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On the contrary, I quit my job without having a job to move into, only $1000 savings and a credit card, and then moved to Australia. Everything worked out well

On the contrary, I quit my job without having a job to move into, only $1000 savings and a credit card, and then moved to Australia. Everything worked out well and it was the best decision I ever made. Upon saying that, I knew that there were a lot of jobs available, and I was also willing to do any kind of job, not just software engineering. If push came to shove, I was willing to go back to working in construction or hospitality. I also had a backup plan if all else failed, which was to fly back home and stay with my parents while I sorted my life out. My advice would be to not quit your job without a plan and a plan B.

TripleCrown 8y ago
In Australia, you'd probably make more money in construction vs software engineering.
- enraged_camel 8y ago
  That doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happier, however. Most construction jobs are very hard on the body.
  - odonnellryan 8y ago
    Maybe, maybe not. I was pretty happy when I was doing construction.
  - gambiting 8y ago
    I very frequently consider getting any job that involves being outside and doing physical work over sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I like programming, but I hate not being outside for vast majority of the day and what this lifestyle is doing to my body.
    - speedplane 8y ago
      Do you really believe that? Being outside and getting exercise is really nice, but using your brain is so much nicer. Would you really give up a job that is intellectually stimulating for one that uses you mostly for your mechanical abilities?
      - gambiting 8y ago
        Yes. I have worked manual jobs in the past(repairing bicycles, working at a warehouse and as a driver and for a while at a semi-construction job that involved being outside a lot) and I feel like overall I was more consistently happy. I would come home and do coding in my own time to satisfy the intellectual needs.
        speedplane 8y ago
        The handful of manual labor jobs I've had (delivering water, installing business projects), left me bored and tired at the end of the day. Any health benefits of the exercise I got was taken away from the boredom of waiting around for person/thing to get from point A to B. There's a reason why many construction workers are overweight.
        enraged_camel 8y ago
        Yes, but if you do construction or manual labor of any kind as a living (i.e. for years, decades), it leaves your body frail and broken. With programming, you only have to watch for relatively minor things like carpal tunnel and bad posture.
        krapp 8y ago
        I'm reasonably certain that plenty of people do manual labor for a living who don't end up "frail and broken", and that decades spent in a sedentary position can have detrimental health effects beyond mere bad posture. And carpal tunnel is no joke. Either can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but on balance the human body benefits more from physical exertion than the lack of it.
        speedplane 8y ago
        My concern with manual labor jobs is not the effect on my body, it's the effect on the mind. Like I said in the previous comment, after a hard day of manual labor, sure I was tired, but I was mostly bored out of my mind. Moving some heavy object X from position A to position B gets less romantic when you've done it 50 times. Sitting in an office desk for 30 years can't be good for you either, but if it's in a position to keep my brain active (even if my muscles aren't), I'd take that job a thousand times before going back to pure labor. In fact, one of the most memorable parts of those summer jobs was creating a shoulder rest for the 25 lbs bottles to sit on, out of discarded plastic. I honestly can't remember whether it worked at all or not, but I definitely remember being far more interested designing and cutting this piece of plastic than carrying bottles of water.
    - ndnxhs 8y ago
      Ride a bike to work. If you live too close then take a more interesting path to work that gives you some proper fitness every day.
      - gambiting 8y ago
        I already do. It's not about the fitness.
        jeremyarussell 8y ago
        I think I get what you mean. I do landscaping and misc. yard work on the weekends to get my "working outside" fix. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me I need to really break a sweat out in the sun once and a while to keep my happiness levels up.
  - poooogles 8y ago
    >Most construction jobs are very hard on the body. So are sedentary jobs. Obesity, heart disease and everything else that goes with them are no joke.

TripleCrown 8y ago

In Australia, you'd probably make more money in construction vs software engineering.

enraged_camel 8y ago
That doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happier, however. Most construction jobs are very hard on the body.
- odonnellryan 8y ago
  Maybe, maybe not. I was pretty happy when I was doing construction.
- gambiting 8y ago
  I very frequently consider getting any job that involves being outside and doing physical work over sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I like programming, but I hate not being outside for vast majority of the day and what this lifestyle is doing to my body.
  - speedplane 8y ago
    Do you really believe that? Being outside and getting exercise is really nice, but using your brain is so much nicer. Would you really give up a job that is intellectually stimulating for one that uses you mostly for your mechanical abilities?
    - gambiting 8y ago
      Yes. I have worked manual jobs in the past(repairing bicycles, working at a warehouse and as a driver and for a while at a semi-construction job that involved being outside a lot) and I feel like overall I was more consistently happy. I would come home and do coding in my own time to satisfy the intellectual needs.
      - speedplane 8y ago
        The handful of manual labor jobs I've had (delivering water, installing business projects), left me bored and tired at the end of the day. Any health benefits of the exercise I got was taken away from the boredom of waiting around for person/thing to get from point A to B. There's a reason why many construction workers are overweight.
      - enraged_camel 8y ago
        Yes, but if you do construction or manual labor of any kind as a living (i.e. for years, decades), it leaves your body frail and broken. With programming, you only have to watch for relatively minor things like carpal tunnel and bad posture.
        krapp 8y ago
        I'm reasonably certain that plenty of people do manual labor for a living who don't end up "frail and broken", and that decades spent in a sedentary position can have detrimental health effects beyond mere bad posture. And carpal tunnel is no joke. Either can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but on balance the human body benefits more from physical exertion than the lack of it.
        speedplane 8y ago
        My concern with manual labor jobs is not the effect on my body, it's the effect on the mind. Like I said in the previous comment, after a hard day of manual labor, sure I was tired, but I was mostly bored out of my mind. Moving some heavy object X from position A to position B gets less romantic when you've done it 50 times. Sitting in an office desk for 30 years can't be good for you either, but if it's in a position to keep my brain active (even if my muscles aren't), I'd take that job a thousand times before going back to pure labor. In fact, one of the most memorable parts of those summer jobs was creating a shoulder rest for the 25 lbs bottles to sit on, out of discarded plastic. I honestly can't remember whether it worked at all or not, but I definitely remember being far more interested designing and cutting this piece of plastic than carrying bottles of water.
  - ndnxhs 8y ago
    Ride a bike to work. If you live too close then take a more interesting path to work that gives you some proper fitness every day.
    - gambiting 8y ago
      I already do. It's not about the fitness.
      - jeremyarussell 8y ago
        I think I get what you mean. I do landscaping and misc. yard work on the weekends to get my "working outside" fix. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me I need to really break a sweat out in the sun once and a while to keep my happiness levels up.
- poooogles 8y ago
  >Most construction jobs are very hard on the body. So are sedentary jobs. Obesity, heart disease and everything else that goes with them are no joke.