looking to move to Charlotte (Huntersville: rental, lofts, home)

[preston510]

hello all I am looking to move to the charlotte/concord area. I am a LPN looking to move my family of 5 to the area i would like to move in a surburban area as i am originally from LI new york and i am comfortable in the suburbs. i would be interested in renting at first ,and my price range for rent would be up to $1200 monthly...I also need to know where would be a decent place to work for my lone income now is a bit over 40,000 yearly. i know im taking bit of a pay decrease in N.C but i would like to stay between $18 and $20 an hour. can I please have some input..oh and not that it counts but we are African American

[Ann in Oriental]

I've never been to Charlotte except for the airport, but I've looked a lot on craigslist. I noticed there was an area (it had a name I forget) that was in the city and seemed to be re-done lofts and such. An artsy area, so to speak that sounded like a really neat area to live. You can get a good idea of going rates of pay for LPNs on craigslist too. Also we have a sub-forum here for the Charlotte area, those people would be able to best help you!

[chicagocubs]

Please, please have a job lined up before you come. Then, you can decide where you want to live.

[FrankTheTank2]

Did you know unemployment in Charlotte is HIGHER then most of the country? It is very very hard to get any jobs right now in Charlotte. Please Please Please have a job lined up before you move down here.

Once you have a job, I am sure many people on this board will help you find a great place to rent or live.

[anifani821]

I believe the salary you cited is high for LPNs here. I recently read that the average LPN salary in this region is $29,000/yr. Traveling nurses make more per hour, of course, as do those working PRN. And it will vary depending on where you are working (home health care, Rehab, hospital, nursing home, physician practice). But I would plan on $29,000 and see if you can land something better. In addition, please be aware - this region of the country does NOT have an overall nursing shortage. Some specialties will have openings, but the plentiful jobs will be lower salaried positions, as well as PRN, thru/ agencies, etc.

[KLeigh0916]

Hi there! I am a registered nurse, so I thought I could offer a little input, at least in regards to the job-portion of your question. I moved to Charlotte in May, 2008, and I love it here. Of course, a LOT has happened in our country since then, but I must humbly mention that nurses (along with many healthcare professionals) are very lucky during these hard times. That is to say, my coworkers and I feel fortunate not to be at risk of losing our jobs right now.

As someone mentioned, it is true that there isn't really a nursing shortage (gone are the days of sign-on bonuses and head-hunters knocking at your door), however, I know for a fact that Carolinas Healthcare System (CHS) (a very large medical network of hospitals, clinics, and physician's offices in and around the Charlotte area) has many job openings. I have been an RN at Carolinas Medical Center (CHS's main hospital in uptown Charlotte) since we moved here, and they are constantly hiring. Of course, they have to watch the budget just like everyone else, so they might have slowed down, but there are definitely openings on multiple units in the main hospital, depending on what area you're looking to work in.

Although not every unit hires LPNs (some have strictly RNs), I know that the med-surg floors have at least a few LPNs working there, and they are hiring right now for their float pool. I have never worked as an LPN, so I don't know if it is typical to inquire about an RN position and see if they would consider an LPN, but to me it seems worth trying. And $18/hr doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but I'm not sure, honestly. What areas would you consider working in? Just let me know, and I'd be willing to help you out (it's my turn to give back, since the CD community helped me out so much before I moved here!).

Good luck, and let me know if you have questions!

[XcapefromNJ]

I had my first appointment yesterday at North Charlotte Medical Specialists (Huntersville Location). What a pleasure! Everyone was very nice and not a lot of waiting. Reception, doctor's nurse, lab tech (took my blood), everyone was nice and efficient. I particularly like the doctor that I randomly selected. If I were looking for work in the medical field I would apply there.

It was easy to find their website via google.. a little harder to find the "career page"

Career Center

[kateb411]

Originally Posted by KLeigh0916

Hi there! I am a registered nurse, so I thought I could offer a little input, at least in regards to the job-portion of your question. I moved to Charlotte in May, 2008, and I love it here. Of course, a LOT has happened in our country since then, but I must humbly mention that nurses (along with many healthcare professionals) are very lucky during these hard times. That is to say, my coworkers and I feel fortunate not to be at risk of losing our jobs right now.

As someone mentioned, it is true that there isn't really a nursing shortage (gone are the days of sign-on bonuses and head-hunters knocking at your door), however, I know for a fact that Carolinas Healthcare System (CHS) (a very large medical network of hospitals, clinics, and physician's offices in and around the Charlotte area) has many job openings. I have been an RN at Carolinas Medical Center (CHS's main hospital in uptown Charlotte) since we moved here, and they are constantly hiring. Of course, they have to watch the budget just like everyone else, so they might have slowed down, but there are definitely openings on multiple units in the main hospital, depending on what area you're looking to work in.

Although not every unit hires LPNs (some have strictly RNs), I know that the med-surg floors have at least a few LPNs working there, and they are hiring right now for their float pool. I have never worked as an LPN, so I don't know if it is typical to inquire about an RN position and see if they would consider an LPN, but to me it seems worth trying. And $18/hr doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but I'm not sure, honestly. What areas would you consider working in? Just let me know, and I'd be willing to help you out (it's my turn to give back, since the CD community helped me out so much before I moved here!).

Good luck, and let me know if you have questions!

Can you tell me, just out of curiosity, what the starting salary for an RN is in Charlotte? Thank you.

[gkleoni1]

Originally Posted by preston510

hello all I am looking to move to the charlotte/concord area. I am a LPN looking to move my family of 5 to the area i would like to move in a surburban area as i am originally from LI new york and i am comfortable in the suburbs. i would be interested in renting at first ,and my price range for rent would be up to $1200 monthly...I also need to know where would be a decent place to work for my lone income now is a bit over 40,000 yearly. i know im taking bit of a pay decrease in N.C but i would like to stay between $18 and $20 an hour. can I please have some input..oh and not that it counts but we are African American

You may want to consider Faires Farms for a good rental option and the CMC University Hospital is less than 5 mins up the road from us. There are also a boat load of medical offices within 10 mins. Good luck! We are sellling our home if you decide to buy instead DM me.