thinking about a relocation what is the job market like (Columbia: apartments, for rent)

[hyechica]

so me and hubby are thinking of a relocation. we live in connecticut one of the highest taxed states and most expensive to live in. we pay right now 825 for a 950 sq ft one bedroom apartment with heat hot water and a storage unit included. we get one parking spot assigned and the other car has to park in a visitor spot. complex has no ammenites such as a pool or fitness room

hubby works in food service during the college school year as a sous chef and during the summer he works for the state at the deep doing mosquito control and maintenance work.
I work in retail for a big box hardware store so transferring would be no problem.

what is the job market like right now for both food service, state wildlife jobs and retail what are the average rents like for apartments.?


we make around 44 thousand combined income and we can manage but some months its tight.

i don't think i would transfer at my rate of pay which is around 11ish i would probably make less but i am not even sure what the cost of living is.

are other areas more affordable than others.


do you pay taxes on your car? are there other taxes for people who don't own homes

right now we pay car taxes based on the mill rate of the town. we have to go through emissions every few years they charge 20.00. registration is about every two years and its around 90 or so bucks

to change over our drivers licences would we have to go through a lot of red tape?

if we do move we want to make sure we both have positions secured

[Ledmonkey]

Well for the Charleston area, you've got Daimler, Volvo, and Comcast seems to be adding almost 1k jobs as well.

[SCSUfan]

I would recommend Columbia or Greenville. Charleston is not the cheapest place to live and especially for a pay cut. They'res a lot of retail and restaurants opening up in these places and they're rather cheap compared to the rest of the US to live in. State jobs aren't the most prime job market down here.

[hyechica]

Ok how is the job market in myrtle beach about the same or more due to the traffic from vacationers

I know the cultural differences will be huge but I am a county girl living in the wrong part of the USA it's how I always felt

We are planning a vacation in August to myrtle beach area and charlston which will help in our decision to move or stay

[Ziggy100]

Charleston is a beautiful city with a lot of job opportunities coming up. There's a huge restaurant scene here and it seems like there's a lot of money being thrown around.
However, its fairly expensive to rent here. I'd try and secure a job before moving here. Some of the factory jobs for one of you alone would probably pay about $35-40K a year. If you don't mind country living, it gets far less expensive the further from downtown Charleston you are. Where the Volvo plant is opening up is in a very affordable rural part of the Charleston area.
The Charleston metro is made of 3 different converging counties (Berkeley, Dorchester, Charleston) with their own tax rates and school systems so there's a bit of a mix here.

I hear good things about Greenville and Columbia, so hopefully one of those folks can chime in. They seem to be in fairly affordable areas with decent job opportunities.

As for South Carolina, we do have an annual property tax on vehicles. Registration is part of that tax, but we don't have emissions. We also have a state income tax of 7%. Property tax is much cheaper than up north and our gas is among the cheapest in the nation. There should be little to no red tape on changing drivers licenses. My impression when I first moved here was that state and county government authorities seemed to take a general interest in saving me money. I was impressed by how well the DMV was ran compared to other places I lived.

As for cost of living try this website to get a general idea.
Cost of Living Calculator | Comparison Tool

I hope that helps.

[myrc60]

Originally Posted by Ziggy100

We also have a state income tax of 7%.

I believe the correct way to say this is that the top earners pay 7%, while many pay less than 7%!

Visiting the DMV, you will need official documents showing each name change you have ever had. Start with your birth certificate and then ask the following questions. Got married? Need that certificate! Got divorced? Need proof if a name change took place! Yes, they make it that difficult!

Coastal areas are going to have a higher cost of living than inland areas. Get a job before you move and go wherever it may be located.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by hyechica

so me and hubby are thinking of a relocation. we live in connecticut one of the highest taxed states and most expensive to live in. we pay right now 825 for a 950 sq ft one bedroom apartment with heat hot water and a storage unit included. we get one parking spot assigned and the other car has to park in a visitor spot. complex has no ammenites such as a pool or fitness room

hubby works in food service during the college school year as a sous chef and during the summer he works for the state at the deep doing mosquito control and maintenance work.
I work in retail for a big box hardware store so transferring would be no problem.

what is the job market like right now for both food service, state wildlife jobs and retail what are the average rents like for apartments.?


we make around 44 thousand combined income and we can manage but some months its tight.

i don't think i would transfer at my rate of pay which is around 11ish i would probably make less but i am not even sure what the cost of living is.

are other areas more affordable than others.


do you pay taxes on your car? are there other taxes for people who don't own homes

right now we pay car taxes based on the mill rate of the town. we have to go through emissions every few years they charge 20.00. registration is about every two years and its around 90 or so bucks

to change over our drivers licences would we have to go through a lot of red tape?

if we do move we want to make sure we both have positions secured

Most of the state jobs are in the Columbia are, plus Congaree National Park is located just south of the city. You might be able to transfer with your company or maybe get a job at Amazon. Your husband could get a job at USC or one of the other colleges or universities here. You do pay taxes on your car. It varies based on where you live. You'll likely pay a little less for rent and a little less for income tax here, with other expenses being similar.