You are in a secure, stable position to negotiate from. Ask them for what you need and even a little of what you want on top. Let them come back with a counter and if they say they can't do it you can simply decline the offer. They called you, right?
Don't be so eager to jump out of NJ that you give up something important.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Don't be so eager to jump out of NJ
Clearly, you've never been to Jersey... 
Our strategy is to move as much as possible prior to having kids so when its time to settle down (and buy a house) we can be more strategic about it and we know the pros/cons of living various places.
My wife really wants to buy, but so far we haven't lived someplace where we were both completely comfortable. Erie was nice in the summer, but winters were difficult, and the amount of precip meant that the ground was soggy October-April. It also had an isolated job market. We like being close to family here in SE-PA, but hate that the summers flyby and the winters drag. We may land someplace else only to find out we don't like the political or employment climate. We may go someplace else and decided we love everything but miss our family. We won't know until we try.
In reply to Klayfish:
I've made money there for almost 20 years... but I don't live there 
I've done a couple relocations and they are hard but have been well worth it. Do what's right for you and your wife and it can be undone later! Doing the move pre-kid is far easier than uprooting the little ones.
Nick_Comstock wrote: I transferred in the same company from Knoxville, TN to Temple, TX last march. I was not offered any assistance for the relocation. I had to make a decision whether to transfer or find another job in three days. My family had to stay behind for six months. I had been promised a better position with better pay and less hours and the potential for advancement. And for the first couple months it was terrific. About a month after my family moved out my hours dramatically increased and I had to work almost every Saturday. I was laid off Monday without warning or any form of severance package. Now I'm here without any contacts trying to find anything I can to get some money coming in. I don't really have any sage advice for you other than I sincerely hope your possible move goes a whole lot better than mine did.
Semi hijack:
First of all sorry they E36 M3 on you like that.
@ JThw8:
I agree with GPS, if they meet your needs and maybe your wants I say go for it. If a certain shop in Langley, B.C. were to call me we'd be Canada bound!
Nothing useful to add but good luck. I'm in the middle of a move south debate with my wife myself, but that is for another thread.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: You are in a secure, stable position to negotiate from. Ask them for what you need and even a little of what you want on top. Let them come back with a counter and if they say they can't do it you can simply decline the offer. They called you, right? Don't be so eager to jump out of NJ that you give up something important.
That's pretty much the final discussion I had with them this morning. I don't NEED to move. They do NEED to fill a position, convince me. Funny part is that the guys who are good at this are a small group so when I decided it wasn't going to pan out I shared it with a few who I knew were looking. They had all been contacted and declined this week as well so the hiring company may be getting desperate. Heck the fact that a recruiter found me at all kind of speaks to desperation as I'm not actively job seeking so my details aren't terribly easy to find.
I spent 20+ years in NJ.
I have now spent 20+ years in GA. I have family in Alpharetta, including 2 of my grown kids.
You have no idea how much your quality of life will improve.
And I think the cost of living differences are much bigger than 35%. My mother relocated 8 years ago. She was on a fixed income in NJ of about $60K living alone, going $2K negative every month. I was supporting my family of 7 for less than that. (Rural GA, not Alpharetta). She came here and made essentially no life changes, but now gives away nearly $2K per month.
You won't see that big a shift near ATL, but it is MUCH bigger than you realize.
You have the highest taxes in the nation. Oil bills, home heating costs, winter clothes, snow tires, salt deterioration on your cars, the list just keeps going.
You will still have traffic in ATL, but you are used to that. And ATL is addressing it with infrastructure development, NJ is just surviving it. You would make that transition better than I would.
Play hardball, but consider it seriously.
You have said you could work remotely. What about keeping the current job part time for an interim, while trying the new one?
Atlanta is a huge market, and your skills are easily sellable. I see no issues with employment security.
Regarding the dogs: they will be MUCH easier to accommodate in GA. There is still some open space.
Definitely do not buy anything before living there. Within a fairly short radius from Alpharetta there is a huge variation in geography, culture, community, etc. You won't know until you live there.
Regarding your wife: you have a bigger problem. You haven't mentioned FL, but I think the two of your are on very different wavelengths regarding your long range plan.
Good luck! I am excited for you!
