Walking Away…From The Perfect Job
Two weeks ago the perfect job approached me, it caught me off guard, I wasn’t looking for it, but when it came to me, I was like, sweet, I’m moving. When I got home from the location of the perfect job I started taking care of everything I needed to do to make sure I was in a prime position for when I had a “hard” interview (as opposed to the soft one I had when I was there) . But then 3 days later I went to Denver, and Denver ruined me for the perfect job.
When I was in Denver, my Dad made a comment that 1) I agreed with and 2) I actually thought was smart (and being a child, no comment a parent ever makes is smart, that’s just common knowledge, they can’t say anything right, but he did).
He said:
“Do me a favor while you’re in Denver, bring home a newspaper.”
I was kindof confused at this but I stayed silent and he continued.
“You can start getting an idea of what the cost of living is up there and what kind of jobs are available”
I was really confused at this because I had already pronounced that I was moving and that I was going to work at the perfect job. But again, I was silent and he continued.
“Think of all the places you’ve gone in the last year and think of where you were happiest. You can’t move somewhere just because of the perfect job, you have to move somewhere that will help you grow in all that you want to do in life.”
To this I began to retort: “But the people I’d be working with are great, I’d be learning a lot, I’d really love my job…”
I got stopped somewhere in midthought and he says:
“There is more to life than just a job and I realize you’re at your job more hours than most people as that’s the industry you’re in, and that you spend more than a normal amount of time with the people you’re working with, but what are you going to do when you leave work for the night, or the weekends?”
To this I really didn’t have an answer, I could’ve been funny: well I’d go to my home in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse at Disney World. Somewhere in my head I knew that telling him I was going to live at Disney World in my spare time would not be a smart move so I didn’t say a word. I just sat and thought.
I had to admit he was right, and he was right from the perspective of where the perfect job was, I wasn’t going to be happy, biking would be practically a non-sport because there would be no challenge to it in the area where I’d be living. I’d have a harder time training for rides in other states because of the lack of hills and lack of elevation. Traveling to the rides would be a harder task, I’d have to hop on a plane for every ride and that would become more costly than it already is.
I was all ready to pick up and move for the perfect job, and being as young as I am it wouldn’t have mattered what else happened, because I was going to be happy at work. But dad had a point, what does happiness at work matter if you’re not happy outside of work?
I walked away from the perfect job. I walked away from he opportunity that I have been waiting for. I walked away from the opportunity to be able to work with great people in a fun environment. I walked away from knowing that I was constantly going to be challenged and learning new things. I walked away from a job where if I programmed a piece of shit it wouldn’t just get taken away from me and get passed to someone else to fix but a discussion would be had as to what was wrong and how I could’ve done it better.
I walked away from the perfect job and one day, I may regret this decision. But today, dad was right, I need to be true to more than just the dream of having the perfect job, I need to be true to all my other dreams, and right now, that number one dream is helping to find a cure for diabetes, and I’m doing that through my bike rides, and I need to be in a place where I can train and no matter where I then travel, I’ll be prepared for the next ride.
I walked away from the perfect job.
Yeah it would have been the perfect job. But living there would have been very tough indeed. I stayed in that area and further south for the next 2 weeks after meeting up with you and it is a crazy land. My father in law and mother in law moved for the perfect job. My FIL is thriving my my MIL is not. They had a great life up north and things are so much worse as far as a living situation down south. It was nice to visit but not to live. Me, I’d have lost my mind living there. I need a farm or something. But then again I’m not the biggest people person anyway.
Bringing a newspaper home from the places I visit often makes me depressed at how high my cost of living is compared to around the country too. And it is nucking futs in FLA.
It looks like you have really looked at this at all angles, and that’s good. I think you’d make a perfect fit at that job, but your biking is important, and you need to be where that can be done the best.
I hate to say it, but based on what little I know, I think you made the right decision.
My parents are both from Colorado, and my grandpa still lives there (as well as several aunts and uncles) so I know a bit about Denver. I think Denver (and the general Denver-area) is in a crisis right now. There are so many people moving there, for the mountains and the view, etc., and they can’t handle it. Denver’s been in a drought for MANY years due to a lack of melted snow filling the reservoirs, and my grandpa is only allowed to water his lawn (I think) once every three days, and is limited in the amount of water he can use every week (5-minute showers!!).
I have an aunt and uncle who live in Morrison (a suburb of Denver). They bought their house in 1995 for about $100k. By 2000 it was worth over $250k. Now, even with the housing market collapse, it is still worth around $190k. The cost of living is outrageous, and the market in Denver is so swollen that it has been insulated from some of the economic crises elsewhere in the nation.
Assuming your lungs are healthy (no asthma, allergies, etc.) it would not be a bad place to train for your bike rides. But I think that’s still a steep price to pay.
Hey Drew, yes, it would’ve been the perfect job, and all things considered, living in the outskirts of Orlando wouldn’t have been too different from the cost of living in Albuquerque (of course, the outskirts of Orlando could’ve very much been the lesser income, scarier to live in area).
I’m kindof like in you the since that I’d rather be out herding cattle (my words) than being around people so it’s very possible that the big city would’ve been very bad for me. But in the end, it came down to how well I would’ve been able to train for rides in the FL area and the result would’ve been “not well” and in the end, I need to be able to train and feel good about my training for my rides. That right there is what my entire decision hinged on once my dad talked to me.
Yeah Jules, I looked at everything, and I spoke to some people who’s opinion is highly valued and they helped me see things in a different light. My cycling is important to me, and FL wasn’t going to give me much in the way of helping me grow into a fine cyclist.
Melinda,
This is funny actually, to me. Me visiting Denver was what made me not take the perfect job. The perfect job was actually in FL.
I’m actually considering a move to Boulder. I really enjoyed my bike ride in Longmont last year, and Boulder is a cycling city, I’d fit into that city as though I was a missing piece of the puzzle and that’s what made me not take the job in FL.
Two of my closest friends currently live in Boulder. They love it. From what I know about it I think you would fit in perfectly.