David L. is an accomplished Systems Engineer of 23 years with a broad range of expertise in defense, intelligence, and logistics systems analysis, design, and development.   He is a results driven, motivated team player, capable of leading and collaborating in all aspects of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) utilizing rapidly changing technologies to accomplish objectives.  Relates effectively to people at all levels and convey complex technical information in an understandable manner.

David lives in the DC area and for the last 16 years has placed his dreams of moving south on hold for the sake of keeping his kids in school with their friends and familiar surroundings. Now that the kids are out of school, he and his wife would like to move south to the Houston or Austin area. They desire to be in a warmer climate and do away with the many years of dark and cold winters.  His wife is from the Houston area and would like to relocate there; however David’s experience is more in government and consulting which means that Austin should be a better choice for relocation. 

However, now that Houston and Austin are feeling the impact of a money glitch, David is concerned if this year is the right time to attempt to relocate and accomplish his lifetime dream.  Houston is known for its thriving economy but in recent months the money glitch has hit this city as well.   Many are still attempting to recover from Hurricane Ike almost a year ago that left the city in disarray without power for 2-4 weeks, with only minimum help from FEMA. The area literally looked like a war zone and in many places still does due to the inadequate reimbursement money ratio. Gas prices are lower which slows the oil and gas trade and unemployment has started to rise; perhaps from the influx of large numbers of people relocating from the north to the south looking for work. 

Austin has been known for its large IT professional population however a money glitch began in that city prior to the recession.  Last year Dell closed the desktop plant and let go about 900 workers as part of its plan to cut costs by $3 billion.  In addition Austin has been the “hot spot” to transition to for several years and continues to be among the top ten places that people are relocating.  And for the past two years has been in a blistering drought stage which is estimated to results in millions of dollars vanished on crops that simply burned up.  This will be another money glitch that will be felt by all Americans due to the lack of this food and grain supply.

David has made several trips to Houston, but is having trouble tapping into the oil, gas, and energy industry. As you know, many of the higher paying jobs require that you have experience within that commerce. He has just recently begun to network with individuals within the Austin arena, but has not received any prospective interviews.  This money glitch recession has inconvenienced and caused countless people to simply put their lives on hold and wait for a positive turn around. Needless to say, no one counted on the economy imploding all of a sudden as it appears to have done. If you live in the Houston or Austin area we would love to hear your opinion on this article.   Should David spend another winter working in the DC area or move forward on his dream by relocating regardless of a possible money challenge?