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We've been going to MB for 10 years-camping wise. We've been researching about homes and schools for the last 4-5. What we found is that Carolina Forest is having some major growth issues and from what we know, they are working on that end. But the traffic can be a nightmare-we've friends who deal with getting in and out of the schools for pickup. Traffic as others say can be heavy by 501. We looked into the Farm and the Avalon communities. We found there were quite a few renters-at least the homes next to what we were looking at. That turned me off a bit. We have other friends that live in the Silver Fox Landing-off 707 off Socastee Blvd. They really like it down on that end-much quieter and less traffic. We are from upstate NY also-all my family though is in NC-mine relocated to NY in 53. So we want to move back to be closer to family. Check Greatschools.net that will give you a least an idea of how schools compare down that way. As others have said, pay is going to be a big shock from what we get up here-although the way the economy is-most employers in my area are paying exactly the same as MB employers. Just the cost of living is much less than here-we are paying $4600 in property taxes. Heating and electric ran us a little over a $1000 for the previous 2 months. I am sure based upon those figures, you like us can manage to pay your bills when you get there since they are nothing like what we deal with here. Good luck on your search.
Just curious ... why would you move to Murrells Inlet vs Myrtle Beach ? I, myself, am torn. We live in NY about an hour from the city. We both hate the winters and are planning on moving as soon as my husband can retire (he's with FDNY). We were originally looking at North Carolina but the taxes are way cheaper in SC. We then found Carolina Forest which looked perfect .. however .. I am now leaning towards Murrells Inlet as it may be a little more residential. Any info would be helpful! We have two children ages 7 and 9 who will be in the public schools there. We are looking for a community with things to do however not too touristy ! (we don't need the traffic)
Thank you !
My wife, son and I moved to Murrells Inlet 4 years ago. What I like about Murrells Inlet is that it's out of the hub-bub of Myrtle Beach, yet still only 20 minutes or so away if you want to do Myrtle things (Broadway, mall shopping, Pelicans games, outlets, etc). Parts of Myrtle have some of the crime problems that you might find in larger cities such as drugs, prostitution, theft. Much less activity along those lines in Murrells Inlet.
My son is just now graduating from St. James High. He went there 4 years and both he, and we as parents, can give SJHS a good recommendation. Murrells Inlet tends to be a little more geared to retirement-age folks depending on community, but your kids will make friends at school. Murrells has all the convienences you'll need-groceries, restaurants, hospital, good doctors and dentists, hardware stores, etc. You also are close (20 minutes) to nice shopping and things to do in Pawleys Island (expensive, but cool place). Taxes are really great here, I moved from Baltimore area and went from about $6,000/yr. to same size lot and square footage home at $900/yr. And the thing you'll love the most is the weather. 60s-70s in April and October. You can survive the winter in a hooded sweatshirt. I've seen snow flurries twice in 4 years- they last about 15 minutes and don't stick.
One proviso, if you are depending on employment, make sure you have something lined up, the unemployment rate in SC is near 10% and the average wage here for non-skilled labor is around $7/hour.
Best of luck to you and your family.
One proviso, if you are depending on employment, make sure you have something lined up, the unemployment rate in SC is near 10% and the average wage here for non-skilled labor is around $7/hour.
Best of luck to you and your family.[/QUOTE]
Any ideas about skilled labor? My hubby does HVAC-R-working toward concentration on the a/c and refrigeration. Is the outlook good for someone like him down in that area? We ourselves prefer Surfside/Murrell's/or 30 mins away from Myrtle like you said to get away from the city problems and traffic, yet easy enough to go to when we want. Not a big fan of HOA's either. I have a degree in hospitality and tourism-I assume I should be able to get something in that being it's a tourist area.
CampingMom, you'll need to take a big bite of reality regarding the jobs market if you are thinking about moving down here. Many folks want to relocate to this area so badly they are ignoring the situation, and that's a big mistake. Both Horry and Georgetown counties (the Grand Strand area) have unemployment rates around 13%. The only reason it dropped to that level is seasonal hiring for wait staff, table bussers, and other minimum-wage tourism jobs. Most of Horry county is bordered by Marion county, which has an unemployment rate in excess of 20%. Those folks commute by bus a couple hours each way to MB, just to be able to have a minimum wage job. Construction and related jobs have been one of the areas most heavily hit, due to some degree of overbuilding that occurred down here prior to the current economic bust.
