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Old 06-11-2008, 11:23 AM
 
Location: Heading Northwest In Nevada
8,952 posts, read 20,376,989 times
Reputation: 5654

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We are an older couple (wife/I) at 60 yrs. old and currently living in an apartment in Huntersville, NC; just north of Charlotte. We moved from Denver, CO to here last Oct.....had enough of the Colorado winters for 5 1/2 years! While in CO, I had two major surgeries (hip replacement and rotor cup/shoulder). The shoulder came from a fall in ice/snow. Unfortunately, even the winter here is just too much for us (and somewhat painful for my hip/shoulder). We know that it can get cold in JAX in the winter, but we still think we would like it better there than here. Originally, we were attracted to Lake Norman here, but have since found out just how crowded this lake can get......WOW!!! The people here aren't nearly as friendly as we were told they would be. Even at 60, we love boating, fishing, target shooting and a few other things that our bones/muscles still allow us to do. AND, since neither of us are retired "yet", we will be looking for jobs there. Wife is a Degreed Accountant (Bachelors) and I work in Purchasing/Inventory Management. Actually, there are more jobs there in those areas than there is here! We just want to pick a descent area (like here in Huntersville) to (hopefully) buy a house close to water (if possible).
Any help from folks who live there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
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Old 06-11-2008, 11:25 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,966,413 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoveBoating View Post
We are an older couple (wife/I) at 60 yrs. old and currently living in an apartment in Huntersville, NC; just north of Charlotte. We moved from Denver, CO to here last Oct.....had enough of the Colorado winters for 5 1/2 years! While in CO, I had two major surgeries (hip replacement and rotor cup/shoulder). The shoulder came from a fall in ice/snow. Unfortunately, even the winter here is just too much for us (and somewhat painful for my hip/shoulder). We know that it can get cold in JAX in the winter, but we still think we would like it better there than here. Originally, we were attracted to Lake Norman here, but have since found out just how crowded this lake can get......WOW!!! The people here aren't nearly as friendly as we were told they would be. Even at 60, we love boating, fishing, target shooting and a few other things that our bones/muscles still allow us to do. AND, since neither of us are retired "yet", we will be looking for jobs there. Wife is a Degreed Accountant (Bachelors) and I work in Purchasing/Inventory Management. Actually, there are more jobs there in those areas than there is here! We just want to pick a descent area (like here in Huntersville) to (hopefully) buy a house close to water (if possible).
Any help from folks who live there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
if you can make a living here, yes JAX is a great place to live
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Old 06-11-2008, 11:36 AM
 
Location: St. Augustine FL
1,641 posts, read 5,025,035 times
Reputation: 2391
I always recommend that folks have a secure job offer, or 6 months of savings before relocating anywhere. If you want to purchase a home, what price range are you comfortable with? There's lot of very savy and helpful folks on this board, but we need to know a little more to help you.

It appears that you have been looking at some job postings, just keep in mind that a lot of those postings are actually employment firms that are looking for resumes, and not so much that they really have a specific job lined up waiting for you.
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Old 06-11-2008, 01:43 PM
 
Location: JAX
353 posts, read 1,149,213 times
Reputation: 170
OK.... if you are boaters, Jax is the place for you. the St. Johns river is fantastic....

I ave many friends that live and boat on Lake Norman and those that have been down to jax for our poker runs love it here. The St. Johns river is nice and long and it's easy to disappear from the large boating crowds. It's nothing like boating on Norman. As far as the winters in Jax, you will see some cold snaps, BUT they are very short in nature. And the cold is at night. You won't see extended daytime cold periods (<40 degress). It may drop low at night but, it pretty much will get decent during the day.... That said, I have been on my boat on New Years day and the temp was 75 degrees. I used to live in Jax but I currently live in Greenville, SC and have similar weather to you up in Charlotte. I can tell you first hand the winter in Jax is hands down wayyyyyyy better. Very pleasant IMO.

Hope this helps.... Oh... and the boating is FANTASTIC!

RR
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Old 06-11-2008, 02:24 PM
 
Location: Heading Northwest In Nevada
8,952 posts, read 20,376,989 times
Reputation: 5654
Well, we didn't have either (a job or 6 months savings) when we moved from So Calif to Colorado or from Colorado to here in NC. Actually, in Colorado, it only took my wife 1 month to find a job after arriving there, but took me 10 months. It took her 3 months to find one here in NC and I'm still not employed (almost nothing here in Purchasing/Inventory Management b/c people staying on these jobs here). After arriving here, we pretty much lived off of savings and money from a sold house in CO. We know that the job situation is fairly bad in a lot of State/Cities, but with her degree in Accounting and her experience, we are pretty confident that she will find a job. As for me, no Degree or Certification makes it harder for me.
House: 1 story, 2 bedroom w/garage, near water for boating. Price: ask her tonight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by agreatlife View Post
I always recommend that folks have a secure job offer, or 6 months of savings before relocating anywhere. If you want to purchase a home, what price range are you comfortable with? There's lot of very savy and helpful folks on this board, but we need to know a little more to help you.

