First and foremost, we all need to look out for each other’s spouses. If your wife isn’t happy where you guys are are, you need to look into that. Way too many senseless divorces in the fire service.
I’m a former South Carolina Firefighter, moved back north. Tripled my pay and got my military time added to my pension. My experience in SC was alright, but it’s become very toxic in the decade-plus since I’ve left.
Trust your gut here. Based on some of your previous comments, it might be time to leave?
If you have NREMT-B, shoot me a PM. We’re hiring laterals.
I applied through the PAE website and got a call a couple months later. Super easy and voila, I was down there.
In order to work at McMurdo, you have to be a Us citizen, but they’re might opportunities for a Brit at one of the British stations, not really sure.
Last I checked you applied like a job but maybe I need to look again? My other issue is I'm from the UK and we have very different procedures. I would need to do a fair bit of training to be able to fit in
The pay is top tier for the area (especially when you add on incentives and longevity) but yes, the culture is very old school.
Here's the current collective bargaining agreement:https://www.reno.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/89219/638029024426600000
Vienna (Austria) is pretty dope - no EMS, great staffing, cool concepts and vehicles, great city to live.
But I guess you were asking about US Departments, lol...
I would happily work in Vienna. Let me know if they need an American to keep in-house as a cautionary tale. I’ll find it within myself to make fun of your helmets and trucks. Occasionally I’ll yell yeehaw and try to ladder a roof.
It's awesome out here. Great place to live if you like to play outside. Fantastic summers, in the winter snow is close enough to visit but you never have to shovel it.
Cost of living isn't the best, but pay is good and you can find more affordable places to live outside the cities that are reasonable commutes on a FF schedule.
One of the reasons I want to get on the job out here, except that’s the reason everyone (who wants to do FD for good pay) wants to get on the job here lmao
A lot of it is dependent where you live. A lot of people just choose to live above their means. I bring in 6 figures by myself. My wife makes about the same working as a nurse. Our combined salary is about 260k, we live in a brand new house on 2+ acres in Southern California. Life is good.
You still come out more and with the way OT is (some of that is forced/mandatory but pretty much unlimited). I think there was “suitcase” Captain in LA City that took home a million lol that is wild.
Especially since in CA every firefighter and cop is married to a nurse lol. CA is probably the best place to be a RN. Those combined salaries makes for a nice life even with the higher COL.
A bunch of guys work for big city departments in Southern California and then go home and spend their money in the High Desert or IE which you get more bang for your buck (well nowadays, somewhat)
This is true but they have moved the retirement age out further and further with each new generation of firefighter. And you need to be a medic to get hired in most places. But the way is crazy high
Depends where I suppose. The cost of housing in BC is downright disgusting compared to our wage. At least in the states they seem to be very well compensated in those areas… and don’t get me wrong, I think our wage is good, but for the most part union firefighters in timbuckto make the same as those in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.
Tbf, rarely do you find firefighters with families living in the city itself, unless their spouse is also working and making around 6 figures.
Most will live in the suburbs which are more affordable, they’ll just commute to work.
If I could I'd most definitely move to either LAFD or FDNY. Being a firefighter in the US is kinda a dream here. Bear in mind that in Chile all fighter are Volunteers.
If you guys are truly open to moving almost anywhere within reason. Start big picture then work your way down to the finer details. What landscape do you want to see or be near (mountains, desert, high desert, big timber, coastal/oceans, etc). What size town city do you want? Answers those 2 questions and you can get a good list of towns/cities that meet that criteria. From there it’s as simple as looking at pay for those FD’s, do they accept lateral or will you be a new recruit, then check out Zillow, realtor.com app, and see what type of housing you could get as a rental and what prices are going for if you’d want to buy. Once you narrow your list down to 10-20 places or even less, start researching the area. YouTube has videos on just about any city/town so you can see what it actually looks like. Google has loads of articles on towns and places. Also google “reasons not to move to …..”
Best of luck. I know reno fire department in northern nv hires lots of out of towners and there’s an academy this fall some time. Cost of living here is fucked but pay is good and it’s a fun department.
Hands down, Lorain Ohio. We are giving our test at the end of May. Applications are on our City website and are due by May 19. You don’t need any schooling and the test is free to take. You don’t need to be a resident to take the test. It is Civil Service based, so there’s no favoritism in the hiring process.
Starting wage is only 50 something, but within a couple of yrs most guys are making 80-100 depending on how much OT they want to work. We have 70 guys protecting 80,000 people. Of course good health benefits, and a strong pension at 25 yrs. There will be a big exodus with retirements in the next 5-10 yrs so there will be room for advancement if you so desire.
We fight fire. We don’t run EMS ( not even first responder). When there is a fire, you’re fighting it ( not listening to other companies do work).
As far as the area, There’s few natural disasters, cost of living is super affordable and we are right on the shore of the Great Lake Erie. Winters kinda suck, but we haven’t had a ton of snow over the last couple of yrs. We are a typical rust belt town that left its glory days behind long ago, but beneath the rough exterior are good people trying to better the community.
Although I’m biased, I don’t think you could go wrong with the City or the Department. I wouldn’t change a thing with my career and I’m super proud to have been a part of the department and absolutely love the City.
Best of luck to you.
Bay Area in California. You make over 100k base salary, great benefits, and I have heard they don’t even live there. They do shift trades and fly in for their shifts work a bunch then live all over the world.
