I am unhappy.

[beepbeep]

You gotta do what you gotta do. Sometimes life takes us in strange directions, but it generally is for a reason. Best of luck and keep us posted regardless.

[FeaRpb]

I honestly wouldn't know what to do in that situation. Friends and family are key to happiness, they are everything to me. I say do what you think feels right to you.

[Valhallaz]

Unless you'd be getting substantially more money, you'll be taking it in the shorts. L.A. is an expensive place to live. My brother in law just sold a house in So. Cal for $595,000 that frankly was a dump. The same house in TN would have been robbery at $120,000.
I wouldn't move from Knoxville to L.A. on a bet. But you have to do what you have to do.
Good luck.

[green-lantern]

Damn buddy, I honestly don't know what to tell you. The greedy side says stay in TN but I definitely want you to do the right thing for you and your career. I'm not sure how happy you would be in LA. As well spoken and educated as you are you have a red neck side, shooting guns in the back yard, car jacked up in the garage.

On the other hand LA has lots of opportunity. I'm sure it has a bunch of positives. Never been there but I hear it's beautiful. If you save the company I'm sure you could make big cash in the future. You probably need to have your pay doubled to keep your standard of living though.

How long do you see this taking? Months? Years? indefinitely? I guess you need to weigh all the pros and cons. If you're unhappy now will you be able to be happy staying there?

BTW I'm doing good, thanks for asking. Hopefully you will have some time to come by, take a ride in the car and have some drinks.

[j2k4]

Leaving is always such sweet sorrow, but you may find L.A. exhilarating.

Large dollars are an absolute necessity - don't think in terms of what you'll need, think more along the lines of ridiculous money - a figure that will give the CEO pause, because if you alone have the key, you are worth 'indispensable' money.

Think about that for a minute.

I think that if you can, you must...why else would you be thinking in these terms?

[Granny]

I always wanted my kids to take the chances and spread their wings.
If you try it out and it dosen't work have you really lost anything?
Just pack your bags and go home but if you don't try you will always wonder "What if"
Just fly in for NG10 so you can party with HD and I.

[mk_]

I'm in a similar position. I'm about the same age (26), and took the plunge at moving from East coast to West coast. Difference is, I left my job as well as friends and family behind (no particular order). I'm at a similar crossroads because I know the work that I'm doing now is not what I'll be doing for the rest of my life, hell might not be doing it in the next 3 months... who knows. I'm sure I can find a new job doing something I like better, but then I throw in the idea of going back to school to pursue an even more lucrative job. When I say I dont know, I really mean I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. Positive aspect is, I do have A job (better than ~10% of the country), I have a roof over my head, a car, and I can afford food (barely )

Now in your perspective, you would be able to move across the country, ALREADY have a job, be able to make more money (so it sounds), and save your company from going belly-up. Just my opinion, but it seems pretty ideal. Admittedly, I am the ultimate optimist, so I always think things will work out.. but regardless, even if the company goes under, you'd now be in a good location to find another job.

Besides, if you keep the company afloat, you'll still be making more money... have a chance to move up further in the company and live your life how you please. If it doesn't work out, I'll buy you a drink. Win/win situation if you ask me

Good luck with your decision,
Michael

[MK_94_3000GT]

Damn Justin sorry to hear you're unhappy man. Anyhow as for what to do, I cant tell you. I can say for one thing as much as you might not see yourself some place it might be for the best. I know I'm in quite the opposite position as you. I have wanted to be in LA (Well Irvine, oc), for the longest time and ended up getting stuck in Ohio for personal reason much to my dismay. I will say had that not happened I wouldnt have grown my business to the size it is currently (I think it would have been crippled by the high costs of operation in Cali), and I would have never landed the job I got as head of car shipments with a logistics company. Funny how that all worked out for the best for me, and I still plan to move out there someday. However for now those plans are on hold.

I guess in all that I'm saying maybe you dont see yourself in LA, but it might just be the best thing for you that you dont really see. Just something to think about buddy, Anyhow take care man

[green-lantern]

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-...-los-angeles-1

LA is #10 on the most obscene cities In America lol

[Intropy]

Whew, thanks everyone! I was drowning my sorrows the other day. All this uncertainty with the business is stressing me out and in some ways brought up some of the uncertainties in my own life. I struggle with a sort of existential angst sometimes.

So I spoke with the CEO yesterday. (Today? My time zones are all screwed up.) The conversation actually went better than I ever expected - it's SO important to have good leadership, and our CEO is great. The good news is, she's going to work with me to find a balance between getting things done here and maintaining my life in Tennessee. So TN folks are stuck with me for the time being. Although I might be spending weeks / months here and there in California.

I want to reply individually to people but I'm exhausted, so I'll chat with you all later. Thanks.