
Ask HN: Personal Relocation Research Services - Mz
When I search for the term, I basically come up with moving companies. So, I am failing to find research services for this space. Am I just searching the wrong phrase?<p>I see questions on the internet fairly often regarding &quot;help me pick a spot to move.&quot; Are there research services in this space already?<p>If not, do you have any thoughts on developing a price point, etc?<p>Thanks.
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gus_massa
I'm not sure that this help, but here is a quote from
[https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/05/12/strategy-
letter-i-...](https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/05/12/strategy-letter-i-ben-
and-jerrys-vs-amazon/)

> _If your new star programmer isn’t getting a lot of work done because they
> are busy setting up their new house and relocating, hire a high class
> relocation service to do it for them._

~~~
Mz
Thanks, but that isn't at all what I am talking about. I am talking about a
research service, not a moving service.

If you have ever participated on Metafilter's AskMe, it is fairly common for
people to post a question along the lines of "I have this list of criteria for
where I want to live. What cities match it?"

Of course, AskMe is a free service. Answers are provided by bored people
hanging out online who like answering questions. It is incredibly common for
people to answer such questions with "Oh, you should move to (city I live in
currently or have lived in)."

But I have a certificate in GIS and I am a former military wife. I have done a
lot of moving and I am good at this kind of research based on actual objective
data and stated criteria.

I use sites like City Data and Best Places to do some of my research and I
know of sites that will let you fill out a form and get a list of cities spit
back at you, such as this (which may be dead):
[http://www.findyourspot.com](http://www.findyourspot.com)

But I do not know of any service that will do custom research for you and give
you, say, three cities that fit your criteria as closely as possible.

I enjoy doing this kind of research. I would like to create a paid service to
do this.

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ahartman00
Not sure if this exists. I wouldnt think to even look for such a thing. I
would assume most people move for work, other than software engineers.

Not sure about price, I do have some thoughts about marketing however.

You will need to assure people that you have their best interests at heart.
That you aren't pushing people to places that give you the best commission,
like people think about job recruiters.

You would also need to convince people that you are an expert on a variety of
subjects. Local culture, schools, job availability for a given career,
weather, house price. Just to name a few.

I might start out with a cheap app, where they can enter basic preferences:
job or jobs they work, if schools are important, house price range/ratio of
salary to house, rural vs city. Then I would upsell them to consulting
services where you address things like culture, ways that the location is
different from where you are, etc.

Sorry if I couldn't be more help.

~~~
Mz
Thanks.

Based on firsthand personal experience of doing this sort of research for
myself, I am thinking of posting a questionnaire and a price for finding X
number of cities or metro areas that fit.

Here is my completely empty website:
[http://personalizedrelocationresearch.blogspot.com](http://personalizedrelocationresearch.blogspot.com)

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Mz
I did write a thank you note today aimed at folks who replied here:

[http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/2017/04/grumpily-
sto...](http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/2017/04/grumpily-stomps-off-
ftw.html)

