Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter2008
We have a 2 year old so a good family friendly area would be best with good schools. Looking for a small town feel but not in the middle of no where. Also will be looking for an area with a decent job market. We've looked at Greenville and New Bern so far, but looking for more suggestions of areas to consider..
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Among the coastal counties, Currituck has the lowest unemployment rate at 5.8% . This may be partially due to the nearby job market in Virginia Beach. It has decent schools.
After that, Onslow and Carteret Counties have 7.8% unemployment rates, which is not great, but is better than many. This is the Jacksonville/Morehead City/Havelock/Newport job market which is heavily influence by the military. If you have skills in engineering, construction management, equipment testing, you would be more likely to find a job. Newport and Carteret County have decent schools.
The next major market is Wilmington, with New Hanover County experiencing an 8.4% unemployment rate. Pender and Brunswick Counties have higher unemployment rates. However, if you have specific skills, you may be OK.
I have been using this chart from April 2013:
http://www.wral.com/news/state/page/4879060/ Things are improving slowly on the coast, but as you can see, the best employment picture is in the Triangle. That is further from the coast than you wanted.