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.
Debatable. What is a low wage to you 70k? Most of my friends make more than this.
Your circle of friends is not the average worker. Show me statistics that say that the median wage is over $70k and I will personally fly to GSP and buy you a beer.
I went to employment agencies looking for temporary work while searching for a permanent job and got nothing. It's not for lack of work; the employment agencies are still in business, and locals said I should go there because they found work there or they know people who found work there. I applied and got zero interviews. It isn't because I had outrageous demands or lack of experience. My minimum salary was $12 an hour, which is pretty crummy for someone with a math degree and 11 years experience in corporate finance.
I got passed over every time because I'm either overqualified (they're afraid I'll quit if I find a better job, who cares if I'm faster and smarter than your typical SC high school graduate who can barely read or write), or because I didn't go to a local high school. I went to a high school in Texas, which makes me "foreign". You don't even have to ask me where I went to high school; just hearing me speak proper English instead of hillbilly immediatley brands me as an import.
When Wal-Mart announced they were opening a return processing center and hundreds of people lined up to make $9/hour, something is wrong!
I got absolutely nowhere with temporary or permanent work, so I gave up and relocated to Texas. After three months there, I got two interviews, one job offer, and I had to turn down two interviews after I accepted the job offer.
I only wish that I had not wasted four months looking for work in an area that is devoid of any economic opportunity, and I am saying this because I don't want other people to make the same mistake.
A few years ago, people might want to move to the Upstate to look for work and a lower cost of living (even if the wage is lower, it still nets out to a positive, just not as much as the Greenville Cheerleaders and the real estate agents would have you believe).
Now, moving here is a waste of time and a waste of money. If you are going to move looking for work, you need to move to a big city (not a crappy one like NYC or Detroit, something like Dallas or Houston or Atlanta or just about anyplace but NYC or the Rust Belt).
If you're a retiree, which is the subject of the OP, it's a totally different story. You have a guaranteed income and have the ability to choose to live wherever you wish.
Am I bitter? Yes, I admit that I'm bitter. The family court and the sugar-coated small-town attitude means that if I never darken the doorstep of GSP airport, that would be fine with me. I just don't want other people to make a mistake and consider moving to Greenville for employment reasons.
...You don't even have to ask me where I went to high school; just hearing me speak proper English instead of hillbilly immediatley brands me as an import.
...I only wish that I had not wasted four months looking for work in an area that is devoid of any economic opportunity, and I am saying this because I don't want other people to make the same mistake.
After reading comments like the ones above, I am glad people like this have decided to move elsewhere. Such perception is abnormal and very misleading - even insulting to the many good people of this region in which we live.
Here are the corrections, in order:
There is no language called "hillbilly," and implying that the local population (a large percentage of whom are transplants) speaks it and looks down on others is outrageous.
Greenville is NOT devoid of any economic opportunity. Read more here, here, here, here (http://www.greenvillesc.gov/development/eco_dev.asp - broken link), here, here, and here.
A move to the Upstate is not considered a "mistake" by most people who have done so.
Greenville is a place that is very difficult to find a job if you are not a native, and the wages are low, offsetting the low cost of living.
I have to disagree here, considering the fact that I've helped 7 buyers move to Greenville from out of state (5 different states) in the past 8 months, and all came here due to new emloyment with a company in the Greater Greenville area. Obviously they weren't natives, and neither are the three families I'm currently working with.
I can only imagine that if you come off in your interviews even somewhat like you do in these forums, that is the reason for your difficulty. Do you mention to the interviewer how difficult it is for non-natives to find a job? If so, that would obviously be a turn off.
Don't make assumptions about the area without hard data, maybe it's just you.
Your circle of friends is not the average worker. Show me statistics that say that the median wage is over $70k and I will personally fly to GSP and buy you a beer.
I went to employment agencies looking for temporary work while searching for a permanent job and got nothing. It's not for lack of work; the employment agencies are still in business, and locals said I should go there because they found work there or they know people who found work there. I applied and got zero interviews. It isn't because I had outrageous demands or lack of experience. My minimum salary was $12 an hour, which is pretty crummy for someone with a math degree and 11 years experience in corporate finance.
I got passed over every time because I'm either overqualified (they're afraid I'll quit if I find a better job, who cares if I'm faster and smarter than your typical SC high school graduate who can barely read or write), or because I didn't go to a local high school. I went to a high school in Texas, which makes me "foreign". You don't even have to ask me where I went to high school; just hearing me speak proper English instead of hillbilly immediatley brands me as an import.
When Wal-Mart announced they were opening a return processing center and hundreds of people lined up to make $9/hour, something is wrong!
I got absolutely nowhere with temporary or permanent work, so I gave up and relocated to Texas. After three months there, I got two interviews, one job offer, and I had to turn down two interviews after I accepted the job offer.
I only wish that I had not wasted four months looking for work in an area that is devoid of any economic opportunity, and I am saying this because I don't want other people to make the same mistake.