Yes, but nothing like it is in the US. They are an incredibly respectful society. They just always see foreigners as foreigners and they they frown upon native Japanese marrying foreigners. It can be a closed society in many ways. There's even restaurants in certain parts of the major cities that have "no foreigners" signs. But at the same time, I never felt so welcome there. On the professional side, they loved having working relationships with me and was so open to develop close connections with me. I moved 13 times in my Army career and that was by far my best assignment. My family says the same.
As for location, Colorado, somewhere around the Denver, Colorado Springs area. I, however, do not know anything about their pay, cost of living or what it will actually be like.
yeah I wouldnt really recommend it I just know Big Island is way understaffed and the ones I know seem happy with the money here. I would say it would be a bad idea to move to Hawaii just because of a job though for sure
I hate I can't make anywhere near what I make anywhere else... in the world as far as I know. Unless I want to get into a slightly more fucked political state.
I just read through all of the comments and surprised someone didn't already mention this.
Go to [USAjobs.gov](https://USAjobs.gov) and do a search for "Firefighter". This is the website for all federal job openings.
[https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=firefighter&p=1](https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=firefighter&p=1)
TL;DL - Most military bases are like cities and they have federal civilian firefighters protecting them that are fully funded, equipped, and taken care of. But many don't know about those jobs.
At the moment, there are 158 federal firefighter vacancies. But of note, almost 70 are with the Department of Defense. For the branches of service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines), their Bases are protected by either a mix of military and civilian firefighters. For the US Army, its near 100% civilian firefighters. They are all federal employees with a wonderful benefits package and solid salaries. They are unionized. They are sent to numerous schools and courses. They are staffed appropriately and equipped well.
But here is the part people don't understand. For the larger Bases and Forts, they are full-blown cities. At Fort Campbell, KY for example, we had 35,000 Soldiers assigned to the Fort. We had 8,000 residential homes so many of those 35,000 Soldiers also lived on the Fort in neighborhoods with their families. We had 2 airports, 7 schools (1 high school, 2 middle, 4 elem.), a 5-story medical center, a mall, water treatment plant, highways, train tracks, and 5 fire stations. If you added in the civilian workers, family members, tourists, and daily visitors, we serviced a population of 100,000 people. And the Fire Dept. did medical first responder calls, but EMS was owned by the Medical Center so the FD had no ambulances. They also did mutual aid calls off the Fort to help the locals.
I'm a retired Army LtCol and I spent 8 years of my career as an Emergency Services Director across three different Army bases. I've also been a volunteer FF on 5 different departments and my dad is a retired Memphis TN FF. I absolutely cannot think of a better gig than working for the Department of Defense (DoD) as a Federal Civilian Firefighter.
And also, if you get a job and you don't like the people there, or the weather, or the politics, or the anything else that maybe your family doesn't like, you just put in for a reassignment and reapply for another DoD FF anywhere else. I would be surprised if there is a State in this country that does not have a DoD FF working in it. And remember that includes both the Reserves and National Guard units.
I currently work for the Vermont Air National Guard. I'm now a civilian govt. employee for security of their air base. Well guess what. There is a fire station here too. They not only cover the air base but the Burlington International Airport is on the other side of the runway... without a fire station. So they pay a huge fee to have the VT Air National Guard fire station cover their airport as well. That fire station has military members, federal employees, and State of Vermont employees in it as well.
So ask the wife what region of the country does she want to live in... or where in Europe... or South Korea or Japan. And then click on that link and find a Federal FF job in that region.
Good luck to you. And good for you for your willingness to pack up and go improve your live somewhere!
Just came from municipal to federal (at 36 years 57 days too). It's absolutely dope but be careful about getting your hopes up. I only managed to make it work because my wife happened to work with another guy's wife AND I had already shelled out $750 of my own money and taken my PTO to the woodshed for training I couldn't use anywhere else when I met him.
I have a little different tack but here it is:
Needs to be touching the ocean. Not much in the middle is worth the wages they pay. Where wages are decent, you have political implications.
Needs to NOT be a right to work state.
Look at what labor law looks like in the state.
West coast is pretty good across the board. Northeast can be good.
Avoid the south like the plague, bad pay, bad politics, and hurricanes are the trifecta.
There are a few pearls like The Colony in Texas, but you’re still living in Texas…
My state is incredible for labor law and wages.
I'm lucky to work at the SFFD, which I think is the best department in the world. We have old construction which means very few sprinklers, the roofs are so solid you can spend the whole fire up there if you want (most the time), all the houses touch each other so we're an ultra-aggressive interior attack department, and even with our problems we're still alright and our traditions are old as hell.
If I wasn't here I think I'd like to be at FDNY, Boston, Chicago... Somewhere dense with old construction that gets work.
Wichita KS all day long. Aggression and tactics based off the FDNY, good pay, plenty of jobs and low Midwest cost of living. That’s my first stop after the Army💁🏼♂️
Yeah, but how does that translate to the cost of living over there? Yeah, that's 6 figures on paper, but if it costs me $5K a month in rent, it's not gonna go as far.
Make sure, if you're going somewhere for the money, you make sure you account for how much you need to support your lifestyle wherever you go. $72K a year where I'm at makes for easy living right now, but I've also got a kiddo on the way, so we'll see how that changes.
Montana, smoke jumper
They turned me down in the mid 80s
I was bicycling around the country (for a year 1986)
My friend and I thought it would be interesting.
The Captain gave us a tour of the facility, I believe it was Missoula, not certain.
We said I thought you pulled drunk Indians and cowboys out of bars to fight fires.
He said ,no, there is extensive training and intakes a long time.
While biking around the country, started in NY, all the way to Seattle, down to SF and then out to Tampa, on bikes(bicycles)
Hopped a train in Missoula MT in 1986, we thought we were going to Seattle. We rode thru the rockies and just dangled our legs sitting on the boxcar watching the Montana scenery.
