She was conflicted when Isabelle was offered to relocate from Philadelphia to Austin for a product manager role at a thriving tech company. Leaving her hometown, where she had built a life over the past five years, was difficult. However, the new job represented an exciting advancement opportunity and a chance to expand her experience. After reflecting on her motivations and values, Isabelle took the risk and moved south. Getting involved with Austin's vibrant music scene, diverse outdoor activities, and welcoming community enabled Isabelle to flourish in ways she never imagined possible. Two years later, she is thrilled she trusted her instincts and made the life-changing move. Isabelle's story illustrates the rewards of relocation when it aligns with your aspirations.
The Complex Decision to Relocate for a Job
The decision to relocate for a new job is multifaceted, beyond salary and job title considerations. At a basic level, you must evaluate practical factors like the cost of living, the housing market, commute times, healthcare facilities, and amenities in the new location. Will this new spot allow you to have the lifestyle you want? You must also consider career impacts—will this new role provide learning and advancement opportunities? Will it set you on a better professional trajectory? Beyond just work factors, your relationships, community ties, recreational activities, and overall well-being also factor in. Leaving family, friends, and your home to start fresh in a new place is a huge life change. While exciting, it also means dealing with the stresses of packing up your whole life and starting over in unfamiliar territory. With so many practical, professional, and personal pros and cons involved, deciding whether or not to relocate for a job is far more complex than just comparing salaries or job titles.
At a basic level, you must evaluate practical factors like the cost of living, housing, and commute times in the new location. For example, while considering relocating from Milwaukee to Seattle for a job opportunity, compare average rents and home prices between the two cities. In Milwaukee, you may pay $1,000 monthly for a nice one-bedroom apartment near downtown, but that apartment could cost $2,000-$3,000 in downtown Seattle. Or your commute time driving to work might go from 15 minutes each way in Milwaukee to 45 minutes or an hour sitting in Seattle traffic. Run the numbers and have realistic expectations about expenses, transportation, and other lifestyle factors between your home and the potential new location. Quantifying these tradeoffs makes assessing the practical impacts more tangible.
Looking at Values Through the Spiral Dynamics Framework
Spiral Dynamics provides a valuable lens for understanding the values and motivations driving human behavior and development. The core idea is that human consciousness evolves through different stages or “value systems” represented as colors. Each stage reflects core motivations and worldviews.
Understanding your core motivations through the lens of Spiral Dynamics can bring self-awareness to a relocation choice. The opportunity to better align your life with your values is part of the appeal.
Overview of key survey results
The SDTEST poll “My top priorities when choosing a job are” asked respondents to rate the importance of various factors when choosing a job.
The rate of the priorities findings from the poll for 2022-05-23 – the current date you can see in the widget below on the tab Charts. The chart at the top displays the respondents' rate of the listed priorities. The chart at the bottom displays the respondents' responses to the SDTEST by colors of the Spiral Dynamics. This factual data is used to calculate the correlation with the ratings of priorities (0-10) that respondents indicate in their answers.
It is important to note that the correlation values change in the online widget depending on the number of response results. Therefore, the values indicated in the text may not match the actual calculations displayed in the widget. The full results of our VUCA poll are available for free in the FAQ section after login or registration.
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Aligning Relocation With Your Core Values
For security-focused Beige types, alignment may mean moving somewhere with a lower cost of living. Belonging-driven Purple types align with relocating closer to family and supportive communities. Achievement-motivated Orange types align with opportunities for promotion, pay increases, and career growth. Purposeful Blue types align with work and organizations that provide meaning and a chance to apply expertise. Self-expressive Green types may align with vibrant cultural scenes that allow work-life balance and time for passions. Growth-oriented Yellow types align with locations that expand perspectives and capabilities. Globalist Turquoise types align with moves that enable sustainable living and greater service.
Amy prioritizes global contribution and wants her work to positively impact environmental causes. When she was presented with an opportunity to relocate to Washington, DC, to work for a nonprofit agency focused on clean energy policy, it aligned perfectly with her core values. Even though it meant leaving her home in California, Amy took the job that allowed her to apply her advocacy and community organizing skills to lobby for legislative change. For Amy, finding meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in her work was the key motivation in her relocation decision rather than factors like pay or advancement. She relocated to align her life path with her deepest personal values.
Lifestyle Factors Beyond Motivations
Work-life balance and stress considerations
Work-life balance and stress considerations are key. Evaluate if relocating will make work-life boundaries easier or harder. Will it increase or decrease stress? Consider careers, commutes, childcare, and other logistics.
Recreational, family, and social connections matter. Reflect on how relocation affects activities, hobbies, friends, and family relationships. Will key connections be maintained or lost?
The ability to envision life in the new location is critical. Imagine your daily routine, community involvement, and weekends in the new place. Does your vision feel aligned and fulfilling? If not, reconsider.
