Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am trying to research moving to Eastern North Carolina. I have lived in Northern New England all of my life. I have been a hairdresser for 16 years and I am currently teaching beauty school. I want to stay in this industry if we move down there. Any suggestions? And! How hot does it get and do you really live in the air conditioning just to survive? I understand cost of living is far cheaper than up here, but what about wages? And how much more expensive is it to live very near the ocean?
You might try going to a website called 'sperlings best places' and hitting 'compare.' Type in the name of your town and a town here in eastern NC. Try keying in Morehead City NC or Atlantic Beach NC. See how the two towns compare in real estate costs, groceries, utilities and such. Should give you a basis for comparison.
Wages? Hard to say, but wages in Eastern NC tend not to be high compared to other places...but cost of living can make up partly for that...
Funny thing, it's natural, I suppose, but right about now, when cold temperatures and snow and ice hit other states, our NC forum starts getting a lot of activity. Guess those cold temperatures make one long for warmer climes, eh??
You might try going to a website called 'sperlings best places' and hitting 'compare.' Type in the name of your town and a town here in eastern NC. Try keying in Morehead City NC or Atlantic Beach NC. See how the two towns compare in real estate costs, groceries, utilities and such. Should give you a basis for comparison.
Wages? Hard to say, but wages in Eastern NC tend not to be high compared to other places...but cost of living can make up partly for that...
Funny thing, it's natural, I suppose, but right about now, when cold temperatures and snow and ice hit other states, our NC forum starts getting a lot of activity. Guess those cold temperatures make one long for warmer climes, eh??
Yeah, it happens about this time each year. kinda surprising in a way, my first inclination is to get to Morehead City/Atlantic Beach for the fishing.
We lived in Canada for many years. I thought we would die from heat when we moved to Maryland. That was many years ago, and now I find 32F pretty cold, and I used to work outside in subzero temperatures with no gloves.
It gets warm on the Carolina coast, but we rarely see temperatures over the low nineties. One of the reasons people come to the coast in the summer is that it is usually cooler than the interior of the state. The ocean waters and breezes typically keep us cooler than places just a few miles inland.
That also means we stay warmer in the fall and early winter. It was 63F this morning when we got up. It was 33F in our old home town Mount Airy in the western part of the state. I just pulled green tomatoes off my vines two days ago. I still have a couple there, just to see how long it will be before frost gets them.
In May and November, our heat pumps hardly run in normal years.
So you do get heat here, and it might seem pretty hot your first year, but by the next summer it will not feel as hot. I mow my yard with a push mower, and all I try to do is mow early in the morning, and sometimes I don't manage to follow my own advice.
thank you so much for that. Having lived in Northern New Hampshire for the last 30+ years, I was concerned with living in canned air. I think we have decided on Elizabeth City. Seems not too expensive and not too far south?
thank you so much for that. Having lived in Northern New Hampshire for the last 30+ years, I was concerned with living in canned air. I think we have decided on Elizabeth City. Seems not too expensive and not too far south?
You might want to have a look at Carteret County. We spent a lot of time looking at areas to relocate when we decided to move from Roanoke, Va. I still believe Carteret County is one of the best places to retire.
When we looked from Assateague to Oak Island, Carteret County came out on top. It does not hurt that it has the 158,000 acre Croatan National Forest on one end and the Cape Lookout National Seashore on the other end.
There are even some unique adventures like going to Cape Lookout by skiff or Hammocks Beach by pontoon boat.
There's a lot of history in Beaufort (http://coastalnc.org/beaufortnctravelguidecd - broken link), plenty of beach from Atlantic Beach to Emerald Isle (http://coastalnc.org/emeraldislenctravelguidecd - broken link), great fishing and boating, a reasonable amount of good shopping in Morehead City.
The area is generally known as the Crystal Coast. Because of the year round services, friendly people, and small town environment, it is a very popular area for new comers to the South. They are welcomed in Carteret County.
There are lots of pictures and information at this site.
Good luck in finding the right spot.
Last edited by dsobotta; 12-14-2009 at 06:15 AM..
Reason: wrong word
Beaufort and Morehead City are nice and cost of living is cheaper than coastal NE. Taxes are going up in NC in recent years. Elizabeth City is near Norfolk and a good airport.
Good Luck
We are from CT and have been here 16 years. We will retire back North however. It is 28 degrees here today so it does get cold here but little snow. Ice storms are plentiful. Summers are extremely hot and we still have not adapted to it and use A/C a lot to survive. Sinus problems are ubiquitous.
If you are worried about heat, just don't come down here. Not being rude, just realistic. A lot of us live in "canned air" and we do OK. Usually.
I also do not think, when you consider wages vs costs, Eastern NC is that cheap, either.
Good Luck.
lln
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You do get used to the heat
