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I am a 28 year old male, currently living in the Lehigh Valley Area in Pennsylvania. I am employed as a meat cutter with assistant manager training, i work another job on the side at a local butcher shop as well- unfortunately the company I work for is eliminating meat cutters and meat managers and making them all "leads" which means--(for the area i'm living in) -in the near future i can barely afford to survive on the pay they are talking about and all my training won't even be put to use...with that said, I have had an ongoing severe asthma problem every winter I am bronchial and the extreme cold bothers me a great deal I have no isssues in the summer months-humidity does not bother me at all. I know Allentown, PA has ranked in the top ten of worst places for people with asthma, and greenville sc number 4 for the best....what temperature range are we talking for the winter months in greenville?
I don't have family or friends in this area anymore, so i doubt i would get homesick at all, lol. I know the cost of living is also a lot different from here to there, does the cost of living affect pay rates down there? And if so, how much do meat cutters make on the average at the stores down there? In general, how easy is it to get into a grocery store in the area and which ones in south carolina are considered upscale?-middle-class, lower-class, etc. I have seen food lion, bi-lo, and a costco, of which I have all started applying and bi-lo in particular has TONS of meat cutter positions open at many locations. Is there a reason for that? Does noone want to do the job-or is the pay bad? Also, are there local butcher shops in the greenville area that would maybe bring me on board? Also, i would be willing to work overnights, or anything just to get a wage i could at least survive on...
I have a job lined up making minimum wage at a fast food joint if i decide to go, but i dont want to move JUST for a fast food gig, do you think i would be stuck there if i moved? Is the greenville area a generally the best place to live in south carolina as far as crime rates and things of that nature? Are there places to go or meet people for a single guy like me?
Any help is greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for anyone and everyone who can help
Low cost of living = low pay rate. Don't come down here without a job and don't buy into a minimum wage job supporting you unless you are single with no kids and very frugal. I don't have any idea what the going rate for meat cutters is down here but remember we are a "right to work" state; we don't like unions and basically they don't exist down here.
The weather is way different than you have up there. It can get cold down here in winter but it doesn't last long and usually we have few days where the high temp is below 30-40 degrees. Some wear shorts and tshirts year long! The climate would probably suit your health better than PA does.
I've found that it gets just about as cold and hot in SC as it does in NJ/PA (in terms of max and min. temperatures) but SC you get fewer of those extremely cold days and more of the very hot days. I don't know exact numbers, but if you're looking for something warmer than PA you will be pleased.
I hadn't heard that Greenville is good for asthma, but Greenville is definitely bad for pollen. I don't know if that is a related issue.
I would advise finding work in your desired field/at your desired position before moving. It's just not wise to make such a big life change without doing so. Avail yourself of all online job searches (Monster, Indeed.com, etc); also, most local Greenville-area temp and placement firms have their own websites as well.
That said, this area can be brutal for those with allergies, but I know asthma is a different animal, so based on your research it sounds like this area could be good for you in that regard.
Some other stores in the area to look at would be Publix and Ingles. I know the Publix near my my house has had the same guys working in the meat dept for at least the past 3-4 years. I also see a lot of the same faces in other parts of the store, which may indicate it might be a good place to work.
There is also a chain small chain butchers shops called New York Butcher Shoppe. They have two stores in the area, I don't personally know much about them though.
Whole Foods Market has a full service butcher shop as well. If you're considering Costco, then don't overlook Sam's Club as well. Other local butcher shop options include The Chopping Block in Powdersville, Anderson Meats & Butcher between Powdersville and Easley, and Flat Rock Fresh Meats in Easley. You may also want to contact a few local farms raising livestock for meat. If you have questions about any of the farms, please don't hesitate to ask us. Someone reading this forum may be able to share his/her personal experience.
I was going to recommend Publix and Ingles as well. My neighbor has worked at both and no complaints with either job. Her brother is a meat cutter at Ingles. He was at Publix for many years. The only reason he changed was due to the drive time at the Publix he was at. She works in the produce dept at Publix & her son is a cashier/stocker there as well. They both seem to like it.
I also know someone that worked at Publix but not in the meat dept. and liked it. They are supposed to be a very good place to work. I'd work there before Bi-Lo (I have work experience with Bi-Lo); they will probably be the lowest paid of the bunch.
Thank you all for your replies, my friends in virginia, maryland and other states south of me have only ever passed through sc or vacationed there, so they are only telling me bit and pieces but all of them suggest i get out of PA lol.
@myrc60- I wouldn't come there without a job at all- i have worked since i was 16, and since i;ve been 21 i have worked 2, sometimes 3 jobs at the same time-if i didn't work i'd probably lose my mind. lol. I don't have children. I don't know of any grocery stores that are union in Pennsylvania-i am against unions anyway so that's good. The weather sounds beautiful, anything below 40 is a nightmare for me, i walk outside in the winter up here and my lungs just shut- i dont take an inhaler up here in the spring or summer ever and I am athletic, in addition i can work in a meat cooler all day, but if i'm outside in the winter up here for more than 15 minutes, my ecezema flares up and my skin is cracking and bleeding-i spend hundreds of dollars on medications for my skin and asthma from november-march every year. (although this past year was an unusually mild winter)
@gvsteve- No pollen is not an issue, i actually used to work a part-time job in the spring/summer with a tree removal crew. 10 Worst Asthma Cities in the U. S. Slideshow - after that slideshow, it lists the best places to live for asthma and greenville is number 4-although kinda strange because i saw another list (it was outdated though) where greenville was in the top 10 worst cities, lol. A doctor once told me that the cement mills in my area are a huge contributing factor but i dont know how true that is, but we do have way too many cement mills around here.
@upstatebooster- Without a doubt i'd like to get an assistant manager job but would rather come aboard a company as a cutter to learn policies and procedures because they are different everywhere. Yes, aside from dogs and birds (no other animal bothers me it seems), i don't really have an issue with allergies or at least nothing that is extremely easy to avoid.
@vmike- thank you so much for that input, A friend of mine in florida said that publix laid off a bunch of people and closed stores less than a year ago. But that could have been only in florida? I know there's a store by the name of shoprite up here that used to have a strong presence throughout PA, but now mainly just runs in Jersey and New York but fairs extremely well in those states. Still high turnover rates in meat rooms amongst people under 35 are high up here and if you're seeing the same faces then that's a very promising thing to hear.
@skyliner- Thanks so much for some of the non-big-chains, in that area for me to look into. I have never worked on a farm-and haven't really done much on the slaughtering end of the meat business i know some farmers up here have "kill floors" but i've done a lot of things in my life and i'm always willing to learn, not afraid to get my hands dirty either. That is something I might very well look into.
@Pat Good maybe she can give me a reference? lol, just kidding. But again, it is good to hear twice in these replies that people are happy with a grocery store down there.
Thank you all so much for your help, it is very much appreciated. I hope as time draws closer, because i'm pretty optimistic about landing a job-that you would maybe answer any other questions I may have about the area.
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