Sometimes relocation is a fact of life. It doesn’t matter how much you love the country. Cities have too much draw and power to them to stay away forever. With work arrangements, you might need to be in a city more often than you’d like.
So how can you maintain your life in the country without sacrificing your job in the city?
First of all, we’ve got commuting. For some people, this works out fine. There’s a great history of commuting to work. Years ago small towns and villages were set up in industrial centers. These were commuter towns. They had great public transport connections, and sometimes work buses to take employees to and from their job.
These days those towns aren’t quite as common. Development has spread out, and the connections haven’t changed to accommodate. So what can you do? Drive for one. If the city you’re heading to has a parking problem or you just want to be eco-friendly, driving might not be the best option.
If you’re fortunate to live near public transport links, by all means use them. If not, you may have just to swallow the bitter pill and take multiple methods of transport just to reach work.
If you’re working in a major city like New York, commuting in can be a real pain. The size of the city slows the commute to a crawl. All the stops can make getting from one side to the other a real ordeal. That’s when you have to think more long term.
If you have a job that pays expenses, you could ask to be put up in a hotel for your working week. Many people do this, but if you have a family at home, it can be quite tough to deal with. Likewise, a hotel can often not be the best solution if you are working long-term, especially not in an expensive city like New York.
An alternative for you and your employer would be corporate housing in New York instead. It’ll just be like renting an apartment. Overall it should work out cheaper than a hotel for five nights a week. It also means that your family has a place to come visit if they miss you while you’re working.
If none of these is working out, you have three more options. First, try working from home. Some employers will allow this. If you’re self-employed, it can be very easy to arrange. Though, occasional trips to the city for business meetings may be needed.
Second, change jobs to something more local. This can be a tough one. You may not be giving up your career, but it might send you a step back. Only do this if you’re sure you can’t do any more commuting.
Finally, the nuclear option. Move to the city. This is your absolute last case scenario. This is only if you have to make a decision between your life and your job, and the job wins out. Living in a city isn’t so bad, but it just isn’t country living.