where is the best place to live in or near charlotte? (sales, insurance)

[vermont23]

Hi...2 recent college grads looking to relocate to the south..we don't want to live in the city but would prefer to live near water or mountains. i am a finance/marketing major looking for investment bank stuff while she is in graphic design/arts media. While there are some nice spots around lake norman we want to make to make sure we live around other young people and dont have a problem commuting.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by vermont23

Hi...2 recent college grads looking to relocate to the south..we don't want to live in the city but would prefer to live near water or mountains. i am a finance/marketing major looking for investment bank stuff while she is in graphic design/arts media. While there are some nice spots around lake norman we want to make to make sure we live around other young people and dont have a problem commuting.

Before you decide on a particular area you'd better check the job situation first - neither of your fields is going to be easy to find jobs in right now I'm afraid.

[anifani821]

Yep, I would not worry so much about where I lived until I found out where I would be working. I have many friends in BOTH your fields who are out of work right now. Y'all do know our unemployment rate is up there w/ Detroit's now, right? And these are white collar jobs as well as blue collar . . .

[NCDREAMING]

It's not that hard to find jobs down here. The unemployment rate up in New England is worse than down here so don't sweat it. Just make sure you have enough money to live for a few months while you look for work. My wife and I moved down here from Rhode Island in December and had no problem finding work. As far as where you should live. It depends on the commute you are going to have. We moved to cornelius which is a nice area, but I work in south charlotte and the commute sucks. 77 is a parking lot most mornings because it is only a two lane highway north of charlotte. With that being said we like living in cornelius temporarily but wouldn't live here with us working south of the city.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by NCDREAMING

It's not that hard to find jobs down here. The unemployment rate up in New England is worse than down here so don't sweat it. Just make sure you have enough money to live for a few months while you look for work. My wife and I moved down here from Rhode Island in December and had no problem finding work. As far as where you should live. It depends on the commute you are going to have. We moved to cornelius which is a nice area, but I work in south charlotte and the commute sucks. 77 is a parking lot most mornings because it is only a two lane highway north of charlotte. With that being said we like living in cornelius temporarily but wouldn't live here with us working south of the city.

NCDreaming - I am really glad it worked out for you - what fields are you in? Cause I can't believe it would be that easy to get a job in investment banking when bank employees have been laid off - and continue to be laid off here. And as far as graphic arts - ad agencies have also laid off - and some agencies are out of business - due to client contracts not being renewed. I have three friends in graphic arts who are doing everything possible to pick up work as freelancers cause they are all out of work due to layoffs and business closings. One is a Creative Director w/ nearly 20 years of experience and impeccable credentials. So I dunno . . .

[Carolina_Stud]

I do hear alot about people in the investment world being out of work. I seen where this one hedge fund manager who was making over 700k a year had lost his job and is now delivering pizzas. I am shocked about hearing what kind of work these people are willing to do. If they were really in the investment field and do have a degree in finance why don't they just work for themselves and trade stocks at home? I mean if worse came to worse and you couldnt find a job down here couldnt you just work from home and trade your own portfolio? I don't even have a degree and this is what I am able to do.

[NCDREAMING]

I have a finance degree with a sales/mortgage background and my wife is also in banking. Just because those are there desired fields it doesn't mean that is all they can do. When I first moved down here I took a sales job doing something I normally wouldn't do till I could find something better. There are alot of benefits to living in charlotte that it make it a much more reasonable place to live: cheaper rent, lower utilities, insurance etc....

[ellemaew]

I will say, from personal experience, the job market is far different now than it was in December. I am working with a number of contacts and agencies, and they all have stacks of resumes that they have to sift through to determine the best fit for an open position. Employers can and are being picky about hirees because they have a smorgas board to choose from. I would hardly say that finding a job here is "no problem" at this time. Not impossible, granted, but it's not "no problem", pardon the horrible English!

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by NCDREAMING

I have a finance degree with a sales/mortgage background and my wife is also in banking. Just because those are there desired fields it doesn't mean that is all they can do. When I first moved down here I took a sales job doing something I normally wouldn't do till I could find something better. There are alot of benefits to living in charlotte that it make it a much more reasonable place to live: cheaper rent, lower utilities, insurance etc....

Oh - I didn't mean to sound like I was discouraging them from coming - just want them to realize how it is right now. Things will surely loosen up in six months to a year (I hope!) It's just that now isn't the best time to come here, unless you have a job lined up.

I don't want to give the impression that we have a good job market here, cause we don't (especially for college grads). My son is 25 y/o, finishing up college, and he is talking about moving to another state (to get a job). I just hope that if he posts on C-D, there will be people in that city/town who would be honest with him about the situation there. It would be awful to pack up and move expecting to get a job - and 8 months later, be out of money, discouraged and far away from home.

[vermont23]

thanks to everyone whos responded so far...we're not moving until august..doing preliminary research and tryin to get different perspectives.. i understand its hard to get into banks at the moment but we've got various connections we're exploiting and wanting to see whats around before we make the move so we dont run out of cash after a couple months.. we're also considering other areas around the south, and possibly out west.