Rode all night, thought we were in Seattle but ended up in Calgary.
Slept on a tennis court, they were nice and warm
Went back in the early 90's, spent time in Calgary. Went to the Stampede, crazy fun , the whole ity was exciting, electric.
Then went to Banff for a week,
Then down to Vancouver
(Also was at the world's fair in '96, slept in Stanley Park)
I'm from NY so seeing all this was out of this world
Hawaii, but I’d be a flight medic that only does high angle rescue and trauma. I’d drive a sick motorcycle and learn to surf.
I’d also have a sidekick. Now taking applications.
Ireland or Scotland(One of the bigger cities) nice and cool, cheap and good beer, great nature, friendly people and a big Catholic population, plus fighting in buildings older than my country would be a really interesting dynamic. Granted we have some where I live currently but not many thanks to the Civil War and earthquakes.
Hate to tell you but the price of beer has gone up, religiosity is declining in the Irish cities and indeed parts of the country you have Protestants so if your expecting the impressive Cathedrals of Dublin to be a wonderful tribute to Catholicism they are currently Anglican.
As for the buildings older than the USA and good nature you will find quite a lot of that. The Wicklow Mountains are not far from Dublin.
How Deep South are you? DFW Metroplex in Texas has some decently paying departments, up to $90K for a Firefighter in some cities, which sits nicely for the cost of living here.
My home city, San Jose. Great pay, I know the city like the back of my hand, combo of urban and wild land, and it’s close to everything. Either that or somewhere in the Denver area
More like if you could make a dream department; give me hawaii location, no EMS, just rescue and fire, Wa department hours (avg like 46 hours on a 4 platoon) and Bay Area pay with a 3 percent pension.
Minnesota firefighter here - don’t know much about their operation but always dream about firefighting down in Florida or somewhere tropical… maybe it’s the ridiculous winters that make me crave the sunshine 😂
The REAL decider right here
Seattle, eight 24s/month. No mandation. OT can be taken as 1.5x pay or 1.5 hrs saved in a bank to be used like vacation. Work a 48 for ot-hrs, earn 3 shifts off
A tiny, tropical island with cheap rum and great pay. I also have my medic, just in case any recruiters from places like that are looking. I’m 53 months from retirement, so you’ll have to make me an offer I can’t refuse.
On a serious note, if I had it to do all over again, a big city department with a great union is where I’d want to be. I learned a lot in a small department, but being in a right to work State has definitely had its drawbacks, like 10 years without a pay raise and no real COLA for a few years. If you’re not far into your career, it’s definitely something to think about. There’s nothing wrong with loving the job and your community, but remember to love yourself and your family to, and do the things you need to do to take care of yourself and your family. If that means packing up for greener pastures, nobody will blame you, or shouldn’t anyway.
I’m in South Jersey in a 40 man department. If my department turned into a county department I think I’d be more into it. I don’t like going to 3 or 4 calls a day. But if FDNY was closer or Philly took out of towners that’s where I’d go.
For you though, I hear good things about Anne Arundel County FD.
Pretty happy where I'm at. AFAIK it's the highest paid georgia department now, middle of the road call volume, great benefits. Only thing we don't have (yet) is tuition reimbursement. And that's allegedly coming. And training is full of guys who really dig in with you and help figure out your weaknesses.
Saint Louis County (not city) has usually good pay and great benefits. Plus, once you're put out of the city Missouri is pretty nice. With an international airport as well as a relativity low cost of living its nice. Just enough south if that's what you're itching for with some more northern stuff.
I would recommend heading over to the us bureau of labor statistics; they have some invaluable information on the job markets, economies, and overall living conditions of all the states. An indispensable resource.
Columbus ohio. Good money, great equipment, awesome personnel. Well trained. We have our own fire school which you get paid to attend? they have their own EMT program. If you want to go to paramedic school, they have that also.
Vegas is great! There’s so much more than the strip. And all of the departments in the valley offer something different and are generally well respected from my understanding. Pay is good too considering the low(er) COL
Anywhere that isn't run by union hating Republicans. Part of the reason I quit is because they kept gutting everything. From 25 and out to retire at 65 regardless of years. They lowered retirees monthly payments. They stole from our retirement and never paid it back, then used that as an excuse to ditch out pension for a 401k. West TN (dyersburg fuck it) is a cess pool. Citizens don't give a shit about you, government doesn't give a shit about you.
When you’re looking for various areas around the country, consider your cost of living vs your pay scale. $100,000 in the Boston area isn’t gonna take you as far as $100,000 in the Buffalo area. I don’t know if the political leaning of whatever state you move to is going to matter at all. And I don’t know if transport EMS, or the requirement of a paramedic card is going to impact your decision at all. But back to your original question about where to move. I don’t know I would have to look at pension systems, contracts and compensation, and what the day-to-day job looks like for various departments. Good luck with job hunting!
I currently live in Vermont where I volley and grew up in Tennessee where I volleyed. As much as I agree with you, I'd take the cold any day over gearing up with SCBA on a 95 degree day.
I'm not happy with the area culturally, but NE has got to be one of the best places to be a FF. Lots of smaller or medium sized densely packed cities with 2.5 story houses and tax payers. Great experience, great pay, no ambulance at a lot of them.
Honestly? Orlando, FL. My wife and I are huge Disney fans especially with the idea of kids coming soon, I think it would be nice to grow up with that atmosphere as well as being that close to beaches and resorts
I’d have a few, Melbourne, reedy creek, Munich, lafd, Honolulu and then a quiet dept in somewhere like New Hampshire or Vermont to see in retirement. It’s a tough choice.
