Well, Winstonchill, I'm glad you did what you did, but your situation is not what I was commenting on. So thanks for the input but um, yeah, whatever.

1slippery1, AMEN to that! 100% ...right on!

Forget facebook, why couldn't you have a phone call and interaction with another person which whom you call a friend and a real live conversation with? That is what is wrong with the world today. Its all non-personal now, I'm only 43 and think it sucks. Call someone on the phone for pete's sake and have a real conversation!

no, it's called digging your well before you're thirsty. I did the GM gig and got out before the ship sank. Chasing the almighty dollar doesn't trump my family.

*Regarding the headline of this article: HORSE FARTS*

Wha?

Hey, not everyone can sit around and not work while getting paid for a year or two. Still others find that unacceptable morally.

We moved from Janesville 6 years ago. It was not easy. We still own a house in Janesville and one in Georgia. We have been very fortunate that the move was a positive one. We always read the Gazette online and keep in touch with our friends through FB or phone calls. Flying into Milwaukee is easy and very reasonable for a trip every spring. Our children were grown and on their own, so it was not as bad as those who have children at home. There was no work in the Janesville area and fortunately I was offered a position that came with moving benefits. My husbands company had their main office in Georgia, so was able to get a position there. Who would have thought he would be the one w/out a job within 4 years. By moving to a larger area, he was able to get another job in his field. We have family in Wisconsin and many friends, and yes we miss them. Moving is hard, but sometimes needs to happen. I still get, "you're not from around here are you?" But y'all has been heard from our lips a time or two. Make your decisions on your needs and move on.

Regarding the headline of this article: HORSE FARTS!

Good for you, my friend.

I have moved a few times in my life and can say there isnt anything or anyone I have missed thru it all. But I guess I'm happiest alone with only one person to worry about, myself, I have 8 brothers and sisters with familys so I have many neices and nephews but have no strings attached to any, this way of life I find so nice because I have to answer to know one.

Janesville wasn't the worst place to live, but let's not pretend it is more than it is.

Leaving it is not akin to leaving Eden.

I'm not a lifelong residnet of Janesville, but am of the general area. I believe I would have no problem leaving if my kids and grandkids could go with (they too are unemployed).

Joy-M Yes, we have talked with our kids about their feelings about the many moves we made. They all said that it was good for them and they would not have wanted anything else. They learned how to make friends quickly and stayed in touch with many of their old friends. They did say that they did not have a " home town " but they considered the United States their home town. My daughter is a doctor, one son is a mechanical engineer and one son is a drug counselor. They all have at least masters degrees. Two of the kids never received less than an "A" all the way through school. They have all laughed at me for reading The Gazette on line and can't understand my connection with Janesville. My daughter asked us a couple of times when we were moving again and suggested places she would like to live. We all feel that our moves were positive. There were a couple of places we did not like as a family. It was my occupation that made it necessary to make our moves.

I'm feeling the love today :)

grandys - I guess every once in a while even you and I agree on something! :-)

BelieveMe, we are making choices so that we, too, do not have to work forever or depend on our children. However, in my previous career, I had the opportunity to work closely with many new retirees and seniors...and I found time and time again that these folks worked and scrimped and saved for their retirement...and by the time they could (or felt they could) stop working, one or the other was severely disabled or deceased, so they could never enjoy the fruits of their labor together, while they sat on that pile of money. So, yes, you should do what you can now to be independent of work and others later, but you should also consider decisions now which allow you to enjoy life and especially to appreciate the special people in it. People die and then you can never undo the feeling of wishing you had been with them more in person before they went.

Change is good. Living and working in other states or even countries teaches you a lot more than Janesville ever will, or any other place where people stay their whole lives. I think it's good for the kids to see parents strive for a better life for the family and new opportunities rather than just accepting the status quo and spending years hoping for a future that might never come. Yes, it's hard to leave family and friends behind. But you don't lose them; it just means you have to make more of an effort to see them. And today with cellphones, IM, Skype, Facebook and other technology it is really not very difficult to stay in touch.