A few years ago, people might want to move to the Upstate to look for work and a lower cost of living (even if the wage is lower, it still nets out to a positive, just not as much as the Greenville Cheerleaders and the real estate agents would have you believe).
Now, moving here is a waste of time and a waste of money. If you are going to move looking for work, you need to move to a big city (not a crappy one like NYC or Detroit, something like Dallas or Houston or Atlanta or just about anyplace but NYC or the Rust Belt).
If you're a retiree, which is the subject of the OP, it's a totally different story. You have a guaranteed income and have the ability to choose to live wherever you wish.
Am I bitter? Yes, I admit that I'm bitter. The family court and the sugar-coated small-town attitude means that if I never darken the doorstep of GSP airport, that would be fine with me. I just don't want other people to make a mistake and consider moving to Greenville for employment reasons.
You create your own reality. I'm no better than you. So if I can do it so can you! I've pretty much always made a decent wage, so can you.
You create your own reality. I'm no better than you. So if I can do it so can you! I've pretty much always made a decent wage, so can you.
And the reality that has been created has an unadjusted unemployment rate of at least 11%. The median household income in the United States is roughly $50,000. Your friends aren't even close to being average Americans, much less South Carolinians, who make much less on average. Greenville is a wonderful area, but wages and professional job opportunities are very lacking - Now more-so in a long time. Heck, I know people that are leaving the country, not just the Upstate for a job.
I know I'm editorializing here, it really wasn't that long ago that North Carolina was a much poorer place than SC. They've managed to build a very diversified statewide economy, while the SC leadership has for decades decided that being a cheap labor source for European manufacturers was the way to go. But, if you're well-off and retired, this is inconsequential.
I have to disagree here, considering the fact that I've helped 7 buyers move to Greenville from out of state (5 different states) in the past 8 months, and all came here due to new emloyment with a company in the Greater Greenville area. Obviously they weren't natives, and neither are the three families I'm currently working with.
I can only imagine that if you come off in your interviews even somewhat like you do in these forums, that is the reason for your difficulty. Do you mention to the interviewer how difficult it is for non-natives to find a job? If so, that would obviously be a turn off.
Don't make assumptions about the area without hard data, maybe it's just you.
But I didn't get any interviews! That was my whole point.
recap:
looking for four months in Greenville
resident of Greenville for 5 years (obviously I'm not 5 years old, so I'm not a native)
zero interviews
looking for two months in Dallas, TX
resident of Dallas for 0-2 months
two interviews, one job offer, followed by two interviews I turned down
Dallas isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for people looking for work, far from it, but it least it doesn't suck eggs. For example, the toll road people are jacking up the toll rates because traffic is down.
After reading comments like the ones above, I am glad people like this have decided to move elsewhere. Such perception is abnormal and very misleading - even insulting to the many good people of this region in which we live.
Here are the corrections, in order:
There is no language called "hillbilly," and implying that the local population (a large percentage of whom are transplants) speaks it and looks down on others is outrageous.
Greenville is NOT devoid of any economic opportunity. Read more here, here, here, here (http://www.greenvillesc.gov/development/eco_dev.asp - broken link), here, here, and here.
A move to the Upstate is not considered a "mistake" by most people who have done so.
Negative. Where did the the word "native" once show up in the comments I replied to? Please either give up this nonsense and discuss the topic or find a different source of amusement. You shared your perspective, so let it rest. Thanks!
But I didn't get any interviews! That was my whole point.
recap:
looking for four months in Greenville
resident of Greenville for 5 years (obviously I'm not 5 years old, so I'm not a native)
zero interviews
looking for two months in Dallas, TX
resident of Dallas for 0-2 months
two interviews, one job offer, followed by two interviews I turned down
Dallas isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for people looking for work, far from it, but it least it doesn't suck eggs. For example, the toll road people are jacking up the toll rates because traffic is down.
I don't doubt that you had trouble finding a job in the Greenville area. However, I don't think you can fairly compare your experience in Dallas to your experience in Greenville. Dallas is a huge city and should have more opportunities. I find it hard to believe that people think a smaller city such as Greenville will have the same opportunities and diversity of jobs as the top 10 most populated cities in the United States.
But I didn't get any interviews! That was my whole point.
recap:
looking for four months in Greenville
resident of Greenville for 5 years (obviously I'm not 5 years old, so I'm not a native)
zero interviews
looking for two months in Dallas, TX
resident of Dallas for 0-2 months
two interviews, one job offer, followed by two interviews I turned down
Dallas isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for people looking for work, far from it, but it least it doesn't suck eggs. For example, the toll road people are jacking up the toll rates because traffic is down.
I can definitely agree with you on this. Went through the same things you went through after being laid off from my job. Staffing agencies here in Greenville a complete waste of time.........which brings me to the other problem in Greenville..........many of the larger company's rely very heavily on staffing agencies to fill what is typically only temporary jobs.
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.
