Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in Las Vegas and I'm considering relocating this summer to NC. I was looking at Matthews,NC. I have a bi-racial child and that is one of my concerns. Nevada is ranked worst when it comes to education. I know there is racism everywhere, I just know nothing about NC and want him to be comfortable at school etc.... He is 12 years old. I have a good job here but that is all I like about Las Vegas. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I noticed the jobs pay A lot less in NC, everyone keeps telling me the cost of living is cheaper.
NC is great for retirees but not so great if education is important to you. If your child is 6'9" they will do great in school if they play basketball.
The Republicans in charge in NC want to keep the people stupid that will insure of them getting re elected.
NC is great at producing basketball players but not so great at producing Rhodes Scholars
Like I said it's great to retire here because the Repubs won't spend money on education keeping our taxes low.
Reasons to move to NC
You like hot weather in the summer
You like basketball
You want to carry a gun
You like low taxes
Reasons not to move to NC
You want a quality public education for your children
You want a good job
You want good pay when you eventually find a job. $11. an hour is considered good pay here.
Jbrooks, unemployment is still high in NC except for highly skilled jobs. I would suggest arranging a job before coming if possible. We see quite a few posts in the forum here along the lines of, "I've been here for 6 months, 1 yr, etc, and still haven't found a job." The standard advice is not to move unless you have a job lined up. The unemployment rate in Mecklenburg county was 9.3% for Dec 2012 compared to 7.8% for the country as a whole. If you're just wanting to move somewhere else and haven't settled on NC in particular you might want to consider a state with a better unemployment rate unless you have particularly marketable skills or can do a job transfer to NC. Unemployment Rates for States
I have several friends with biracial children. I think he would probably be comfortable at school. I don't think it's a huge issue here although I agree it would be naive to think anywhere in the US is free from racism.
I noticed the jobs pay A lot less in NC, everyone keeps telling me the cost of living is cheaper.
This Cost of Living calculator says you could take 4.6% less in pay and still maintain the standard of living you make at $50,000: Cost of Living comparison calculator
That's not a big savings, IMHO. I'd suggest going over to the Charlotte forum and search for comments on Matthews. I'd also suggest having 6 months to a year of savings if you move without a job lined up.
Depending your job skills, there may be other parts of the country with a better job outlook. Certainly there are other areas with good schools where being bi-racial is not an issue. For example, I have in-laws in Connecticut with bi-racial kids. The kids were teased a little by the black kids, but they survived because they have a strong sense of self-worth.
Last edited by goldenage1; 03-14-2013 at 09:06 AM..
I work for the local government here, I am considering the move for a better quality of life, there are actually seasons.... Nevada ranks 50 in education ( 50 being the worst ), the housing prices have gone down but you get no land little or no backyard at all. I hear NC is great. I don't mind commuting to work, it just seems a lot of people say there aren't any jobs, the postings I have seen for jobs pay a lot less. It's more important to me to have a good place to raise my child. I'm surprised at the responses because people I know have said how nice it is there.
Well, if you don't have any particular ties to NC you might consider Virginia, which has a much better unemployment rate, or even SC or TN which also have somewhat better unemployment rates. They're all nice states, too. North Carolina is a very nice place, IMO, but it's a sucky place if you can't find a job.
OP: NC may be apathetic, but it is not conservative. There are more registered democratic voters than republicans and the number of independent registered voters is not far behind republicans.
This is a wonderful state to live and it is going through a tough frame right now, so if you do move out here make sure you have a job.
As a Greensboro resident I have witnessed one minor incident with a bi-racial couple, ironically by a black person. A friend has bi-racial children and has not experienced negative racial incidents.
WFW&P I think NC is pretty darn polka dotted red and blue when it comes to politics. I really don't think it's even that purple which implies sort of a middle of the road position. I think there are a lot of staunch conservatives (witness our new governor), but also a lot of died in the wool liberals, too. NC has a strong tradition of both progressive politics (thinking of Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt, et al) and ultra-conservative politics (Jesse Helms, anyone?). There are some middle of the road-ers, but like much of the country there are strong voices from the far right and the far left in the state.
Of course, the OP didn't mention her political persuasion in her posts, just that she wants to move somewhere new, with 4 seasons, where her biracial child will feel comfortable, and that has better schools than Nevada, which ranks last.
I think our schools are pretty variable with some really great local systems, some fabulous magnet and charters, some poor systems and some white-flight charters that are a drain on local systems. Generally the schools in the bigger cities as a whole are better, but individual schools w/in a system can vary greatly — that is not all Mecklenberg county schools are great, but some are wonderful. OP, if you're really interested in Matthews or that area, you might post on the Charlotte forum. I think you will probably get more positive input there, but again, they will tell you not to come w/o a job.
Boy I hate to tell you to disregard most of the previous posts...but here's the deal.
The Housing is cheaper in NC than Vegas...Charlotte area is probably a good bet, the housing is cheaper than in Raleigh or Wilmington...I highly recommend Matthews, its a small RR town that molds new with old very well. It is a great place if you have kids.
As for the schools, keep in mind that NC school ratings are highly dragged down by its performance of its rural schools. I believe Matthews is the Butler (High School) district, which is a good district...I have extended family in that district and they recommend it. As to being bi racial, I don't think it will be an issue in a school that has some diversity...East Meck and Independence also fit the bill...
If you can get a job, I think you are on the right track from getting out of Vegas, the Charlotte area isn't the only place to go but it may be one of the best options if the job market works out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
