Leaving NJ - maybe - not sure where to go. (Columbia: sales, real estate)

[nic529]

My family and I have lived in NJ all our lives. Its getting too expensive up here and we are considering moving. My biggest concerns are: schools, safety, and employment.

I am an executive assistant, so hopefully it won't be too hard find something for me. Does anyone know what the pay range is?

My husband's employment will probably be harder to find. The biggest concern right now. He is Assistant Parts manager at a Chevrolet Dealership. His salary is 60,000+. Any advice on where he should be looking and what his salary range would be great.

I have a daughter in high school - she's gets really good grades, and she's a cheerleader. She's not a "great" cheerleader but she loves it, so I would hope to find somewhere she'd still make the squad. She definately needs to be challenged academically. And I have a son in kindergarten.

I don't know what price range we'd be looking at because I don't know what kind of salaries to expect.

We are currently researching VA, NC, and SC.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks!

[baylovers]

nic529.... what type of geography are you looking for? City, mountains, beach? Be aware that the salaries down here are very low compared to NY/NJ & I can't imagine the need for an executive assistant anywhere except for the areas of Charleston & Columbia. And I would imagine that it would difficult to get into a decent position with connections.

Now, the as far as the auto sales industry... I have never seen so many car dealerships before in my life! He may not do so bad.

[nic529]

Thank you Baylovers. Probably not a big fast city. We live in small town now and really like it. Except for the "everyone knows everyone and everyone's business" LOL.

You know...all I really want is a nice neighborhood where my kids can play with good schools....not too far from work...maybe a 1/2 hour - and nice people. We like to talk to people and make friends. Not huge on community events, but we are neighborly and we like people. We'd love to get about an acre - but again - not sure what we'll be able to afford. I'm thinking somewhere in the $200,000 range? Less maybe. I don't really know. Let me say this....I dont need 4000 square feet, LOL. 2000 - 2500 would be nice.

[imperieux]

My family and I relocated from the Southern NJ/Philadelphia area over a year ago and settled in Summerville SC and we love it here.

There are many dealerships in this area because there is a serious lack of public transportation! My husband is in car sales and was able to find a job very quickly in Charleston. He works for a very large automotive group with over 65 dealerships, including Chevy. Great company to work for and great benefits. It takes him about a half hour to 45 minutes if the traffic is abnormally heavy that day.

As for finding a home on an acre, that may be seriously hard or next to impossible to find in a housing subdivision, but you could buy a piece of land and build your home on it instead. I believe land is still available at a decent price, although I'm hearing it's getting more and more expensive. A call to a real estate agent could help you get an idea quickly though.

We have great schools (Dorchester 2 School District) and a brand new home that cost us a little over 200k for 2000 sq ft. We have friendly neighbors in a really nice planned community and although Summerville is growing pretty fast, we live in a section closer to Knightsville that has less traffic and it still has a small town feel to it. Although it may not stay that way for long with the amount of people moving to the area!

If you are researching different areas, I would add Summerville to your list, especially if you'd like to be closer to the beaches. If not, another area I would look into would be Fort Mill or Tega Cay, on the SC side of Charlotte, NC. Most people who live there commute into Charlotte for work. No beaches but wonderful lakes. Really great schools and housing is more affordable than on the coast here. Wherever you decide to start looking, I would suggest sticking to the suburbs of larger metro areas than smaller towns in order to find employment for both you and your husband.

Good luck with your search.
-Stephanie

[baylovers]

Summerville may be a good place to start looking, Mount Pleasant is another but the prices are higher there. There is a sub-forum for that area and you may get more info there:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/charleston-area/

[nic529]

imperieux - how do the schools compare to those here in NJ? How is the pay scale from one end to other for your husband? My husband is in Parts - so its different - but was the pay cut a drastic one? To the point where it wasnt worth going? I will check out Summerville and Mt. Pleasant - I've heard them mentioned before. thanks so much!

[imperieux]

Originally Posted by nic529

imperieux - how do the schools compare to those here in NJ? How is the pay scale from one end to other for your husband? My husband is in Parts - so its different - but was the pay cut a drastic one? To the point where it wasnt worth going? I will check out Summerville and Mt. Pleasant - I've heard them mentioned before. thanks so much!

Hmm.. I'll ask my husband if he knows already or can get info about specific manager salaries for you.And I think I'll talk to you about salaries in pm so I can speak more freely.


The schools here are great and believe it or not, my daughter needed to catch up at first, she was behind her class. Even coming from a great private school. But they have longer days than up north and they work the kids harder, IMHO.

I'll pm you once I ask about the auto biz.

-Stephanie

[nic529]

Oh great! I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much!

[baylovers]

To the point where it wasnt worth going?

We were just talking about this at work among some other "yankees" (Ct, Michigan & NY). For most of us giving up some salary, not having to pay $10k+ in taxes, tolls, gas, weather/snow & traffic... it was worth it for all of us. Quality of life vs quantity of salary is something you as an individual family have to decide.

The schools can be hit & miss so you have to do your research. The school district that we are in have been comparably good compared to the schools my kids went to in Long Island.

[nic529]

I've seen that Summerville seems to have a lot of decent houses in the 200,000 range - or would I be in the bad part of town?

Any info on the schools there?