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I would like to say Hello to everyone, long time reader first time poster.
I have lived most of my life in Hawaii, and the last 5 years near Portland Oregon. I am a mid aged male.
I am in the commercial HVAC &R trade (A/C, heating and refrigeration) and have been in the business for 30 years.
I'm of Spanish descent, but cant speak the language.
I don't really look Hispanic nor could I pass for white.
Like others who have posted on this board, I ponder the grass greener?
I have never set foot in NC, but based on "you'alls" input here on this forum, I now have Charlotte on my radar as the next stop.
I loved Hawaii growing up, but I got Island fever. I felt like the movie ground hog day. The ocean became nothing to me except prison bars.
My move to the "Main land" landed me in sunny Oregon J/K.
I bought myself a Prius and drove like a fool for the first 3 years!
I have run out of places to drive to and I got to say, working here was much harder then Hawaii. Working on equipment thats almost as old as I am, in some of the lousiest weather possible has been no fun at all.
OK, enough about me, now for my question.
I don't think I will have any problems finding a good paying job in Charlotte, so money probably wont be an issue. Will have 100k to put down on a house if things go well.
I don't have any friends or family in NC and found out after living in Oregon for 5 years how hard it is to make new friends compared to Hawaii.
Porlanders are very friendly, but I felt like I didn't "fit in". I can only guess it's the way I looked or acted, but how can one know for sure.
I saw the way the whites were around the blacks. They were polite, but there was no chance in hell they'd be invited into there homes.
I think there may have been that same cool offness towards me as well. Also the Mexicans kept to themselves.
So, making new friends is a big concern for me.
Also, I was also wondering if there are any towns near Charlotte (within 45 mins rush hour traffic) that have a cozy home town feel, and not a urban sprawl. Here in the Portland area, its very different then my home town of Kailua Hawaii. There, you had a area that was THE town, you know, an area where the shops were. Not a strip mall then more housing then another strip mall.
Thanks for reading, and I hope my next post wont be so long.
Last edited by alikair; 08-23-2009 at 01:16 PM..
Reason: spelling
I'll keep it short and sweet. Personally, Portland is an excellent city much like the surrounding neighborhoods. Sorry to hear you don't like it. Moving to Charlotte most likely won't solve your problems. Bloom where you're planted, I think you're in an ideal location.
I'll keep it short and sweet. Personally, Portland is an excellent city much like the surrounding neighborhoods. Sorry to hear you don't like it. Moving to Charlotte most likely won't solve your problems. Bloom where you're planted, I think you're in an ideal location.
Thanks for the reply, its not that I hate Portland, its just time to try again for something different. Theres nothing here to hold me back. If I loved working in the rain or had made lots of friends I may have stayed for another few years.
I am a native of Charlotte. Dont want to be discouraging but Charlotte, NC is not the best place to relocate to these days. High Unemployment rate (Between 12 & 13%). Banking industry dominates here...not too many other industries to choose from. Dont know what you have heard about Charlotte...but not the land of "good and plenty" as you know or see it. Please research very carefully......As a previous poster stated...I would try to bloom where you are planted...or at least stay out there on the west coast.
Thank you both for your input. Not really what I was looking for but thank you just the same.
If living in the same place was all I could hope to achieve in one life time, I would have stayed in Hawaii and never been able to afford a home or explore new places.
I work in a good trade and am good at what I do.
My reason for moving has little to do with the economy. I don't have anything to tie me down, no worry of not ever landing on my feet.
House prices haven't fallen to badly over here tells me the fear factor maybe less then in Charlotte?
If so, I should follow in the footsteps of MR. Buffet and buy when all others are selling.
But honestly it is a blast to start over someplace new. I just hate doing it alone.
Listen to Shamwow and stay in OR (esp. if you have a job there). DH and I moved here in Feb. '07, previously lived in southern OR, and we are moving back out asa holiday season is over. Hang in there and try to see beyond the flaws, no place is perfect ... but OR is the closest I've been to it. It may not be that to everyone, but if there's more about it you like than dislike, and esp. if you have a means of income there, you would be best advised to stay. There are so many posts on the CLT board of people who are distressed b/c they came here looking for work and cannot find it (and a good # of them move back to where they came).
P.S. as for making friends, have you truly exhausted all the possibilities? (ie. joining special interest or activity groups, like hiking clubs, book/movie clubs, or volunteering for a charity or organization) we knew no one in OR when we moved there, but my husband made a lot of friends by joining a cycling group and playing poker, and I made friends at the gym and at yoga class. Any way to put yourself in situations where you meet others w/ similar interests or concerns will help you make friends. good luck.
Last edited by Nina-in-Ashland; 08-24-2009 at 08:25 AM..
Reason: p.s. added
www.meetup.com is a national web of groups doing recreational things. You put in your zip code and it brings up all the groups in the area. For ex, here in UT you can go rock-climbing or cycling or disucss politics or go to a wine-tasting, etc., etc. Try it to see what's in your area. Doing something you like with others who also like it is a good way to make friends!
Listen to Shamwow and stay in OR (esp. if you have a job there). DH and I moved here in Feb. '07, previously lived in southern OR, and we are moving back out asa holiday season is over. Hang in there and try to see beyond the flaws, no place is perfect ... but OR is the closest I've been to it. It may not be that to everyone, but if there's more about it you like than dislike, and esp. if you have a means of income there, you would be best advised to stay. There are so many posts on the CLT board of people who are distressed b/c they came here looking for work and cannot find it (and a good # of them move back to where they came).
P.S. as for making friends, have you truly exhausted all the possibilities? (ie. joining special interest or activity groups, like hiking clubs, book/movie clubs, or volunteering for a charity or organization) we knew no one in OR when we moved there, but my husband made a lot of friends by joining a cycling group and playing poker, and I made friends at the gym and at yoga class. Any way to put yourself in situations where you meet others w/ similar interests or concerns will help you make friends. good luck.
Nina, your post reminds me that paradise on this earth really does not exist.
Personally, I could never think of Oregon as being any closer to paradise than Hawaii is. How interesting that the OP is a Hawaiian and didn't find it to be paradise anymore than I do - though many surely do.
What I am trying to say is, best of luck to you in your move back to YOUR paradise -we will surely miss you around here! As for me, paradise will continue to be the Blue Ridge Mountains and life in the south. Our OP has tried YOUR idea of paradise and he found it lacking in his criteria for paradise - so why shouldn't he come to NC and see if this is a better fit for him?
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It may not be that to everyone, but if there's more about it you like than dislike, and esp. if you have a means of income there, you would be best advised to stay. There are so many posts on the CLT board of people who are distressed b/c they came here looking for work and cannot find it (and a good # of them move back to where they came).
