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Hi, my name is Merrie and I am trying to find a place to get me out of where I am now. I am mainly looking to get away from the long winters, need a safe place as I will be moving by myself and really enjoy being near the ocean as it is the only place I have found true happiness. I will be looking for bookkeeping jobs and a room to rent. Please tell me about the cost of living, prices of gas and how much I would need saved up before I move. Also, please describe the winters and summers, how friendly people are and I should also mention I am looking for someplace where there are things to do. Where I am now it is unusual to hit 95 and I think that is hot, but of course my roommate does not like to have the door open to get a breeze and there is no a/c in the house. Right now I am researching my move and would very much like for this to be my last long winter!!!
NC Coastal towns are very tourist-oriented, though of course each has some industry of its own, but if you are looking for a "city", you won't really find on on the NC Coast--Wilmington is the closest thing, but Myrtle Beach, SC and Virginia Beach, VA, bookending the state, are both more "city" kinds of places. Yes, the beaches here are very nice and generally not as developed as most east coast states (though that is changing--FAST), but that also means job opportunities are more scarce. Jacksonville is a military town which could have more job possibilities, but I doubt a young single woman would pick that sort of environment to live in on her own.
You don't say where you are now (except that it's cold) or what you hope to find in NC nor why you picked NC (vs SC, VA, etc)? More details would help. You shouldn't move somewhere "just to get out of somewhere else" in this economy without a job lined up. You certainly don't want to end up unemployed in an area where you have no networking nor social contacts.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 13 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,103,251 times
Reputation: 1430
If you find 95 uncomfortable then you won't like coastal NC. It hits 95 on a regular basis and then you need to throw in some good old fashioned humidity. It can seem pretty miserable to people that aren't used to it.
With nothing to compare to (you don't list your location) I can't tell you if you'd like the winters or not. Most winters here are like a roller coaster ride. Temps are up and down all winter from highs in the 70s to highs in the 30s. It does happen but there are a couple of days most winters that highs don't get out of the 20s but it's pretty infrequent. There is a lot of wind here all winter long.
I imagine you're from upstate New York, northwest Pennsylvania or somewhere like that. You settle into winter, the ground turns white and you wait for the spring thaw. It's nothing like that here. When it does snow it's usually under 6 inches and it's gone in 4 days. I've been here since 2006 and I've yet to shovel anything but a path across my deck to the door. I left my snow blower behind in MD when I moved.
As far as wages and cost of living go everything is relative. Yes, wages are lower here. But so is the cost of living. Some aspects of quality of life are better here than say, Philly, Washington DC or Baltimore. The air is cleaner and there is generally less stress. But the schools here tend to not be on par with those in the Northeast. There are exceptions of course but in general they're not as good here.
I wouldn't just limit myself to a seaside town. There are varieties of towns and cities here in Eastern Carolina. You have the touristy towns along the Outer Banks and the Crystal Coast. But just a little further inland you get into a whole different world that is very diverse.
You have Oriental. The boat sailing mecca of NC. It is the very picture of quaint. It hasn't been spoiled by big box stores or even large grocery stores. It remains largely unspoiled but there is definitely an air of money. Real estate is pricey but it is a great place to live.
Then there's New Bern. When I think of a colonial town in NC New Bern comes to mind. It is right where the Nuese River opens up and that presents quite the picture when you approach New Bern along US 17. It is loaded up with good restaurants, small shops and small museums to visit. New Bern and NC have spent a lot of money to make New Bern into a colonial town and they have done a good job. It reminds me of downtown Annapolis, MD without all of the commercialism. There is an okay amount of shopping surrounding New Bern but a lot of national chains are lacking there.
Greenville probably presents the best chance for you to find a book keeping job. Greenville is host to the sprawling medical facilities at Pitt Memorial Hospital and East Carolina University Physicians. They are adding more and more facilities to these 2 medical communities by the day! Greenville is also home to East Carolina University. ECU is trying to become a major player in the world of schools. There are growing pains of course but they seem to be committed to becoming a first class university.
Greenville's core downtown is old and dated. I was just there on Monday at 3 in the afternoon and the place was almost deserted. Although there has been plan after plan drawn up to revitalize the downtown very little seems to have accomplished anything. If you could take New Bern's or Fayetteville's downtown and drop it into Greenville then you'd have something extraordinary.
The good news is that just about everywhere else in Greenville has seen a resurgence over the last 15 years. Greenville does struggle with finding their place and direction but all in all the growth has been moderate with no one area being overburdened with development. You can get from any one place in the city to another in abut 20 minutes on most days.
