A key goal for many preppers is moving to a lightly-populated region that they deem safe. Except for retirees, the ability to relocate to another state often comes down to the practicalities of finding a job. I hear this all the time from SurvivalBlog readers and my consulting clients.
In the American Redoubt region, jobs tend to be lower paying than those on the east or west coasts. Many jobs are related to forestry, mining, and agriculture. Some jobs–especially in the timber industry–are seasonal. Some of the most stable jobs tend to be in healthcare, in city and county government, and at rock-solid businesses. These include well-established welding shops, supermarkets and hardware stores. There are of course also lots of service sector jobs and government jobs, with varying degrees of stability.
I’d recommend that you not take a job that is dependent on discretionary spending by customers. (For example, businesses related to pools and hot tubs, recreational vehicles, boats and Jet-Skis, home decor, beauty parlors, collectibles, furniture, and so forth.) In hard times, those will be the first businesses to shut down or lay off employees.
The following are some online resources that I’ve found in the five Redoubt States, from reader recommendations and some web searches. (Similar sites can quickly be found, for other states.)
Idaho
Montana
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Washington
Wyoming
Regional: Rocky Mountain / Inland Northwest Region Job Pages
Nationwide Job Search Resources:
- Rural America Employment Search Central
- Agraplacements – Farm and Ranch Jobs
- Job Central
- CareerBuilder
- Monster.com
- JobALot.com
The aforementioned sites are great resources, but don’t rely on just the Internet for your job search. Often, networking through family and church contacts is even more productive.
Remember: It is important to work diligently at finding a job. Do plenty of research and send out lots of resumes. You’ll likely get dozens of “no” responses before you get that all-important “yes”. If there are just a few companies in your target region that might hire in your field, then check their web sites frequently, for their job listing updates.
What if there are no jobs available in your career field, where you plan to live? Though still a rarity, there are some telecommuting positions available. And of course, don’t overlook self employment. If you go that route, then my advice is to launch several small businesses, because odds are that at least one of them will fail.