Trailing Spouse

My name is Chelsea, and I am a trailing spouse.

But you haven’t moved! Well, no, but we did buy a house. We made a conscious decision to be in a place.

But you have access to two job markets! Yeah, and? The market is so saturated with Master’s degrees and people with experience. I’ve been looking on-and-off for three years, applied to over 100 positions, had less than 10 interviews, and 2 job offers.

So, you could move, right? Your husband has skills and can be employed elsewhere, right? Yes, but then we’re both unemployed. I need to make enough as an entry-level professional to support us as we move.

But you have experience! Yes, but no. I have experience serving tables, which means customer service. I have experience working with students, but not in a one-on-one capacity, and many positions require that in the job description. I have no staff supervisory experience, as I only supervise student workers.

So where would you move? Well, I could make decent money in Florida, but then we’d have to pay for the move and figure out a new cost of living. We’d move away from our families, but we do have some friends all around Florida, so we’d have a support network. We’d have to find a job for my husband, which might not be so terrible, but we don’t know. We’d have to finish working on the projects around here, sell the house, buy a house, move the cats and stuff, and settle in all on one income with no promise of a second income. Add in hurricanes, sink holes, spiders, and snakes, I’d almost rather deal with a crappy job market and snow.

But I thought your husband lost his job, didn’t you look for work nationally during that? Long story short: by the time we realized he wasn’t getting his job back, he was offered another job. That gave me approximately one day to look for and apply for work nationally. He has no formal degree, some college education, and six years in the US military. He’s more employable and makes more than me.

I am a trailing spouse and see no future changes to that.