unemployment 14.6%?? (Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson: how much, landscaping, income)

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by g-man430

Oh some of them sugar coat it like it's on a cookie. They think Greenville is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Look who is talking.

Everything in life can be viewed differently. My perception of Greenville is that there is little to waste time being disappointed about, but someone else's perception can easily be much different. For every missing amenity in the Upstate that someone brings up, I can respond with amenities that we do have which we did not have a decade or two ago.

[g-man430]

Mid-size cities had amenities we're just now getting like bike trails implemented a decade or two ago. Better late than never though right? I still can't figure out why Greenville is behind the times on these things. Where is our transit system? Will we get a good one before the other mid-size cities or be 20 years behind them like on everything else? I'll let you decide.

[Skyliner]

Were you complaining about not having bike trails a decade or two ago? Why complain now that you have them? Sounds absurd.

You keep harping on the same few issues. If you so desperately want transit, move out of your parents' house in the suburbs and into the city, or better yet, move to a large city where you can have everything you want and hopefully find contentment. It's that simple. You are young. Enjoy life while you have the freedom to do virtually anything you wish - within the law, of course.

[dlk33]

Where I live, we probably have all those things that seem to be wished for in GV, and we're paying for them with our high taxes! That's one of the main reasons we've decided to retire to GV. We also offer 6 months of winter & a majority of liberal thinking people. While GV might be less progressive, in time that will probably change. There are places for all kinds of people, and people for all kinds of places. What's nice is that we all do have the option to live wherever suits us best.

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by JS1

I have experienced the same problems finding work in Greenville after being laid off last December. My posts on this board were met with the same defensive attitude from gsupstate. Gsupstate is one of those people who think everything is hunky-dory in SC. It's not! So give it a rest, will you?

After three months of searching for work, applying to lots of jobs for which I was perfectly qualified, with experience, and willing to work for whatever they were offering (even half of what I used to make), and getting NO interviews AT ALL, I said "fine, bu-bye" and moved to Texas.

Greenville thinks of itself as a progressive, vibrant city, but it's deep down it's still just another sorry Southern town trying to hang on to the past.

I used to live in NY and would never move back, but there are other options besides crummy SC for those of us who would like to work without having to cough up such a ridiculous amount of taxes like they have in NY, CA, etc.

Since you addressed me name.....

I lived in several other cities before moving to Greenville (Dallas being one of them if you) and each city had their pros and cons.

I don't think everything in Greenville is "hunky-dory". Greenville has many things to work on. There is an attitude in Greenville though about working to create a better quality of life, that will not be found in many cities.

Facts are facts however.......when someone makes a wild claim that the jobless rate is much higher than what it is, I'll defend Greenville. Greenville's rate is at/slightly higher than the national average. In case anyone hasn't noticed.....there is a NATIONAL economic crisis. The same job issues happening in Greenville are happening around the U.S.

Recent finidngs continue to support the strength of Greenville, like the story this week of Greenville having the 5th best housing appreciation in the nation. A city doesn't earn these kind of ratings if it is just another old "sorry southern city".

In the end, any city is what you make of it. People will see a place in positive or negative light based on their own experiences. Thankfully, Greenville is a city that most people have a rewarding experience in and most see it in a positive light. If you want to call that sugar coating, so be it.

I wish you the best in Dallas, JS1....if you have questions about Dallas, pm me. I did my time in Dallas metro and moved on.

[HowardRoarke]

One other reason why job searches may be tough in Greenville is the fact 10,000 people moved to Greenville County in 2007, alone, in fact thousands were still streaming into the county, last year. Judging by other threads and posts in this forum, I'd venture to guess a lot of these folks are not only from out of state, they are from several states away, and are completely unfamiliar with Greenville. It takes time to network and get a feel for things, which put outsiders at a disadvantage when the economy tanked, last year.

