On the topic of Restraint of trade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restraint_of_trade) clause which some companies insist on: in very few cases a company will take a former employee to court over a breach of such clause and then the company is still likely to lose the case unless the restriction was narrow, specific, reasonable. Usually there also need to be consideration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration) for giving up some of the freedom of trade.