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Hello, I'm thinking of moving from Asheville to Greensboro and would like to know about the african american population/experience.
I am a 32 year old dentist who is highly motivated to open or purchase a quality dental practice in the near future. Are there any locations in the triad area currently where one can open a patient centered dental practice and expect a decent level of business with a fairly high level of pedestrian traffic versus strip center-like areas?
I also have a 2 year old sweet daughter. Therefore, education, child care, family activities, access to a good church (non-denominational), art, diversity, extracurricular activities (gymnastics, swimming, dance, music) and safety are very high on the list. Any recommendations are welcomed and valued when it comes to these things.
What neighborhoods are nice, safe and have good schools? I plan to rent a house/apartment until I purchase/open a practice.
Does the area have active black professional organizations that reach out to the community?
Is there a fair number of educated middle class African Americans? Asheville has close to zero, which is sad, to say the least.
Is there several African American dentist currently in the area?
Any recommendations for a top notch nanny and/or daycare (only thing truly holding me back)?
The most important things right now is providing a healthy balanced environment for my daughter, truly being involved/part of a good community, and accomplishing my professional goals. Can the Triad area provide this for a female black professional?
I understand that Charlotte/Durham was voted as one of the best places for african americans.... but I'm not interested in living in Charlotte/Durham(too much traffic). I would really appreciate some feed back, especially from the african american community, but all are welcomed to provide there honest sincere thoughts. Thank you in advance for your help!
Greensboro is pretty much 50/50 as far as the black population goes. There are two dentists who are black that run ads semi-regular on local television. As for the profession itself this city seemingly has a dental office on every corner but I don't know if that would be a good or bad thing for someone aspiring to open a practice.
Greensboro is pretty much 50/50 as far as the black population goes. There are two dentists who are black that run ads semi-regular on local television. As for the profession itself this city seemingly has a dental office on every corner but I don't know if that would be a good or bad thing for someone aspiring to open a practice.
Smile Angel, I'm not African American but I DID get my Master's at Howard.
There is a good sized middle class AfAm population here in Greensboro, many of whom are academics. There are 2 historically black colleges here.
I can't help you with the specifics (like activities and organizations) but I think you might find what you are looking for. Come visit, ride around, and talk to some local people.
I would contact the Chamber of Commerce. They might have information on current practices in the area. I know several NC Chambers of Commerce will hook you up with a current Chamber of Commerce member in your profession who can answer a lot of these questions. You should also consider contacting the Guilford County Community College. Professors who teach Business and Marketing courses are almost always happy to answer questions for people wanting to start a small business or professionals looking to open or purchase a practice. You can go to the GTCC website and scroll the faculty listings to find professors and advisors in Business Management. Call their office number and leave a message. Some might not be helpful but most will be. You can reach out to professors at UNCG as well. They might not be as accessible, you might have to get through an assistant but it's worth getting some solid info.
As for organizations that reach out to the black professional community, I'm not sure. There are organizations that reach out to people looking to start a business/practice in the area, there are local associations/groups of dentists and dental specialists and you could gather information from any of those organizations. I would contact as many as there are, at least the ones in the Guilford County area. I can also tell you, as bad as things are with the NC legislature and the division in our state right now, Greensboro doesn't usually follow state-wide trends when it comes to social issues. You asked about organizations that reach out to black professionals in the area and if there are, I'm sure they can give you some great information about and experiences as a black professional in Greensboro. I would definitely reach out to them for that insight but it's not a black/white thing- it's about money. Lower income/poverty level people go to certain dentists because they are willing to accept Medicaid and they offer other services at a lower rate than others. Middle-upper middle class who have insurance through their employers go to dentists who, even though they might charge more, have fewer clients so patients don't have to wait to get in when they want to, and they offer cosmetic and elective services that have to be paid for out-of-pocket that might not be offered or "upsold" at other practices. When I lived in Winston, it was difficult to find a dentist for my children who accepted Medicaid, although that was about 7 years ago now that I think about it although I don't know that much has changed. When I did find one, it was miserable. The service was okay but the staff were cold and the waiting room was about as big as the rest of the entire facility and ALWAYS full, loud and chaotic. I found out later there was at least one dentist in town who accepted Medicaid but did his best not to let people know. He took Medicaid patients by referral only through other patients who asked if he'd take them. There was so much need for volunteer dental services back then in Forsyth and Guilford Counties. I don't know if you have time to do that but if you do, it's a way to get your name out there, become known in the community, befriend those who are in need because not only is it a compassionate thing to do, many of those people will not always be in need of volunteer services. Once they find work and have insurance again, the will remember you. That and just word of mouth from others you're able to help will go a long way.
But in the end, business is business and you have to make money to support your family and to secure your and your daughter's financial future. My first instinct would be to target high-income patients but you may very well have a much more thriving practice targeting lower income clients who have Medicaid or work but don't have insurance and need a dentist for basic/emergency services that they can pay cash for. By the way, the North Carolina Dental Society has a classified ad section for dentists looking to purchase or sell a practice. I looked up their webstite trying to find out how many dental practices there were in Greensboro compared to Winston. I don't think Winston has nearly as many but I'm not sure about that. Anyway, I came across the classifieds in the process so I thought I'd pass that along.
If you make enough phone calls and meet with enough people in your profession and the business community, you'll find someone you just click with at some point who appreciates your determination and they'll probably end up being one of your biggest allys as you go through the process of establishing a practice. They'll have "grapevine" information- grapevine info is gold. You don't want information that just anybody can find online. If you're coming somewhere new, you gotta have a grapevine source.
I knew a black woman dentist in Oakland who carved out a niche market for herself by advertising as a "Pain Free" dentist the served all ages but specialized in Children.
Winston-Salem and High Point seem to have more ... walking, "Downtown" areas than Greensboro which seems a bit more spread out and typically "mall" oriented. (I've only been here a short time so don't take my word as gospel.)
As far as a good non-denominational church, my wife and I just started going to Westover Church and we absolutely love it. There is a good mix of all races there.
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