NEPA College Grad to the South (Carlisle, Dallas: appointed, transplants, 2014)

[Moopsiepie]

Originally Posted by Gettingouttahere

Lack of diversity and more segregation, more conservative outside of a few college/city areas, stifling humidity, low cost of living because of much lower wages, better roads, much slower pace of life.

Those are mostly the reasons I left the South (Florida + S.C.). Except for the roads.

But you may like those things, so best of luck to you!

Yeah some of those things I wouldn't mind and would enjoy, especially the heat and slower pace of life. Did you mention you lived in Charleston? This is somewhere that I am looking into. I'm just wondering where is good for people in their 20s, etc

[Moopsiepie]

Originally Posted by theatergypsy

moopsie, miserable is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps you, yourself, may be part of that statistic, given that you are so unhappy here in NEPA.

I'm just a bit perplexed at your comment about the "middle-aged and older" residents being "stingy". Taken out of context, it's possible to assume that you have an older relative who has refused to part with something you want.

While I hope that isn't what you meant, let me point out that the older people - I'm one of them - are living out their days on Social Security payments and what little they may have been able to scrape together into a "retirement" account during their working years. And many of the middle-aged folk have been ousted from jobs and have no prospect for another that offered the salary and benefits they were earning before their jobs went away. They may be evidencing "stingy" because they don't know where their next dollar will come from.

As for moving south, you might want to check with SteelCityRising, who currently resides in Pittsburgh, having been much more unhappier during his sojourn to the NoVa environs. He being a fellow King's alum, will probably be delighted to offer his experience.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

I will check with that user, thanks and I think hearing things from fellow college students from out of the area is what made me use the word "stingy," I think it is something they picked up on after coming to college here if they do not know a lot of background. I am probably part of the statistic because of family reasons.

[Moopsiepie]

Originally Posted by PAhippo

no-sorry


The OP mentioned that NEPA was top of the list for most miserable in the country. I'm curious about where this list is.

Here is the article from the Times Tribune

Poll: Those in NEPA among most miserable in U.S. - News - The Times-Tribune

[CarbonCountyLiving]

If you look at that list, you'll see that there are a lot of southern communities listed as miserable as well.

What is your field? What degree do you have? Look for an area in which that field has high demand and move there. You'll be much happier if you have a job when you move

[Moopsiepie]

Originally Posted by CarbonCountyLiving

If you look at that list, you'll see that there are a lot of southern communities listed as miserable as well.

What is your field? What degree do you have? Look for an area in which that field has high demand and move there. You'll be much happier if you have a job when you move

My field is media and communications. I know NYC is basically the capital for all of that, but I'm not ready to take that big of a leap since I haven't even lived in a smaller sized city yet.

[ConfusingRotary]

I lived in Southwest Georgia (Leesburg) for a couple years.

I think the biggest shock I had was the overt religious zealotry. I've never had so many people trying to convert me or go to their church.

That said, I didn't find them very superficial. People were largely the same there as they were in NEPA. They definitely gave me a hard time for being a "yankee," but in the end they were all OK.

I disagree about segregation, though. It's WAY more segregated there, and I think that's why there is more overt racism. Up here (really across the entire Northeast), communities are petty much always one type. The Hispanic section, the white neighborhood, the black part, the Asian segment, etc. There's a reason there is a term "token black," and it's absolutely not due to the south.

I went to a predominantly white school in GA, but it was still about 35% black. If you find a school like that here, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a city school with a bad reputation.

My biggest complaints about the South, at least where I lived, are:
A) religion everywhere and the reason for doing anything
B) No job prospects and even more spread out than NEPA. We lived about 4 hours from Atlanta, and that was the nearest large city...
C) the heat!!! Some people like 70 degree January days, but I am not one of them. In midsummer, it was borderline unbearable to be outside to do anything active. 100 degrees with 90% humidity... No thanks.

You'll have to go and investigate for yourself to really know for sure.

[fisheye]

Grab me a cup of boiled peanuts, a soft shelled crab on a roll and some Southern fried chicken! There are some better parts about being down South.

I hate the heat and humidity - but I do love the food. I was raised on those Smithfield hams that are part salt lick.

[Moopsiepie]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Grab me a cup of boiled peanuts, a soft shelled crab on a roll and some Southern fried chicken! There are some better parts about being down South.

I hate the heat and humidity - but I do love the food. I was raised on those Smithfield hams that are part salt lick.

Lol thanks for the positivity! Feel free to elaborate on the food or anything else! I think it all boils to which parts of the south exactly. I lived in Australia to study for a few months and I loved the heat, which was a few times worse there of course.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Moopsiepie

Lol thanks for the positivity! Feel free to elaborate on the food or anything else! I think it all boils to which parts of the south exactly. I lived in Australia to study for a few months and I loved the heat, which was a few times worse there of course.

At some of the chicken buffets you can find fried livers and gizzards. I always loved the subs at Larry's Giant Subs in Darien Georgia - but many places make great melts/grinders today (you don't have to drive for 12 hours).

If your degree is in the sciences; you might want to check out: Research Triangle Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Atlanta GA area has been hit with higher unemployed rates in recent years and higher crime rates as far as I know.

[CarbonCountyLiving]

Originally Posted by Moopsiepie

My field is media and communications. I know NYC is basically the capital for all of that, but I'm not ready to take that big of a leap since I haven't even lived in a smaller sized city yet.

As someone who works in that field, I can reassure you that the South is not the ideal place to find a job. Atlanta might work, but the communications jobs are still few and far between. I know this for a fact since I looked at Atlanta for a while (and still am, although I'm not sure my reasons for wanting to live there are very good) and didn't have any luck finding a job. As an example, for every 10 communications jobs I found in Philly (where I am now) I found maybe one in Atlanta. A lot of jobs out there now also require at least 3 years experience.


Honestly, if you can afford it I'd say just bite the bullet and move to NYC. You're only young once and now's the time to do it. If you live in the boroughs it's a lot less overwhelming in size, not to mention cheaper. You'll be able to find an entry level job in a hot second. Then, if you've lived there for a while and still want to go to a smaller city down south, you'll have the experience to score a decent job.


What I'm trying to get at is, you'll need to figure out where you can find a job before you move somewhere. Hopefully you will luck out and find something where you want to go, but I wouldn't close off any particular area of the country as an entry-level communications professional. Good luck!!