college grad looking to relocate- need advice! (Charlotte, Asheville: apartments, rent)

[caroliz]

Hi there,
I'm a college grad looking to move away from Massachusetts. I'm looking at several areas around the country and I want to know a little bit more about NC.
I have degrees in graphic arts and communications. Ideally I'd like to work in a state college setting, maybe doing PR/marketing and communications/web design/printing for the school. I know that's being a little specific but it's the direction I'd like to focus on right now.
I really don't know much about the cities and towns of NC. When I was getting my bachelor's degree in communications, my roomates/fellow Comm. majors were seriously interested in moving to NC because they heard a lot of promising things pertaining to students in our field (of course I do not remember what cities they were interested in, and NC is a big state).
I've never been too fond of the idea of living in a city, but if I could live in a nice suburb/rural area/mountain town near a city that would be ideal. I'd deal a 20-45 minute drive (preferably less) as long as I wasn't TOO stranded out in the woods/up scary mountain passes that are frightening to drive through in the winter (although, how severe is the snow in a North Carolina winter? I'm from New England, so I'm sure anything south of Connecticut will have walk-in-the-park winters for me, but still.) However-- city living is fine if the cost of living isn't too much, and if it makes more sense for my commute. I'm not coming down with a ton of money.
Two hugely important factors will affect where I move: I am a nature lover and I want to live near a place that has a good music scene. I need more than to live in a city with a nice park system. I need to be near the mountains (perhaps the Appalachain Trail?) as hiking is one of my most important past times. Are there some great areas that have a lot of state and/or national parks in a relatively small area? Are there nice college towns near the Appalachian Mts. and the trail? (I don't want to be 100 miles from civilzation. A girl's gotta go grocery shopping.)
In the summertime I really like to have rivers within driving distance for swimming/tubing. Not super congested, noisy beaches, but (preferably) pristine, crisp, back-country rivers. I like the ocean but it's not important to me to live near the coast. It would be neat if I could be within a few hours driving distance for day or weekend trips, but I don't want to pay more to live near the beach. Also, it seems that NC is very, very hot and humid in the summer, so I wouldn't mind living in a higher elevation.
In terms of music: what areas are great for seeing live music? Having a large amount of music venues usually is tied in with art galleries, shops, and restaurants, so I guess I'm keeping my eyes peeled for any nice little communities that have these things, as long as the price of living is right. Also, where are the arenas that bring big name acts?
Does anyone have any advice? What I'd probably need to do first is rent a room while I get myself settled, so I'm not too concerned about where the cheapest houses are located, but if anyone can suggest some towns or cities (or their suburbs or mountain towns) that meet my criteria, and know some general prices of what apartments usually cost, I would love to have the insight. Can someone confirm my former roommates' research and tell me if North Carolina is in fact, a good place for a college grad? Is it affordable? Thanks so much. Any insight is truly appreciated.
-Caroline

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by caroliz

Hi there,
I'm a college grad looking to move away from Massachusetts. I'm looking at several areas around the country and I want to know a little bit more about NC.
I have degrees in graphic arts and communications. Ideally I'd like to work in a state college setting, maybe doing PR/marketing and communications/web design/printing for the school. I know that's being a little specific but it's the direction I'd like to focus on right now.
I really don't know much about the cities and towns of NC. When I was getting my bachelor's degree in communications, my roomates/fellow Comm. majors were seriously interested in moving to NC because they heard a lot of promising things pertaining to students in our field (of course I do not remember what cities they were interested in, and NC is a big state).
I've never been too fond of the idea of living in a city, but if I could live in a nice suburb/rural area/mountain town near a city that would be ideal. I'd deal a 20-45 minute drive (preferably less) as long as I wasn't TOO stranded out in the woods/up scary mountain passes that are frightening to drive through in the winter (although, how severe is the snow in a North Carolina winter? I'm from New England, so I'm sure anything south of Connecticut will have walk-in-the-park winters for me, but still.) However-- city living is fine if the cost of living isn't too much, and if it makes more sense for my commute. I'm not coming down with a ton of money.
Two hugely important factors will affect where I move: I am a nature lover and I want to live near a place that has a good music scene. I need more than to live in a city with a nice park system. I need to be near the mountains (perhaps the Appalachain Trail?) as hiking is one of my most important past times. Are there some great areas that have a lot of state and/or national parks in a relatively small area? Are there nice college towns near the Appalachian Mts. and the trail? (I don't want to be 100 miles from civilzation. A girl's gotta go grocery shopping.)
In the summertime I really like to have rivers within driving distance for swimming/tubing. Not super congested, noisy beaches, but (preferably) pristine, crisp, back-country rivers. I like the ocean but it's not important to me to live near the coast. It would be neat if I could be within a few hours driving distance for day or weekend trips, but I don't want to pay more to live near the beach. Also, it seems that NC is very, very hot and humid in the summer, so I wouldn't mind living in a higher elevation.
In terms of music: what areas are great for seeing live music? Having a large amount of music venues usually is tied in with art galleries, shops, and restaurants, so I guess I'm keeping my eyes peeled for any nice little communities that have these things, as long as the price of living is right. Also, where are the arenas that bring big name acts?
Does anyone have any advice? What I'd probably need to do first is rent a room while I get myself settled, so I'm not too concerned about where the cheapest houses are located, but if anyone can suggest some towns or cities (or their suburbs or mountain towns) that meet my criteria, and know some general prices of what apartments usually cost, I would love to have the insight. Can someone confirm my former roommates' research and tell me if North Carolina is in fact, a good place for a college grad? Is it affordable? Thanks so much. Any insight is truly appreciated.
-Caroline

