thinking about relocation from Cincnnati (Raleigh, Durham: job market, schools, college)

[LaStar00]

I am a 27yr old single parent and college graduate with a Bachelor's in Radio and Television. In May it will be two years I have been out of college. I have not found anything in Cincinnati and people tell me Raleigh has more opportunities for African American's. The response I get here is I'm too qualified or they can't pay me what I'm worth.

Let me ask how is the job market down there? I want to get my Master's in Computer Programming/Web Design. How is jobs for college graduates? I do have family there so I can live with them for a while.

I am also a single parent with a son who is 8. He attends a charter school and I want to keep him in charter school. What is the best one in the city?

Also my son loves to do football so what is the best Pee Wee teams? His team won two super bowls, undefeated for two years and won tournament in Tennessee in 2008. So I would like to keep him with a winning program.

Well I think that's all. Oh how is the weather? Living in Ohio I have to deal with snow and living with my mom on a hill I hate it. I hate to shovel and would like to move from cold.

Thanks again

[lovebrentwood]

Unemployment is still high here.

One way to monitor how jobs are in this area is to sign up with Indeed.com with alerts according to the types of jobs you're seeking.

[Francois]

That's a LOT of questions in one post! Might search old threads, where you will find many of them addressed, or start a separate thread for each question if you get into a lot of detail.

I've never heard that this area "has more jobs for African-Americans"...NC's unemployment is in the top 10 states of the US right now, and that doesn't count people applying from out of state for every job. The Triangle's population is quite racially diverse, and it shouldn't be a factor either way in the job market (what job market there is).

There are good grad schools here, but you'd have to live here a year before you qualified for in-state tuition.

We have charter schools in NC, but it's frustrating for supporters because NC caps the number of charters at only 100 for the whole state of 9 million people. There is a lottery to get in a charter school.

There are tons of sports teams for kids here, not a problem.

Weather is obviously warmer than Cincy, but we are currently in the middle of a cold snap where it's been in the 20s-30s for several days. it DOES get cold here, but our summers are very hot and humid for about a month. You can get "almanac" type data from the City-Data city statistics or just by googling it.

Best would be to visit before making any firm plans to move. You might prefer Durham to Raleigh (since you mentioned race); Durham has a higher black population, but all areas of the Triangle are fine for race issues, other than the occasional jack@ss whom you would find anywhere.

[LaStar00]

Thanks for telling me. I am on Indeed and everything

[ncsualum2004]

My brother interned two summers in a row at a major radio station here for free (40+ hours a week at that) and has a friend at one of the local TV stations. He actually was offered a full time job once he graduated. He didn't take it since he found a job in a different industry for better pay and better hours. Low pay seems to be the norm starting out but after you have been there for a while you can move up to an ok salary.

Not sure how the job market is for programmers, NC State puts out lots of new grads each year. Keep in mind you most likely will have prereqs that need to be completed before applying to a graduate level program.