Teaching in NC (Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville: home, teaching jobs, private school)

[Travelgirl209]

Hi All,
My husband and I are looking to relocate.
We are currently living in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. My husband runs our small family business and I am an elementary teacher in a small private school. Due to the declining population in our area we are forced to close the business. Our school is also in trouble. After teaching for 22 years in the same school I can't believe that I am going to have to start all over.
I am trying to look at this as an opportunity for a new adventure instead of as a terrifying prospect of job hunting at the age of 47.


We have been researching different states.
We have both visited North Carolina and really loved it.
Can anyone tell me about living and teaching in NC? How is the Asheville area? I love the mountains.
Any help given will be greatly appreciated.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Travelgirl209

Hi All,
My husband and I are looking to relocate.
We are currently living in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. My husband runs our small family business and I am an elementary teacher in a small private school. Due to the declining population in our area we are forced to close the business. Our school is also in trouble. After teaching for 22 years in the same school I can't believe that I am going to have to start all over.
I am trying to look at this as an opportunity for a new adventure instead of as a terrifying prospect of job hunting at the age of 47.


We have been researching different states.
We have both visited North Carolina and really loved it.
Can anyone tell me about living and teaching in NC? How is the Asheville area? I love the mountains.
Any help given will be greatly appreciated.

Hi travelgirl - just wondering...why not stay closer to your current home and still get nice mountains in West Virginia, say near Morgantown? (which has a lot better unemployment rate than some of our cities and is supposed to be a nice university town).

NC is a place many love living. In fact, so many people from other parts of the country have wanted to live here too that our largest metro areas have quadrupled in size in the last 20 years. Right now we have a lot of budget issues and many teachers have lost their jobs while some positions go unfilled. In addition, because so many people have flocked here there is a lot of competition for jobs. This has driven our umemployment numbers to be some of the highest for larger cities in the country.

Asheville is a great little city in my opinion. Of course, it has its issues too, one of them being that it does not have a very diversified economy (it's mostly a retirement/tourist mecca). So depending on what your husband does for a living he may find getting a job tough. As a teacher you might have more luck there than our bigger cities of Charlotte or Raleigh though.

Now, I am not trying to discourage you - if NC is your dream state then come on down and find your spot I just think you need to understand there may be some challenges here that you weren't aware of. Best of luck wherever you end up!

[LLN]

The school budgets are pretty much in shambles and I expect most all schools have laid off teachers. I think elementary will be difficult for you.

My suggestion would be to look at some of the smaller counties/districts. Asheville, with UNC-A there, and its proximity to Western Carolina (a teacher mill with first year (inexpensive teachers) as well as Asheville's popularity (God knows why) will probably be a tough place. If you want mountains, look to more rural mountain counties. NC teaching is pretty low pay. It will NOT be like it was in Pittsburgh. Good Luck

[enlightenme]

Do your research! We learned the hard way that the pay is pretty darn low with expensive and crummy health benefits. The bad health benefits have been the biggest disappointment for us coming from a state where they were completely free with very low deductibles. The NC state health plan is horrible for the low wages they pay teachers. Check out other neighboring states to see if it is any better than NC. Some priority status schools still need teachers, otherwise most districts have had hiring freezes for new teachers. It isn't a good time in most states to be a teacher....

[Rtom45]

Travelgirl:
You may find it helpful do use the search option on the page you started this thread (search this forum). Education has been discussed many times and you should come up with an extensive list of topics.

[scienceguy12]

I might be moving to Moore County, NC for a teaching position. I'm excited to teach, but I keep hearing negative things about the teaching salaries and health benefits. Is teaching in NC really that bad? Will I be living from pay check to pay check? I should mention that I'm single and have no children, so I don't have a family to support. Perhaps the wages and benefits are not so bad for a single person?

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by scienceguy12

I might be moving to Moore County, NC for a teaching position. I'm excited to teach, but I keep hearing negative things about the teaching salaries and health benefits. Is teaching in NC really that bad? Will I be living from pay check to pay check? I should mention that I'm single and have no children, so I don't have a family to support. Perhaps the wages and benefits are not so bad for a single person?

State wide salary based on years of experience.

Salary & Benefits

Different counties have different supplemental pay as well....

We moved from Michigan "the taxes killed us" and seem to be doing better in NC with less pay...

[scienceguy12]

Thanks for the info. I'm from PA and there just aren't any teaching jobs here, that's why I'm really thinking about moving. Do you know what the schools are like in Moore County? It would be great hearing from someone who teaches there.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by scienceguy12

Thanks for the info. I'm from PA and there just aren't any teaching jobs here, that's why I'm really thinking about moving. Do you know what the schools are like in Moore County? It would be great hearing from someone who teaches there.

Haven't heard much about Moore County..But the area is nice

[Francois]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Haven't heard much about Moore County..But the area is nice

Moore County (where my dad retired) has two distinct populations: Rich retirees, and rather rural-minded locals. Obviously, you wouldn't be teaching the rich retirees. The school population is like any other non-urban county where the largest town (Southern Pines) has about 12,000. If you're a golfer, you'll LOVE it, but behind the areas catering to golfers and seniors, it's pretty small-townish.