Relocating to North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro: best neighborhoods, real estate, rental)

[syeshaspring]

Hello Everyone,

Our family is looking into relocating to North Carolina. Before we do we were hoping you could answer a few questions.
No. 1 I am a Master Plumber with 28 years of experience and own my own Business here in Montana. Are there any areas in particular that may need Plumbers?
No. 2 My Children are ages 17,15,8,7 and 8 months old. We are looking for a Quality School System and Safe Neighborhood.
No. 3 I have a Multi Race Family and want a Community that is accepting of all races.
We are planning a trip this Spring. We would appreciate any input on Areas to relocate.
Thank You.

[Metallisteve]

I can't speak much for direct experience with schools as my kid is still in the oven (due in July). But I can provide a recommendation...with admitted bias!

Charlotte may be a good fit for you. I base this on the fact that it is one of the most successfully (no apparent problems, dare I say very well and near peacefully mixed) diverse metropolitan regions I have ever seen, heard of, or experienced. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) system gets a lot of flak from folks for not having all of it's schools at an "A" status. I have had limited involvement with some schools in the area and my observations have no different than those I had in Florida (my former home) in some of the best schools in the country (having been raised in them and volunteered later on). I see the diversity in the schools as well. I tell people I felt like I was in a bag of M&M's (I mean this in a good way, not a racist joke sort of way). For every white kid, it seemed like there were an equal number of black, hispanic, indian, etc. kids...no joke. And this particular school was in a relatively affluent part of town (where from what I'm used to, it would be more like a 90% white population). Most people's gripes are about the perceived over crowding (show me a district outside of Big Sky Montana that's not overcrowded!) and some of the schools not getting a good test rating. My hard nosed opinion is that a kid from a good family that has done their part in parenting the kid and teaching them along with sending them to school will do fine.

As far as where a plumber would be neede dmost, I'd say a large metro area would at least provide the most potential...as opposed to a smaller town. The good thing is that a plumber is nearly an essential job...it's not an IT person, or a banker, or a real estate agent (no offense intended to any of those) which can eb and flow with the market. Folks always need plumbers...whether it's for new construction or for maintenance of existing. AS far as how many are needed, it's a game of numbers. Everywhere will need a plumber. But if you throw a random number on it like 1 plumber for every 1,000 people, obviously more plumbers will be needed where there are more thousands (i.e. Charlotte).

On the note of housing, I think you'll find nearly the whole state extremely affordable...with the exception of the extremes like the coast and the tops of mountains. Otherwise, you can run the whole gamut of prices...$75,000 to $7.5 million, Charlotte included.

But if put my salesman skit to the side for a minute, the state is easily accessible with the larger cities only a couple of hours apart. So you could definitely turn a week's trip into seeing nearly the entire state to get your own opinions forming.

As with anywhere in the country though, folks will tell you that you're insane for thinking about moving in "these times" without a job. I'll have to admit that it woul dbe gutsy to make the move now, but if it's something you want to do, don't let them deter you.

[castufari]

Charlotte should need plumbers, they are a lot of hacks down there. You WILL need a license to practice here in NC.State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors

[NCgirl]

I tell people I felt like I was in a bag of M&M's (I mean this in a good way, not a racist joke sort of way)

.

LOL Metallisteve! I love that....it's very true. I'll be using that phrase from now on.

syeshaspring This is a big state with many great places to live. What is your budget? What are your family's interests? What kind of weather do you like (or hope to avoid)?

When asking questions about a location, give as much detail as you can, so we can zero in on the info you need. If house hunting, what is your price level or rental amount. How many BR's, Baths, square feet, lot size, etc, do you need? Pets? SFH, TH, Condo, mobile home? In-town, rural, college town, military town, mountains? Schools for children? Gated community, golf course community, active senior community? Do you need to stable a horse? Is there an RV or boat trailer to consider? The more you tell us, the sooner our regular posters can reply with specificity. Same for any other criteria you have. Please avoid open-ended requests like "I'm moving to your city, tell me EVERYTHING I need to know."

[bri&kim]

Hello I too am a master plumber, from the state of Maine and my wife and I will be relocating to Granite Falls {Near Hickory} hopefully this spring.
As you probably know you will need to pass their masters exam but you can take a 2 day course to help you prepare. I would love to have the chance to talk to you off forum. If you would like you can e mail me at briancbetters@yahoo.com and I can give you a little insite as I have been doing a bit of research.
Good Luck

Originally Posted by syeshaspring

Hello Everyone,

Our family is looking into relocating to North Carolina. Before we do we were hoping you could answer a few questions.
No. 1 I am a Master Plumber with 28 years of experience and own my own Business here in Montana. Are there any areas in particular that may need Plumbers?
No. 2 My Children are ages 17,15,8,7 and 8 months old. We are looking for a Quality School System and Safe Neighborhood.
No. 3 I have a Multi Race Family and want a Community that is accepting of all races.
We are planning a trip this Spring. We would appreciate any input on Areas to relocate.
Thank You.

[Raivere]

Charlotte is way crowded. (Montana is a bigger state but I hear it is alot of land too) and as far as schools go, thats a laugh. Tell me if you are looking for something specific.

[syeshaspring]

Thanks to everyone for all the information.
We are looking into schools that are safe, have quality education, and have decent sports programs. We have been looking into the Greensboro area can and would appreciate any info good or bad about it. We will be visiting North Carolina in April and are wondering if there are any special events or places to see this during this month.
thanks again.

[superk]

The NC Azalea Festival is held in early April:

North Carolina Azalea Festival > Home

As is the Mebane Dogwood Festival:

Mebane Dogwood Festival: Mebane, NC

As is the NC Pickle Festival:

North Carolina Pickle Festival: Mount Olive, NC

[Ann in Oriental]

There is only 1 plumbing company in Pamlico County. We have to call people in New Bern. This is also an area that would be accepting of a mixed race family. There are lots of them here. It's very rural though so not much for shopping. There is a very good Charter school for K-8 and the high school works well for the bright kids in the honors classes. Google us and see what you think. The coolest town is Oriental, being right on the Neuse River. Lots of retiered people here who have no clue as to how to fix anything and have the money to pay someone. The county seat is Bayboro.

[trese]

Greensboro is good for schools, stuff to do and is close to the middle of the state. I would recommend a suburb of it though for best neighborhoods and to get away from any gang activity.

We live closer to Lexington, NC (Welcome) and we like the schools. But the little town we live in shuts down early! Looks like a ghost town at night so if you want lots to do then you'd be bored here.

I suggest you do a Yellow pages search for plumbers to get a feel for where they are saturated. I know when I am looking for a plumber, electrician, etc... I look for certain things like: returns my call promptly, accepts credit cards, etc...

I suggest if you are visiting for a week or so, start on one end of the state and drive to the other end-mountains to beach or vice versa and see what you might find along the way.

I've lived here all my life and don't think I will ever leave.