Help..need advice on where to go!!

[JackandJulie]

Hi! Didn't know what forum to ask this so choose this one. To make a long boring story short me and wife are currently living in Midland Tx. Been here hauling crude oil making $$$. Became unemployed around end of march. Could get another job here but kinda getting tired of blowing dirt and pokey mesquite trees!! Been thinking of going to either the ocean or the mountains. Alaska is our favorite but not really option right now. Corpus Christi is maybe option. Does anyone have feedback on there and job situations? Or somewhere where economy is going good with decent jobs.. Just kinda lost in what to do..thanks for any input!!

[C-Bears]

coolmom42 wrote:
Look at East Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area. Beautiful area, growing economy, lots of jobs. Four-season climate, low cost of living. Lots of places to put a RV. As someone said, check out Craigslist for jobs.

I would agree with the above. We spent a month last fall in Clarksville. Temps were much milder than up in Illinois.

I would stay away from Arizona and California. The cost of living can be higher and wages aren't. Friends of ours moved to Arizona last fall but came back this spring due to low wages.

[JackandJulie]

thanks for advice..god bless!!

[carl2591]

you are correct.. When i was OTR driver I drove for Thurston Motor Lines and American Farm Lines as a company driver so we did not really "wait" on loads.

Thurston ML was an LTL carrier based on the east coast, HQ's Charlotte NC. We ran south to Jacksonville FL, North to Baltimore, West to Memphis TN and the top of MS and AL.

American Farm Lines we ran 48 state mainly east with runs west at times. We hauled a lot of Military stuff, like torpedos from Camp Pendleton to the sub base in Bremerton Washington..

Never wanted to do the independent trucker thing. Too many sleazy brokers and such. But for the guy that have been out there for a while it still a hard way to make a living for sure and I respect them.

SUNDROP is king.. 🙂

Terryallan wrote:

carl2591 wrote:
so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

The man is a truck driver. Drivers know the inside details. Like how to contact a broker. And FYI. When I rolled up to get my load. they didn't know me from Adam either. Not important that they know you. Only that they know you are coming. and that ws just one suggestion as he is looking to make some spendy cash.

seems you know little of the life of a Independent driver. It ain't all riding, and guiding. Often it's sleeping in the truck waiting in line to load. I have known drivers to live for a month at a time at a truck stop waiting on a load. We never did. But then we bribed the brokers with SunDrop. They didn't have SunDrop in Texas. We made friends. they took care of us, and us them.

I remember once we pulled onto the lot at the McAllen Petro. Parked beside a truck. He said he had been there for 3 weeks waiting to load. We walked toward the restaurant, lounge, and broker house. Our broker met us in the parking lot. Saw the big truck go by. Handed us the address, and loading orders, and said we had an hour to get there. Poor neighbor wanted to know where we were going so soon. Not wanting to upset him. Told him we were going to wash out the trailer in case we got a load. we got to the produce house, got in line, and 12 hours later we were coming out of the valley on the way home with 40,000lb of celery, and 2000lb of top ice. Pays to make friends

[TXiceman]

Texas is being hit with the low oil prices and a lot of lay-offs. A lot of the oil field related jobs are drying up. SO make sure you have a job before heading to Texas.

Ken

[Terryallan]

carl2591 wrote:
so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

The man is a truck driver. Drivers know the inside details. Like how to contact a broker. And FYI. When I rolled up to get my load. they didn't know me from Adam either. Not important that they know you. Only that they know you are coming. and that ws just one suggestion as he is looking to make some spendy cash.

seems you know little of the life of a Independent driver. It ain't all riding, and guiding. Often it's sleeping in the truck waiting in line to load. I have known drivers to live for a month at a time at a truck stop waiting on a load. We never did. But then we bribed the brokers with SunDrop. They didn't have SunDrop in Texas. We made friends. they took care of us, and us them.

I remember once we pulled onto the lot at the McAllen Petro. Parked beside a truck. He said he had been there for 3 weeks waiting to load. We walked toward the restaurant, lounge, and broker house. Our broker met us in the parking lot. Saw the big truck go by. Handed us the address, and loading orders, and said we had an hour to get there. Poor neighbor wanted to know where we were going so soon. Not wanting to upset him. Told him we were going to wash out the trailer in case we got a load. we got to the produce house, got in line, and 12 hours later we were coming out of the valley on the way home with 40,000lb of celery, and 2000lb of top ice. Pays to make friends

[carl2591]

so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

[Terryallan]

Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

[louiskathy]

Dick_B wrote:
Tired of making $$$? Agree to stay where you are or head for North Dakota for more oil money.

Hold on there... don't go driving to ND until you've got something lined up.

The last I read... they are laying off in ND. Fracking is way down. Price per barrel is too cheap.

[MaverickBBD]

Try the Pacific Northwest. Washington has both and a good stepping stone if you decide you want to do Alaska.

[coolmom42]

Look at East Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area. Beautiful area, growing economy, lots of jobs. Four-season climate, low cost of living. Lots of places to put a RV. As someone said, check out Craigslist for jobs.

[Mountain_Mama]

A friend of mine just posted ithis on FaceBook. Oilfieldfamilies.com

[Community Alumni]

As a truck driver, you are almost guaranteed a job anywhere in the U.S. You just need to decide what area of the country appeals to you the most and start searching for work in that area. Keep in mind states like California have a very high cost of living and what you make in Texas may not be enough to live on in California. Good luck!

[Golden_HVAC]

You are asking people to tell you 'where to go?'

Most Texan's would not go - When a stranger tells them where to go!

All kidding aside, when I was looking to get out of Phoenix AZ in October (I repair HVAC and was out of a job October 1 when the HVAC business slows way down) I looked at Craigslist in the areas that I thought about moving to.

Start looking up jobs in the cities that you might consider. Find a page that has lots of job openings, and you might just find a job there. I hear that there are a lot of openings for truck drivers up in the Dakota's. But winters there can be brutal.

Good luck,

Fred.

[JackandJulie]

darsben wrote:

JackandJulie wrote:

darsben wrote:
PORT AURTHUR, Texas

Hi! never been down there..is it a decent town..meaning not dirty and feels safe..looking to work there..i am a truck driver..like to haul local around there maybe oil again..

It is an oil town PERIOD. But the area around it is beautiful in addition there are spots to put an RV on or near the Ocean.
I was through a month ago and lots of work there. Building new refineries, pipelines etc.
Looks like some Tanker driver jobs available. I looked on monster.com ignored OTR and O/O ads.
One struck me by a company called Andrrews Logistics
thanks..thats we came to midland oil money..so may look lil harder now I realize its a oil town also..thanks again!!
http://jobview.local-jobs.monster.com/Truck-Driver-Job-La-Porte-TX-US-148074166.aspx?ch=NEWSPAOR&jobPosition=20