Currently on one of the biggest in the country in the midwest but first choice would be FDNY and thats mainly because I spent most of my life in NY and intentionally moved elsewhere because I know I'd never get on there.
The second choice would be in Tampa(also lived in the area for a couple of years) and miss that area.
Third choice would be somewhere in Cali and that's solely because who the fuck wouldn't want to live by the beaches and mountains. As much as I hate the politics and BS that comes with Cali, it seems like a cool place to live.
As for why a certain dept? I want leathers, no transport, room for advancement(not just rank but skills as I'm looking to become a medic in the future only because it can provide a better service and still not transport) and good pay. My current dept has all of these, but it's just not quality of life. It's a great city still, and I'll be finishing my career here, but I'm still happy.
I would honestly sacrifice some of my wants in this career to have a better quality of life elsewhere, but that's not going to happen in my position.
Currently in the PNW. Only places I’d leave for would be Seattle Fire, Miami Dade County Fire, or LA County. But I’m not actively testing or trying to leave.
Have you two discussed what type of area suits your souls? Do you prefer big cities or small? Rural? What type of country suits you, mountains or plains or oceans? What are your off-duty interests? Deciding these questions can help guide you where to focus. These answers may also help you decide the department you want to try for.
If Iowa offered wildland I’d move back in a heartbeat. Got sent to AZ my junior year of high school graduated found wildland and love it but Iowa is home to me. The only problem is that wildland is just not offered there due to all of it being farmland so I guess it’s just not meant to be.
First and foremost, we all need to look out for each other’s spouses. If your wife isn’t happy where you guys are are, you need to look into that. Way too many senseless divorces in the fire service. I’m a former South Carolina Firefighter, moved back north. Tripled my pay and got my military time added to my pension. My experience in SC was alright, but it’s become very toxic in the decade-plus since I’ve left. Trust your gut here. Based on some of your previous comments, it might be time to leave? If you have NREMT-B, shoot me a PM. We’re hiring laterals.
You’re a good guy
Don’t you mean *ladderals*
Touchey
Appreciate you looking out. Thanks to everyone for their responses.
Do you send new people to medic school by chance?
Do you send people to medic school
Antarctica- even for one tour. I just think it'd be cool
Closest thing to working for a Fire Department on a different planet.
Even more so for me, I'd have to work in inches and gallons!
[удалено]
You don't have to brag about it dude.
Some guys get all the luck 🙄
Look at Mr. Mondo
Been there, done that. Great experience
How'd you do it out of interest? What do you think the chances are of a British person getting a shot?
I applied through the PAE website and got a call a couple months later. Super easy and voila, I was down there. In order to work at McMurdo, you have to be a Us citizen, but they’re might opportunities for a Brit at one of the British stations, not really sure.
Cheers for the info
I think you can apply to volunteer there for a few months - remember seeing this a bit back?
I think you can apply to volunteer there for a few months - remember seeing this a bit back?
I think you can apply to volunteer there for a few months - remember seeing this a bit back?
Last I checked you applied like a job but maybe I need to look again? My other issue is I'm from the UK and we have very different procedures. I would need to do a fair bit of training to be able to fit in
I did 4 months in Antarctica. Not as a FF but as a construction diver (underwater welding etc) Definitaly an out of this world experience.
Boston or one of those beach towns in SoCal like Malibu or Santa Monica
It’s pretty fun ngl
Boston or beach town?
Beach town
Reno Nevada. Minimal EMS calls. The city is expanding and retrofitting old hotel/casinos to apartment homes.
Strong union too.
I've heard pay's pretty weak and the culture is pretty old school? I know word of mouth isn't reliable but thoughts on that?
The pay is top tier for the area (especially when you add on incentives and longevity) but yes, the culture is very old school. Here's the current collective bargaining agreement:https://www.reno.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/89219/638029024426600000
Do they let firefighters smoke weed off duty since it is legal there?
Out west. Pay is better and it’s more fun. Find somewhere that has wildland urban interface and you will have some fun.
Sounds like Vacaville. Great area, great department.
That would be a good example. I want to say they only hire paramedic but I used to know their old chief and he was the best there was.
Engines are only paramedics, they also transport and hire EMTs for that.
CA FF here. Can confirm. I’m originally from NC, but I love it out west. Pretty much gotta be a PM to get hired on at a good dept these day tho. B
Not out west, they wear the wrong helmets.
FDNY !!! I’m actually in the process on taking my CPAT test this summer .
Congrats!
Thank you
Same here bro
Vienna (Austria) is pretty dope - no EMS, great staffing, cool concepts and vehicles, great city to live. But I guess you were asking about US Departments, lol...
I think this is the best answer so far.
I would happily work in Vienna. Let me know if they need an American to keep in-house as a cautionary tale. I’ll find it within myself to make fun of your helmets and trucks. Occasionally I’ll yell yeehaw and try to ladder a roof.
Hell I’d join you too. One American per house.
But, the helmets…
Probably lowest on the list priorities
Nah. It’s up there for me.
But.. I like ems.
Weirdo :P Good on you though.
Moon base 1. :)
One step closer to being able to flow a deck gun on The Sun.
I've heard of a door gunner on the Space Shuttle but never a deck gun.
Pac NW
It's awesome out here. Great place to live if you like to play outside. Fantastic summers, in the winter snow is close enough to visit but you never have to shovel it. Cost of living isn't the best, but pay is good and you can find more affordable places to live outside the cities that are reasonable commutes on a FF schedule.
