9 Questions to Ask Yourself if You Should Relocate for a Job

Sometimes the ideal job you are looking for isn’t in the nearest city, but rather in a different country. If you are offered a job in a different location, how do you know if it’s worth relocating? Who should you ask for advice? And, how do you determine the potential upsides such as money and opportunity against costs like the impact on your loved ones or the loss of your current network? You may want to ask yourself the following questions before considering a job relocation:

1. Will I be happier if I relocate?

Understanding your career path is important, at the same time, you might want to ensure that your current job is just as satisfying and engaging as the one that you are looking to transition into. Reach out to those who are already doing the job that you are thinking of transitioning into after relocating, so you can decide if it would fit you.

2. Will my family be happy if we move to this new place?

Aside from reflecting on your new job and thinking about how it might pan out in the future, you may also want to pay close attention to how your family might feel. Relocating to a new place can be overwhelming for many, but some can easily adapt to it. Be mindful of your spouse’s career options and consider your children’s ability to adapt to a new environment before making a move.

3. What is my contingency plan if things didn’t work out?

No matter how excited you are about the prospect of relocating to a new location for a new job, if things didn’t pan out well, will you be able to move back to your initial location and will the company support you to do so? Would your previous job be available if you need to go back to it? Are there other positions that you can consider? While it won’t be an easy feat to map out every potential outcome, having a failsafe plan for you to fall back on may help ease your worries for unexpected circumstances that may arise.

4. Will the new job provide me with better opportunities than my current job?

Talk to the recruiter about the company’s hierarchy and opportunities for career advancements. If you’re an employee within the company, you should have a feel of how employees are promoted from within the organisation. If you opt to relocate, you might want to have a good clarity of your potential career path so that it doesn’t come to a dead-end.

5. What are the career advancement opportunities?

If your main goal is to advance your career and gain more recognition, a move might be necessary to achieve this goal. If you are still considering and contemplating on the move, you may want to do a thorough research about the position’s duties and requirements to determine if this is the right career path for you.

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6. What does the future of this company and job look like?

You can conduct market research to determine if the company will still be in business for the next five to ten years. If the company is publicly listed, look into its financials to gain a better understanding of its viability. You should consider the position of the company in the market relative to its competitors. This isn’t going to end well if you make a move and the company isn’t going to make it into the next year.

7. What is the cost of living in this new city? Will I be able to accommodate the new cost of living and still save money?

Is your new salary relative to the cost of living at the new location? Before moving, you might want to calculate the cost of living at the new location and determine if your new salary will adequately cover all your essential expenses, with extras for savings and emergencies. The promise of a higher salary should not automatically convince you to relocate until you have taken these very practical factors into account.

8. Who will pay for your relocation expenses?

The company that you are relocating to may have a relocation policy in place to help ease the employee’s transition. Be sure to check in with them as this can potentially help offset some moving cost. There could be various policies depending on if it’s a short- or a long-term relocation and whether it is domestic or international.

9. Request for a try-out

If you are uncertain about relocating, it may be worth requesting if you could do a short-term relocation in the proposed location before considering the transition. Relocating to a new place can be costly, and if things don’t work out for you, this could get a whole lot worse. By any chance, if the company did not state anything about offering this choice, it certainly would not hurt for you to request for the possibility of a try-out.

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You Jing is a content writer who writes career and lifestyle contents to inspire job seekers and employers alike on their journey to work-life balance, empowerment and transformation in their career path.

Reposted with permission on Leaderonomics.com.