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I just wanted to get some feedback from some folks who relocated to NC and did so WITHOUT a work transfer. More specifically, those of you in this boat who had to sell your existing home in order to move.
Aligning the ducks in a row to make a relocation seems a daunting task. Did any of you sell your home, move down, rent then buy and do so without a job lined up? Did you find work before moving? How many used headhunters and was it productive?
Im in the banking field and while Charlotte is a major banking town, I know there may be difficulty in finding the right job. My wife is a physical therapist who specializes only in pediatric early intervention. My main concern is employment for her. Here in NY, early intervention is huge and she has a fantastic job. Not sure how this particular field is in NC. Getting off topic but if anyone has any insight on this I would appreciate it. I may post a separate thread.
I would like to see some replies on this as well..
I work in the banking industry. But I did come down to Charlotte from NJ due to a work transfer. There are plenty of financial institutions in Charlotte: Wachovia, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, First Charter...no shortage of companies. However, both Wells Fargo and Bank of America did have some recent layoffs and Wachovia is slated to cut back another 6%. So, you would most definitely want to have a job offer before coming down. There are plenty of avenues to look at, online, recruiters, head hunters, job fairs, but again make sure you have something before moving.
My suggetion would be rent before buying. Apartments in the Charlotte area have flexible lease terms- anywhere from 3 to 12mos although I've seen some 14 month leases. I wouldn't recommend buying a home unless you're really sure you want to move into the area. That's just me. A few of my co-workers did make the jump to buy a house as soon as they got down here. Others are paying a mortgage up in NJ as well as rent down here because they were not able to sell their homes. This was due to our transfer date, which was only about six weeks from accepting the offer. I don't own a home, but I would think it would be in your best interest to sell your home in NJ first so you don't run into that same issue.
Good luck with your decision.
Last edited by Yorkiegirl16; 03-26-2007 at 05:24 PM..
Reason: Adding a few sentences
Ok AM here goes..we made our 1st visit in dec decided we wanted to move, however WE ARE NOT getting a transfer for DH and we went into panic mode, we came back after new years I put the house up for sale Jan 9th, the fact that houses dont sell fast we had some time, now in the meantime dh was and still is interviewing, he is in charlotte right now actually has an interview tomorrow, they are paying for it...with that being said, he has plan B and has some connections so either way he will have a great job going down there...NOTHING ever clicks all together but it does work out...so now My house is UNDER CONTRACT we are closing June 1st, We couldnt go down without selling our home, but we were prepared for dh to go 1st if he was hired prior to selling our home...our house just went under contact last week, they are doing inspections on friday for here and we are coming down spring break to buy a house....My advice to you is start getting your resume out there, and talk and network with recruiters, my dh is in IT financial operations/business side there is alot of work there..he had 2 job offers however timing was very bad for us so he turned them down....with that put your house on the market and interview in the process chances are either your house will sell 1st or u will have a job offer before it sells...some banks will pay for relo and some company's wont...Like I told my hubby everything will work out however its VERY STRESSFUL and OVERWHELMING at the same time so breathe once in a while...LOL..anyway good luck to you..
Also this is our 3rd trip down already so we have choosen an area to live and the sub-divisions we want to live in....
We decided to move to NC for a variety of reasons. This was by far one of the most difficult decisions we ever made. My husband left his job of 22 years, and I am leaving my job of 10 years on Wednesday. We both had good jobs. We bought a house (had one built) before we sold our house here in FL and planned on moving, regardless of job status. We are not usually risk takers and always play everything safe, so this has been very stressful to say the least. We closed on our NC house 2 months ago, still with no jobs. On that trip, we had several job interviews lined up for my husband, and he was offered a job. He came back a few weeks later to start working in NC while I stayed in FL with the kids, continuing to work here. Meanwhile, we still hadn't sold our FL house & now had 4 mortgages! I was planning on moving up with the kids over spring break regardless if our house in FL sold. Luckily, we got a contract on our house a few weeks ago, and we will be moving this weekend. I will look for a job for myself after we are settled in and I can find daycare for the kids.
