[Hoot Gibson]

The country wants socialism and Trump cannot get out of his own way. With a Clinton Presidency comes the suffocation of the economy through regulation, increased spending and taxation. I already compete with a steady stream of foreign technology workers, and this will get much worse under Clinton, who wants to hand out green cards to this bunch. A contracting economy and more competition from foreign labor requires drastic action.

I'm going to have to relocate to support my family, to a place where there is never a recession. The Beltway. I interview tomorrow, and if I get the job, I'm gone.

I'll miss my older son's entire football season and my younger son's swimming seasons. All my kids will be adults when (and if) I come back. I enjoyed being a Dad while it lasted.



Thanks America.

Unfortunately, I agree that our future includes another Clinton presidency. I was in your situation years ago and elected to become a road warrior to allow my children to finish high school in Kentucky. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken them to Indianapolis with me.

Now, I live within a few hundred feet of the Beltway. I don't know where your kids attend school, but the DC suburbs in northern Virginia have some of the top public schools in the country, many of which have outstanding football programs.

If things work out for you, you may want to consider relocating to this area permanently. There are a few things to consider about working in this area as a contractor:

1. If you work as a federal contractor and do good work, then what is advertised as a 6 or 12 month contract can often become a fairly permanent position. I have worked on the same project for six years but I am currently working for my fourth different company because of contract bidding and company sales and mergers. If the federal government has work that needs to be done, then they encourage successful bidders on contracts to hire people with experience on the project.

2. Prepare for sticker shock when it comes to housing. Salaries are very good compared to those in most of the country but the cost of living is very high. Generally, the further you live from DC, the more affordable housing becomes. The problem is that if you drive toward DC in the mornings, traffic is worse than anywhere else in the country.

3. Location, location, location - If possible, you will want to live between work and DC if you work in the suburbs. Otherwise, if you are lucky, then you will be able to ride the Metro (train/subway) to work and live near a Metro station. I live within walking distance of a station but because of the relocation of our office, it is no longer possible for me to commute on the Metro. The Metro system is having lots of maintenance issues at this time, but long term, it is your best transportation bet if your office and home are reasonably close to a station. Living on the wrong side of your workplace will often double or triple your commuting time.

It once took me over two hours to attend a company picnic about 20 miles from my home, early on a Saturday morning. Nothing can prepare you to the volume of traffic on the Beltway during rush hour - and by rush hour, I mean from about 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM. It is even worse heading out of town on Friday evenings, when many people drive to a beach. I-95 traffic is ridiculous.

4. To elaborate, avoid driving a car into DC unless it is absolutely necessary. Parking space is either almost non-existent or extremely expensive in DC. The Metro's bus system is also pretty good for short trips. There is also a commuter train system (Virginia Railway Express) that runs to Fredericksburg and another line that runs to Manasass. I have never ridden on the VRE, but it may be something to consider.

5. Travel time from Kentucky to the DC area is about the same (for me), whether I drive through Elkins, WV, Maryland, or on I-81 and I-64. If is best to check the weather forecast and road conditions before driving through Elkins in the winter, but it is a very scenic drive with less traffic than the other routes.

I doubt that you will face more competition from visa and green card holders anywhere than in the DC area in the IT field, but there is no better place to learn computer technology than this area. If you are not familiar with the Meetup.com website, then I encourage you to check it out. For a computer programmer, database manager, or electronic hobbyist, this area has numerous big and very active professional groups that offer free learning and great professional networking opportunities. It is not unusual for people to announce job vacancies during Meetup group meetings.

Good luck with your interview. It would be great if Kentucky had better opportunities for IT professionals, but any experience that you get in the DC area will enhance your resume if you prefer to look elsewhere for work.