Recreational, family, and social connections
Recreational, family, and social connections matter greatly in relocation decisions. Reflect deeply on how moving may impact your hobbies, activities, passions, family ties, and friendships. For example, if you love skiing, how close is the new location to quality slopes and resorts? How might uprooting young kids affect their social lives and sense of security if you have young kids? Will you maintain vital friendships and support systems after moving? Be sure to have honest conversations about expectations and concerns with family members. Considering the impacts on recreational outlets, family roles, and social circles you depend on will lead to a thoughtful decision aligned with your relational needs and values.
Leaving behind close relationships can be one of the hardest parts of relocating for a job. The physical distance strains bonds that were once nurtured by proximity. For example, Sarah had a tight-knit group of friends in Portland who got together almost daily. Leaving them behind for a job in New York meant going from nightly get-togethers to mainly just digital communication. The time difference even impacted their virtual interactions. While this was difficult, Sarah also saw it as an opportunity to expand her social circle and make new friends with a broader perspective. Still, severing those deep roots requires adjustment. If you have an extremely close family, group of friends, or community, relocating will significantly impact those bonds. Be honest with yourself about this major relationship shift.
Ability to envision life in the new location
The ability to envision life in the new location is critical. Take time to realistically imagine your daily routine, weekend activities, community and social involvement, and overall lifestyle if you were to move. Picture the pace and energy of the place. What does your ideal day look like? How might you become part of the community? Envisioning yourself thriving and happy in the new environment—rather than just imagining the novelty wearing off after a few months—is key. If your vision doesn't feel like an authentic, aligned, sustainable next chapter, listen to that instinct and reconsider. A move should support the life you want, not just be a temporary escape from the life you have.
When Ben considered relocating to Denver, Colorado, for a new job opportunity, he pictured exactly what his daily life could look like in vivid detail. He envisioned starting every morning with a hike with the dog in the breathtaking Rocky Mountains. He saw himself joining a community gardening group to grow fresh produce and meet new people. He imagined spending weekends skiing in the winter and attending summer music festivals. He could see my morning commute route driving to work with the mountains in the background. He also factored in details like finding a sunny apartment with views of the city skyline that would allow him to immerse himself in the Colorado lifestyle. This realistic vision of his daily routines, recreational activities, and involvement in the new place made him confident he would quickly feel at home there.
Making the Decision Holistically
When deciding whether to relocate for a job, consider your values and vision for your life just as much as logical factors. Evaluate motivations, priorities, relationships, community, self-expression, and growth.
Importance of considering values and vision, not just logic
When evaluating a relocation opportunity, look beyond logical factors like salary, benefits, and career advancement prospects. While these practical considerations are important, carve out time for deeper reflection on what matters most. What are your core motivations and values? What kind of lifestyle do you envision for optimal well-being and purpose? How might a move support self-expression, relationships, community ties, recreational passions, and personal growth? Weighing these human elements alongside logical factors results in a balanced decision true to your values and vision for life. Relying on logic alone risks misalignment with your developmental needs. To make the right choice for you, listen to both your head and your heart.
Relocation as a developmental opportunity
Approach relocation as a developmental opportunity to craft a life more aligned with your true motivations and potential. Progress through growth stages often requires change. While risky, relocation can become part of your journey toward self-actualization.
Conclusion
Relocating for a new job is a significant life decision requiring holistic evaluation. Logical factors like compensation naturally matter, but reflecting on motivations, values, relationships, ideal lifestyle, and personal growth is also key for alignment. Models like Spiral Dynamics provide useful frameworks, and assessments like the SDTEST offer additional insights. The SDTEST poll on job priorities across 62 countries and 15 languages provides dynamically updated data on the values driving people’s career decisions. Given cultural differences, reviewing the results specific to your country and language can reveal helpful context. Since motivations evolve, periodically retaking the SDTEST can provide renewed self-awareness for significant decisions like relocation. With thoughtfulness and attention to your core priorities and developmental journey, a move may present an opportunity to craft a more fulfilling life. Use resources like the SDTEST to look within, and let your evolving sense of purpose guide you.
While change is difficult, a move aligned with your evolving purpose can open up new horizons of fulfillment. Have the courage to take a chance on the next chapter of your journey. Listen to your heart as much as your head. Let it guide you to a place where your best self can emerge. When an opportunity resonates with your inner voice, don't let fear hold you back. Take the leap of faith and watch your world expand in wondrous ways. The possibilities await.
Валери Косенко
Сопственик на производи Saas PET PECTION SDTEST®
Валери беше квалификуван како социјален педагог-психолог во 1993 година и оттогаш го примени своето знаење за управување со проекти.
Валери се стекна со магистерски студии и квалификација на проект и програмски менаџер во 2013 година. За време на магистерската програма, тој се запозна со Project Moadmap (GPM Deutsche Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement e. V.) и спирална динамика.
Валери зеде разни тестови за спирална динамика и го искористи своето знаење и искуство за да ја прилагоди тековната верзија на SDTEST.
Валери е автор на истражување на неизвесноста на V.U.C.A. Концепт со употреба на спирална динамика и математичка статистика во психологијата, повеќе од 20 меѓународни анкети.
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