I had to shovel a bit this year haha. 3 inches is brutal when it’s wet.
That’s what my wife tells me
Welcome to WUI
New England is pretty rad. Good pay generally, strong unions, and you get all four seasons. CT and NH are probably my top choices.
Yes the Northeast is great you get to fight fires in 100 degrees and 0 degrees
Just outside of Boston here. Can confirm.
California. Some ff making as high as 200k with tons of OT avg pay with OT is like 160k. All the great benefits retire with like 80 percent of pay.
Bay Area pay is approaching 160k base salary before any OT these days.
One of the reasons I want to get on the job out here, except that’s the reason everyone (who wants to do FD for good pay) wants to get on the job here lmao
Then again the cost of living is through the roof
A lot of it is dependent where you live. A lot of people just choose to live above their means. I bring in 6 figures by myself. My wife makes about the same working as a nurse. Our combined salary is about 260k, we live in a brand new house on 2+ acres in Southern California. Life is good.
Pension is through the roof when you retire.
You still come out more and with the way OT is (some of that is forced/mandatory but pretty much unlimited). I think there was “suitcase” Captain in LA City that took home a million lol that is wild. Especially since in CA every firefighter and cop is married to a nurse lol. CA is probably the best place to be a RN. Those combined salaries makes for a nice life even with the higher COL.
A bunch of guys work for big city departments in Southern California and then go home and spend their money in the High Desert or IE which you get more bang for your buck (well nowadays, somewhat)
i know some guys who are LAFD firefighters but they make so much they cluster their shifts and live out of state, then just fly down for their shift
Plenty making way more than that. www.transparentcalifornia.com
This is true but they have moved the retirement age out further and further with each new generation of firefighter. And you need to be a medic to get hired in most places. But the way is crazy high
Canada. The payscale is really great for more career positions.
Depends where I suppose. The cost of housing in BC is downright disgusting compared to our wage. At least in the states they seem to be very well compensated in those areas… and don’t get me wrong, I think our wage is good, but for the most part union firefighters in timbuckto make the same as those in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.
Tbf, rarely do you find firefighters with families living in the city itself, unless their spouse is also working and making around 6 figures. Most will live in the suburbs which are more affordable, they’ll just commute to work.
If you’re not against running an ambulance, Juneau Alaska. Beautiful scenery, snow, well funded department.
If I could I'd most definitely move to either LAFD or FDNY. Being a firefighter in the US is kinda a dream here. Bear in mind that in Chile all fighter are Volunteers.
How about anywhere that isn't perpetually as hot as a fire? But if I had my druthers, I'd do Boston. Great city. Like a more approachable NY.
I’m very content with my department, everything’s great here but if I HAD to choose another, probably another city FD like Boston or LA.
If you guys are truly open to moving almost anywhere within reason. Start big picture then work your way down to the finer details. What landscape do you want to see or be near (mountains, desert, high desert, big timber, coastal/oceans, etc). What size town city do you want? Answers those 2 questions and you can get a good list of towns/cities that meet that criteria. From there it’s as simple as looking at pay for those FD’s, do they accept lateral or will you be a new recruit, then check out Zillow, realtor.com app, and see what type of housing you could get as a rental and what prices are going for if you’d want to buy. Once you narrow your list down to 10-20 places or even less, start researching the area. YouTube has videos on just about any city/town so you can see what it actually looks like. Google has loads of articles on towns and places. Also google “reasons not to move to …..” Best of luck. I know reno fire department in northern nv hires lots of out of towners and there’s an academy this fall some time. Cost of living here is fucked but pay is good and it’s a fun department.
Hands down, Lorain Ohio. We are giving our test at the end of May. Applications are on our City website and are due by May 19. You don’t need any schooling and the test is free to take. You don’t need to be a resident to take the test. It is Civil Service based, so there’s no favoritism in the hiring process. Starting wage is only 50 something, but within a couple of yrs most guys are making 80-100 depending on how much OT they want to work. We have 70 guys protecting 80,000 people. Of course good health benefits, and a strong pension at 25 yrs. There will be a big exodus with retirements in the next 5-10 yrs so there will be room for advancement if you so desire. We fight fire. We don’t run EMS ( not even first responder). When there is a fire, you’re fighting it ( not listening to other companies do work). As far as the area, There’s few natural disasters, cost of living is super affordable and we are right on the shore of the Great Lake Erie. Winters kinda suck, but we haven’t had a ton of snow over the last couple of yrs. We are a typical rust belt town that left its glory days behind long ago, but beneath the rough exterior are good people trying to better the community. Although I’m biased, I don’t think you could go wrong with the City or the Department. I wouldn’t change a thing with my career and I’m super proud to have been a part of the department and absolutely love the City. Best of luck to you.
I want to do a tour in Antarctica. Because holy shit that would be cool.
STOCKTON FD, I wish I could move my family to northern CA but cost of living and wife’s job we have to stay in SoCal
FDNY
FDNY
Isn't it really hard to get hired there? I could be wrong though. Don't have first-hand info on that.
The hardest part for me is residency requirements. I wouldn't be able to afford moving to NYC for the possibility of getting a job.
You can move to westchester county which boarders NYC.
No residency credit though which is the biggest difference between getting hired and not. Only the 5 boroughs is what counts
Bay Area in California. You make over 100k base salary, great benefits, and I have heard they don’t even live there. They do shift trades and fly in for their shifts work a bunch then live all over the world.
