[prewett]

At lot of states are at-will, including Washington and Oregon. So if you think at-will employment produces slavery like working conditions (which seems rather overstated), moving the the Pacific Northwest isn't going to help much.

Also, when I was considering moving to the Seattle area, I got the feeling that non-compete clauses were fairly standard, although, that is entirely subjective and might be incorrect.

[totalminimalist]

Thank you for the info. The chances are high that if/when we move, I will be leaving IT after 20 years, so the non-compete angle will not apply. I may still do some consulting on SaaS/PaaS and small automation tasks to help if I can, but I've long desired to get out of IT. The grind is starting to take its toll on me and I want to take on new adventures in things I like to do on the side like crafts and similar. With my daughter off doing her thing, I'll have spare money to set up shop and do other things. My wife wants to work until she cannot stand up, which is just like her dad.