I actually have a relative in VA and I love it down there. Milder climate, nice people, southern vibe. I only consider DC because the money's a lot better (and I've got a fair amount of government / civic project experience at this point so I might be able to bridge that well).
I don't really want to back up over history but to Todd's point (and I really do value his input) there were really NO, ZERO, ZIP, NADA jobs in 2009 in this field. I sent out over 300 resumes all over the country, got a reply from a couple of dozen (not counting automated "we've received your application and will keep it on file" e-mails), and got (supposedly) bona fide interviews at six. I say "supposedly" because back then you never really knew if there was REALLY a position or whether you were just being shined on - I got the sense a few times that they're just trying to legitimize some decision about hiring an already pre-selected candidate or that they really didn't intend to hire at all, just collecting information). I got one offer - the one at the company where I am now (and I'm told HR received something like 160 applications for THAT position). It was an insane time in this industry (probably all industries but construction got hit especially hard). I thought about career changes, etc. too. Perhaps the best advice I got was to stay in the field because when things turn around you'll be in demand because a lot of others will leave the industry. That's proven true and is bearing fruit. We see escalation across the industry, higher bids, etc. largely because construction is back to about 80% of its peak in the mid-2000s but is trying to do all that work with a workforce less than half the size it was then.
Not to split hairs but fine - I'll admit that technically I had a "choice". I could have taken the position or I suppose I could have turned it down and likely been living in a box under the 405 a few months later. Hell, even the fast food joints weren't hiring back then (I looked at a few!) It was a seriously scary time. It was even scarier because there was no optimism about a turnaround at all. Nobody knew when or if it was going to end. I can't be the only one that remembers how it was! It wasn't until into 2011-12 when we started hearing about things being a little better and there being glimmers of optimism. No way I could've lasted that long financially. Not even close. The timing couldn't have been worse too - I was let go within weeks of the birth of my son. Note that I'm sharing a lot of previously-undisclosed personal info here - I think this is only the second time I've even mentioned him on the Internet at all. As I said before, I'm a fairly private person and I don't think much good ever comes from posting information about peoples' families - especially children - on the Internet. That was additional pressure / "gun to my head" on me. I really felt that I didn't have another option. I had to take the job for his sake too. A lot of things change when you've got someone depending on you who's otherwise helpless to fend for themself. Actually I brought FMLA leave request to my boss a few days before being let go and he handed it back to me saying "we'll have to talk about this later". Probably flatly illegal but I've never pursued it. Another kick in the ass I dealt with. Was I let go because he didn't want to pay for me to have FMLA time? I'll never know. I'm happy to say he's doing well, kicking butt and is top of his (kindergarten) class, so I guess it was the right choice - for then.
The other thing people have to consider is that it's really not worth it to take a McJob for any reason other than personal pride ("Look at me! I'm so great because I'm working instead of collecting unemployment, rah-rah"). If you do, that money comes right off the top of your unemployment insurance benefits anyway, so basically you end up working for money you've earned already anyway (you've paid into that system) and would receive anyway AND you lose the hours out of the day doing some mindless job when you could have been using that time more productively to go after REAL jobs in your own field, build your skills, network, etc. That's what it came down to for me (aside from the fact that there really wasn't anything available anyway). I actually did a little "under the table" stuff but it wasn't nearly enough to live on (maybe 10 hours a week occasionally).
So am I resentful? I hope not. I was kinda' done with CA at that point anyway (I'd put up with too much BS and I'd had enough) - the position gave me an "out", it saved my bacon at the time and I'm grateful for that but now I'm getting to the point where I've actually got choices again and I may well want to take advantage of them.
Yea, I've spoken to (and am speaking to) a counselor about some of these things. It does help but I still think I need to do something to improve my situation and "find my happy place" if you will. You can tell me I need a lot more of that too - I probably wouldn't disagree, nor would most!
Pelican is cheaper therapy though.
I DESIRE hot women, bottomless beer pitchers, my own personal fleet of GT3s, a vacation home in the Mediterranean, a private jet to get me there and about $20M in tax-sheltered cash in a Cayman Islands bank account - and SUNNY, WARM WEATHER! But I'll settle for somewhere where I can have a good job (and a chance of maybe going into practice for myself) and feel like I'm living a good life outside of work, with good future / family potential that's in a good climate. Am I really asking for too much here? Those places exist, but they're not here.
OK back to work!