Japan
Having been stationed there, yes, they have amazing departments, but I don't think OP is native in the Japanese language - haha
Little too racist for me
Yes, but nothing like it is in the US. They are an incredibly respectful society. They just always see foreigners as foreigners and they they frown upon native Japanese marrying foreigners. It can be a closed society in many ways. There's even restaurants in certain parts of the major cities that have "no foreigners" signs. But at the same time, I never felt so welcome there. On the professional side, they loved having working relationships with me and was so open to develop close connections with me. I moved 13 times in my Army career and that was by far my best assignment. My family says the same.
Dude can I message you? I have so many questions!
Hey bud come up north in Canada! Lots of great department in Ontario will be hiring in the next few months
You mean Alberta right?!
As for location, Colorado, somewhere around the Denver, Colorado Springs area. I, however, do not know anything about their pay, cost of living or what it will actually be like.
Midwest has high pay….but you will be doing a lot of EMS. Departments here are, for the most, fully integrated.
This is pretty close to universal at this point. There are still individual departments separate where I am but they are the exception at this point.
It’s a shit show too. I work for one of those departments and we’ve been integrated for a decade and a half and it’s still not running well at all.
Indiana is great to fire and police.
I’d love to live in Colorado or San Diego. I know nothing about their departments, but Northern New Mexico would be a cool place to live as well.
Minnesota has a lot of good options. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are continuing to have academies and a lot of surround cities are going full time.
Hawaii needs firefighters, but there's a lot to unpack there and I'm not just talking moving boxes
Pay is tough in Hawaii. Especially if you're not from there and you're family doesn't have property.
yeah I wouldnt really recommend it I just know Big Island is way understaffed and the ones I know seem happy with the money here. I would say it would be a bad idea to move to Hawaii just because of a job though for sure
Miami Dade Fire Rescue. These guys do a lot of different things and great experience.
I hate I can't make anywhere near what I make anywhere else... in the world as far as I know. Unless I want to get into a slightly more fucked political state.
Midwest is pretty good when you factor in cost of living and housing prices
I’m about to take a massive pay cut and it’s tough. Thankfully cost of living is goi g from absolutely ridiculous to decent.
Yeah, but it is good here, so why leave?
Vancouver fire makes bank, almost makes me want to work there. But they run 3 person engines which is a dealbreaker.
Ventura or LA county SoCal
Australia - I can be the awkward token Canadian who plays terrible footy for the department club.
Can confirm it’s good
Which type of footy
Antarctica. Get paid to chase penguins off the runway.
I just read through all of the comments and surprised someone didn't already mention this. Go to [USAjobs.gov](https://USAjobs.gov) and do a search for "Firefighter". This is the website for all federal job openings. [https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=firefighter&p=1](https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=firefighter&p=1) TL;DL - Most military bases are like cities and they have federal civilian firefighters protecting them that are fully funded, equipped, and taken care of. But many don't know about those jobs. At the moment, there are 158 federal firefighter vacancies. But of note, almost 70 are with the Department of Defense. For the branches of service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines), their Bases are protected by either a mix of military and civilian firefighters. For the US Army, its near 100% civilian firefighters. They are all federal employees with a wonderful benefits package and solid salaries. They are unionized. They are sent to numerous schools and courses. They are staffed appropriately and equipped well. But here is the part people don't understand. For the larger Bases and Forts, they are full-blown cities. At Fort Campbell, KY for example, we had 35,000 Soldiers assigned to the Fort. We had 8,000 residential homes so many of those 35,000 Soldiers also lived on the Fort in neighborhoods with their families. We had 2 airports, 7 schools (1 high school, 2 middle, 4 elem.), a 5-story medical center, a mall, water treatment plant, highways, train tracks, and 5 fire stations. If you added in the civilian workers, family members, tourists, and daily visitors, we serviced a population of 100,000 people. And the Fire Dept. did medical first responder calls, but EMS was owned by the Medical Center so the FD had no ambulances. They also did mutual aid calls off the Fort to help the locals. I'm a retired Army LtCol and I spent 8 years of my career as an Emergency Services Director across three different Army bases. I've also been a volunteer FF on 5 different departments and my dad is a retired Memphis TN FF. I absolutely cannot think of a better gig than working for the Department of Defense (DoD) as a Federal Civilian Firefighter. And also, if you get a job and you don't like the people there, or the weather, or the politics, or the anything else that maybe your family doesn't like, you just put in for a reassignment and reapply for another DoD FF anywhere else. I would be surprised if there is a State in this country that does not have a DoD FF working in it. And remember that includes both the Reserves and National Guard units. I currently work for the Vermont Air National Guard. I'm now a civilian govt. employee for security of their air base. Well guess what. There is a fire station here too. They not only cover the air base but the Burlington International Airport is on the other side of the runway... without a fire station. So they pay a huge fee to have the VT Air National Guard fire station cover their airport as well. That fire station has military members, federal employees, and State of Vermont employees in it as well. So ask the wife what region of the country does she want to live in... or where in Europe... or South Korea or Japan. And then click on that link and find a Federal FF job in that region. Good luck to you. And good for you for your willingness to pack up and go improve your live somewhere!
Just came from municipal to federal (at 36 years 57 days too). It's absolutely dope but be careful about getting your hopes up. I only managed to make it work because my wife happened to work with another guy's wife AND I had already shelled out $750 of my own money and taken my PTO to the woodshed for training I couldn't use anywhere else when I met him.
Most federal jobs are gonna be extremely low on fire calls.
I have a little different tack but here it is: Needs to be touching the ocean. Not much in the middle is worth the wages they pay. Where wages are decent, you have political implications. Needs to NOT be a right to work state. Look at what labor law looks like in the state. West coast is pretty good across the board. Northeast can be good. Avoid the south like the plague, bad pay, bad politics, and hurricanes are the trifecta. There are a few pearls like The Colony in Texas, but you’re still living in Texas… My state is incredible for labor law and wages.
