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I am a 30 year old, single female currently living in Connecticut (for less than a year). I'm at an interesting point in my career right now as I may have the opportunity to move to either Charlotte, LA, or Seattle (or I can stay in CT). I will be getting paid approximately the same salary no matter which job I choose.
I will say right now that I think CT generally sucks--a ridiculously high cost of living with nothing to do for a 30 year old single person (unless I want to take a 4 hour round-trip to Manhattan and spend even more money!). I pay $1,400/month for rent in a 700 sq. ft. one bedroom apartment. The only thing that even has me considering staying in CT is that the job that I have here is probably better for my career long-term.
From all of the research I've done, it looks like Charlotte could be my best option because for me it's ridiculously cheap and it seems like a nice place to live. The hot/high humidity weather is a deterrent (compared to LA--which is another possibility) but I'm from the East Coast (D.C. originally) so I can probably get over that.
I am curious...how easy is it to meet people in Charlotte? I'm at a weird point in my life as I'm well out of college and I have an MBA but I'm unmarried. I'm over the bar scene and like to try to mix up my weekends as much as possible by going out to exotic restaurants, doing outdoor activities (hiking, boating, etc.), karaoke singing--really anything that doesn't involve me standing around with a drink in my hand all night . I have found that hard to do in CT, though, because it's extremely difficult to meet people here. I'm also very career-driven (yet don't work ridiculous hours and like to have fun) and would love to be able to meet others like me.
Also, no offense to the South but the experiences that I have had in cities further South is that the food is not very good and not very diverse. Is it easy to find good ethnic food in Charlotte? Also, are there a lot of bugs? Again, further South, there are a ton of huge bugs since it never gets cold enough to kill them off.
Finally, if I move there, does it make sense to buy house right now? Real estate in most of the rest of the country is crashing and I'm concerned that could happen in Charlotte as well. From what I can see, I could buy a really nice house in Charlotte (especially compared to the shack that I would be buying in CT) but I would rather rent if real estate prices are going to drop over the next year.
Sorry, I know this is a really long post but I've been agonizing over what to do with my career and I will need to figure it out in the next few weeks. Thanks for your help!
I am your age, also a college educated professional, and I was just saying to a friend over lunch yesterday that it does not make sense for me to leave Charlotte any time soon. The cost of living is great and this city is full of 30-something professionals.
I own my home and yes, it is a great time to buy. I am very involved in uptown activities: theater, young professionals groups, live music, etc. I am never bored. People who say they are bored are not trying to get out and get involved. Food is ok. If you compare the food scene to Manhattan, you will be dissappointed. But compared to other mid-sized US cities, we have it very good here.
I have friends who said it was hard to meet people. But that's true anywhere if you don't get involved in activities. There are several events groups in Charlotte that are perfect for meeting people: Events and Adventures is one of them; I can PM you others if you'd like. These groups have calendars with a huge amount of activities every night of the week....rafting, hiking, biking, running, movie night, theater night, Super Bowl parties, lake parties...you name it.
Thanks for the reply. That sounds great! The position that I'm looking at is in Huntersville. I personally don't like commuting so if I moved to Charlotte, I was thinking about living there. Can anyone tell me about this area or is downtown Charlotte really the place to be?
Thanks for the reply. That sounds great! The position that I'm looking at is in Huntersville. I personally don't like commuting so if I moved to Charlotte, I was thinking about living there. Can anyone tell me about this area or is downtown Charlotte really the place to be?
Haha, I actually live in Huntersville, too!
I go downtown a lot and it only takes me 20-25 minutes in the evening to get to events or to meet friends.
Also, there are actually more and more 30 somethings who are single in the lake area.
I can shop up here in Huntersville, and head downtown for more nightlife. Sometimes we stay up at the lake and go to dinner, a movie, listen to music (in the spring/summer) on the green in Birkdale or Northcross, go to the wine room, etc.
Neighborhoods like Oakhurst, Birkdale Village, Vermillion, etc are full of young professionals, especially in the townhomes.
Hi kmway--Thanks for the reply. It does sound like a nice area!
Everyone else--No one so far has commented on whether or not Charlottesville is buggy...mosquitos love me and large spiders and centipedes freak me out. Will I be getting a lot of this down there?
Hi kmway--Thanks for the reply. It does sound like a nice area!
Everyone else--No one so far has commented on whether or not Charlottesville is buggy...mosquitos love me and large spiders and centipedes freak me out. Will I be getting a lot of this down there?
To be honest I never noticed, I have not seen the same amount off bugs here as I did in Miami, on the other hand I spray the outside with Ortho home defense, used to do this in Miami carreid on doing it here in the summer months.
I do get spiders, but they are small. I just had my yearly pest control spray, though! And yes I love the little lizards! I think they are cute but they are not too common. Ants were horrible last year! Mosquitos are not too terribly bad, IMO.
I like lizards a lot. Not only are they cute but they eat the bugs that I don't like!
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