Moving from Los Angeles to Texas

[Andy Jackson]

I went one better Jacob and got out of the business to pursue another career.

My story : https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/17/876369

Hope this helps.

Cheers Andy

[Jacob Marley]

Well that’s just depressing as shit, Andy…

[Mark Suszko]

Well, how relatively “business friendly” Texas is, may or may not be up for debate. I can be a little snarky here because Rick Perry came up to Illinois, talking a little trash, trying to skim some business from us recently.So I’m being snarky back.

Without getting too off-topic or political, just how “good” or “bad” Texas is for “business” and “jobs” rather depends on particular sectors and on how you look at their stats. Where they claim a lot of recent employment, for example looking deeper, many of those are service sector jobs like janitors and burger flippers getting minimum wage or less. Usually less, because that’s “friendly” to business. Petro workers are doing all right in Texas, as fracking gets old wells back into production. Texas has a looser regulatory environment than California, but you’re not in a job that pollutes or abuses undocumented labor or hates OSHA regs or unions, so again, not sure that’s a plus for a video producer:-) There ends my little trash-talk on the Lone Star State.

On to your possible strategies:

I think your best bets in Texas would be doing corporate video work for large aerospace companies, airlines, defense contractors, or the petroleum industry. Start by considering the second tier businesses that are sub-contractors to all those major corporations. They all have stuff to sell, ideas and sales pitches to communicate, internal training to do. Is it as sexy as LA work? No, but I think eating three squares a day, reliably, can look pretty good, if you get my drift. Take a look at media departments for the big schools like Texas A&M. TAM does some great research and science work, that needs documentation. Sports videos, of course, are what most people may think of first, but there’s a lot of visual communications work to be found in and around a university community. The big hospital complexes have research and patient communications departments, and HUGE internal training budgets.

Texas is, of course, big. People really don’t get HOW big, though, and the kinds of business best for you to try and get some traction in, are in cities or regions of the state with quite a bit of physical separation between them. You may find yourself flying around the state more than driving, to get to far-flung satellite offices.

Even though I had my fun trash-talking the state, you can see that it could provide some opportunities for you, if you widen the scope of the kinds of work you’d consider taking on. Don’t let defeatist arguments deter you. You don’t just make videos: you solve people’s communication problems and needs. The wider view gets you more choices of stable business.

Good luck to you!

[Joseph W. bourke]

Mark –

You know what they say about how to find Texas, don’t you?

You walk west until you smell it, then walk south until you step in it.

No offense to Texans, by the way…that joke was told to me by an Oklahoman, when I was in Texas years ago. I guess there’s no love lost between Texas and Oklahoma, for some reason…

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Mark Suszko]

The visitor is talking to a Texas Rancher. The Rancher says: “I can drive for three hours, and not reach the end of my property”

The Visitor says: “I had an old truck like that too, once…”

Texas has many thins to brag about, as does any state.

But we’re talking about how to find a business niche there.

[Mark Suszko]

Don’t mind Andy; he’s just leaving more room for the rest of us.

[Jacob Marley]

Thanks, guys. Mark- very smart ideas, especially.

It’s a weird huge leap, and I’m not too proud to find a variety of work- after all, I’m constantly running between commercials and corporate, happily.

What do you think of building a virtual presence there, first, to gauge potential response?

ps: Texas and OK… yeah, I don’t know what those two states’ deal is on hating each other. They seem pretty similar to outsiders. Then again, so do the Israelis and Palestinians.

[Joseph W. bourke]

Jacob –

All joking aside – you might want to start by researching some of the various business and manufacturing directories for the target area, then take a look at some of the larger businesses, seeing what sort of video presence they have on the web, and maybe even do some preemptive strikes via email to their marketing directors. It never hurts to tell people you’re on the way…other than the competition, which it would be good to look at as well. Sometimes where the competition isn’t working is the place to go. Good luck with the move…

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Bob Zelin]

In 1999 I moved my business from NYC to Orlando, FL. Probably similar reasons to what you have – costs less to live, get a nicer place to live, nicer people, better day to day life.

HOWEVER – prepare for this –
1)you will make less money than LA (but it costs less to live)
2) there will not be as many clients
3) you have to “cherish” you clients, because there just are not that many (compared to NY or LA).
4) when you get slow (everyone gets slow, even in NY and LA) – it will REALLY feel slow, because there are not that many avenue’s to turn to.
5) you think you are the “big shot director from LA” that is going to blow away all those “little guys” in Texas. I felt the same way – I was the “big shot engineer” from NYC. Well, there are PLENTY of qualified people down here in Florida, and I bet there are PLENTY of qualified people in Texas that can do the same job (or better) than you, and they are already estabilished. You will have to prove yourself all over again. It took me EIGHT YEARS to “get into” Disney down in Orlando, even though I did all the big editorial houses in NY and ad agencies. It means nothing. You have to prove yourself. And when you do, you will STILL make less money than you made in LA.

