Taking a chance in moving to North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh: transplants, job market)
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My fiance and I have both lived in Missouri our whole lives. We decided to look into other states to live in, just for the sake of an adventure, and North Carolina has always stuck out. I think I'm partial because of Nicholas Sparks novels We would both be more comfortable living in a small town.. Moving is hypothetical at this point and depends on if we find that small town on the coast we dream of. He has gone through the police academy here and is currently a deputy at the county jail. I am currently attending college (undecided major) and have experience as a dental assistant and waitress. Obviously we plan on visiting North Carolina and doing our research before going anywhere.
What are some towns on or around the coast that would be good for starting a family and relatively low housing costs/rent prices?
I would love to read any experiences you have that may help..
My fiance and I have both lived in Missouri our whole lives. We decided to look into other states to live in, just for the sake of an adventure, and North Carolina has always stuck out. I think I'm partial because of Nicholas Sparks novels We would both be more comfortable living in a small town.. Moving is hypothetical at this point and depends on if we find that small town on the coast we dream of. He has gone through the police academy here and is currently a deputy at the county jail. I am currently attending college (undecided major) and have experience as a dental assistant and waitress. Obviously we plan on visiting North Carolina and doing our research before going anywhere.
Just be aware that real life is NOT a Nicholas Sparks novel and that NC has the 5th highest unemployment rate in the country. Has at least one of you found a job yet? If not, I hope you have a lot of savings.
This state is FULL of people who essentially "threw a dart at the map and said "Wheeeee, we're moving to NC!!!" only to still be jobless 2-3 years later because they didn't do their research.
I moved from Missouri to North Carolina in 2008 and just moved back to Missouri a few months ago. Honestly, I couldn't WAIT to get back to the Midwest. North Carolina has some advantages, but for myself personally, the cons outweighed the pros.
Obviously some of the pros include the Beach- NC has an undeniably beautiful coastline. Additionally, being in proximity to popular coastal resort cities such as Myrtle Beach SC, Hilton Head SC is also advantageous for fun weekends away. Also, if you're not a winter person, winters in NC are comparatively mild when compared to MO. Plus, Wilmington is a fun city and has some beautiful architecture and is fun for a night out.
However, with all of that said- while NC will remain toward the top of my list for future family vacation destinations, I wouldn't personally want to live there again. The cons include:
- a considerably higher cost of living in Eastern North Carolina than in MO with little or no increase in salary (I spent 4+ years earning less than I did in MO, and my situation was seemingly 'the norm'),
-ghastly hot and humid Summers (it's laughable when people complain about Missouri being humid- it's nothing in comparison!),
-lack of decent jobs (most jobs in ENC are minimum wage, service industry type jobs),
-lack of jobs in general (NC has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation- and competition is fierce)
-driving proximity to other major cities for weekends is more limited than in MO (for instance, from St. Louis, in 5 hours or less I can drive to Chicago, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, etc, giving me an array of different cultural options for weekend trips- especially important now that my husband and I are starting a family). The options within 5 hours of ENC aren't nearly as varied and culturally fulfilling IMO.
-transient community. I think this affected me more since I lived in a military town (my husband was in the Marine Corps) but it seems to be the same way in various areas throughout ENC. There are a lot of transplants- people who moved for work, college, or just because- and I think it actually detracts from the sense of 'community'. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with transplants in general because I was one (and am one to Missouri in fact) but when you have so many of them, and especially such transient ones, it isn't a warm and fuzzy experience, definitely not your stereotypical 'southern' one by any means.
Overall- while I would never tell anyone NOT to move, because I understand the need to (I moved to Missouri from Australia 8 years ago myself so I know what it's like to want new scenery!), I wouldn't be recommending NC first and foremost if asked for my opinion. We have an absolutely incredible country with a lot of unique and wonderful options for relocation so I personally would go back to the drawing board.
If I were relocating again (and this is what made DH & I decide to move back to MO) the things I would take into consideration are:
#1) Job prospects and unemployment rate
#2) Overall Cost of Living
#3) Housing Costs
#4) Cultural Amenities
#5) Long term viability (family friendly options, schools, healthcare, etc)
Although your heart has to play into your decision to move, such a big relocation actually requires more of a logical thought process than purely an emotive one. Although it's easy to 'glamourize' a place such as ENC due to novels, movies, etc, things aren't as glamorous or beautiful when you could be faced with real life issues such as living pay check to pay check due to lack of decent jobs and high COL!
Others have said enough about the relatively poor job prospects. The fiance should also look at the education requirements for joining the police in an NC county.
Please note that there are other negatives here. The military owns a large section of the coast at Camp Lejeune. You will hear heavy artillery fire and helicopters late at night. They do contribute to the job market, however, their funding is being cut.