In reply to SVreX:
You had me at " Oil bills, home heating costs, winter clothes, snow tires, salt deterioration on your cars".
The minute my youngest leaves for college I'm hanging the for sale sign.
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
Happy to oblige. See you at Road Atlanta! 
SVreX wrote: Regarding your wife: you have a bigger problem. You haven't mentioned FL, but I think the two of your are on very different wavelengths regarding your long range plan.
Who was that directed at?
SVreX wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: Happy to oblige. See you at Road Atlanta!
No E36 M3!!! I finally got to run Road Atlanta a few weeks ago. Holy mother of pearl, what an awesome place. The elevation changes are spectacular, especially that last downhill coming towards start finish (I think it's turn 11?). The back straight is silly long...especially when your car only has 80hp, I could have had coffee and a donut. Can't wait to run it again!
Oh, and as for the infrastructure build...I don't see how they're going to build to accommodate.
PHeller wrote:SVreX wrote: Regarding your wife: you have a bigger problem. You haven't mentioned FL, but I think the two of your are on very different wavelengths regarding your long range plan.Who was that directed at?
JThw8.
He knows what I am talking about.
My brother moved to the Alpharetta/Roswell area about 7 years ago. Its very nice (I visit several times a year). You're not far from Road Atlanta (an hour at most) and heading up the 400 to Dalonega puts you into some great mountain roads (US 129 etc).
I've got a cabin in the mountains north of Dahlonega.
GREAT roads!
How old are you?
I'll be 50 next month. It just snowed another 4" here overnight; a wet snow my single stage snowblower won't move. I want to set fire to my driveway.
I've been pining to move someplace with warmer year-round weather for over ten years but I'm married to a woman who still has her umbilical cord attached to her mother. I love my wife but seriously...if life had a 'do-over' button I would have to seriously reconsider based on the relocation thing.
Sigh. To be only a couple hours' drive from VIR is just too depressing for me to consider.
Can't speak to the options in GA, but as a relative newcomer to the Mullica Hill area, I'd love to sit down for a beer if you're available sometime, JThw8.
I too, just took a new job and am essentially couchsurfing with family in the area, while trying to decide between NJ, PA, and DE.
Flynlow wrote: Can't speak to the options in GA, but as a relative newcomer to the Mullica Hill area, I'd love to sit down for a beer if you're available sometime, JThw8. I too, just took a new job and am essentially couchsurfing with family in the area, while trying to decide between NJ, PA, and DE.
Whoa, a neighbor! I'll shoot you an PM or email me at Jim@misfittoysracing.com
I'll be beating auto parts into submission all weekend out in the garage if you want to stop by and bench race.
ddavid - much the same situation here, which is why when she suddenly said cold sucks we should move south I wanted to strike while the iron was hot :)
SVReX - FL situation, GA would be advantageous to that actually. I'm too far now to make a long weekend out of getting there to do things that need to be done, especially on new acquisitions. GA is close enough to make that a bit more viable. Long term maybe we end up down there, or maybe we have a small vacation place down there. I keep trying to convince her that living at the beach takes away some of the feeling of getting away from it all that you would get if you just had a place to visit.
Unfortunately the deal is all but dead now. Timing is just not great, but it put me in a mindset to start working on the things that are keeping us tied down and getting to a situation where we can be more fluid in the future.
Oh, and it turns out there may be a position at our NC office for which I'm loosely qualified. My director said he'd support me if I wanted to do it but would miss me. I told him I just wanted my office to be at the NC plant and I could keep doing the same job ;)
Of course there are a bunch of great opportunities at the new plant we will be opening...in New Hampshire....sigh...
NJ sucks... I lived there for over 45 years.... it just sucks the life out of you.
As far as moving south, I can't speak too... my wife and I moved west, and don't miss NJ at all.
It seems to me that you need to have the new job permanent, and your wife to want the move. maybe its time to communicate... find out her misgivings... If it is just missing family, and a few friends... she can go back easily enough to visit, and the world is "connected" after all.
In reply to JThw8:
I just got back into town from the UK (literally, the first reply was from Heathrow Airport), so tonight is probably out, but I would be happy to swing by with some beers tomorrow afternoon.
Want to PM me your # and/or address? I'm over in Washington Township.
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