IMO, it's absolute insanity to move anywhere, and particularly the MB area, in today's economic environment without already having firm jobs lined up. I don't want to bust anybody's bubble, but the jobs market down here, at the present time, is not pretty. As info, the local Coastal Workforce Center website has links to several job sites supported by SC's Employment Securities Commission. They may be able to give you some insight into what's currently available.
Any ideas about skilled labor? My hubby does HVAC-R-working toward concentration on the a/c and refrigeration. Is the outlook good for someone like him down in that area? We ourselves prefer Surfside/Murrell's/or 30 mins away from Myrtle like you said to get away from the city problems and traffic, yet easy enough to go to when we want. Not a big fan of HOA's either. I have a degree in hospitality and tourism-I assume I should be able to get something in that being it's a tourist area.
Check out CareerBuilder.com for jobs.
I don't live in MB, but I see alot more jobs in the MB area than I do in Northwest Arkansas where I live. (This area was in the top 5 or 10 a few years ago, for employment. It is now is like everywhere else... slow).
I doubt MB was ever in the top.....what 50???, places to get a job. But I DO see more job potential there, than I do here. If I were to lose my job here, I don't know where I'd go. Of course the pay would go way down,(in MB) but hey......at least I see some jobs available there.
Yes, MB is tourist based and seasonal for the most part. That's a GOOD thing. People with money still go there and spend it (golfers, etc).
You lose your job here (in Arkansas), good luck finding one. When businesses are shutting down and factories moving to Mexico, finding a job is quite hard. I'd take a 40-50% pay cut to AT LEAST have a job, rather than not have a job at all (this is MY opinion, and my family is planning on "the move" also.) It would definitely be worth the move from Arkansas!
It all depends on what type of financial situation you're in, what types of jobs you can do, and whats available. I personally, think that the job market looks better there, than here. (as long as CareerBuilder and Monster aren't a bunch of BS). I haven't applied for any yet, so I can't verify that the jobs I'm seeing are legit. I don't know why they wouldn't be. (need some offers on the house first).
It sounds like if your husband does HVAC, refrig/air type of work, he'd find a resort maintenance type job there. (Check out The Lakes for a maintnenance postion). If your into tourism type jobs, not sure what exact type of job it is that you'd look for. But yes....the pay is NOT good there from what I see. $10-12 hr if you've got a little experience. (not necessarily a degree)
Just depends on your financial situation. (house paid off, vehicles paid for, etc). Good luck!
Oh yeah.... even though we live in Arkansas, I am from Upstate NY! Around the Finger Lakes. Skaneatlas to be exact.
Have a good day.
I agree with PawleysDude - there are NO jobs in Myrtle Beach, and if you are applying for one you are one of hundreds that are. I have friends that are having no luck finding a job anywhere.
Someone was looking for an Receptionist and over 300 applications came in, that was including people walking in off the street. Another company had a job listed on line and they had to pull the ad because of all the response.
I would not move here unless you have a secure job in place.
Just checked out Career Builder as a previous poster mention, to me that isn't a lot of jobs, some of those aren't real jobs especially when it says Nationwide. The other jobs seem more seasonal, restaurants, hotel and so on.
I agree with PawleysDude - there are NO jobs in Myrtle Beach, and if you are applying for one you are one of hundreds that are. I have friends that are having no luck finding a job anywhere.
Someone was looking for an Receptionist and over 300 applications came in, that was including people walking in off the street. Another company had a job listed on line and they had to pull the ad because of all the response.
I would not move here unless you have a secure job in place.
Just checked out Career Builder as a previous poster mention, to me that isn't a lot of jobs, some of those aren't real jobs especially when it says Nationwide. The other jobs seem more seasonal, restaurants, hotel and so on.
Hi. I posted the Careerbuilder response. Yeah, some of them are the "Nationwide Jobs", I don't even count those ones.
Where I live, in Arkansas, there are less jobs advertised. (thats not including the "nationwide" jobs, that I don't know why they put on there anyhow).