There is a substantial amount of drug activity in the country-side, and there will be several drug arrests per week. Also a lot of arson and a surprising amount of murder in the thinly settled towns.
I have also read Nicholas Sparks novels, and they are appallingly sentimental. But the town that is closest to his rosy vision is Beaufort.
However, a few more towns you might like include Washington, Edenton, Manteo, New Bern, Havelock, Burgaw and Richlands.
Be aware that the sheriff's departments hire at the county level, so the fiance will have to look for the specific county web site to find jobs. For example, Washington is in Beaufort County, while Beaufort is in Carteret County.
For the OP who has experience as a dental assistant, I'd suggest getting her degree and license, and gaining a year of experience in the field. it is always better to obtain a job if you have experience.
While I won't argue with some of the points made....bear in mind that ENC is a very diverse place. Military towns are pretty much ALL military. Beach towns are ALL beach. Think about what you are really looking for...beach towns are expensive, military towns are very working class. Therefore, people's opinions based on their experience may be based solely on THEIR experience and not indicative of others experience. This forum provides a good avenue for finding out info and then making your own decision. You can obviously see that some folks are not happy with their decision, which may have been based on them "flying blind" so to speak.
Your fiance is a deputy at the county jail. That's definitely a transferable job, because they have police/sheriff/jail work everywhere. If you are going to go into being a dental assistant, that can fall into the same category. In fact, East Carolina has just started a dental school because of the lack of dentists in many rural parts of the state. There is a market for more dentists in ENC. They will be required to serve more rural areas as part of the their degrees.
My recommendation would be to not go into the really "small" towns unless you have completely bought into that particular town's culture, because there are long time locals that do the jobs you are looking at. The bigger cities have more room for transplants...Wilmington is fairly large, Greenville as well...Greenville is more affordable in terms of housing, but Wilmington is next to the beach. They both have suburb type areas in Leland/Hampstead for Wilmington and Winterville for Greenville that are good places to live. You may consider New Bern, which is on the Neuse and has a lot of retiree's and functions larger than its actual size of 19K. The other place that kind of sticks out to me would be a place like Shallotte, which is between Wilmington and N Myrtle Beach, has been hit hard by the economy in the construction field, but will be recovering strong in my opinion when it all shakes out. Its not right on the beach, so its a little more affordable. Its central core still needs work, but it has a lot of potential.
Finally, I want to take exception to the "cultural" references in some of the other posts....ENC has a very active culture. I have relatives that hit the "shag" dance scene routinely, where beach music is played...one of the only areas of the country where you can do this. The oysters/seafood in ENC is some of the best in the country. Eastern NC barbecue is a vinegar based barbecue that is prevalent all over ENC...and is very good. Pig pickin's are standard in these parts (as are oyster roasts). ENC has some of the most beautiful landscape around, the sounds, beaches, refuge's as well as still having distinctly rural areas. It is also filled with history...Wilmington has the largest historic district in the state, with Edenton, Washington, Beaufort and many other places not far behind. One thing I would not recommend (and I won't single anyone out here) is to move to one of the small farmtowns...those are really struggling and ENC is littered with them until you get to the coast. Original Railroad or Interstate towns along the I-95 corridor are also struggling. One of the reasons jobs are so competitive is that folks move from these places to cities like Greenville and Wilmington and will work for lower wages. Still not sure why so many from out of state get mad about this, its like they want their cake and eat it too...when they were trying to get away from where they were living in the first place.
While I won't argue with some of the points made....bear in mind that ENC is a very diverse place. Military towns are pretty much ALL military. Beach towns are ALL beach. Think about what you are really looking for...beach towns are expensive, military towns are very working class. Therefore, people's opinions based on their experience may be based solely on THEIR experience and not indicative of others experience. This forum provides a good avenue for finding out info and then making your own decision. You can obviously see that some folks are not happy with their decision, which may have been based on them "flying blind" so to speak.
Your fiance is a deputy at the county jail. That's definitely a transferable job, because they have police/sheriff/jail work everywhere. If you are going to go into being a dental assistant, that can fall into the same category. In fact, East Carolina has just started a dental school because of the lack of dentists in many rural parts of the state. There is a market for more dentists in ENC. They will be required to serve more rural areas as part of the their degrees.