Eastern Carolina has many other cities and towns and most of them have something to offer to almost any taste. You just need to visit A LOT and find the place that suits you.
If you find 95 uncomfortable then you won't like coastal NC.
What? It would be highly unusual for a coastal town to hit 95 degrees. The sea breeze and ocean water temps keeps it down. New Bern, Greenville, Havelock, J'ville, etc. might get that hot but rarely the coastal towns like MHD, Emerald Isle, Topsail, Hatteras, etc.
You actually still get the seabreeze into as far as New Bern. I don't know if it has anything to do with sound or how wide the rivers/streams are there. I currently live in Goldsboro, first moved here in July of 09. At first I was happy to be back in NC but the first thing I noticed was no seagulls ( used to be a Sunday ritual after church to ride the Cherry Branch-Minesott Beach Ferry and feed the seagulls), and the second was no breeze. Just hot air.
You're right though, the big advantage of coastal NC, is you're cooler than everybody else in the summer, and warmer in the winter. I know alot of people, including ones onthis board, that don't consider Greenville coastal NC.
Thanks for all the info, I have lived in Vermont my entire life just about. I took a vacation in Myrtle Beach for 2 months and realized I want to be near the ocean. I had a very horrible childhood and when I was there I realized true happiness, other than being by myself. I had just separated from my ex husband and needed to do a lot of thinking. I have never felt so much inner peace than being on the beach! It snowed this week and even though we have not had a full blown blizzard it was pretty bad. One thing I know for sure is that I want away from snow, ice and the freezing cold. Where I live now is about an hour from upstate NY, (Albany). I do not want to spend the rest of my life traveling an hour for things to do, decent restaurants and stores. Our Walmart is so small you can't find the stuff you really want. Main street is filled with small, expensive stores and the town won't allow any real economic gain brought in. I believe this is a great place for older people who want to retire to a small quiet place but it is not right for me and my closest friends are telling me I need to be somewhere where I can be happy and I haven't been happy in a very long time.
I recognize the name New Bern from the Notebook novel/movie. I am a big Nicholas Sparks far and his books are based in NC.
Morehead area and OBX had super nice people....We were there for a few months & I was blown away by how friendly everyone was...I think Morehead might fit the bill for you = and it's pretty close to New Bern...You might want to check out the Meetup groups in every area you're considering to see if there are groups in your interests. I found that to be a helpful way to gauge how many ppl might be interested in the same hobbies we have that live in that area...I agree w/you about being near the beach and water - it is awfully healing...
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 13 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,103,251 times
Reputation: 1430
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Hitchcock
If you find 95 uncomfortable then you won't like coastal NC.
What? It would be highly unusual for a coastal town to hit 95 degrees. The sea breeze and ocean water temps keeps it down. New Bern, Greenville, Havelock, J'ville, etc. might get that hot but rarely the coastal towns like MHD, Emerald Isle, Topsail, Hatteras, etc.
I have been out there plenty of times and there is no significant difference. It gets hazy, hot and humid just like everywhere else. Whether it's 94° with 60% humidity or 98° with 60% humdity makes no difference. We vaca'ed in KDH one summer and it was well over 90° every day with a 20 MPH wind. That was a delight. Nothing like walking around all day with a hair dryer blowing on you.
I'm sorry your vacation experience saw such conditions. The greatest possibility for 90 plus degree weather is August/September. I have found during my 30 years of living on the NC coast that the conditions you described and that the poster inquired about are highly unusual. I would rather someone have a clear picture from a resident than a skewed perspective of an unfortunate one time visit.
Bill
I have been out there plenty of times and there is no significant difference. It gets hazy, hot and humid just like everywhere else. Whether it's 94° with 60% humidity or 98° with 60% humdity makes no difference. We vaca'ed in KDH one summer and it was well over 90° every day with a 20 MPH wind. That was a delight. Nothing like walking around all day with a hair dryer blowing on you.
Coastal Carolina is not San Diego.
To be fair, nothing is San Diego, weather wise. Also, though the temp is mild, the water is cold. And it's a bit more expensive there as well. That said, though many people from the east coast are interested in moving to NC, SOCal is one of the more popular destinations for North Carolinians to move to. (though it is still a net, for more people moving to NC from SoCal, than the opposite.)
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Right now I am researching my move and would very much like for this to be my last long winter!!!
