HEY - so... is it your first time here??

[Fireborn]

One of the reasons I asked about "upstate" is we have an opening where I work, located in Central NY, but Albany is too far away. Would be a heck of a commute. LOL

Good luck to you.

Ok, a bit of advice RG. ASK questions, don't make assumptions. I've moved to West Palm Beach, put myself in debt with said move, for a job that only lasted 4 months. (I'm still paying off said debt from 4 years ago.) I don't have a problem moving if the job is right.

So, moving a few hundred miles is not a big deal to me.

*finds dirtysal* Hi!

[songbird]

Welcome Margareth! Nice to have you here.

[meinmaryland]

Margareth, welcome aboard!

Pia

[songbird]

The content of your post invited people here who want to help to do just that.

If you were not looking for advice or help, you could have simply left certain parts out.

Hope you find what you're looking for, and I'm glad you like the site.

[billypuss]

Welcome, Margareth.

[Bill1966]

Two years ago I got let go from my job as an Art Director/Writer at an advertising agency. I was in the business for 25 years. The last thing I did before I got canned was write some TV commercials for Mr. Rowe himself. It was the highlight of my career. For the last 2 years I have been working as an EMT, fixing motorcycles, Woodworking, I'm a volunteer firefighter, and I still do some advertising (Freelance) I work a lot of part time jobs to make ends meet and take care of my family. Unfortunately, advertising payed very well and I still don't make near what I used to. But life goes on, I will be downsizing to a smaller house, I will be going from owner to renter. BUT I am happy to get the work I have and I have a lot more time to spend with my family. My work as a firefighter and as an EMT make me feel better about myself than any paycheck could ever do. If Mike sees this, I gave him the New Haven Fire Rescue hat.

[kzang]

Welcome Bill,

All this downsizing makes us sit back and think, that's for sure. Kudos to you for such a great attitude. That attitude is hard to come by nowadays. And welcome to mrW.

Kathy

[east1952]

I'd like to welcome you also, Bill!

My husband was let go from his job (after working for the company for 35 years!) 3 1/2 years ago. He was lucky to be able to find employment almost immediately, but he has been working away from home (primarily out of state) since then. It's been difficult getting used to his only being home on (some) weekends; there have even been periods when he's been away for 1-2 months. I've had to take over a lot of his responsibilities around the house, but I've been lucky to have friends that pitch in with the really tough stuff.

The one big thing we've learned from our experience is that we don't really need a big house with the resultant never-ending maintenance and yard work. We hope to retire in a few years to a shore community and will definitely be looking for a smaller home. We've also realized that having more money doesn't necessarily equal more happiness. As long as the bills get paid, and there is some leftover to put into savings, then we're satisfied.

I'm sure it was difficult for you to go from a job you enjoyed to having to take on a variety of part time jobs just to stay afloat. It might be some comfort to know that I know several people who after losing their jobs did something completely different from what they had been doing, and are really enjoying it! They may not be getting rich, but it keeps them busy, they're meeting new people, and they discovered abilities they never knew they had.

As Kathy mentioned in her post, you obviously have a good attitude and that alone will go a long way in helping face the future. Thanks for posting here, and let us know how things go for you.

Liz

BTW, would you mind telling us what commercials you wrote for Mike?

[pilgrim101]

Hey Bill,

Seems we have some things in common, including the year we were born (1966)....I'm assuming from your screen name. Reading your post, I know what your going through. My husband worked for 25 years in finance and was laid off as well. He has worked at so many different jobs this year he's catching up to Mike (well almost, no sewers). It's been hard, I'm not going to sugar coat it, but on the bright side, he has had more flexibility in his schedule to do things with his family that he wouldn't have had otherwise. If I learned anything from this crazy year, it's that when life throws you lemons, make limoncello.
Best of luck to you.

[andry]

hello am new here, my name is Andrea I'm 17 and I'm Italian ... now you're wondering: why an Italian on this site? The answer is obvious: the transmission dirty jobs came to Italy and I think Mike Rowe is a great person {[(my english sucks because I'm using google translator)]}