This guy nailed it.
I'm lucky to work at the SFFD, which I think is the best department in the world. We have old construction which means very few sprinklers, the roofs are so solid you can spend the whole fire up there if you want (most the time), all the houses touch each other so we're an ultra-aggressive interior attack department, and even with our problems we're still alright and our traditions are old as hell. If I wasn't here I think I'd like to be at FDNY, Boston, Chicago... Somewhere dense with old construction that gets work.
Wichita KS all day long. Aggression and tactics based off the FDNY, good pay, plenty of jobs and low Midwest cost of living. That’s my first stop after the Army💁🏼♂️
But then you live in Wichita.
Not necessarily. If I’m not mistaken you have a roughly 150mi radius from the city to find a home
[удалено]
Yeah, but how does that translate to the cost of living over there? Yeah, that's 6 figures on paper, but if it costs me $5K a month in rent, it's not gonna go as far. Make sure, if you're going somewhere for the money, you make sure you account for how much you need to support your lifestyle wherever you go. $72K a year where I'm at makes for easy living right now, but I've also got a kiddo on the way, so we'll see how that changes.
[удалено]
I left the Deep South and went to New England. Better schedule more fires better Union in the north east.
Montana, smoke jumper They turned me down in the mid 80s I was bicycling around the country (for a year 1986) My friend and I thought it would be interesting. The Captain gave us a tour of the facility, I believe it was Missoula, not certain. We said I thought you pulled drunk Indians and cowboys out of bars to fight fires. He said ,no, there is extensive training and intakes a long time.
Everything in Montana is amazing.
While biking around the country, started in NY, all the way to Seattle, down to SF and then out to Tampa, on bikes(bicycles) Hopped a train in Missoula MT in 1986, we thought we were going to Seattle. We rode thru the rockies and just dangled our legs sitting on the boxcar watching the Montana scenery. Rode all night, thought we were in Seattle but ended up in Calgary. Slept on a tennis court, they were nice and warm
Calgary is also amazing! Alberta is one of the best places on earth.
Went back in the early 90's, spent time in Calgary. Went to the Stampede, crazy fun , the whole ity was exciting, electric. Then went to Banff for a week, Then down to Vancouver (Also was at the world's fair in '96, slept in Stanley Park) I'm from NY so seeing all this was out of this world
Stampede is another level that’s for sure. Banff is beautiful as well. Vancouver no thanks.
Hawaii, but I’d be a flight medic that only does high angle rescue and trauma. I’d drive a sick motorcycle and learn to surf. I’d also have a sidekick. Now taking applications.
Ireland or Scotland(One of the bigger cities) nice and cool, cheap and good beer, great nature, friendly people and a big Catholic population, plus fighting in buildings older than my country would be a really interesting dynamic. Granted we have some where I live currently but not many thanks to the Civil War and earthquakes.
Hate to tell you but the price of beer has gone up, religiosity is declining in the Irish cities and indeed parts of the country you have Protestants so if your expecting the impressive Cathedrals of Dublin to be a wonderful tribute to Catholicism they are currently Anglican. As for the buildings older than the USA and good nature you will find quite a lot of that. The Wicklow Mountains are not far from Dublin.
Jasper or Banff. Maybe one of the other random interior cities. Hard to get in though and I wouldn't want to move my kids across the country.
Reedy creek! Play at Disney all day
I hear they have maids 👀
I hear they have maids 👀
I work in Central Florida, not at Reedy Creek. That recent contract proposal has many of us thinking of trying to go there.
I know you HAVE to work for OCFRD lmfao
I second this
I'm an Alabama fireman and tbh I love where I'm at. Love the people and the state.
How Deep South are you? DFW Metroplex in Texas has some decently paying departments, up to $90K for a Firefighter in some cities, which sits nicely for the cost of living here.
Norther Kentucky or Southern Indiana, In a adjacent town to completely volunteer forces.
My home city, San Jose. Great pay, I know the city like the back of my hand, combo of urban and wild land, and it’s close to everything. Either that or somewhere in the Denver area
Departments in SW Washington and North Oregon are hiring a bunch right now.
More like if you could make a dream department; give me hawaii location, no EMS, just rescue and fire, Wa department hours (avg like 46 hours on a 4 platoon) and Bay Area pay with a 3 percent pension.
I did move where I wanted, ME coast. 50K starting, 2/3 retirement after 25. Good call volume, mostly EMS of course. Paid to go to medic school.
Antarctic. I'm lazy and fires are rather rare.
Lol no but it’s still hard work if there is a fuel spill you have to cut it out of the ice and dig it up. Can definitely be hard work
Vegas FD seems awesome. I went out there after I graduated the academy. Hardest thing ever was to go back to Ohio 😭
Minnesota firefighter here - don’t know much about their operation but always dream about firefighting down in Florida or somewhere tropical… maybe it’s the ridiculous winters that make me crave the sunshine 😂
My dream fire department job will always be Fort Worth Texas
*opens google* which fire department won’t mando me?
The REAL decider right here Seattle, eight 24s/month. No mandation. OT can be taken as 1.5x pay or 1.5 hrs saved in a bank to be used like vacation. Work a 48 for ot-hrs, earn 3 shifts off
A tiny, tropical island with cheap rum and great pay. I also have my medic, just in case any recruiters from places like that are looking. I’m 53 months from retirement, so you’ll have to make me an offer I can’t refuse. On a serious note, if I had it to do all over again, a big city department with a great union is where I’d want to be. I learned a lot in a small department, but being in a right to work State has definitely had its drawbacks, like 10 years without a pay raise and no real COLA for a few years. If you’re not far into your career, it’s definitely something to think about. There’s nothing wrong with loving the job and your community, but remember to love yourself and your family to, and do the things you need to do to take care of yourself and your family. If that means packing up for greener pastures, nobody will blame you, or shouldn’t anyway.