My advice to you would be to sell your place first. It is very stressful not knowing if you are ever going to sell your house. Renting is a great option initially if you are undecided about where you want to live. We did a lot of research and knew the area, builder, and model we wanted to buy. As far as jobs go, it is not so easy to get companies in Charlotte to call you when you are not living there already. Many of the companies who were very interested in my husband when we actually moved never called him when he sent his resume in initially with a letter stating we would be moving to the Charlotte area. Good luck to you!
I would find a job first then rent in the area even if for a short time to decide what areas you like. The mortgage lenders in this area also in bad shape. Rumors of huge cuts coming in several companies. Two friends in that industry just lost their jobs within the past several weeks. They have had no new opportunities yet.
We moved to Charlotte from New Jersey several weeks ago, without having a job lined up. And I can tell you, finding a job here is not a walk in the park for my husband. I've heard many people tell me that their husbands were facing possible lay-offs or cuts in salary. There are tons of transplants looking for jobs right now, and the competition is fierce! The trick is to sell your home and put most of the equity into the home you buy here, so that your mortgage is low and you can work odd jobs if you have to and still survive.
Luckily, your wife has great qualifications and wants to work. I've decided to be a stay-at-home-mom, which was one of the main reasons for making this move, as I would have had to go back to work full-time in NJ to survive. However, it's looking more like I will be the one looking for employment soon.
Many people come here thinking that they're going to find a high-paying job to support the mansion they plan on buying/building. The trick is to situate yourself in such a way, as to be able to survive in a situation when that high-paying job doesn't materialize or lay-offs occur.
So, sell your home FIRST, while looking for a job. All the stars don't always align perfectly, but it will happen. (Just not usually all at once.)
Good Luck to you.
When we decided to move last spring (a year ago!), we just DID IT. Put the NoNJ house on the market, sold it in two weeks, closed six weeks later and were in a short-term rental apartment in Rock Hill, SC by mid-July. No jobs, no prospects. However, we had a VERY healthy bank account due to the house sale in NoNJ, so we weren't too worried about it.
I am a secretary, so I knew I'd be able to find a job pretty easily. And serendipity made itself known - I went on two interviews my second week down here and was offered a position on the Friday of that week. Started the following Monday. So I was only unemployed for two weeks total. Once I was on the job we began house hunting and - again with the serendipity - we found a house on the second day of looking, and put in an offer which was accepted. We paid the same amount for this house as we paid for the house in NoNJ in 2001, but got "more house" for the same money. And with the healthy downpayment our mortgage went down significantly. We closed on the house three days before our short-term lease expired and moved out a couple days later.
My husband is only now just started to look for full-time work. We had enough money in the bank after the closing and in combination with my salary to let him really take his time to find a job he'd like. He is a web designer by trade, but also does real estate. The real estate thing never really panned out since he found that most people liked to work with true LOCALS as opposed to transplants. So he is interviewing tomorrow for a web position in Charlotte and with any luck will be working full-time by the summer.
Sadly many of the industries are going through this. Last summer it was USA air layoffs and consessions. Continental tire closed. Win Dixie left the Carolinas. This year it is the banks BofA, Wachovia. And the lenders Wellsfargo, Ameritrust, Freemont and if the rumors are true many more in the mortgage industry. Whats next realtors and homebuilders? Who knows.
AM - We too are in the exact same boat. We are just starting our daunting process. We visited in July and made the decision to relocate. Because of some financial commitments, DH couldn't walk away from his job until March the earliest. So just this week, he has started the job hunt (he is in the IT field). We also have to sell our home as we cannot afford to be committed to a mortgage in 2 places. So much like NJmom, we are in a bit of a panic mode. The only thing we have going for us is that if DH finds a job down in Charlotte before our house in RI sells, he has a brother living in Charlotte that he can live with for free until I sell the house up here. It is exciting but stressful has overwhelmed that at the moment. The early part of the job search is lousy because you put the feelers out and then sit and wait. We don't know if we should list the house because if it sells and we have no job to go to, where do we live here with a good paying job or there with very little reserve while still job hunting? This forum is such a great place to be in this position because there are so many in the same situation who have experienced it before we have and they are always generous with their information. Best of luck to you in your endeavor.
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