Looking for anything right now temporarily

You already know people in Las Vegas, so that's your ticket out of the current situation.

 

Las Vegas home prices and rent is slowly dropping.
Anyway, looks like you're stuck in Florida until you can be more lax on your demands.

 

Just an observation. People give you options and you list all the reasons you can’t. Why not go to Vegas and rent? What makes it risky? I’ve rented in various places and never had any issues with a long term lease.

The reality right now is the industry is mostly in the tank. Where you live makes it more difficult. I know you say you don’t need or want to be in Florida but you have to realize how many times companies have heard that in the past.

Your income goals aren’t out of line for an experienced driver. The general state of the industry is what is hurting you when you factor in your past. When the market is strong there isn’t anything wrong with your work history. But that’s not the reality right now. If you had a company who would you want to hire? There are people with a more stable work history and zero tickets and that’s who you’re competing against.

It’s hard to say what I’d do in your shoes because everyone’s situation is unique. But you know people in Vegas. I’d do everything I could to get there, maybe couch surf a couple weeks while building up whatever cash you can, then maybe a few weeks in an extended stay motel, then rent for a while. It’s not a realistic thought to not move somewhere because you can’t buy a house right now. I would think job prospects in Vegas would be better than where you currently are.

 

Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk but I'm gonna give it to you straight: you've put yourself in a position where you cannot afford to be picky. Especially not with the way the job market is right now nationwide, and that goes double because you live in central Florida where the job market seems to always be tough.

You need to take anything you can get, stay there for a year, and be the very best driver they've got. Then after that maybe some of these companies will start taking you seriously.

 

So that you'll have a good reference when you go to apply to companies that you do care about.

Put yourself in the position of a hiring manager at a good company. If I've got two applicants from a company like Western Express, one of whom has been there for over a year and has a good reputation and the other of whom has done the bare minimum to get by, I'm hiring the first guy because he stepped up while the other guy was just trying to not get fired.