I'm most likely moving soon. Within the same state. I keep thinking about everything I will have to do with moving. I keep thinking about how many time I've seen entitled people say things such as "if you don't like it just move". Both on the right and the left regarding policies and on non-partisan stuff in more local issues. I want to put my thoughts out there on my anxieties when it comes to new jobs and moving.
It's not moving itself that is scary to me, nor the job search itself that is scary. That's scary in a different way. Changing jobs is scary in it's own way because you have to put your trust in other people at many points.
First of all, you have to trust that the new job won't cancel the position before starting the job. This doesn't happen often, but it can happen. I had it happen with an internship I had scheduled to start in summer of 2020. It got cancelled due to COVID-19. Jobs fall through sometimes and if you up and move, you might not be able to move back.
Possible gaps in health insurance are scary. I am still under 26 as I write this. I can fall back on my parents insurance if need be. Yet, if an emergency were to happen between jobs or between insurances, you might have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket. Health insurance doesn't start immediately when you start a new job. Some companies you can't get it at all until you've worked there for 3 months. If you work a job where hours aren't consistent, you might only be able to get health insurance if you work 40+ hours a week, yet management don't schedule you 40 hours a week. Yet, if one makes too much money, they won't quality for health insurance through the government funded options such as Medicare/Medicaid.
Another scary possibility is what if their background check turns up a false positive. They investigate you and a mistake happens. Someone with the same name as you comes up in the background check as you somehow. Even worse, you could get a false positive on a drug test and lose out on the job opportunity. I've never done drugs, yet I still catch myself thinking "what if I got food out somewhere and it somehow had ingredients that would turn up."
A huge factor is moving costs. Either got to get yourself a big Uhaul truck or get rid of most of your shit and buy shit again. You know how long it takes to source decent used items when you don't have the money to buy new? Forever. I've been keeping my eyes out for chairs to replace our kitchen chairs as two of them have broken. It's $400 for the cheapest option I could find of new kitchen chairs that match the table. Been trying to find some chairs for under $200. Awful I'm telling you. You browse used items and people are still broken stuff or they want new prices for it.
People push so hard for everyone to get a better job. Just climb up the social ladder. If you don't like an area just move. It's harder than it seems. It's scary. I have safety nets I can fall back on. I have a savings account. I have my parents who would help me out if something happened. Many people don't have that. Pushing so strongly for "if you don't like it just move" isn't the way to get people to agree with your side. Instead of forcing people you don't like away, let's have a conversation instead.
I've always thought that the idea that people can just move someplace else if their rights are being violated in a certain area was a ridiculous one, and IMO it is just a convenient excuse to get away with violating people's rights while pretending that you somehow aren't simply because there are other places in the country (sometimes quite far away) that don't have the same authoritarian laws.
(And on a somewhat related note, think about how hard it would be to move from an oppressive country because of some new law?)
Like you said: "let's have a conversation instead".
(That's the only sensible way of approaching these sorts of situations IMO.)
No need to feel bad. Life is full of times where you get a different view point. That's why looking at different ones is important. Thanks for reading.