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I recently broke up with my Fiance. We were together for 8 years and it is definitely over. I have been in a major rut - part of the reason that we broke up is that we were both stuck.
I am in the position of having to start my life over at 36 years old. I have never lived anywhere else. I am unhappy at my job and sick of the NY winters. Everywhere I go I am reminded of her. The cost of living here is so expensive that it is going to be difficult to live a decent lifestyle as a single man. It seems that there aren't a lot of job opportunities here for me (retail/management/sales) that pay a decent wage. I currently make about 55k.
I don't have any friends or anything holding me back. Part of me feels like moving would be the best way to have a fresh start. My Brother lives in Charlotte and loves it. I wouldn't want to move somewhere without friends or family.
Art is a HUGE part of my life. My girl and I would go to NYC all the time to see concerts and go to museums etc. The Hudson Valley is beautiful. The Hudson River, the mountains....everything is so close and I love the seasons (except the brutal winters). I am not a left winger, but at the risk of sounding like an ignorant elitist douche, I don't want to move to a place that is all Nascar, Applebees and Country Music. I know that it is not NYC, but is there cool art going on? Do bands (other than huge bands) tour there? Do they have indie movie theaters and cool restaurants?
I did a little searching for women on dating sites and it seems that they all love sports and have a dog and read 50 shades of grey (no exaggeration). I am "paranoid" that I won't meet people who are into high brow literature, MadMen and Radiohead. I don't know if I could suffer through talking about Nicholas Sparks and going to see Will Ferrel movies.
How is the job market? I know that the job market here in NY sucks as I receive resumes regularly from overqualified people. I know that the cost of living is less, but I am worried about not being able to find a decent job. Are the salaries decent?
Weather - I love the seasons here and the Fall. I don't mind the cold, but I hate not being able to go outside for months of the year. The tons of snow that we have been receiving suck too. Conversely, I HATE humidity.
I don't know if moving will be a gutsy but difficult thing that will ultimately shake things up and start me on the road to happiness or be completely stupid and I'll regret it. When people say "you could always move back"....that is not what I want to hear right now
How is the job market? I know that the job market here in NY sucks as I receive resumes regularly from overqualified people. I know that the cost of living is less, but I am worried about not being able to find a decent job. Are the salaries decent?
It's impossible to answer a question on "the job market" and salaraies without knowing what specific area you're looking into (it's much different in urban areas than rural) and especially, what industry. Why don't you tell us what your experience is in what field and what you'd be looking for. Use sites like indeed.com to check out your kind of job in different areas, and Glassdoor to get salary info.
Weather - I love the seasons here and the Fall. I don't mind the cold, but I hate not being able to go outside for months of the year. The tons of snow that we have been receiving suck too. Conversely, I HATE humidity.[/quote]
NC is not really the place for someone who "hates humidity" except maybe the mountains.
What made you pick NC in the first place? Have you ever spent time here? There are lots of places that are "not NY", many of them much less humid!
Charlotte is fine, and since your brother is there it's worth checking out. It's business-oriented and home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, y'know (as well as the Billy Graham Library), but there's other cool stuff there too. Good job market there for your skills. There are some good museums (the Mint, the Blumenthal) and some good bands that come to Charlotte. More pro-sports and big buildings in Charlotte, too.
Lots of what you list sounds like Asheville. It's a beautiful area, very artsy vibe, tons of music lots of great food and great beer if you like that (many great local microbreweries there, but Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Oskar Blues all have breweries in the general vicinity). The drawback to Asheville is it's a tourism-based economy and low wage area. It's so beautiful lots of people will work for cheap. Fab place to visit and definitely worth looking at, but just a heads up that the job situation is not ideal. It's about 2 hrs from Charlotte, so if you land in Charlotte first you could check out Asheville and see what the job prospects might be for you.
I'd also suggest looking at the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). It's a little more "high brow" than Charlotte. The major NC universities are there (Duke, UNC, NC State) and there's a lot happening culturally. It's has much better job opportunities than Asheville. It's very pleasant (as is Charlotte), but not as beautiful as the mountains. On the plus side it's closer to the beach. Both Charlotte and the Triangle are significantly hotter in the summer than Asheville. Charlotte and the Triangle are roughly 2-3 hrs apart, so you could still see your brother easily for weekend jaunts, but just not on a daily basis.
I would like another retail management/management/sales job that pays at least 45k
I don't mind some humidity in the Summer (Heck! We get that in NY). I just don't want to be sweating all of the time. I love wearing thin hoodies and I just don't want to be sweating 9 months out of the year. Is it humid all year round? How much cool/crisp/nice long sleeve weather do you get?
You should post in the Charlotte forum if you're looking there specifically.
It's reliably hot and humid from May-September.
I hate cold weather and for me there's not a whole lot of long sleeve weather. It's either hot or cold and not a lot of 60s days. You certainly can't count on that. You can count on it being hot all summer long. The rest of the year is very up and down. It got down into the single digits this winter (which is super cold for us), but you can also have 70 degree days in January. It's just very up and down. Fall and especially Spring are the same way. You can easily hit the 80s, occasionally even 90s in March, or you could have snow. Very unpredictable.
I would like another retail management/management/sales job that pays at least 45k
I don't mind some humidity in the Summer (Heck! We get that in NY). I just don't want to be sweating all of the time. I love wearing thin hoodies and I just don't want to be sweating 9 months out of the year. Is it humid all year round? How much cool/crisp/nice long sleeve weather do you get?
Thanks again
May through September is humid and ranges from warm to hot as hades. March to mid-April and mid-October and November (plus or minus) are cool and crisp.
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