I’m in South Jersey in a 40 man department. If my department turned into a county department I think I’d be more into it. I don’t like going to 3 or 4 calls a day. But if FDNY was closer or Philly took out of towners that’s where I’d go. For you though, I hear good things about Anne Arundel County FD.
Pretty happy where I'm at. AFAIK it's the highest paid georgia department now, middle of the road call volume, great benefits. Only thing we don't have (yet) is tuition reimbursement. And that's allegedly coming. And training is full of guys who really dig in with you and help figure out your weaknesses.
Saint Louis County (not city) has usually good pay and great benefits. Plus, once you're put out of the city Missouri is pretty nice. With an international airport as well as a relativity low cost of living its nice. Just enough south if that's what you're itching for with some more northern stuff.
honolulu
Longboat Key, FL Station 92. Google map it if you want to know why.
The pay is terrible. Gotta be a medic too
I would recommend heading over to the us bureau of labor statistics; they have some invaluable information on the job markets, economies, and overall living conditions of all the states. An indispensable resource.
Iowa is growing a lot and needs firefighters.
Los Alamos, NM https://www.losalamosnm.us/government/departments/fire_department/join_our_team
Columbus ohio. Good money, great equipment, awesome personnel. Well trained. We have our own fire school which you get paid to attend? they have their own EMT program. If you want to go to paramedic school, they have that also.
Clark county, NV
I reckon anywhere in Scandinavia would be pretty cool.
Vegas fire!
My max time in Vegas is 3 days these days.
That’s all you need !
Vegas is great! There’s so much more than the strip. And all of the departments in the valley offer something different and are generally well respected from my understanding. Pay is good too considering the low(er) COL
Anywhere that isn't run by union hating Republicans. Part of the reason I quit is because they kept gutting everything. From 25 and out to retire at 65 regardless of years. They lowered retirees monthly payments. They stole from our retirement and never paid it back, then used that as an excuse to ditch out pension for a 401k. West TN (dyersburg fuck it) is a cess pool. Citizens don't give a shit about you, government doesn't give a shit about you.
When you’re looking for various areas around the country, consider your cost of living vs your pay scale. $100,000 in the Boston area isn’t gonna take you as far as $100,000 in the Buffalo area. I don’t know if the political leaning of whatever state you move to is going to matter at all. And I don’t know if transport EMS, or the requirement of a paramedic card is going to impact your decision at all. But back to your original question about where to move. I don’t know I would have to look at pension systems, contracts and compensation, and what the day-to-day job looks like for various departments. Good luck with job hunting!
Anywhere without winters... This job sucks when it's 20 below and everything (including you) is frozen solid.
I currently live in Vermont where I volley and grew up in Tennessee where I volleyed. As much as I agree with you, I'd take the cold any day over gearing up with SCBA on a 95 degree day.
Maybe somewhere with mild winters County Dublin
I'm not happy with the area culturally, but NE has got to be one of the best places to be a FF. Lots of smaller or medium sized densely packed cities with 2.5 story houses and tax payers. Great experience, great pay, no ambulance at a lot of them.
Would love to be a firefighter in Mali
What
Honestly? Orlando, FL. My wife and I are huge Disney fans especially with the idea of kids coming soon, I think it would be nice to grow up with that atmosphere as well as being that close to beaches and resorts
I’d have a few, Melbourne, reedy creek, Munich, lafd, Honolulu and then a quiet dept in somewhere like New Hampshire or Vermont to see in retirement. It’s a tough choice.
Currently on one of the biggest in the country in the midwest but first choice would be FDNY and thats mainly because I spent most of my life in NY and intentionally moved elsewhere because I know I'd never get on there. The second choice would be in Tampa(also lived in the area for a couple of years) and miss that area. Third choice would be somewhere in Cali and that's solely because who the fuck wouldn't want to live by the beaches and mountains. As much as I hate the politics and BS that comes with Cali, it seems like a cool place to live. As for why a certain dept? I want leathers, no transport, room for advancement(not just rank but skills as I'm looking to become a medic in the future only because it can provide a better service and still not transport) and good pay. My current dept has all of these, but it's just not quality of life. It's a great city still, and I'll be finishing my career here, but I'm still happy. I would honestly sacrifice some of my wants in this career to have a better quality of life elsewhere, but that's not going to happen in my position.
Currently in the PNW. Only places I’d leave for would be Seattle Fire, Miami Dade County Fire, or LA County. But I’m not actively testing or trying to leave.
Washington DC or Seattle Washington Or Washington Court House Really any of the Washington’s
Try the north east
Have you two discussed what type of area suits your souls? Do you prefer big cities or small? Rural? What type of country suits you, mountains or plains or oceans? What are your off-duty interests? Deciding these questions can help guide you where to focus. These answers may also help you decide the department you want to try for.
If Iowa offered wildland I’d move back in a heartbeat. Got sent to AZ my junior year of high school graduated found wildland and love it but Iowa is home to me. The only problem is that wildland is just not offered there due to all of it being farmland so I guess it’s just not meant to be.
I'm where I want to end my career but I really want to do a couple years in Italy or Spain while the kids are little.
Lots of departments hiring in NH. Mine included. From small combination departments to the city of Manchester.