buttercup, and realize you may not be able to live your dreams in New York, San Fran or Orlando. The job market is booming in the Northern states. Wyoming, South Dakota, **North Dakota** , Nebraska. No, you can’t have 1000000 art galleries or folk festivals every weekend, but it’s **far from being the barren third world country most people would say it is**. Wanna bet? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/38 "2011-07-09T21:34:33Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > You have to live beneath your supposed means in order to do it, but I agree, it can be done. Assuming you’re not already living paycheque to paycheque, which many middle class families still are. And no, that is nothing to do with “living within your means” or even below it. It just means that modern life is very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/39 "2011-07-09T21:40:16Z")
While it is heartening to know that Steinbeck is still being read, methinks to OP might have missed the point of TGoW. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428/40 "2011-07-09T21:46:17Z")
I like my snow storms in January, not June, thankyouverymuch. (Seriously, though, the point the OP makes is not stupid for individuals with a certain skillset, but it is not the best advice for the unemployed population as a whole. But I don’t know what the best advice would be.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unemployment-boo-hoo-you-cant-live-at-your-first-choice/588428.md?page=3)