How does one move to CLT "for work"?? (Charlotte: apartment, mortgage) - North Carolina (NC) - City-Data Forum

pink caddy · 08-08-2008, 08:44 PM

Help me out on this question as I have not been "in the job market" for more years than I want to remember. So many posts state "I'm moving there because the job market is not too bad" or " I hope to find a job there".
My problem is that I don't understand how one can move to a city without a clue whether or not they will be working Monday morning. Not a put down ...only trying to understand today's working class.

Do these people have a job in the cities they are leaving? What leads them to believe the "greener pasture" theory? Why CLT? What do they expect?
Success stories. Disappointments.
In other words..the Good Bad and the Ugly.

I'll read all about it tomorrow. Right now it's ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ for me.
je

jstevens44 · 08-08-2008, 08:53 PM

I just moved here last week. I got here Sunday, so I haven't actually been here a full week yet either.
I know that I found a job here before coming here. In actuality, I found the job first, and then checked into Charlotte and decided if I wanted to accept the job and move here.
I couldn't imagine just up and moving someplace without knowing where your next paycheck is going to come from. You'd have to have some pretty deep pockets of emergency money in order to feel secure doing that.

XNYgirl · 08-08-2008, 09:31 PM

There are some careers/jobs that exist and there are many industries that are not being hurt by the economy. Charlotte will always need nurses, doctors, etc. I beleive they need teachers too, but this year I've heard mixed news about that one.

I definetly say, come with a job already lined up. Unless you have savings that you want to live off.

shannaCT · 08-09-2008, 03:09 PM

My boyfriend had transferred within USAirways, so he had a job, but I on the other hand was jobless for 3 months. I am a nurse, so I was pretty confident I would eventually find something, so I didnt bother looking before I left. I instead took the time to tie up loose ends with the move, etc. All has worked out fine. But again, if I weren't a nurse, I doubt I would have taken such a leap of faith job-wise.

We chose Charlotte because of the lower property prices and milder winters compared to Connecticut. Heating oil and the high mortgage in a questionable area made it pretty easy to decide.

zwally · 08-10-2008, 05:42 PM

My husband and I are teachers. When I graduated it was near impossible to find a position in MI. I did manage to find one in a charter school which was a nightmare. He graduated 6 months later, and tried to sub (and look for jobs). He had no luck finding a position and subbed 6 times in 5 months- and this was for 5 districts! We knew we needed jobs, so we took out a map of the U.S. and narrowed where we wanted to live. We wanted warmer weather; I wanted to be close to the ocean and we tried to stay away from areas prone to natural disasters. We ended up with North Carolina- it was a bonus that I knew they were hiring teachers like crazy from speaking to representatives at a job fair. Then we narrowed down from Raleigh or Charlotte- we settled on Charlotte. We focused our job search here based on research from this site and others. We came here to look around and interview, we came back a few weeks later in April to sign a contract and find an apartment. We moved in July, the day after we got back from our honeymoon. We really like it here after living here for a year. Yes, it is hot- but it is beautiful September through May. :-) Housing is affordable, it is a growing area, and it is green practically all year round. It is very different to be a teacher here than in MI (Huge pay and benefit cuts, work a LOT harder for less)- but we didn't really have a choice with the economy and job market the way it was. Overall, we are very happy with our move and are slowly setting our roots here and making it home.