Arizona Bound???

I might be wrong, but I'm under the impression that 50 or 100 years ago, it wasn't uncommon for a person to leave their family behind and go to work in a geographically remote location. With modern technology making communication so much faster (skype, email, texting, etc), it seems like even less of a burden - though not a non-burden.

I have a couple buddies down in Arizona - one a native, the other an import - and we have similar background, all coming from the nuclear navy. Since the job market for budding engineers in the Willamette Valley is non-existent (thanks HP!), I went ahead and put in down there with my friends. Pay is good - enough to cover living expenses in both Oregon and Arizona (I think, assuming that food and utilities aren't outrageous) and be able to cover my now due student loans. After I get qualified the pay increases, and I should be able to make headway on getting out of debt, and fixing up the house.

I'm also looking to, and the budget would allow for, about one flight back home each month. I've still got to figure out how I'm going to get down there. If they call me and bring me on, I understand they're wanting to start the first part of training in December. Google maps says it's around a 20 hour trip, depending on the route. Once I'm there, the mild AZ temperatures mean that riding my motorcycle won't be a problem year-round, but leaving in November/December means that it'll be bloody cold up here, and a 1200 mile trip on the bike? Talk about Iron Butt...

And it would force me to head south first before crossing the mountains east, which I'm not sure about. My route of choice would be straight east on 20, and then turn south through Reno/Vegas, but in December that wouldn't work on a motorcycle. Plus I'm thinking that I will end up taking more stuff with me that would be convenient to ship via UPS.

I may have to rent a small Uhaul and carry the bike in the back - which should be doable, especially if they help with relocation expenses. Of course, I'd rather save the relocation help in case the wife decides living in AZ is less miserable than living in OR without me... I'm also thinking that once I'm fully qualifies, that might open some doors for me to either move up there and make more, or possibly get a job that's at least a little more local to Oregon - up in Tri-Cities.

And of course, all this discussion might be premature - there's no guarantee that they'll call me for an interview, and no guarantee that the interview would go well, either. I'm also waiting to hear back from another position that I've been really hoping for, and I figure I'll know the answer next week sometime. It's a research position, so it won't pay as well, but the benefits are nice, and it's local.

Only time will tell.