12345678 - I agree with you completely that "You get from life what you give not from material things or just STUFF !" That is why IMO you need to seriously consider those relationships where people "touch your heart and you touch them back." Support in a phone call from another coast is not the same as support in the form of a hug when you've experienced the greatest difficulties of your life. I've lived other places, too, and could not wait to get back - not because Janesville was the only place I ever wanted to live - but because all the people I cared about were here, so I chose to make some sacrifices financially to stay near here. It was possible because I (now we) generally live modestly, if not frugally, and I realize that not everyone has the choice to stay put, and for some people it might be wisest to move away from what might otherwise be a bad situation. I'm just saying that there is more to consider (people) than a high flying lifestyle (and the cash to live it) when deciding what is best to do about a job choice.

Everyone is different . Some move easily , some reluctantly . Some have many friends that they have had for a lifetime and it's like leaving part of you behind . Others accumulate friends when they move and it's fulfilling for them . I moved up here and part of me is left behind but I'm lucky enough to see many friends quite often , that being said there is no better feeling to walking into a place and everyone know's your name .

The security blanket feeling is probably the biggest reason why people don't leave. I have left and come back a number of times, and will probably leave the area all together again shortly. My grandfather moved to Rock county just to work at the plant in the late 60's, then moved his family down here. My father left the area for the very same reason, work and opportunity. Life goes on, it's a big world out there, and many opportunities. Sitting around and waiting for your boat to come in is certainly easier in many ways, but the world moves on around you. I certainly hoped things would get better here, but it's clear that no amount of political wrangling from either side is going to make anything, in fact probably just the opposite, though well intentioned as Repub of Dem ideas may be. It's bigger than that. The world awaits.

JoyM...WOW IMO you have it wrong.It's NOT about how many friends,homes or how often someone has moved in life...But how many people have touched your heart and how you touched them back.I personally have seen most of this country and have been happy with my life because I'm happy within.You get from life what you give not from material things or just STUFF !

mgcarguy - have you ever asked your kids, now that they are grown, whether they appreciated or abhorred the constant uprooting? Do any of them feel they ever really belonged anywhere? Do any of them have lifelong friends on whom they can depend in a crisis, outside the family? I'm hitting 50 soon, and I still live within 30 minutes of friends I have had for 30-40 years. I'm not sure you can put a price on that.

grandys618, lots of time you and I are not on the same page, but I agree with you on this one. (IE goes along with my previous comment, " So many people in this city feel their lifestyle is being cramped while they still have several times the income and/or wealth that those in true poverty do." Didn't mean that just for GM workers, however; there are plenty of others here as well.) Maybe moving is what some people must, or feel they must, do but if you own a home, it may be either difficult to unload or else you may not get enough to clear your mortgage if you have one, so you also must consider the expenses that a move may mean for your family - and many employers no longer provide any kind of relocation financial assistance. Sometimes, as we have found, it works better to ride it out until things get better. Then again, we never bought all the expensive toys, etc., so we didn't have a mountain of debt to manage, either.

We left Janesville over forty years ago and made fourteen moves. We lived in every area of the country and our three kids went to fifteen different schools. Sometimes we think of how it would have been if we had stayed in Janesville. We do not think of Janesville as home anymore. With the exception of one or two towns, home was always been where we were living with our kids. We now live within six miles of our kids and grandkids. We visit Janesville every couple of years. I like to look at the cave at monterey park. That cave has not changed much.

Sometimes you need to decide what providing really means, and whether a certain standard of living is as important as the circle of family and friends you have where you are. My husband and I have both been through bouts with unemployment, and we both hate moving, so the choice often landed us with low-paying temp jobs to stretch unemployment until a suitable permanent job came along. It might mean no expensive toys or trips or eating out, but it also means not uprooting our children from their friends and their schools...and not uprooting ourselves from our friends and the remaining family we have. Sometimes people won't take a job because they feel it is beneath them or demeaning because it isn't all a previous job was when indeed the most important immediate need is to pay for shelter, utilities, food, transportation (and the insurance to protect it all), and the rest all comes later. So many people in this city feel their lifestyle is being cramped while they still have several times the income and/or wealth that those in true poverty do.

It was a career promotion and best decision I have ever made and moved 2 more times after that for more promotions with the same company. Never looked back,very seldom get back to Janesville sure I miss my friends but they will always be my friends and we still see them from time to time.

Transition in staying has been hard...Just sayin'.