I'm not in any way sugarcoating the situation, yet with those facts I listed one would think the unemplyment picture would be much worse. Despite the state's bleak unemployment numbers, most of SC is expected to turn around to pre-recession levels by 2012, which is good, all things considered. The place I came from isn't expected to turn around until 2014 or beyond

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by HowardRoarke

One other reason why job searches may be tough in Greenville is the fact 10,000 people moved to Greenville County in 2007, alone, in fact thousands were still streaming into the county, last year. Judging by other threads and posts in this forum, I'd venture to guess a lot of these folks are not only from out of state, they are from several states away, and are completely unfamiliar with Greenville. It takes time to network and get a feel for things, which put outsiders at a disadvantage when the economy tanked, last year.

I'm not in any way sugarcoating the situation, yet with those facts I listed one would think the unemplyment picture would be much worse. Despite the state's bleak unemployment numbers, most of SC is expected to turn around to pre-recession levels by 2012, which is good, all things considered. The place I came from isn't expected to turn around until 2014 or beyond

I have heard people say that same thing several times about the amount of people moving to Greenville from other states. Me being one of those people who moved here from NYC I would love to know where you acquired this information? You are right about the amount of people moving here though. Being from NYC I know first hand that New York has become a city only for the rich and has pushed the middle class out. This is the reason so many people from the northern cities are attracted to a place like Greenville where they can still purchase a nice home for under $200k.

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by HowardRoarke

Roughly half of the new hires at my first job here in '07 and '08 were not only from outside the state, they were from up north (mostly Great Lakes areas). As I pointed out in another thread, my own experiences at the place were somewhat negative, so I kept my resume in circulation and started looking for a job a mere 9 months after being hired, and it was the smartest personal decision I've made, besides getting married to my beautiful wife, and getting the F out of NY state. Sure enough, I got hired at a different place here in town, just before Armageddon hit in September.

Yes, unemployment is high, here. It's not 15% state-wide, but I hope it doesn't get there. Yes, many are out of work and it sucks. One key thing to keep in mind here is the fact a lot of the unemployed folks here are from out of state, due to the fact they probably had little seniority when the layoffs came. Seniority was used by my first job here when it came to layoffs, which was one of a few reasons why I started looking for work a year ago, and the new place doesn't give a rip about seniority except in some promotion situations.

I like SC and this is a state of no illusions. Greenville is a jewel which will continue to grow once the economy turns around. Several counties' unemplyment skew the #'s, and these have chronic unemployment, even in good times, and/or are heavily dependent upon one company or industry. Same as any other state.

While I would never recommend people simply move without a job lined up, folks from up north were doing this up until about 2 years ago. We rented before settling on a decent neighborhood, and were shocked to find the family next door (all 3 generations) had just moved down from Buffalo, with no jobs lined up, yet they were able to find stable, entry-level employment right off the bat. Family that lived behind us had moved to here from Rochester, a year before we did.

While some places may have a "locals", mentality, I've found this is more true in NY, as few places up there offer relocation, and very few people in this country move to a place such as Upstate, NY, from 2+ states away, for a variety of reasons. I've yet to encounter any hostility, here, and don't anticipate I ever will. I'm not a Southerner, don't pretend to be, but SC has welcomed our family, and we've settled well. If anything, folks were politely curious about us, at first. I can see where a company may prefer locals, but, I'd imagine that's the exception rather than the rule, here.

We moved to here for many reasons, to include a change in lifestyle, a hope our kids would make friends with kids whose families had some moral grounding, the lower cost of living/lower taxes, and we wanted some job stability after some turmoil at places where we'd worked in Rochester. Only the last reason has been a little ambiguous, but it's not the state's fault. Yeah, more economic development is needed, here, but it won't happen until things start turning around. Besides, this state has done a better job at it than most others with similar demographics.

1. Specifically to NewYorkBorn. I can't believe that a company in Greenville, SC would allow you to maintain your NYC salary. Of course your standard of living was great, NYC's overall cost-of-living is more than double Greenville. This is just my opinion, but that's why you got laid off, and if you're hoping hoping to maintain that same standard of living (or even close to it), that is why you're having trouble finding a job. The same "decent wage" in NYC = overpaid in Greenville, SC.

