I need some advice.... (Charlotte, Raleigh: apartment, to rent, crime)

[YeshuasGirl45]

Hello All.... Right now I am a student in college getting my Associates in Radiology to become a Radiologic Technologist; in layman's terms, I am learning and getting my degree in how to take x-rays. After I finish my education, I plan on moving away from the northern Atlanta Metro area and am contemplating between North Carolina and South Carolina. If this is of any help, these are the areas I am looking at:
--Raleigh, NC
--Charlotte, NC
--Jacksonville, NC
--Wilmington, NC
--Columbia, SC
--Florence, SC
--Myrtle Beach, SC
--Charleston, SC
**I know that I am posting under the NC threads, but I am going to repost this under the SC threads too.**
The type of area I am looking for has:
--Decent/Good Economy
--Moderate Crime
--Local Medium-Large Sized Hospitals
--Nice Residents/People
--Lower Cost of Living
--Art/History/Culture
--Decent Size(not a small town, but a small town feel...does that make sense?)
--Downtown Life
--Not extremely far away from the mountains and the beach
--Decent Weather (not too much snow or tornadoes/hurricanes)

I really am wanting to rent an apartment first and then see about purchasing a 3 bedroom/2 bath townhome for hopefully no more than $200,000.

Anyways, any help from you guys would be great! I still have another year before I move, but I really would like to be able to narrow down the area so that I can start looking for a job in that location when I am ready. Also, I do not have to live in a BIG city, but I do not want to be an hour away either.

Thanks ahead of time for any help that you guys can bring to me!

[SunnyKayak]

Out of the cities you choose Look at the towns that surround Raleigh and Charlotte and you will find what you are looking for.Charlotte and Raleigh have larger hospital complexes.

[YeshuasGirl45]

Thanx for the info! Any certain towns/cities in particular that you are fond of?

[SunnyKayak]

Im sure a Raliegh local will fill your in the towns that surround that area that also meet your criteria above.

Charlotte small to happening cities I would suggest Concord, Huntersville, Mooresville and my favorite is Lincolnton. Reason I like Licolnton so much it has active downtown where you can walk the streets, grab a cup of coffee and has all the needs you will need for living, amble restaurants, movie theatere etc but weak on the arts. You can always get that fix in Charlotte which is within 30 minutes give or take from all the cities listed above.
The People are extremely friendly with strong North Carolina dialects. Lincolnton is also right in middle of two other small big towns Gastonia and Hickory for more shopping and restaurant options and it only 2 hours to the mountains.

Huntersville is also a great community it really did not see it growth til the late 1990's and still is growing by leap and bounds so everything seems new but besides some town centers it does not have an active downtown. Besides being near Lake Norman it more less a bedroom community for Charlotte.
What doesnt meet your needs in the town you live in you can always go for bigger city life in Raliegh and Charlotte without all the drama all the time that these cities can bring.

[YeshuasGirl45]

Thanx again! I will have to look into those towns. I will keep them in mind when I finally am able to make a trip up there.

[5states4me]

I'd also suggest the Asheville area. This is a small city - if that makes sense. We have many big city amenities. You really ought to check it out.

[Asheville Native]

Yea, move to Charlotte, Raleigh or similiar, and it will just be like Atlanta, too many people, too much traffic, long commutes, etc..

You sound like you want a change, and with your degree you should be able to pick and choose. The smaller cities are the closest big city to the surrounding area, and as such have a pretty high density of medical facilities. If an area is big enough to have a regional trauma center then there is a lot of supporting medical practices in the area, yet not have the congestion I suspect you are trying to avoid by leaving Atlanta

[mm_mary73]

Rad techs numerous in NC - we have 4 community colleges and a private college ready to graduate ~100 techs + the ones from last year's class who still don't have a position. Try your current clinical facility. Lots of other areas in the SE - TN/KY/AL/MS