Why can't you try both? Drop your resume and get telephone interviews first. Both Illinois and California experienced a downfall in economics during the past year. According to some people, it's easier to find jobs in Illinois nowadays than in California (they could be biased because these people live in Chicago). Anyways, keep us updated with your latest progress! Good luck!

№1 ☆☆☆放地址于2010-07-21 00:49:37留言☆☆☆　
我在小镇里试了半年了，resume都是石沉大海，也没有面试，所以才要搬。
不能try both啊，搬家是大工程，我离这些城市都很远，搬过去就得孤注一掷的找，找不到就得回国。。
所以Chicago会好找一些么？
唉，我现在也很矛盾。。
感觉Chicago太冷太冷了。。不过如果确实好找工作一些，去又何妨。

can't you look for a job first? why do you have to move there and then look for a job? it might be better if you have located a job and then move there permanently.
 
california has better weather but economy is hitting it pretty hard these days. although there are a lot of universities over there. chicago is REALLY cold.
 
come to the east coast!

№3 ☆☆☆夏天到了于2010-07-21 01:04:40留言☆☆☆　
我现在这么做就是为了找工作，因为我所处的地域太偏远，他们考虑到面试需要机票费，一般都不会要我。
我所处的领域算是学术，一般不会电话面试，而是直接要面试，电话通知的话只是通知时间而已。
我已经吃了半年的亏了，再不走就来不及了。
 
我现在就是在东海岸，问题是东海岸不招人啊，我现在看到的招聘广告大多不在东海岸，有好多都是前两年的，到了这两年好像突然不要人了似地。

i would recommend LA or northern california~ chicago doesn't have as many chinese, so your skills like "中文主持朗诵演讲" might not be put to good use. plus, it's hollywood! haha, since you mentioned "包括新闻报道影评诗词创作之类", where could be better than hollywood? ;)
 
ok..... i'm just biased, the weather makes a huge difference. i just came back to CA after staying in chicago for 3 months, definitely prefer CA weather~ but honestly, i like the culture in chicago better~

可惜我现在在China 。

library science找大学工作吧，加州的first tier大学有十几个，second tier也有不少。实在不行可以去花一年多加个teaching certificate去中学。

看来大家都推荐LA。。
我个人也倾向于LA。。
但父母有好几个朋友在Chicago，说是可以帮忙。。于是我特纠结。。
我知道network很重要。。可芝加哥特冷。。
不过如果jms觉得熟人可以起到很大的作用并且芝加哥的图书馆比较多的话，那我还是可以放弃CA的气候的。。

Hey! Chicago is NOT cold at all. After staying in Canada for four years, I can't feel the winter here at all (I literally wear skirts and leggings throughout Dec and Jan. Of course I put on some winter coats, too. These are just regular winter coats -- not the heavy duty ones that I wore in Canada). Don't let the weather make the decision. Job opportunity should really be your first consideration.  See what jobs you can find and then decide where to move, i.e. job hunting first and move next. Move only if you get a job.

ca is laying off plus there\\\'s a hiring freeze in schools, universities, and public libraries.  weather is good but employment outlook doesn\\\'t look good.
 
can\\\'t say anything for chicago since i don\\\'t know that area.

№11 ☆☆☆放地址于2010-07-21 05:59:41留言☆☆☆　
不会啊，深圳的还挺好的，在深圳我都穿短裙的。
我在美国东北部过得简直崩溃了。我觉得我上辈子是鱼，如果不是潮湿的地方我会死掉。。
 
你说的get a job，再move，并不适合我，如果继续这样的话，我就浪费掉了我所有的opt时间。我现在的策略只能是move first，找对城市，然后再找工作。所以选择城市显得非常重要了。

我也在美国东北部的小城市，找工作的话，不是一般在网上投简历。如果楼主怕招聘单位不负责机票，就在cover letter或是email上说明你会自己负责机票和住宿。机票的钱这点小投资还是需要的，住宿的话看看有没有住在那些城市的朋友，偶尔借住一晚上应该没问题。
 
大规模搬家的话不是很合算，首先要准备搬家的费用，再来是你所去的那些城市房租都比小城市要贵很多，而且你在新的地方又没有人脉。
 
我邻居（美国白人女孩）和你是一个专业的，她还没开始找，但是她在一所高中找到兼职。其实，很多高中也有很小的library，可以试试。而且，现在这种经济状态，还是在没什么名气的小城市容易找到工作，申请签证或是绿卡也快。大城市的话，求职的人多，而且大多是很高学历又是很有名气的学校，当然竞争也就更厉害。加上，楼主的这个专业一般的留学生都会觉得很难，基本上都是美国本地人做。很多时候，招聘机构一看到中国或是外国的名字，就不想要了。毕竟，英文不是你的第一母语，加上他们还要话很多钱给你弄身份，很烦。