The shaping of a plan

I mentioned a plan not very long ago.  A plan for leaving academia.  Now, I need to shape that vague idea into something that can actually work.

How do you quit a good paying job to move across the country to an expensive city, with no job whatsoever?

I need a plan.

This decision is not just about a job. It's about life. This is my new life direction. This place I need to move to -- it is where I will live long term. It is where I will settle and make my life. I hope to come up with a decent job there, I don't need the perfect job right away. If I wait until the perfect job comes up, I'll never get there.

I've started applying to jobs. The fun part is that non-academic jobs are so much easier to apply for. There aren't tons of them out there, but there have been a few. If I keep applying, maybe something will come through for me.  Maybe something good. If not?

I finish up this semester, get it all packaged and done, then I do what I have to do to get something, anything, in the place I need to be.  I call temp agencies if I have to.  A six month contract, a four month contract, something to get me moved there and settled, with a home in a very central location. Then I have time to work on something more solid and stable.

Thinking of the concrete timeline scares me to death. In XX weeks I have to start packing, in XX weeks I have to tell my boss, in XX weeks I have to go find an apartment.  Ugh!! I'm not there yet. One step at a time.

So, the current step includes this:

• Finish up the academic term
• Scour the internet for job postings and apply for everything that fits
• Don't panic

I think that's all I have in the current step.  I can cut down on my stress by telling myself it's still reversible at this point. But, I don't want to reverse it. I can make this work.

I CAN make this work. For me, for my life, for my own wellbeing. There's more to this than just work. There's stability, there's social life, there's health and happiness. I don't think I can have those here.