Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know why it filtered one of my words but the word was p u l s e. Very weird...
Don't feel bad. We had a discussion about recipes and someone mentioned German food . .. so I proceeded to give them my homemade saurkraut recipe. Fine, as long as you spell out saurkraut. Just put K raut and Yes, the filter will take out the word "kraut" or it took kraut out that time, anyway.
Back to topic . . . the paper is the Charlotte Observer, but its quality has diminished a lot in the last few years (layoffs = not much indepth reporting).
Seems to be a national trend. Our local paper diminished and now most got their news from a Michigan based website where people write articles with horrid grammar, or they leave out any story as if they're just reposting off a blotter.
Seems to be a national trend. Our local paper diminished and now most got their news from a Michigan based website where people write articles with horrid grammar, or they leave out any story as if they're just reposting off a blotter.
Yes, it is a nationwide trend. Advertising is down, and it is hard for print media to survive.
Sadly, the Charlotte Observer has contracted w/ a company in India to do the layout for the paper. That meant jobs were lost here . . . but it was done as a cost-saving measure. Just ironic that a local paper that depends on local readers and local advertisers is being prepared for print by folks living thousands of miles away.
There are a lot of local websites that get a bit more exciting w/ local issues, as well as some radio broadcasts. It's too bad that we don't have a newspaper that is able to sit on local issues and really dig into what is going on with budget measures, for example. Reporting on crime is "low growing fruit" . . . it takes a reporter w/ commitment to dig up hanky panky on spreadsheets, lol.
Oh yeah- I've noticed. Either the economy/jobless rate has stifled the desire to come or all of the CD members with an agenda to keep the newbies out of NC have finally succeeded.
While its true there are some people that do not need to work to live, I think its pretty safe to say that majority of the people(unless they clearly state otherwise) that come here looking to move are working stiffs like the rest off us and do need a job at least at some point.
Kind of ironic most of the people here that warn people not to come without jobs works in service type industries that are dependent on population growth (ie Real Estate, Insurance, etc.) so they would be the last to want to exclude newbies. Maybe they warn people b/c on a day to day basis they see people who relocated here under false expectations of a "better, easier life" who are absolutely miserable b/c they can't find the dream job they expected to find.
If you haven't been here very long you might not be as well versed in the boom/bust cycle Charlotte and most New South economies go through. CD is afterall not that old.
Just as an example when my former employer relocated here roughly 13 years ago from NJ they moved probably 40 or so people here. All with good jobs. It wasn't long until word got back to uncles, cousins, and friends that Charlotte was utopia found. So of course uncles, cousins, and friends started applying for jobs here. With and unemployment rate of 5% they didn't have much problem getting them. Then as unemployment neared 4% even with a skyrocketing population the word quickly spread that you did not even need to have a job. (I remember hiring people simply because they weren't more than 10 min late to the interview) "Just move to Charlotte and all will be fine." And by most accounts it was. At one point I would say at least 5% of that particular community in NJ had relocated to the surrounding area. Same is true for many communities in NY, OH, MI, etc.
Then of course the bust starts and all of a sudden there are no jobs.
As you say this is America and its true all over. Problem is you have people back in NJ or wherever that have heard for years about how great Charlotte is. They think surely things are different there. "It can't be as bad as here" is a phrase heard daily if not hourly. So they blindly pack up and head South. About 45 miles out of the city they decide to give their 3rd cousin's ex finances's neighbor that moved down 10 years ago a call to say hello and find out where to park the Uhaul and stake their claim to Paradise Found. Needless to say the phone call doesn't go so well!
Well, I'm not from here.. I discovered this forum before moving here and if I listened to that advice I wouldn't have moved and made a better life for my family.
If a person has questions about employment or the job market I can see why people would give this advice.
However, there were times when all the OP wanted was suggestions on where to buy or rent and people were telling them not to move without a job. After a while it seemed useless to ask questions about anything regarding moving to Charlotte because it was doom and gloom.
