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My husand and I are in our 50's ( I am 52 and he is 58 and retired). I currently work for a pharma company and would like, if possible to get a job (I am in Human Resources) in one of these areas in order to work another couple of years and then sunset my career in corporate life.
We were all set on Sarasota, Fla; however nothing in the way of any employment, (even in retirement if we wanted to work) and the home, prop taxes, hurricane ins, HOA's, CDD's were absurd.
We like warm winters; however, we are willing to settle for cooler weather in the winter if we have a nice quality of life and not worrying about money in retirement. We are visiting Charlotte and Raleigh next week to see what they have to offer.
We would like to visit Charleston, like the proximity to ocean and warmer, we think than the other two places above; however if I read one more post on the "yankee" issue and outsiders, it might steer us away. My husband and I live in NJ (yes, a yankee state) and we have lived all over the place, including internationally such as Germany and UK, and France. We are progressive minded and go with the flow; however we do have opinions and do not mind sharing them in conversation. We have never lived in the south, but I can't believe that the "clannish" and other comments, such as the northerner's will ruin this place is how the folks who have lived their lives in SC feel.
Can anyone give us advice on how we might "fit in". We are organic, green minded and like fun things to do- -e.g. art and entertainment, restaurants and just good basic quality of life that is not going to break our pocketbook. We also want to have friends and a good support system.
Lynn, I am also a New Jersey native and I have lived in Columbia for many years. I've never lived in Charleston, but most of the "yankee" talk is just that, online chatter; I wouldn't let it worry you too much. I think you'll find that urban areas in the south are very diverse and there are many people from different areas. Rural areas tend to be more distrustful of "outsiders". Have you visited the three cities you're looking at yet?
Waccamatt's correct, Charleston is an incredibly diverse area, and at times, I honestly think there are more transplants living here than natives. Great neighbors are always welcome. I encourage a visit to Charleston.
sandyart,
We moved here from florida and have encounter more northerns and floridians here than natives. We enjoy the charlotte area and have met the most incredible people here. I would recommend that you visit our area...it is not Sarasota by any means but in wonderful in many different ways.
"We are visiting Charlotte and Raleigh next week to see what they have to offer."
I lived in Charlotte and visited Charleston. I cannot speak for Raleigh but Charlotte is way "over-rated". The crime rate is rising and so will be taxes. I wouldn't recommend Charlotte. However on the SC side you may wanna check out Tega Cay SC and Fort Mill SC. About 12-20 miles away from Charlotte and very very nice, especially Tega Cay. The city of Charlotte get so much positive PR, "don't believe the hype". It is not all that great. High crime and houses are way over priced in some of the neighborhoods bordering Center City with a sky rocket crime rate. One upscale community, called Dillworth in Charlotte had to hire their own security due to the crime rate. Stay away from Charlotte and check out Tega Cay SC. You can always find work in Charlotte and live in Tega Cay SC. Based on what you're looking for I would take Tega Cay SC over Charleston in a "heart beat". So don't forget to visit Tega Cay SC when you see Charlotte.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandyart
My husand and I are in our 50's ( I am 52 and he is 58 and retired). I currently work for a pharma company and would like, if possible to get a job (I am in Human Resources) in one of these areas in order to work another couple of years and then sunset my career in corporate life.
We were all set on Sarasota, Fla; however nothing in the way of any employment, (even in retirement if we wanted to work) and the home, prop taxes, hurricane ins, HOA's, CDD's were absurd.
We like warm winters; however, we are willing to settle for cooler weather in the winter if we have a nice quality of life and not worrying about money in retirement. We are visiting Charlotte and Raleigh next week to see what they have to offer.
We would like to visit Charleston, like the proximity to ocean and warmer, we think than the other two places above; however if I read one more post on the "yankee" issue and outsiders, it might steer us away. My husband and I live in NJ (yes, a yankee state) and we have lived all over the place, including internationally such as Germany and UK, and France. We are progressive minded and go with the flow; however we do have opinions and do not mind sharing them in conversation. We have never lived in the south, but I can't believe that the "clannish" and other comments, such as the northerner's will ruin this place is how the folks who have lived their lives in SC feel.
Can anyone give us advice on how we might "fit in". We are organic, green minded and like fun things to do- -e.g. art and entertainment, restaurants and just good basic quality of life that is not going to break our pocketbook. We also want to have friends and a good support system.
Thanks so much for your posts. That is a releif to hear that the "yankee" talk is mostly chatter.
We have only visited Raleigh in one of our visits and we were lukewarm. We are visiting Charlotte this weekend. Island guy thanks for the info on Tega Cay and Fort Mill! We are interested in looking over the state line for the reasons you state- - we can visit Charlotte with ease for work or pleasure, crime rates much lower and peope taxes a steal comparted to NC.