To answer your statement about a company in Greenville allowing me to keep a New York salary. The company that I worked for was in New York but has offices all over the world, Greenville is one of the areas that they have operations. This is the reason I was able to keep the same NYC salary, I transferred with the same company and they allowed me to keep the same pay. You are right though that is the reason I was laid off. I worked in their procurement group and was making $20,000 - $30,000 more then most people in the office. I was their biggest expense so when the New York headquarter office put pressures on them to lay off in order to cut operating costs me and a few other managers were the first ones to be laid off! This is the reason that I make sure to try and warn people that are interested in moving here that Greenville is a great city with a lot of charm and beauty. But lose a job and don't expect to get paid like that again. However one point that I would like to make is that I do not believe in overpay. There is nothing wrong with having some money left over after paying bills. There is no reason why people should have to suffer and live from paycheck to paycheck.

[ga2email]

I really don't like the way the greenville cheerleaders are attacking newyorkborn. I'm an outsider and was also passed up for locals on my first job that i felt I was much more qualified for. The locals had a little twang in their accent and seemed to relate better, so they got the job. However, I will say this, the buddy system happens EVERYWHERE, not just in Greenville.

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by ga2email

I really don't like the way the greenville cheerleaders are attacking newyorkborn. I'm an outsider and was also passed up for locals on my first job that i felt I was much more qualified for. The locals had a little twang in their accent and seemed to relate better, so they got the job. However, I will say this, the buddy system happens EVERYWHERE, not just in Greenville.

Thank you ga2email someone that finally understands what I am saying. Not saying that Greenville is this evil place but also not saying that it is perfect. No place is perfect, there are always going to be problems to deal with.

All I wish for on this forum is an honest balanced view between the good and the bad here in Greenville.
Let's be real there are some things that are going to affect us transplants when we are looking for work more then those that are born and raised here:

1) As you mentioned we do not have a southern twang in our voice so the minute we open our mouths it is noticed by natives immediately. This happens to me all the time here in Greenville. I speak to people when I am out shopping and the minute I open my mouth they ask me where I am from? When I answer that I am from New York City they say "I knew I heard a New York accent"!

2) When we send our resume to apply for job openings and the person in charge of hiring sees that most of our job experience is from a different state, guess what? They put our resume in the back of the pile and move on to look closer at a resume from a local. Sorry no one can convince me that is not the case a lot of the time. When I was laid off last year I applied for jobs that I am more then qualified to do (10 years experience) and where they were only asking for 3 years experience and still was not hired. Not saying I blame the natives for being loyal to their own but let's be honest about what is really affecting the job search of the transplants. Let's be real, they would rather hire someone born and raised in South Carolina then hire a transplant. To hire a transplant for the job means that will be one less job for their own. Actually went through this scenario before I transferred with the company I used to work for. The first time I contacted them about transferring from the New York office to the South Carolina office I was met with negativity. Their exact statement was "un-employment is high in South Carolina so whenever a position opens up we are committed to the community and keep the job for South Carolina people"!! One thing I could respect though was their honesty, they kept it real and told me straight out what their position was about transferring New Yorkers down here.

However as it turned out several months later, they had an open position here in South Carolina and could not find the skill set here that they needed in order to fill the position so guess what? I was flown down here from New York City to interview on a Friday morning............by Monday had a job offer from them! I am sorry everyone can say what they want about what I am about to say but here it goes. If Greenville wants to continue to grow it is going to have to diversify it's job opportunities to accomodate transplanted talent coming from other states. That is the ingredients that make a great city great. Having people with different points of views, life experiences and backgrounds. As it stands right now there are more labor related/factory jobs here then anything else and that can not continue. Again let's be honest there are certain skill sets, talents and expertise that are acquired from working in big cities that do not exist here in Greenville. Therefore in order for them to fill certain jobs they are going to have no choice but to hire transplants or transfer people from other cities to fill those positions. From what I have heard here in Greenville BMW has already had a lot of people transfer from other states to fill their management positions.

There can be no progress without change!