It appears that you have been looking at some job postings, just keep in mind that a lot of those postings are actually employment firms that are looking for resumes, and not so much that they really have a specific job lined up waiting for you.
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Old 06-11-2008, 02:36 PM
 
Location: Heading Northwest In Nevada
8,952 posts, read 20,376,989 times
Reputation: 5654
Well, Lake Norman isn't exactly what we thought it was like. For the size of it, there sure can be a lot of big Cabin Cruisers and Sailboats on it. And, b/c the winters here are "mild", we thought more people would be using the lake. "I don't think so!" Hardly seen one boat all winter. Just disappointing. In fact, we have been looking for a newer boat here (Cabin Cruiser) and they are more expensive here than there in FL. We were amazed! As far as the winter here goes, my wife's brother (from southeast FL) came here to visit us during Thanksgiving last year and after a few daytime temps of 45 degrees, he couldn't wait to get back home to FL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by R1v3rRat View Post
OK.... if you are boaters, Jax is the place for you. the St. Johns river is fantastic....

I ave many friends that live and boat on Lake Norman and those that have been down to jax for our poker runs love it here. The St. Johns river is nice and long and it's easy to disappear from the large boating crowds. It's nothing like boating on Norman. As far as the winters in Jax, you will see some cold snaps, BUT they are very short in nature. And the cold is at night. You won't see extended daytime cold periods (<40 degress). It may drop low at night but, it pretty much will get decent during the day.... That said, I have been on my boat on New Years day and the temp was 75 degrees. I used to live in Jax but I currently live in Greenville, SC and have similar weather to you up in Charlotte. I can tell you first hand the winter in Jax is hands down wayyyyyyy better. Very pleasant IMO.

Hope this helps.... Oh... and the boating is FANTASTIC!

RR
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Old 06-11-2008, 07:46 PM
 
103 posts, read 534,106 times
Reputation: 58
fyi is not a older citizen friendly city. if you are looking for a place to nest, I would suggest an hour south in Palm Coast.

Stay away from Jax, the only people who love this city are the ones who have been here all their life and dont know any better, or came from a crazier city. Jax has one of the highest crime rates per capita in the USA, and on adverage, 3 people are murdered in this city per week.

O, the river has had over 4 cases of flesh eating bacteria in the last few weeks, stay out fo the river.

Stay away. We are 10+ years behind in everything benchmarked in other areas of the USA.
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Old 06-12-2008, 05:57 AM
 
Location: Heading Northwest In Nevada
8,952 posts, read 20,376,989 times
Reputation: 5654
Ok.......first of all, we aren't THAT old (at least we are told that many, many times) and Jax isn't like Miami or some other cities in FL that can really cater to the young generation. And, we are not looking for a "nesting" place b/c we are both going to still be working jobs.
We know about the crime rate in Jax and don't plan on living "in" Jax. Heck, Charlotte's murder rate is high also. Almost every night the local news is telling about another murder in Charlotte. But, we don't live "in" Charlotte! Today, every large city in the U.S. has a high crime rate, Jax sure can't corner that market to themselves.
We haven't heard a thing about any "flesh-eating" bacteria in the river. I would think that if it was that bad, it would be on CNN......right???
If you live in Jax, sounds like you really hate it there!!
One thing for sure, there is "good and bad" to every State/city/town in the U.S.!


Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidSKi View Post
fyi is not a older citizen friendly city. if you are looking for a place to nest, I would suggest an hour south in Palm Coast.

Stay away from Jax, the only people who love this city are the ones who have been here all their life and dont know any better, or came from a crazier city. Jax has one of the highest crime rates per capita in the USA, and on adverage, 3 people are murdered in this city per week.

O, the river has had over 4 cases of flesh eating bacteria in the last few weeks, stay out fo the river.

Stay away. We are 10+ years behind in everything benchmarked in other areas of the USA.
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Old 06-12-2008, 06:31 AM
jmc
 
101 posts, read 863,018 times
Reputation: 48
LoveBoating, don't listen to DavidSki...yes the crime is bad in areas, but like you said, you wouldn't be living directly "in" Jax. Can't say I've ever heard anything in the news about flesh-eating bacteria in the river, not that it's the cleanest water in the world, but just don't fall in. We live in St. Johns County (south of the city) and can drive over to the beach or St. Augustine within a reasonable amount of time. We almost never go downtown, and we've never randomly wandered around a crime-infested area....our area is fine and safe for raising children. By the way, what part of SoCal did you guys move from when moving to CO? I've lived in both San Diego and CO myself.
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Old 06-12-2008, 07:07 AM
 
Location: Heading Northwest In Nevada
8,952 posts, read 20,376,989 times
Reputation: 5654
Last December, we drove over to Wilmington, NC where the Cape Fear River is. After seeing the water in that river, I wouldn't want to fall in or swim in that water either! Rivers like that are fine for cruising on or anchoring/relaxing on a boat on, but sometimes eating fish from and swimming in is definitely NOT the best thing to do.
When we were living in CO and looking in the Charlotte area from towns to live in, living "in" the city of Charlotte was NOT an area we were looking at.
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