I guess what I'm really trying to say is Charlotte is in America... there isn't anywhere in America where a job is secure or things are rosy. It just felt like people were trying to tell OP's that it wasn't 2007 any longer.. and I think most if not all were aware of what the climate was like and what year it was.
I agree, Feltdesigner. That was exactly how I felt when reading the threads back when I first starting seriously considering a move. It seemed people just could not get a straight or even civil answer to a question without feeling like their Mom was condescendingly chastising their "foolish" life decision. Even if people had just answered their inquiries and then nicely thrown in a little warning about the jobs situation- that would have been fine--- but some people (no- not all) were being downright caustic and even insulting to innocent people who were simply using the forum as the forum was intended. Frankly--- it's a relief not to see so much of the negativity here anymore. Maybe the "immigration panic", as I'll call it, has died down and current residents are more chilled out now.
I agree, Feltdesigner. That was exactly how I felt when reading the threads back when I first starting seriously considering a move. It seemed people just could not get a straight or even civil answer to a question without feeling like their Mom was condescendingly chastising their "foolish" life decision. Even if people had just answered their inquiries and then nicely thrown in a little warning about the jobs situation- that would have been fine--- but some people (no- not all) were being downright caustic and even insulting to innocent people who were simply using the forum as the forum was intended. Frankly--- it's a relief not to see so much of the negativity here anymore. Maybe the "immigration panic", as I'll call it, has died down and current residents are more chilled out now.
In defense of those people, the reason for that is they were watching tons of people coming here without jobs and then suffering. I dont think there was ill intent.. you should not come here without a job!! Its good advice to this moment.
Also people were starting to worry about this cities infrastucture as well they should be. Fortunately it seems the people boom has died down and rightly so...this is no utopia..as nowhere is utopia.
As another poster mentioned, it would've benefitted alot of people if they looked at these threads b4 they moved..
Here's my recollection of what happened. Back in 05-06 that's when the peak in housing hit places like NJ/Long Island/FL/CA/AZ...it took about a year but the bubble started bursting about that time...people still moved down here in droves because the economy was good and Charlotte was late to the party. They did not feel the effects till around 08 but it was coming...some people thought we were immune. The people on CD back in the day who knew it was coming were criticized and mocked (ani/myself/mikeykid/etc)...
People soon couldn't sell their homes up north and carried 2 mortgages..over time they defaulted on 1 of them...more problems....they came here w/o jobs figuring they would get hired...back in the day it wasn't a problem but after say '08 it became a big problem trying to find jobs...
We've been bouncing around the bottom now for a good 3 years w/no end in sight. I thought a couple years ago we'd break out of it this year, but when government tries to artificially prop up the housing market, it only delays the inevitable......
Agree with Jack. You can still find those discussions if you dig a bit for them. They had us pegged as the "doom and gloom" club. I've definitely noticed a down tick in new threads and I bet the search feature is part of it - google will hit CD threads all the time. People are much more savvy with the internet then they were just a few years ago... I'm betting people find many of their answers searching.
To be frank I felt like there was a time recently where the tone was very negative on this forum overall. It got to a point where I wouldn't have blamed anyone lurking the boards from posting because they'd just get blasted.
Either way, we're lucky to be bouncing along (to steal Jack's words) if you think about it. Because with all of the issues I still see houses selling (some of them shocking for how much folks are still willing to pay) and I still see people moving in. Anecdotal? Yes... so it's easy for others to say they see more leaving. I'm guessing your mileage will vary on that front. But at the end of the day the roads are still packed during rush hour, I'm still parking too far away and waiting on line when I go out for a movie/shopping/eating/etc... So cooling down is a good thing on many levels.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) "Just move to Charlotte and all will be fine." And by most accounts it was. At one point I would say at least 5% of that particular community in NJ had relocated to the surrounding area. Same is true for many communities in NY, OH, MI, etc.
