Could it be???

Someone wants to hire me! I'm at once giddy and cautious. After all, my last job was supposed to be my last job. The company was big and diverse. There was room to grow in the organization, and enough variety to keep me interested. Now, another company thinks I have what it takes. It looks like a fun place to work. Sure, it was dress-down Friday, but still, people inside looked reasonably happy. I just have questions about the long-term prospects with the company. I'd classify it as a startup with lots of years experience. In business for over 20 years, these guys still are very small. They've bounced from one product to the next, one development platform to the next. Their current product/platform is one I am familiar with (hence the opportunity). It's not a technology that's well-known, so this might be my last opportunity to find work anytime soon.

So what's the problem? Small company = small payroll. The owner readily admits he pays far below the "average" payscale for Toronto - the second most expensive city in Canada. Windsor (where I am now) is something of a contradiction. We have one of the highest per capita incomes in Canada, with one of the lowest cost-of-living indexes. It's a one-industry, union-ruled town, with highly paid blue-collar workers making up the bulk of the population. IT job opportunities are scarce here - scarcer during recessions. And the situation in Detroit doesn't appear to be getting better any time soon.

But, this company wants a commitment from me without offering the level of income that I think I'll need to sustain me in Toronto. Housing (my biggest issue) is from 3-5 times more expensive in Toronto than it is here. And I'm being asked to take a salary nearly half of what I've become accustomed to. You do the math.

Meanwhile, my unemployment benefits run out in a month.

I told them I'd give them an answer on Monday.