SO – am I happy ? Sure I am happy. It’s nice weather out, people are nice, it doesn’t cost $150 to go out to dinner, I can park my car for free, anywhere I want. Insurance is lower. Taxes are lower.

For me, it just took a while to realize that I was going to make less money.

Bob Zelin

Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
maxavid@cfl.rr.com

[Tim Wilson]

I lived in Texas for a while, went to college there, and have also lived in 5 different states since then. Overall, I’ve moved 22 times in 28 years, and probably another dozen when I was a kid.

I also traveled like a demon for some industry companies, and got a good sense of the jobs scene up until a few years ago when I got out. So, some general thoughts as a former Texan, a traveler, and a professional observer of the media production industry.

— No matter what else is true of Texas, the pool of opportunity is smaller. Dallas-Ft. Worth is the #5 market, but that’s deceptive because of how many small towns comprise it, and HOW small they are (closer to Mayberry than Glendale), with nobody else to claim them as part of THEIR market. Outside a crowded center, long stretches of freaking NOTHING.

(BTW, this is where I lived for part of my teens.)

Austin is the #49 market, right behind Memphis, and just ahead of Louisville, KY. Wonderful place…but dude, Louisville.

The good news is, both of them are very livable cities. You and your family can make nice lives for yourself in either one. You might also look at San Antonio, which is in one of the prettiest parts of the country. (Google Image search Texas Hill Country wildflowers.)

— Unless you want to start a manufacturing facility or something, forget phrases like “business friendly.” California leads the country in non-government job creation — not just more than Texas, but more than TX, VA and OR combined….but what did all those new jobs do for you? Nothing. The same as Texas’s much higher poverty rate will do for you. Nothing. Or that Jerry Brown’s approval rating is 60% and Rick Perry’s is 40%. Means. Nothing. for your work prospects.

— Bob is right: you’re going to be floored by how much less you make. Your money will of course go further. But wow, you’ll make a LOT less money. This takes a while to wrap your head around. Start now. 🙂

— Note that Dallas and Austin are both among the country’s leaders in inbound migration. A lot of it from California. This is especially true in Dallas, whose boom is meaningfully fueled by tech migrating from Silicon Valley. You won’t be the first guy from LA that your prospective clients will have spoken to.

That’s on top of the local guys who have already been working in these high-pressure, world class markets. They’re not all chumps.

— So, no matter how you shake it, fewer opportunities, all of them paying less, and no matter how much experience you have, you’re going to have to push your way through a lot of other people who already have the clients you want…and a lot of other immigrants who want them too.

— One of the things that can jam you up in Austin is a huge media program at the University of Texas. It’s one of the best anywhere, and by big, I mean 4500-ish students in the School of Communication alone. Baylor (my alma mater) has a big, strong program an hour and a half a way, as does Texas A&M another half hour away. Now, obviously, everywhere has a lot of colleges and a lot of students, and not all of those media program kids will look for work in Austin — but a lot of them will, as will students from other parts of the state. Why not? Austin is a FANTASTIC place. More attractive than Dallas in quite a few ways.

So imagine 2000 freshly minted graduates from top-notch media programs pouring into…Louisville, KY…looking for work every May. Plus all the people from all over the country who hear that Austin is a vibrant media center…which it is. Totally.

But not as easy to break into as it looks, for exactly that reason.

— A lot of people are going to tell you that they’d kill to get out of their markets and into LA. Be prepared to tell them why you think that they’re wrong. LOL

Personal notes:

— As a kid who moved a lot, I do encourage you to think about it, just to enrich your kids’ life experience if nothing else. I loved it. I’ve obviously kept it up. LOL I think it’s a good habit to get into. Who cares if a move doesn’t work? Move again. There are so many great places to live, it’s a shame to limit yourself to just a couple. In my experience, the trouble comes when you stay too long.

— A couple of months ago, my father actually apologized to me for a) moving the family to suburban Dallas, and b) not getting out sooner. It was easy to accept that apology. I got out mostly alive, so no harm, no foul.

I mentioned this to my mother later, and she said, “He apologized? Good.” It’s been 30 years since they left, and my mother is obviously still, let’s say, annoyed by it.

But hey, plenty of other people love it, and like I said, most people err by staying where they are too long — including LA. All the more reason to consider moving.

Final tally: lower cost of living and general quality of life: yes for Texas. More job opportunities: absolutely not.

If the only way you can make it work is keeping your LA clients, you have to talk this through with them first. They may be the only work you have for a good long while, and if they’re not okay with this, you’re in for a rough ride.