[JohnSmithee]

"...given what we are talking about is a job paying far, far, less than I've ever made before and doing things I've never done before"

Good luck Scott. Since the bubble collapse I've been in the same situation, and I wish there were some simple answers out there.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Thank you much. It is tough, but I am not beat by a long shot. I have prepared myself well for this event. I own my home and both cars outright and have absolutely no debts of any kind (and no kids to worry about). I can hold out for an extremely long time, particularly with some very large pension funds I can dip into. But I hate going backwards, so I am not going to "sell out" for good long time (frankly, my wife would be so disappointed in me that it'd be really tough to do that). She's in it for the haul, so I will be.

[buwaya]

This was not the first bubble and it won't be the last. Get ANY job, no matter what, you will feel better doing it than sitting around.