My husand and I are in our 50's ( I am 52 and he is 58 and retired). I currently work for a pharma company and would like, if possible to get a job (I am in Human Resources) in one of these areas in order to work another couple of years and then sunset my career in corporate life.
We were all set on Sarasota, Fla; however nothing in the way of any employment, (even in retirement if we wanted to work) and the home, prop taxes, hurricane ins, HOA's, CDD's were absurd.
We like warm winters; however, we are willing to settle for cooler weather in the winter if we have a nice quality of life and not worrying about money in retirement. We are visiting Charlotte and Raleigh next week to see what they have to offer.
We would like to visit Charleston, like the proximity to ocean and warmer, we think than the other two places above; however if I read one more post on the "yankee" issue and outsiders, it might steer us away. My husband and I live in NJ (yes, a yankee state) and we have lived all over the place, including internationally such as Germany and UK, and France. We are progressive minded and go with the flow; however we do have opinions and do not mind sharing them in conversation. We have never lived in the south, but I can't believe that the "clannish" and other comments, such as the northerner's will ruin this place is how the folks who have lived their lives in SC feel.
Can anyone give us advice on how we might "fit in". We are organic, green minded and like fun things to do- -e.g. art and entertainment, restaurants and just good basic quality of life that is not going to break our pocketbook. We also want to have friends and a good support system.
Any advice would be very helpful!!
Regards,
Lynn:
I'm a few years younger than you and was looking for the same thing. My business was pretty transportable so I could have moved anywhere but wanted warmer weather; sailing, beaches, an aesthetically pleasing area; good restaurants, Whole Foods stores nearby, a reasonable health insurance market, practitioners and awareness of Natural Medicine all within minutes of my home.
Charleston pretty much fits the bill however I'm saddened to discover that there are no or few mooring fields for boats, only expensive boat slips off of docks; altho there is a Whole Foods store, there is only one (not several like in North Carolina) and the one here seems like it doesn't try as hard as it could without any competition except for one other much smaller store from a smaller chain called Earth Fare. There are few if any other independent health food stores in this HUGE geographic area and the two supposedly best Farmer's markets have only one vendor with certified organic produce. South Carolinians don't seem to mind chemicals or genetic engineering just as long as local farmers are supported. Here they push "certified local" rather than certified organic.
Also, South Carolina is very backwards as far as recognizing the validity of Naturopathic Medicine. I believe, the number of N.D's here you can count on one hand. However, thanks to the phone and the internet, there is nothing stopping anyone who lives here from setting up phone appointments with good Naturopaths in other states which is why I didn't mind moving. So, although it is sad and I feel sorry for other South Carolinians with chronic and degenerative diseases who must think the only options available to them is conventional medicine, it wasn't a deal breaker for me.
It more than meets all of the other criterea so I'm not complaining, just answering the question.
Hi there fellow NJ'rs!!! I relocated here 4 years ago myself and I absolutely love it. I am in Charleston National in Mount Pleasant, and there are tons of people from NJ (my parents are from Monmouth Beach, and 2 of their old neighbors relocated here also!)....so come on down and check out the area - you seriously will choose this over Raleigh hands down (my brother lives there)...pay absolutely NO attention to online yankee banter - I have many southern friends now that are born and raised here and it's been nothing but a lot of fun getting to know their culture and visa versa - we tease about each others accents and just have a ball! Being so close to the beach where I don't have to put my big toe in first to test the water is fantastic..lol... you know what i mean!
To the OP, we have a lot in common. My wife & I have visited Raleigh & Charlotte & Sarasota and are having a hard time making a choice. We're currently living in France. So we're looking for something open-minded and international would be a huge bonus. I'm not talking about San Fran or NYC, but some place where they can find France on the map and we could possibly find some other people with international interests.
I really want a small boat and live by the beach, so Sarasota is is interesting but I don't think I could take the summer heat. So I'm wondering about Charleston. I just started my research.
Let me know what you find and keep the thread updated with your progress.
We live in Millstone Township which is near Monmouth Beach. We will look at Charleston, but emilybh post really scared me- - I agree with you that NC is alot more sensitive in the organic, holistic stuff. We will see what develops on all these areas, then report back!
BTW- - I can talk with authority about Sarasota (we had a condo on Long Boat Key) and it is very hot in the summer, beautiful city, however if you do not have big $$$$$don't even bother looking since you will be paying quite a bit for a nice home, HOA's, CDD, prop taxes and of course that little extra call hurricane insurance.
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I encourage a visit to Charleston.
