Country mouse, city mouse: Miserable relocation?

'Tis a tale oft retold, in any number of variations: the country mouse and the city mouse. They swap places for greener pastures, looking forward to the exotic OTHER - only to find that, like the old-fashioned embroidery sampler says (and Dorothy found out with a click of her Ruby slippers) "east, west, home's best."

So the question remains: if you could only have the job you wanted by relocating to some far-off berg, as opposite from what you're accustomed to as a Hawaiian volcano is from an Iowa hayfield, would you do it?

Some of us have done this - left behind the familiar in search of that first rung (or the next one up) on the employment ladder, in journalism or some other field.

This topic comes up often on mediabistro, and it evokes a lively discussion, pitting experienced journalists who have made geographical and other sacrifices to make their way against newbies who were really hoping for an entry level something-something at Hearst or Conde Nast.

One writer's observation that most ads on journalismjobs.com are "for rags in cities I never heard of. So, after hitting city-data.com I learn the majority of them are unsafe, poor housing options, and no entertainment nightlife."

That poster's interesting question was: "Would you knowingly move into a bad neighborhood and risk losing $ and your safety in order to get your start? Would you risk knowing full well that you would be isolated and unhappy and still make the trek?"


I admit to having been a little hard on the poster. My poor attempt at reality therapy went like this:

Good luck getting a job at a rag in an unsafe hood with poor housing options and no entertainment nightlife. For one thing, the smirk is audible from here (in some distant city you've never heard of) so if you apply, dust off your 'tude.

Also, I wouldn't just write them off based on city-data.com. Unless you're talking about Flint, Mich., which I understand has a high crime rate, you might be surprised when you get there -- which you probably won't (get there) because you think the sun rises and sets on whichever unemployment-infested berg YOU live in.

And who knows what poor housing options mean? My definition of poor housing is unaffordable housing, which sounds like NYC to me.

If entertainment nightlife is what you're after, though, definitely best to stay in some great capital of entertainment. Please don't come to my delightful small town (with a big city just half hour away) and whine about the lack of social whirl.

If you want to work, go where there's a job or two. If you want to play and remain unemployed, you won't need to budge an inch.I wish employment for every writer, and it's always best if you don't have to move a muscle to do it. But you might need to relo to work, is all I'm sayin.

And to the question -- "Would you risk knowing full well that you would be isolated and unhappy and still make the trek?"

My question back is, what makes you so sure that you know "full well you would be isolated and unhappy"?

Don't move a muscle! If you already know that, ALREADY, sight unseen, that you'll be miserable, I double-dog guarantee you you will. Be. Miserable. Foregone conclusion.

It's possible you are very change-averse. My suggestion would be to get a job where routine is guaranteed. Toll-taker on the turnpike? Obit writer? Tax preparer?

But you might want to re-examine your comfort zone, and make a mental note to yourself, like Jack Nicholson in As Good as it Gets, to try someone else's silverware instead.

It might be fun.

Moving Writing: Advice to a Relocating Writer or Do I Talk to the Naked Man?

While some people love a move, for many of us relocation (even temporary) comes with worries as well as opportunities. When a move to the U.S.-Mexico border sent me into culture shock, the sure cure was to start writing, so I did -- but it took me a while. Had I had the following advice, I would have started sooner:

Look around at what's happening where you are and think of who would be interested in that. A move to Costa Rica caught you off guard? Make the most of it by looking around with a newbie's eyes. What's weird, interesting, different, exciting? More importantly, what publications would be interested in that.

Think outside traditional lines. If your writing to date has focused on daily newspaper, make connections with U.S. papers interested in what you've got. If there's limited interest with the usual departments you write for, consider other paper departments -- travel, the arts, business, religion come to mind. Connect with those editors at different papers with your articles targeted to their departments. Since you're down there already, you have a unique perspective. Bring your camera -- pictures may enhance your article's value.

When I moved to the U.S-Mex. border area, I looked around and saw international news happening. I checked around, found a magazine and a daily paper interested in having someone there to cover it, and I was in business.

The magazine was doing a piece on illegal immigration, which sent me to cover a couple guys climbing naked out of the Rio Grande, clutching their clothes to their personal ads and asking in Spanish for a ride. At least, I think that was what they were asking for. Um, I don't think so.

But had I had the nerve to talk to them at all, other than the safely shouted questions (and perhaps an interpreter as well as a bodyguard -- it was a remote place, which was of course why they crossed there) I would have gotten an even better story. Later in my career I got more nerve and better Spanish skills, and would have handled it differently.

Another example: a couple Canadian publications (McLeans Magazine, the Dauphin Herald and the Winnipeg Sun) wanted the scoop on the Manitoba teachers coming down to Texas to get jobs because Texas didn't have enough and Manitoba had too many. Fortunately this didn't require me talking to anyone naked.

Work on developing contacts in everything -- radio, newspaper, magazine -- before you go. Keep those names, numbers, emails close. When something comes up that's breaking news, go shopping for a place to sell it.

Makes my family crazy sometimes -- at the main scenic outlook of the Colorado National Monument, middle of a thunderstorm, the darn thing is closed with a sheriff's tape anyway, everybody wants to get to a hotel.

What's Mum doing? She's on the payphone (this was before cell phones), calling major news organizations, because she asked what the tape was for and there was an AIDS-related suicide, and this was at the beginning of the AIDS hysteria. Finally, the Denver Post says they're in for a news brief, so I had to talk to a couple people in charge to get the basics.Worth it to me, as I wanted the experience and the paper's name on my resume.

While you're there, will you be doing a lot of touristy type things? Consider checking with travel guidebook companies. Read their guidelines online -- check guidebook sites like lonelyplanet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ and moon http://www.moon.com/. See if they need a new guide written for where you're going. Familiarize yourself with their guidebooks so you know what they need.

Just getting going writing but interested in getting your feet wet? Do a blog on the area. But make it a good one. For examples, look at http://www.travelblog.org/, http://realtravel.com/travel_blog, http://www.travelpod.com/ or http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blogs/travel_blog/.

Another idea: check with the country's English language papers to see if they need stringers. Freelance work doesn't always fall under the same labor guidelines full-time work does -- and if they're U.S.-based, that trumps all immigration concerns.

-- J. Louise Larson http://writingporch.blogspot.com/