What I wonder is..... how many people that are looking for a job, and NOT finding a job, actually have a degree of some kind??? (Whether it be a tourism type job, seasonal job, restaurant job, etc)
Wouldn't someone with a degree, even if it had NOTHING to do with the job in which you're applying for, actually have a better shot a getting a job?? No matter what the job is (resort/hotel, hospitality, heck...trash picker upper for what its worth!)
Just wondering??
My wife and I are up for anything. We're in good shape. We just don't like where we live.
Lifes short. Live it up.
Be smart. Do your homework.
Don't live with any regrets.
It's better to regret doing something, and find out it was wrong. Than......
To NOT do something, and regret it the rest of your life! (Thats my opinion on life. I'm not very old. But have been through alot. Oh....yeah, don't forget the Good Lord above! I always ask Him for guidance and advice. Again, thats my opinion.)
Oh we are in no rush at all about getting there. We've been coming down every summer for over 10 years and not going into this just because we want to be near fishing. We are heading down again this summer to do some more looking into the right area for us-we can't stand HOA's. My family is all in NC/VA-I'm the only DamnedYankee(my Mom always says it's one word) in the entire family. We want to be closer driving distance to my family. But I am taking care of my Mom-she's 85 and we will be here still for some time. Not jumping into this at all. But since hubby changed careers after 21 years in the concrete industry(management), he's going get his feet wet here in the HVAC-R here before we head down. Even here in Upstate NY with my degree-I can only get a $7-9 an hour to start in the hotel industry-pathetic. I'll concentrate on working at one of the campgrounds probably-since I've been camping for 25+ years. If worse comes to worse-I've got a CDL B and have been driving a school bus here for 20 years(fits the kids schedule).Right now unemployment in our area is running at about 8%. Which is the highest it's been since 1984.
We'll probably be in good shape by the time we get down that way-in both what jobs are there and what we want exactly in a home. Thanks for the heads up-we'll be watching how things go down there. We'll be in good shape when we come-selling two homes here that are mortgage free-may buy a condo or two to rent out for extra income.
Last edited by CampingMom; 05-17-2009 at 07:51 PM..
Camping Mom - I am also in the Hospitality industry .. where are you located now ? (upstate NY is always a "broad area")
We live about an hour from the city - Hudson Valley area.
I know that i will be in for "sticker shock" when I go down there as far as employment. I actually freelance now as a Meeting Planner so I am crossing my fingers that the economy gets a little better and I will continue to have a job.
Myrtle Beach is all tourism so I can't imagine that you won't be able to find a job ... however I haven't actually looked.
My husband and I are going to look at the "Prince Creek" area at the end of June. It looks great --- just worried about it being too much of a retirement community ! I want the things to do in Mytle beach but could do without the crime and traffic. I thought Murrells Inlet would be a solution.. we'll see.
has anyone been to Southport NC ? I love it there as it is a cute town along the water with restaurants and shops .. however after returning there a few years ago -- it looks like a lot of them have closed up and not much going on there. I hope Murrells Inlet is NOT like that.
Well ... we will see in a few weeks. Checking out Bellwood Landing, Collins Creek and Highwood. I don't mind the HOA fees but don't want to pay to live on a golf course as we probably won't golf as much as we anticipate.
Myrtle Beach is all tourism so I can't imagine that you won't be able to find a job...
Famous last words... The tourism industry depends heavily upon a strong economy - people must feel good about their jobs and have available "play" money for tourism to do well. The local economist who provides reports for the MB Chamber is forecasting this year's tourist dollars to be 10-15% below last year, which was one of the softest seasons MB has seen in a long time. Latest forecast (http://www.thesunnews.com/business/story/908438.html - broken link)
Just this week, one of the area's largest golf course management companies entered foreclosure and one of the investment companies involved with Market Commons is close to defaulting on related loans. Some stores in Market Commons have closed and a number of others are seeking rent reductions in order to stay open.
At some point, the area economy will improve, but not this year. It will depend upon a lot of factors, but one of the most important will be whether the City of MB is willing to dump its current mayor and city council so that it can take a more pro-business and pro-tourism approach, rather than being controlled by a bunch of whining retirees who would rather not see tourists come to MB.
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Murrells Inlet
