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My wife and I are looking to relocate within a year due to a horrible local economy we have found ourselves in. We are almost set on NC, where is the question.
We have been looking at the Raleigh/Cary/Chapel Hill area as that area seems to have the economy we are used to and what we expect to earn a decent wage. I, however, love the ocean and would like something a little closer than a 3 hour drive. I know coastal communities are usually vibrant in the summer and dormant in the winter. But, are there any exceptions to this rule? I'm more concerned with my wife than myself, she is a hair stylist and is used to working in high end salons making upwards of $60 for a woman's haircut. Using that as a general measuring stick, is something like that attainable anywhere on coastal NC?
HHHmmm..............A haircut for 60 bucks?
You can get a military cut for $6, surfers and fishermen tend not to be overly concerned with hair cuts. Retired folks get hair cuts for a dollar more than our marines. That's a good portion of our population.
And for everyone else-You may find some stiff hair cutting competition. The Cosmotology Dept. of Carteret Community College has been well known for decades and produces many a graduate each year. Our area does not have a shortage of hair stylists and such.
We have been looking at the Raleigh/Cary/Chapel Hill area as that area seems to have the economy we are used to and what we expect to earn a decent wage.
Just be sure to check the employment opportunities before moving--what's written up in articles and what the people actually applying for jobs will tell you can be two different things. It's not a "hopping" economy by any means. Might be better compared to many places, but you won't snap anything up the moment you move here. Just giving fair warning.
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I, however, love the ocean and would like something a little closer than a 3 hour drive. I know coastal communities are usually vibrant in the summer and dormant in the winter. But, are there any exceptions to this rule?
Wilmington is a year-round (smallish) city. But, bookending NC are Myrtle Beach, SC (a "city at the beach") and Virginia Beach (part of the Norfolk/Hampton metro--definitely a large city). Both would be have more year-round economies than the NC beaches which are indeed quite dependent on tourism or military.
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I'm more concerned with my wife than myself, she is a hair stylist and is used to working in high end salons making upwards of $60 for a woman's haircut. Using that as a general measuring stick, is something like that attainable anywhere on coastal NC?
Do people at the beach get $60 haircuts? Since NC doesn't have any real "cities" there, I think of beach people as much more casual. But I don't know anything about women's hairstyling
I don't know why you would want to move to the coastal areas of NC. You are not going to find a high-paying or a "liveable wage" job. Most of the jobs on the NC coast cater to tourists, military members, and all of the rich retirees from the North. Jobs such as commissioned based sales, retail, and fast food are the norm for the area.
Oh by the way, if your wife charges $60 for a woman's haircut, she won't be in business for long in coastal NC.
If you are dead set on moving here, then you better have a job lined up before you move.
Just be sure to check the employment opportunities before moving--what's written up in articles and what the people actually applying for jobs will tell you can be two different things. It's not a "hopping" economy by any means. Might be better compared to many places, but you won't snap anything up the moment you move here. Just giving fair warning.
Wilmington is a year-round (smallish) city. But, bookending NC are Myrtle Beach, SC (a "city at the beach") and Virginia Beach (part of the Norfolk/Hampton metro--definitely a large city). Both would be have more year-round economies than the NC beaches which are indeed quite dependent on tourism or military.
Do people at the beach get $60 haircuts? Since NC doesn't have any real "cities" there, I think of beach people as much more casual. But I don't know anything about women's hairstyling
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Originally Posted by heeha
I don't know why you would want to move to the coastal areas of NC. You are not going to find a high-paying or a "liveable wage" job. Most of the jobs on the NC coast cater to tourists, military members, and all of the rich retirees from the North. Jobs such as commissioned based sales, retail, and fast food are the norm for the area.
Oh by the way, if your wife charges $60 for a woman's haircut, she won't be in business for long in coastal NC.
If you are dead set on moving here, then you better have a job lined up before you move.
Thanks to you both, points noted.
We live in NV currently, I don't think you can take a step down when you're already in a hole.
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It's going to be touch and go on getting $60 anywhere in NC. From the sounds of it you may be in the Vegas area. That whole area is getting crushed by the real estate and economic crashes right now. That area is pretty unique in the way the "local" economy is structured around the gaming industry. Without gaming you have nothing but desert.
The bigger cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, would be your best bet. I wouldn't even venture too far outside of their city limits. It goes directly from city to country in NC for the most part.
It's going to be touch and go on getting $60 anywhere in NC. From the sounds of it you may be in the Vegas area. That whole area is getting crushed by the real estate and economic crashes right now. That area is pretty unique in the way the "local" economy is structured around the gaming industry. Without gaming you have nothing but desert.
The bigger cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, would be your best bet. I wouldn't even venture too far outside of their city limits. It goes directly from city to country in NC for the most part.
We've been in NV less than a year and we know its just not going to work. There is no money here right now, casinos are shutting down table games and laying off dealers. Thats almost unheard of. Jobs are easy to come by if you don't mind making 7.xx an hour, but career jobs are almost unheard of.
We're almost decided on Raleigh, her sister has been living there for the past 8 years and has nothing but good to say of it.
beach areas are in the same ballpark as Vegas. An island of entertainment in a sea of nothing. When boom times hit, the economies of these resort areas are the first to boom. When a recession comes, these economies take a greater hit than anywhere else.
Jobs are easy to come by if you don't mind making 7.xx an hour, but career jobs are almost unheard of.
^^This comment of yours, is coastal NC in a nutshell. Myrtle Beach and Wilmington are about the same size, with similar economies, both getting hit hard these days.
If you're bound and determined, then move to an area on the coast with lots of goverment employment, like Jacksonville, NC or the Virginia Beach region. Charleston, SC isn't too bad either.
Not sure what everyone else is talking about, but $60 for a woman's hair-do in Wilmington is definitely possible. Someone close to me has gone to at least two different beauticians and paid over $100. I guess it depends more on what your wife does for the cost. If we are talking a normal Super Cuts place, there is no chance of $60. If we are talking one of these places like O2 Salon or Bangz where it involves highlights and all of that, then there is some potential depending on how good she it.
Check salons in Wilmington and then see. Not sure about the rest of the coast, but for NC, that's going to probably be your better area for that price of hair cuts.
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