My recommendation would be to not go into the really "small" towns unless you have completely bought into that particular town's culture, because there are long time locals that do the jobs you are looking at. The bigger cities have more room for transplants...Wilmington is fairly large, Greenville as well...Greenville is more affordable in terms of housing, but Wilmington is next to the beach. They both have suburb type areas in Leland/Hampstead for Wilmington and Winterville for Greenville that are good places to live. You may consider New Bern, which is on the Neuse and has a lot of retiree's and functions larger than its actual size of 19K. The other place that kind of sticks out to me would be a place like Shallotte, which is between Wilmington and N Myrtle Beach, has been hit hard by the economy in the construction field, but will be recovering strong in my opinion when it all shakes out. Its not right on the beach, so its a little more affordable. Its central core still needs work, but it has a lot of potential.
Finally, I want to take exception to the "cultural" references in some of the other posts....ENC has a very active culture. I have relatives that hit the "shag" dance scene routinely, where beach music is played...one of the only areas of the country where you can do this. The oysters/seafood in ENC is some of the best in the country. Eastern NC barbecue is a vinegar based barbecue that is prevalent all over ENC...and is very good. Pig pickin's are standard in these parts (as are oyster roasts). ENC has some of the most beautiful landscape around, the sounds, beaches, refuge's as well as still having distinctly rural areas. It is also filled with history...Wilmington has the largest historic district in the state, with Edenton, Washington, Beaufort and many other places not far behind. One thing I would not recommend (and I won't single anyone out here) is to move to one of the small farmtowns...those are really struggling and ENC is littered with them until you get to the coast. Original Railroad or Interstate towns along the I-95 corridor are also struggling. One of the reasons jobs are so competitive is that folks move from these places to cities like Greenville and Wilmington and will work for lower wages. Still not sure why so many from out of state get mad about this, its like they want their cake and eat it too...when they were trying to get away from where they were living in the first place.
I live in ENC and this post above speaks the truth. Excellent observations!
Finally, I want to take exception to the "cultural" references in some of the other posts....ENC has a very active culture. I have relatives that hit the "shag" dance scene routinely, where beach music is played...one of the only areas of the country where you can do this. The oysters/seafood in ENC is some of the best in the country. Eastern NC barbecue is a vinegar based barbecue that is prevalent all over ENC...and is very good. Pig pickin's are standard in these parts (as are oyster roasts). ENC has some of the most beautiful landscape around, the sounds, beaches, refuge's as well as still having distinctly rural areas. It is also filled with history...Wilmington has the largest historic district in the state, with Edenton, Washington, Beaufort and many other places not far behind. One thing I would not recommend (and I won't single anyone out here) is to move to one of the small farmtowns...those are really struggling and ENC is littered with them until you get to the coast. Original Railroad or Interstate towns along the I-95 corridor are also struggling. One of the reasons jobs are so competitive is that folks move from these places to cities like Greenville and Wilmington and will work for lower wages. Still not sure why so many from out of state get mad about this, its like they want their cake and eat it too...when they were trying to get away from where they were living in the first place.
Whwn she's speaking of culture she's speaking of plays, concerts, museums and the like. Not that ENC didn't have it's own culture
Whwn she's speaking of culture she's speaking of plays, concerts, museums and the like. Not that ENC didn't have it's own culture
I think the jist was that there aren't big cities within driving distance that have culture or that ENC didn't have it....I think that is completely misrepresented.
Take Wilmington for example...You can be in Raleigh in 2 hours...plenty of museums, concerts, even professional hockey, etc...you can be in Charlotte in 3 and a half hours, again, plenty of museums, concerts, professional sports...you can be in Charleston in 3 hours, Charleston is like the South Carolina version of New Orleans, only much cleaner....plenty of museums, great eateries, public market, etc...its a few hours to grab a ferry and head to Ocracoke and the Outer Banks, which has a distinct culture.
And getting back to Wilmington, it has a City owned theater that is over 150 years old and high quality in Thalian Hall. It has at least 4 other theaters in and around downtown...it has a huge walkable historic district, a WWII Battleship, the Cameron Art Museum, an Aquarium that focuses on the local coast, even a Serpentarium that has some of the rarest snakes in the world....it has a surfing culture in Wrightsville Beach, it has Historical markers everywhere, ghost walks, carriage rides, huge Historic Churches, Mansions to tour...festivals, farmer's market, etc...a transformed USO building into a community theater, a former art museum is a Children's museum.
ENC has more culture than most places...it doesn't have to build new buildings to have culture...instead of pictures of boats on the wall at a restaurants, you actually eat next to real boats. I listed previously some of the culture of locals, but there is plenty of physical culture as well.
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We would both be more comfortable living in a small town.. Moving is hypothetical at this point and depends on if we find that small town on the coast we dream of. He has gone through the police academy here and is currently a deputy at the county jail. I am currently attending college (undecided major) and have experience as a dental assistant and waitress. Obviously we plan on visiting North Carolina and doing our research before going anywhere. 
