Comfortable Living at 33??? JOBS (Myrtle Beach, Little River: short sales, rent, how much)

[rwd350]

Hi, its been quite some time since I've been on here! My wife and I are waiting for the house to sell. (we all know how that's going!)

I've been looking for the past year, off and on, at homes in the area. (Little River, Forestbrook, Surfside, Murrells Inlet). There are PLENTY of good looking deals out there. We just need to sell the house!!!

I'm open to any opinions or suggestions/comments etc. on this subject.

First of all we are both 33. No kids yet (we DO have one on the way in 6 months though) Wifes an accountant and has a very good background in bartending.
I am a maintenance tech at Little Debbie's Snacks, have a machinst degree, carpentry background (built my own home), motorcycle/atv mechanic, and open to just about anything new to try!(we just bought our first boat, a 30ft bayliner, so I have learned much about boats and also rebuilt my drive on it with no problems. Working at a marina is also something I'd like too.

I'd like a change from working for a big company. I would actually like to bartend! Wife says I'd be good. I know the area out there pretty well and think that would be a good job to try.

He's my point in question.....
Our house is paid off. With the money recieve from the sale of our home, we could buy a home around the $200,000 range and still have some in the bank.
Not having lived there before, would there be any problems living there with a home that's paid off, our first child, no family (I'll write more on this) , and a drop of salary for the both of us???

We are NOT big spenders, have enjoyed our time together for the past 15 years, and are ready to be parents.

The family thing has been QUITE ROUGH!! My wifes dad passed away almost two years ago. Her mom and brother couldn't handle the loss of the dad and took there own lives, about two weeks after. The rest of her family lives in California.

My parents divorced about 6 years ago. My dad and brother live here, in Arkansas(which I dislike, not them living here, the fact that its ARKANSAS I don't like) My mom moved back to upstate NY at the time of divorce. She passed away on Mother's Day this year at 55 from lung cancer.

Dad doesn't have much to do with us. Brother is turning over a new leaf, and has had a little trouble. He's doing good now. He has a second child as of a week ago. The first is only 13 months! So there are BUSY!!

Allergies kill me here! (they don't on the coast! east,west or gulf!)

I love the ocean and water!! And the people, the boats, everything!!

We're not running from anything, but would like to have a fresh start on our new lives as parents.

There is nothing worthwhile to do where we live. (unless you enjoy spending $$ on gas to get somewhere! Then you're STILL not any place worth while in my opinion. I grew up as a child in the Great Lake area (Lake Ontario). I remember my grandfathers boat and am now kinda reliving a childhood dream now that a have my own!! It just needs to be in the salt!

SO.......... LONG POST. I FEEL BETTER.

Comments?

Thanks.

I'll check back later!

Rob

[BeachTeach07]

I have one comment about the bartending. It is very difficult to make a living, much less raise a family, with bartending as your soul profession in the Myrtle Beach area. You can make pretty good money during the summer months and maybe golf season, but the winter months are ghost-town-like around here. Most bartenders make the standard 2.13/hour so you won't be getting a paycheck after taxes.

Personally, I might do it a few nights a week or just during the summer. The money is not dependable enough to live off of.

[rwd350]

Originally Posted by BeachTeach07

I have one comment about the bartending. It is very difficult to make a living, much less raise a family, with bartending as your soul profession in the Myrtle Beach area. You can make pretty good money during the summer months and maybe golf season, but the winter months are ghost-town-like around here. Most bartenders make the standard 2.13/hour so you won't be getting a paycheck after taxes.

Personally, I might do it a few nights a week or just during the summer. The money is not dependable enough to live off of.

Thank you for your post.

The last few times we were out there we talked to a few bartenders. They said the same thing. But......

They ALSO said how much they made. Which was quite a bit more than my wife made at the time. (She bartended "Part-time" 2 nights a week, for 4 years. Making over $30,000 a year averaging 15-16 hrs a week!) No exaggeration.

Where she worked, had its ups and downs, peaks and valleys.

I personally find money management to be the problem when it comes to bartending and the "SLOW" times (ie-winter). Most people do not manage their money and account for the off-season.

Example...

If you average $150 per day/night and "only" worked 3 nights a week, that equals ......$450 a week. My wife averaged at least 200-250 a night. The people in MB we talked to said that that was about their average also.....DURING THE WEEK! Not the busy weekends. Where they averaged 500+ per Fri and Sat. nights (EACH NIGHT, Not one.)

So... if a person cannot manage their money off of an average of AT LEAST, $800 a week, they are to blame, not the slow season where the money is slow.

We also shouldn't have too many expenses (other than the little one).

While renting a place for a while and looking to buy and feel out the area, our house money will be earning enough interest to pay the rent.

That is one reason I'd like to try bartending or just something new.

We shouldn't HAVE TO get the same pay we are getting here, letting us try something we totally enjoy. (which, for my wife would be bartending)

Me..... just not sure. I'd like to work outside or something. But I know what you can make bartending, and its pretty simple, as long as you have good karma and are the "tending" type.

