Need to get out of MI.... seriously considering Coastal NC! (Charlotte: appointed, rentals)

[paytontaylor33]

Hi everyone. This is my first blog here so hopefully I'm doing everything correctly.

My daughter recently moved to Jacksonville, NC to be with her Marine husband, and on a trip down there we fell in love with the coastal/ Wilmington area. I currently live in Michigan with my husband and two high school age children. I'm an LPN so I'd imagine I could get a job anywhere. My husband has no college degree but loves to fix things. What are your guys views on jobs down there? We'll also need a place to live prefferably renting at first. Does anyone know about tranferring an LPN license. What are some good cities that are near the coast and family oriented. My daughter also needs a decent mall. Haha. I've heard good things about Leland and not so good things about Wilmington... School systems? Any help you could give would be great! Thanks All.

[castufari]

Nursing info: North Carolina Board of Nursing

Jobs wise, there are a few hospitals but nothing like the Raleigh area. In some places it's competitive with salaries being pushed down for nurses due to a glut of them.

[LLN]

I think Wilmington is both underrated and overrated at the same time. It is not all that great, but is not as bad as many stories you will read. I lived on Oak Island in late 90's and was disappointed in Wilmington. I always thought it had so much potential but never lived up. It does have about the only good mall down here, and it is not that great.

We are in New Bern and like it much, much, better than Wilmington. New Bern is a small town, but our hospital is one of the bigger ones on the central coastal area. You could probably get a job here. The schools are ok, but nothing exception, but again, not as bad as the "gang" threads you will read about. I have two children there, and their biggest complaints are the limited course offerings, compared to their previous school in Charlotte. Our mall is awful.

The big hospital area down this way is in Greenville. A bit farther inland, but still a couple hours, I think to the coast. Greenville also has a decent mall.

You might look at Morehead City, small hospital, a bit expensive, but the shopping is better than New Bern.

There is no single best answer. You will just have to investigate.

The schools in Eastern NC take a lot of heat. I feel if kids want to do well, they can, and if they do not want to, they wont. Simple.

Good Luck.

lln

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by paytontaylor33

Hi everyone. This is my first blog here so hopefully I'm doing everything correctly.

My daughter recently moved to Jacksonville, NC to be with her Marine husband, and on a trip down there we fell in love with the coastal/ Wilmington area. I currently live in Michigan with my husband and two high school age children. I'm an LPN so I'd imagine I could get a job anywhere. My husband has no college degree but loves to fix things. What are your guys views on jobs down there? We'll also need a place to live prefferably renting at first. Does anyone know about tranferring an LPN license. What are some good cities that are near the coast and family oriented. My daughter also needs a decent mall. Haha. I've heard good things about Leland and not so good things about Wilmington... School systems? Any help you could give would be great! Thanks All.

Hi, we live in western Carteret County. We're thirty minutes from Jacksonville, forty-five minutes from New Bern, and under twenty minutes to Morehead City. This map will orient you to the area. You can zoom in to see services.

Our home is in Bluewater Cove on the White Oak River. One of our neighbors works in New Bern. We have a couple of people in the neighborhood who work at the hospital in Morehead City.

We are definitely not a city area, but because of proximity to Jacksonville, New Bern, and Morehead City, it is no problem finding the services you need.

The schools are very good and as you can see from this article, Croatan High just won a national award (http://www.jdnews.com/news/silver_61083___article.html/high_school.html - broken link) as one of the best schools in the country.

Your husband could likely get a job doing maintenance with one of the rental companies. There are plenty of rentals available.

If you want a close family oriented area with many of the advantages of city living but without a lot of the problems, this is a great spot especially if you love the beach, and water. We also have the 158,000 acres of the Croatan National forest protecting us.

You can read what I have written at my blog about the area or browse the older articles at the index.

I just worked with a young couple with some Michigan ties. The husband told me parts of the National Forest reminded him of home.

[abradl04]

I have to say I thought that I wrote this post. I am an LPN from michigan also with two high school kids and an elementary kid, my husband is a builder/remodeler and I love the beach(well are family does) . My daughter also loves the mall. I want to get my RN and we need to find a place to rent and work, have you had any luck? Please let me know what you found out!

[shorenlife]

Topsail Schools are excellent schools. They are in Pender county and offer alot of extras. Take a peak at credits in Nc and you will see that Topsail is very high standing. Hampstead is a nice little town and Wilmington and Jacksonville are not far away.

[Karieleanne]

Hardly any jobs for LPN's here. Most nursing homes are even going to the RN's. Overabundance of nurses here.
Since your daughter is in Jacksonville, I'd definitely choose Hampstead.