Go to the city where you want to live, pick out a place to live, go back to where you live now, call a moving company, pack your stuff, let the movers put in their truck, and go meet them at the new place that you picked out to live.

MOVE NOW is THE answer. 

Another answer is that if your are successful for "20 years" and don't waste your money away, it is very feasible to retire at that point.  Or save a lot and then just keep your top clients and manage them long distance.  They will slowly one by one drift away, but you'd have plenty of time to replace them.

But the correct answer is MOVE NOW.

I think you missed your calling...did you ever consider being a screenwriter or writing cheap romance novels?!!

Seriously, If there is money and infrastructure in your dream locale, quit screwing around and GO.  Why do you think you have a better chance at success in a city where you are a stranger?

It would help to know more about your situation.  How long have you been in the business?  Are you under some type of contract that prevents you from moving now?  What is so unique about your work situation now that it couldn't be duplicated, or another found, where you want to work?  How many clients do you have and what type of business are you doing now?  Answers to these would help us tailor an answer.

The answer is yes and no.  Yes, you can move in 20 years, and yes, if you do a good job, you can keep some/most of your clients (at least for a while, 1-5 years).  No, everyone won't follow you (but they won't all follow you if you move to a different firm across town).  Long-distance relationships are very hard to maintain, so you will lose more clients that if you were in the same town with them. 

The point being made is life is short -- you never know how much time you have.  Why wait to be where you want to be? 

I think distance could be the difference between relocating and keeping most of your clients or relocating and starting over with few, if any, of your old clients.

It can be done and I know a broker who did it, although his circumstances may not match yours. This broker was living in Savannah (Coastal Georgia), was producing about 500k/year, and working for a regional B/D. He wanted to move back to his hometown several hours away drive-time. Fortunately, the regional B/D had an office in his hometown, so he simply transferred keeping all of his clients. Then the regional B/D p'sed him off, so he went to the office of a national B/D firm, keeping nearly 90% of his clients. To this day, none of his clients have been contacted by his old firm.

I left my heart in San Francisco.  Combination of ocean, snow, trees, you must be talking about the beautiful Oregon Coast.

My answer would be "depends" how good business potential is in "your city" that you love so much.  Might have to settle for "retiring" to your "city" if you can't do that well business wise especially since you're already established where you are "here". 

Do a market study to see if you could have potential customers in the new city.  As an fa, as long as there's a decent economy and decent population, you should be able to get established in the new city.

Happiness is more important: especially if you know you would like the city better.  So would you be willing to do a career change if need be if your career doesn't fare as well in your city?  Do you love it and miss it that much?  Make a list of pros; cons; worse that can happen.

As a career AF, I've had to pick up and move several times and once settled, it's always difficult to move but once things work out in your new location, then no regrets.  Wife, kids never liked it; was always hard to do--leaving friends behind but she knew when she married me that I was a lifer.

You could always be a writer, too!  Unless only doing a few paragraphs does it for you.  Doesn't hurt to have a second career to fall back on: take some writing courses since I agree you have a talent in writing.  

Is money or opportunity worth more then happiness?



Usually if you have skills you can make a living any where, but you can not be happy anywhere. At the same time I think the grass is always greener is always true. If you look back when you were 22 and you had a hot chick by your side, no large challenges and you thought life could never be better… Wake up…

Put Trader?

If your desired location is cross-country, just start cold-calling the area. (Of course, you'll need to call with a product, in order to survive until you can actually relocate.)

Once you've got 50-75 clients in that area, then you can seriously consider relocating, since you now have a base to work from. I think this is a better plan than moving, losing all your current clients, and starting over cold.

Just sayin'....

Hey Guys:

Thank you so much for the wide spectrum of responses and opinions. Although I don’t like to disclose too much information lest my employers lurk these boards, I’ll try to paint a better picture of my background. I guess a point of salience is that my “hometown” is in another country: achieving personal satisfaction in living where my heart belongs and beginning my broker career with  success are  mutually exclusive.

Living where I want to live is only half the issue. Another big reason is that I want to be closer to my parents, who are some of the most important people in my life. Nevertheless, there are tons of reasons favoring a decision for both ways but as of
now, I am really torn. Unlike any other industry, this career is based
on the foundation of relationships. If I sweat, bled and toiled for a
book, it would be a waste of several years for me to abandon my work
here and return to home several years down the line. Even if I
develop relationships to the fullest of confidence and can handle clients on the phone, I am basically
burning my bridges with the stream of referrals that my clients would be able to provide me with.

I thought about the situation some more and the more I think about it,
the more I am confused. But as everyday passes, the likelihood of my
returning home diminishes. While I’d love to go back and relive
my fond memories, they are at the end of the day merely a part of my
cherished past. In the present, I have this amazing career opportunity
that would endow me with a terrific future. So in all likelihood, I’ll
probably stay here and work for the next 20 years in this industry and
we’ll see where the chips may fall.

Please continue to share your two cents. I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,

-Achiever

We should do everything in our power to achieve happiness.  What else is there in this life, really? 

If I had a life in northern Canada and $10,000,000, I don’t think I’d be happy.  If I worked as a bank teller in southern california making 30 grand a year, I think I would still be happy.  We’ve all got personal preferences.

While it’s good to plan for the future, don’t forget about today.  If you complacently spent 20 years in an area, that’s 20 years you could have improved.  We’ve only got so many years in a life time - 20’s a lot.

Back at your home, wouldn’t there still be a need for financial advisors?  Don’t underestimate your potential in that region.  No matter where you go, there is a need for our services.  That’s the beauty of this industry.  You’ve already got contacts in the area as well. 

It seems like it’s what you really want to do.  Grab a piece of paper and write up what your ideal life you be.  Where would you be?  Who would be around you?  What would your career be?  What kind of lifestyle would you have?  What’s your ideal personality?

Then reach it