Comic Strips

There's more to careers than just money. The distribution of jobs in different industry sectors, job specialties, etc. aren't going to be uniform throughout the world, so many types of jobs will require people to move.

It's not even about money. It's about wanting to work in something specific that isn't as easily available in the town you happened to be born in.

that's insanity

makes me feel sick

That's a pretty strong reaction to the simple idea that maybe living your entire life within a 30 minute drive of where you were born isn't the best way to experience this life. You don't have to want it, but is it that much to ask to simply understand that some other people want it?

My hometown is, like, fine. I could've stayed. But its state government is insane, the dominant local industries and companies don't really fit my moral framework, and the social aspect pushes people into a car-based lifestyle that I'm not particularly interested in. I left for a job, but I also was just looking for a reason to leave.

Learning to live as a stranger and reintegrate into a community is a fun experience for many of us though. When we have the flexibility to travel to work we gain a huge competitive advantage. I think OP brings up the most important point though, many people are too lazy or on cruise control to make themselves interesting.

Doing things slightly outside your comfort zone and outside your expertise makes you standout. Employers want to hire interesting people as well. It's not "boot licking" to create a diverse portfolio of skills.

I picked up Portuguese as a hobby, then later in life my job had a business partner in Brazil, so they paid for me to take classes on company time, sent me to Brazil, then let me act as our liaison with them.

I didn't do anything to hunt down money. I traveled for work and have never stopped learning. I never wanted to stay in my small town. This allowed me to create an interesting story and I rarely open at an interview with my qualifications, but they always remember who I am.

Boot licking is chosing to stay home and making a pittance at one of the few dead end jobs available when the outward move could have been expontially better and resulted in you moving back with your family, with more resources, later on when possible.

You're basically judging / telling people to get stuck because in your ideal world they wouldnt have had to.

In case you haven't noticed, this ain't that.

Uprooting your entire life, saying goodbye to all of your friends, family, community, home, all for the pursuit of some dollars, that's insanity

Or, maybe they just hate their life/family/community and want to get out of a dead end town with no opportunities?

I moved 7 hours away for a job and I've never been happier. Met my chosen family and have made a decent life for myself.

I needed to live and pay bills and take care of a family. I tried to write it in a sensitive way and it still wasn't good enough for your entitled, priviliged, and judgmental stance.

Some of us literally have no ability to just entertain "adventure." We needed to just survive. And I was simply stating that I think some people need to be a bit more willing to make hard choices to better their lives, such as moving where their particular jobs are more likely to be.

It has nothing to do with licking boot. It has to do with reality and survival. But a secondary benefit was that I found joy in my career and what I do since it's a public service type of career as well. I also became a productive member of society and can now help others a bit in various ways.

I'll also add that while the goal at the time was not to do anything I wanted, but to do what I needed, I wound up in a degree and field that is still interesting (I didnt study what I wanted, I studied what I thought might pay well and which I was good at). Moving for jobs was significant to changing my life and giving some new perspective and adventure in the simple sense that I got away from where I grew up and saw a different place and have met and worked with tons of great people from all over the world who also moved here. It was not my original purpose, and it's not the same as travel for adventure or leisure which was not something I could ever entertain for the majority of my life, but it has in a way given me adventure I wasn't seeking.

I will also note the original move for a job itself was never simple. We literally slept on floors for the first few weeks.

I don't regret any of it. Our lives are immensely better today for making hard but smart moves for the better. Others should also do the same if they have options to better their lives.