What would you do?

[trailmix 77]

Forget the graphics, they need a webmaster - oh that's a bad bad website.

[Darnell 8,479]

my 2 jiao ..

stay on the path you are on with YOUR work.

whatever this school of his is, that he took a break from, have him get INTO it again, finish his BS, then move to you, marry in Canada, live/work in Canada as a Canadian Permanent Resident.

YOU make him the immigrant, not the other way 'round' .

Then, in 5 years, or after the 3rd child, you guys make another think about 'where to live'.

I'd kill to live in Canada doing my same work - it's just a better life, can find some English to listen to, also.

[Dan and Ali 3]

Hey again everyone -- first and foremost, I just want to thank everyone for your replies. My fiance and I had a pretty big discussion this weekend and we've decided we're going to continue with the visa process. It really comes down to the fact that while this job is a better paying job, it's not guaranteed and it would be silly to stop everything now when really, we're just getting started! Like many of you mentioned it is a long process and the visa itself is valid for 6 months so that's plenty of time for us to decide. At this point, we've decided that my fiance completing his education is what is most important -- the job I'm at now and even the one I could be going to are both just jobs, not careers. So ... that's where we're at now, and thanks again to everyone, your input really did help.

[Krikit 1,165]

*cancels prepared speech*

I agree with Darnell.

And that Tri-City website sucks!

[SapphireDreams 71]

I know I'm late, but I just wanted to add in my experience. My career has always been important to me and something I've always worked hard at. I left an incredible job in Toronto to move. It was my personal choice, and I harbour no hard feelings obviously, but it was scary to give up something so important to me. Especially since my husband's job is just a job and he doesn't really care as much about his career as I do.

At the end of the day, I realized and know now that even though it was a job that was part of my career... there are other opportunities out there and sometimes we have to do things for our personal lives and put our careers on hold or simply go off the tried a true path.

I'm not sure what you do, but start looking into what the job market for what you do is like in the city you are moving to. For me, it was really a no brainer, I started networking in NYC before I even left Toronto. That was crucial and it really helped when I got here. It's an extremely competitive market and required a lot of determination. I can see how it would be easy for someone to be unemployed in this market simply because it's oversaturated and overwhelming. It's amazing how many people in Toronto that I worked with knew others in NYC or had a friend of a friend that I could meet with. My ability to pre-plan and figure out the market before I left Canada was really important. Before I left my old job, I asked to be on projects that I knew would help my resume and I also did things like volunteer to build my resume.

I ended up landing a job the day after I got my EAD simply from my resume. It wasn't perfect, but it put me back into the market and gave me something to do. Only a couple of months later, one of my networking connections paid off and I was referred by a connection in Toronto for an amazing job. 4 interviews later (yes 4!) I got the job and I've been here 2 weeks now. I know it's only been a couple of weeks, but this job has put be back on the exact path I left in Toronto, and is actually an even better company and just awesome all around.

You just never know what is out there. I don't care what anyone says about a recession or less jobs right now, there are definitely opportunities out there.... they just might not be easy to find without some strategic networking, research and a lot of optimism! I worked on my resume for a month straight when I got here, emailed and called people in my field to set up informational meetings, scoured the internet job postings and basically told everyone I knew that I was moving to NYC and eventually needed a new job.

If I can land a job in PR in the middle of a recession in one of my most competitive cities in the United States then in mind anything is possible.

[Krikit 1,165]

Networking is HUGE.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I think Sapphire's comments are wonderful.

Obviously ALL the advice in this thread has merit, and clearly Ali and Dan have made a decision in this matter already...but the big cities in the U.S. are full of opportunities. Advance networking (use Dan and get Dan to vet his friends / acquaintances!) is a big deal. Personally, I'm waiting until I get an interview date set before I start seriously looking for work down there. Saying to a potential employer that I'll be down "between January and April" just doesn't appeal to me (or them!). But it's never a bad thing to put your feelers out, and take a look at the job listings in the area, just to get a sense of what's out there, and what they're paying. Entry level admin jobs are paying about $30,000 per year in D.C., which I thought was pretty darn good. Not that I would want / need to take an entry level job, but as a "worst case scenario", that's not bad money...and a foot in the door, of course.

Bear in mind that you're both young enough to have time to find the right paths for yourselves -- individually and as a couple. Hell, I'm thirty and I'm considering going back to college after I put down roots in D.C. The world is well and truly your oyster (and your pearl).

[Darnell 8,479]

*cancels prepared speech*

The planets must have aligned, or something else happen on a cosmic scale... I'm floored, I tell ya...

[warlord 73]

I guess my whole thing is how much longer will he be in school? If you could both put a hold on the K1 thing for now and wait till he has graduated and finds a full time job, then apply then a lot of that pressure might be taken off you for financial reasons.

Just one way of approaching it, wait till he gets a job, have you move down, when you get your EAD, you can then work. At least this way at least someone will have a job when you get married in Utah...

[Revenesque 2]

I know I'm late, but I just wanted to add in my experience. My career has always been important to me and something I've always worked hard at. I left an incredible job in Toronto to move. It was my personal choice, and I harbour no hard feelings obviously, but it was scary to give up something so important to me. Especially since my husband's job is just a job and he doesn't really care as much about his career as I do.

At the end of the day, I realized and know now that even though it was a job that was part of my career... there are other opportunities out there and sometimes we have to do things for our personal lives and put our careers on hold or simply go off the tried a true path.

I'm not sure what you do, but start looking into what the job market for what you do is like in the city you are moving to. For me, it was really a no brainer, I started networking in NYC before I even left Toronto. That was crucial and it really helped when I got here. It's an extremely competitive market and required a lot of determination. I can see how it would be easy for someone to be unemployed in this market simply because it's oversaturated and overwhelming. It's amazing how many people in Toronto that I worked with knew others in NYC or had a friend of a friend that I could meet with. My ability to pre-plan and figure out the market before I left Canada was really important. Before I left my old job, I asked to be on projects that I knew would help my resume and I also did things like volunteer to build my resume.

I ended up landing a job the day after I got my EAD simply from my resume. It wasn't perfect, but it put me back into the market and gave me something to do. Only a couple of months later, one of my networking connections paid off and I was referred by a connection in Toronto for an amazing job. 4 interviews later (yes 4!) I got the job and I've been here 2 weeks now. I know it's only been a couple of weeks, but this job has put be back on the exact path I left in Toronto, and is actually an even better company and just awesome all around.

You just never know what is out there. I don't care what anyone says about a recession or less jobs right now, there are definitely opportunities out there.... they just might not be easy to find without some strategic networking, research and a lot of optimism! I worked on my resume for a month straight when I got here, emailed and called people in my field to set up informational meetings, scoured the internet job postings and basically told everyone I knew that I was moving to NYC and eventually needed a new job.

If I can land a job in PR in the middle of a recession in one of my most competitive cities in the United States then in mind anything is possible.

Opportunity favors the prepared! I love this post.