Thanks and.....good day!

Rob

[Marylandsailor]

Rob,

I'm in the same boat, waiting for an offer on my house here in Maryland. Just lowered my house price here too. Market is VERY slow. As far as work, you have to "follow your bliss". If bartending does it for you, by all means, do it. It may be that it's only a stepping stone to something else or you may stay with it. You won't know till you do it and see.

Brad

[rwd350]

Originally Posted by Marylandsailor

Rob,

I'm in the same boat, waiting for an offer on my house here in Maryland. Just lowered my house price here too. Market is VERY slow. As far as work, you have to "follow your bliss". If bartending does it for you, by all means, do it. It may be that it's only a stepping stone to something else or you may stay with it. You won't know till you do it and see.

Brad

Good luck to you on you're home too! I'm assuming you sail??

I'm a new boater! I love it!

We bought our boat with intentions on living aboard a month or so in the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. (Its now in a lake in Oklahoma, Grand Lake.) We thought since we're here and waiting.... might as well use it!

Good experience for me on the lake first... before the ICW and the Big water!

Thanks for you input!

Rob

[Marylandsailor]

Hi Rob,

Yes I sail, but at present time "boatless". I have lived aboard and it was an adventure. Been down the ICW to Florida too. Believe it or not, the most "dreaded" part of the ICW for me and others is the stretch in Myrtle Beach called the "rockpile". It seems that the ICW at that point has quite a few submerged rocks for a couple of miles and you MUST stay in the channel. I had a wide catamaran, so when another big boat was passing you had to get way over to the edge. It was a little nerve wracking. If my house doesn't sell here by this time next year, I'll rent it out and just move down to MB anyway. The home selling market here is very slow for "regular" sellers. The houses that are moving are short sales, forclosures and people desperate to sell. I'm not in any of those positions, so I'll wait till the inventory thins a bit. They have the BRAC in this area which is the military base realignment so there will be thousands of families moving to the area starting next year. That should help the market pick up.

Brad

[Tinabean]

RWD350 -
Congrats on your new baby and determination to start a fresh new life away from painful memories. Let me be the first to welcome your family to SC and to wish you much happiness here. You and your wife seem to have some very marketable skills outside of bartending. I encourage everyone to follow their dreams and if bartending is it, then you should do it. If bartending is just something you are interested in, perhaps you can look to secure a position using your specialized talents in mechanics and then work 2 nights per week as a bartender? Also, you might want to "divide and conquer" the risks of slow season bartending by having your wife work part-time in an accounting position and bartend part time. Just some suggestions to help you mitigate your exposure..... Medical benefits for the little one may be important for you so if someone has a secure position working for a firm, it might be really helpful for your family. Take care and best of luck!!!!

[rwd350]

Originally Posted by Marylandsailor

Hi Rob,

Yes I sail, but at present time "boatless". I have lived aboard and it was an adventure. Been down the ICW to Florida too. Believe it or not, the most "dreaded" part of the ICW for me and others is the stretch in Myrtle Beach called the "rockpile". It seems that the ICW at that point has quite a few submerged rocks for a couple of miles and you MUST stay in the channel. I had a wide catamaran, so when another big boat was passing you had to get way over to the edge. It was a little nerve wracking. If my house doesn't sell here by this time next year, I'll rent it out and just move down to MB anyway. The home selling market here is very slow for "regular" sellers. The houses that are moving are short sales, forclosures and people desperate to sell. I'm not in any of those positions, so I'll wait till the inventory thins a bit. They have the BRAC in this area which is the military base realignment so there will be thousands of families moving to the area starting next year. That should help the market pick up.

Brad

That DOES sound nerve wracking!!

Good Luck on everything!

[rwd350]

Originally Posted by Tinabean

RWD350 -
Congrats on your new baby and determination to start a fresh new life away from painful memories. Let me be the first to welcome your family to SC and to wish you much happiness here. You and your wife seem to have some very marketable skills outside of bartending. I encourage everyone to follow their dreams and if bartending is it, then you should do it. If bartending is just something you are interested in, perhaps you can look to secure a position using your specialized talents in mechanics and then work 2 nights per week as a bartender? Also, you might want to "divide and conquer" the risks of slow season bartending by having your wife work part-time in an accounting position and bartend part time. Just some suggestions to help you mitigate your exposure..... Medical benefits for the little one may be important for you so if someone has a secure position working for a firm, it might be really helpful for your family. Take care and best of luck!!!!

Thank you very much for your post!

We are looking forward to a move to the coast.

I just recieved an e-mail from someone in LA, Cali, on our home. They seem quite interested and have been looking in our area. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Anyhow, what happens.....happens!

Have a nice day!

Rob and Tara

[southernbychoice14]

I think it sounds like you have good money sense...so you will be fine! Sometimes a new start is worth it anyway.