Relocating from NJ (Columbia, Irmo, Lexington: for sale, real estate market, apartment)

[dlwdolly]

I have family that lives in Peak, SC and I absolutly love it there! Trouble is, Icannot find anything in my price range there. I have been looking around Irmo, Columbia, Lexington.

I am a bit overwhelmed by it all, Does anyone know how to go about the relocating process...Find a job first? House first? Sell NJ house first? and what areas are "good'. I have 2 kids 10 & 11.

[Carolina_1690]

I'd suggest getting a job first. Sometimes employers can help offset your moving expenses.

Lexington, Irmo, Chapin, Ballentyne, Dutch Fork... anywhere near the Lake will be a good area. All of the northwest Columbia is very suburbanized and new. You really can't go wrong out there. Good schools too in Richland-Lexington District 5.

If you're interested in the city of Columbia I can be more specific if you like.

[Rapture]

It probably depends on what line of work you're in. When I was moving here everyone told me that it would be hard to find something ahead of time because most employers won't take you seriously until you already move here. It doesn't hurt to look on monster.com and see what jobs are available in the area you're looking. If you see a job you want then send your resume and follow up with a phone call. I wouldn't do any of this until you have a better idea of time frame and area.

As far as area and price range, what is it you are looking for and in what price range? Is your heart set on that area or do you just want to move to SC? There are many affordable areas in SC.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by dlwdolly

I have family that lives in Peak, SC and I absolutly love it there! Trouble is, Icannot find anything in my price range there. I have been looking around Irmo, Columbia, Lexington.

I am a bit overwhelmed by it all, Does anyone know how to go about the relocating process...Find a job first? House first? Sell NJ house first? and what areas are "good'. I have 2 kids 10 & 11.

Hi, I'm a NJ native and I've been in Columbia for quite some time. I would recommend selling your house in NJ first, then finding a job here (if that's a necessity) then renting an apartment or house for 6 months or so until you can decide what area you like. My website has pictures from around town if you'd like a photo tour. The Peak area is close to the lake and very expensive. The price of real estate in most of the Columbia area will be much less than in New Jersey.

http://www.freewebs.com/waccamatt/index.htm

[dlwdolly]

Originally Posted by Rapture

It probably depends on what line of work you're in. When I was moving here everyone told me that it would be hard to find something ahead of time because most employers won't take you seriously until you already move here. It doesn't hurt to look on monster.com and see what jobs are available in the area you're looking. If you see a job you want then send your resume and follow up with a phone call. I wouldn't do any of this until you have a better idea of time frame and area.

As far as area and price range, what is it you are looking for and in what price range? Is your heart set on that area or do you just want to move to SC? There are many affordable areas in SC.

I really like the Peak, Lake Murry area but yes it is too expensive. I like the seclusion of that area the most. The woods, neighbors are ok if not too close. Price range under $200,000. I have looked at Irmo, Columbia, Lexington, Little Mountain, Blythewood and they have some great homes there but the area info is a little scary. I guess I am looking for a "Mayberry" of sorts just like someone else on here said...LOL. I hate NJ, always have ( I am originally from California). I heard Chapin was a great school district but I am not ahving any luck with homes in that area.

So in a nutshell, I want woods, seclusion but not too secluded and friendly people. Also low low low crime.

[waccamatt]

May I ask what was scary about the area info?

[Carolina_1690]

Yeah what's scary about it? If you live in the sticks then you have nothing to worry about.

When it comes to looking for land in secluded places, my advice is to get an a apartment or rent a house first, and then explore. The true gems are something that you need to keep your eye out for. It might be better to buy land and build a home. You never know.

[dlwdolly]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

May I ask what was scary about the area info?

I just mean it is scary to just look at raw numbers without really knowing anything.

[mpaquette]

when my wife and I decided we wanted to move to SC we first began looking for jobs. To our surprise, we found work rather quickly. The job location dictated where we were going to live. In our case in was Lexington. We put our house up for sale and rented for about 4 months while we searched for a house to purchase. Fast forward 7 months later and the good part is that we now own a house in Lexington, the bad part is that our house in Michigan still has not sold. In hindsight I don't know if I would have things any differently. The real estate market in Michigan is simply horrible right now. Since you are thinking of moving to an area that you don't know much about, I highly recommend renting for a few months. This gives you chance to explore and find exactly what works for you.

[ljkbsb]

It all depends on your local real estate market. I would suggest you find a job first but ask for 1 month to get your affairs in order. Have your house ready to sell before you apply for jobs so you can list immediately. Do not overprice your house for the neighborhood. My husband took a job in South Carolina while we were living in Kansas with a start date 2 weeks from his acceptance. We had to fix our "need to fix items" and I was left behind to do all the packing and sell our house. We did not overprice our home and sold it in 2 weeks, so I moved one month later. I thank God that the process went as smoothly as it did. We probably didn't make as much money as we could of as if we weren't in a hurry, but we made a profit on the home and only had to make 1 month of double payments. I feel fortunate.