Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Help You Test a New Location Before Committing
Transcript
- Lucas: You know that moment when you're scrolling through job listings and a role in another city catches your eye? Maybe it's Austin, Denver, Nashville — somewhere with lower cost of living, better weather, whatever. And you think — but I'd have to quit my job, sell my place, move. That's a lot of risk for an unknown. Luna: It's basically a bet with your career. You could love the city and hate the job. Or love the job and hate the city. Either way, you're locked in. Lucas: Right. And that's where an internal transfer is actually a smarter play than most people realize. Because you can test the new location before you fully commit. You don't have to leave your company. You don't have to sell your home. You can treat it like a six-month experiment. Luna: I love this angle. Give me a concrete example. Lucas: So I was talking to a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 retailer — let's call her Sarah. She was based in Chicago, had been there for four years. Loved her team, but she was getting restless. She'd visited Austin twice for work and really liked the energy there. Lower rent, no state income tax. But she wasn't sure she wanted to uproot her whole life. Luna: Classic 'grass is greener' dilemma, but with real dollars on the line. Lucas: Exactly. So she pitched her boss on a six-month transfer. The company had an open role in the Austin office — same level, similar responsibilities, but in a different product category. She framed it as a win-win: she'd help the Austin team launch a new line, and the company would test whether a satellite office could support that kind of work. Luna: And her boss said yes? Lucas: He did, with two conditions. One, she had to keep her Chicago apartment as a backup — no company relocation budget. Two, she had to document everything so they could evaluate whether the Austin office could take on more product work. Luna: So she sublet her Chicago place for six months, found a short-term rental in Austin. That's smart — the sublet covers the risk. Lucas: Exactly. She moved in March of this year. By June, she realized the Austin role wasn't as strategic as she'd hoped. The team was smaller, less resourced, and she missed the mentorship she had in Chicago. But she also loved the city — the food scene, the access to nature, the lower cost of living. Luna: So she had a dilemma: stay in a less fulfilling role in a city she loved, or go back to a great role in a city she was tired of. Lucas: Right. And because she hadn't burned any bridges, she could choose. She went back to Chicago in July — just a couple weeks ago. Her old role was still there, though slightly modified. She got a small raise because she'd proven she could handle a new product category. And now she's thinking about a permanent move to Austin in 2027 — but she'll wait for the right internal opening. Luna: So the transfer gave her data. Real data, not vacation vibes. She knows what it's like to commute in Austin, to work with that team, to manage a landlord from across the country. Lucas: That's the key insight. A week-long trip or a Google search on cost of living isn't enough. You need to live the rhythm of a place. And an internal transfer is the lowest-risk way to do that because you keep your income, your network, and your reputation. Luna: But not every company will say yes. How do you pitch this? Lucas: You need to make it about the business, not about your wanderlust. Sarah's pitch was: 'There's an open role in Austin that's hard to fill locally. I can bring institutional knowledge and bridge the gap. If it works, you've proven the model for future rotations. If it doesn't, I come back with new skills.' That's hard for a manager to say no to. Luna: And you should specify the duration. Six months is long enough to get real exposure, short enough that both sides can tolerate the uncertainty. Lucas: Yes. And negotiate the terms upfront. Will the company cover moving costs? Will they pay for a trip back home every month? Do you keep your current title? Sarah's company didn't cover anything, but she got a commitment that her Chicago role would be held open. That was worth more than a relocation bonus. Luna: What about taxes? If you move from Illinois to Texas, you save on state income tax. That's a real financial benefit, even temporary. Lucas: Huge. Illinois has a flat 4.95 percent income tax. Texas has zero. Over six months on a hundred thousand dollar salary, that's about two thousand five hundred dollars in pocket. Sarah used part of that to offset her double rent. Luna: And she didn't have to change her permanent address — she kept her Illinois driver's license, her voter registration. So it was truly temporary. Lucas: Exactly. That's the beauty of a short-term transfer. You're not committing to a new life. You're just borrowing a different one for a while. Luna: You know, this approach also works for people who are considering relocating for a partner's job. One person moves, the other does an internal transfer to test the waters. Lucas: Absolutely. I've seen couples where one person takes a permanent job in a new city, and the other arranges a six-month internal transfer. That way, if the new city doesn't work for both, the transferring employee has a guaranteed path back. It removes a ton of relationship stress. Luna: So the internal transfer becomes a risk-management tool, not just a career move. Lucas: Right. And look, if we've helped you think through a career move like this — whether it's a transfer or just a conversation you've been putting off — that's exactly why we do this show. We deliberately keep it ad-free because we want the advice to be straightforward, no commercial agenda. If you find value in that, and you want to support the show staying that way, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure ever. Just an option if the show has helped you. Luna: Yeah, that's the spirit. We'd rather have a clean conversation than interrupt it with ads. And listener support makes that possible. Lucas: So back to the location test. Let's talk about what happens if the transfer goes really well — you love the city, you love the role. What then? Luna: Then you ask to make it permanent. And you've already got six months of proven performance in that office. That's a much stronger negotiation position than applying cold from another city. Lucas: Exactly. Sarah's colleague in the Austin office did exactly that. He transferred from Denver for a one-year assignment, fell in love with the city, and converted to permanent after eight months. He got a retention bonus because the company didn't want to lose him. Luna: So the transfer can actually accelerate your career if you pick the right spot. Lucas: It can. But the reverse is also true — if the transfer goes badly, you have a dignified exit. You return to your old office, your old role. No resume gap, no awkward interview explaining why you left a job after six months. Luna: That's the key advantage over quitting and moving cold. With an external move, if the job or city doesn't work, you're stuck. You either tough it out for a year or two, or you quit and explain the short stint in every interview. Lucas: Right. And with an internal transfer, you're still employed by the same company. Your tenure continues. Your 401k stays. Your relationships with mentors remain. It's almost like a sabbatical, but you're working and earning. Luna: Are there any industries where this is harder to pull off? Lucas: It's harder in smaller companies with only one office. And it's harder in roles that are highly location-dependent — think manufacturing, retail store management, or anything that requires local licensing. But for knowledge workers in companies with multiple offices, it's more doable than most people think. Luna: What about remote-first companies? Can you test a new city without a formal transfer? Lucas: You can, but it's trickier. Some companies have tax and legal requirements based on where you work. If you move without telling them, you could create compliance issues. A better approach: ask for a temporary remote work arrangement in the new city, even if you're normally hybrid. Frame it as a trial. Luna: So the principle is the same: test before you invest. Lucas: Exactly. The internal transfer is just one tool. The mindset is more important — treat a location change as an experiment, not a lifetime commitment. Luna: I think the biggest takeaway for listeners is: if you're curious about another city, don't start by updating your resume. Start by looking at your own company's internal job board. You might be six months away from an answer, not a leap of faith. Lucas: And that answer might surprise you. Sarah learned she preferred bigger teams and more resources. Her colleague learned he preferred a smaller, scrappier office. Both found out without losing a step in their careers. Luna: So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming about a new city, ask your employer first. Lucas: Worst they can say is no. And if they say yes, you've got a risk-free window into a whole different life.