Congrats on your graduation Caroline

I really appreciate your enthusiasm and the detailed description you have provided!

I do not want to burst your bubble or sound discouraging, but I cannot recommend you come to NC. Communication/graphic arts jobs are VERY hard to come by right now - the market is just saturated with folks just like you. Saturated in general really - NC's unemployment rate is higher than the national average. It's really bad, especially for the recent college grad.

I would encourage you however to consider looking at nearby Greenville, SC. Unemployment there is much lower and it's a city that has been becoming more and more desirable to young people for the last 10 years. In addition, you would be very near some beautiful natural areas and a lot of good hiking. It's a smallish city so it would be more in line with what you want than the cities in NC would be.

Best of luck to you! I hope you will take my suggestion and start researching Greenville

[Francois]

^ She is right about the jobs in NC. I'm not sure where your classmates/roommates all got the idea that NC is blossoming with Communications jobs, but the last I heard, competition was mighty fierce for what few there are right now--and the ones that do come up want lots of experience.

The place in NC that sounds like a good fit for your desires right now might be Asheville, which has both mountain terrain (cooler temps) and a pretty "crunchy" scene in spots. But research the jobs there to see if it is doable at all. There is a state university, UNC-Asheville, there, and their website will have job postings somewhere.

But I would suggest doing you own research on places (in any state) that fits YOUR needs and YOUR job skills/experience and not rely so much on what you have heard secondhand about places, especially since the job market has changed so drastically in the past 2-3 years. Sometimes one person gets a job somewhere, and suddenly everybody is buzzing about that place as if it's Nirvana.

Good luck!

[saucystargazer]

Originally Posted by Francois

There is a state university, UNC-Asheville, there, and their website will have job postings somewhere.

You have to be a student or alumni to access it.

WNC/Asheville is one of the worst places in NC for jobs. The highest unemployment rates are still in the mountains. So unless you want to wait tables, work in retail, or be a bank teller I wouldn't recommend it, especially to a mass comm major without any experience. Charlotte might have a few openings but that's about the only place in NC that has those kinds of jobs right now.

[caroliz]

Wow! Thanks so much everyone. Some really great insight. Of course I am going to do much, much more research myself on any place before I make a big move, but I'm really just starting to look at moving to the South as a possibility for the first time, so I wanted any and all opinions. I had no idea unemployment was so bad. It's difficult right now...So many areas of the country is saying the same thing. LovesMountains, thanks for the suggestion of Greenville SC. I will surely check it out. Take care everyone.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by caroliz

Wow! Thanks so much everyone. Some really great insight. Of course I am going to do much, much more research myself on any place before I make a big move, but I'm really just starting to look at moving to the South as a possibility for the first time, so I wanted any and all opinions. I had no idea unemployment was so bad. It's difficult right now...So many areas of the country is saying the same thing. LovesMountains, thanks for the suggestion of Greenville SC. I will surely check it out. Take care everyone.

I think you would like the West Coast (if you could get a job there).

[caroliz]

I am also looking into Colorado. I'm visiting there for my second time at the end of this month, so I'm going to check it out more.

[caroliz]

* not really the West Coast, but certainly the West for me.

[saucystargazer]

Bah. My dream is living in Mt or Wy. for a few years. I don't think I'd want to live there forever, but I want the experience. Good luck in your adventure!