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According to the NC Employment Security Commission, the unemployment rates as of November 2008 were:
Raleigh 5.2%
Cary 4.3%
Durham 5.4%
Chapel Hill 3.6%
Compared to National unemployment at 7.2% (December data)
NC statewide 7.8%
Charlotte 7%
Gastonia 9.3%
Goldsboro 8.4%
Hence my statement that we are still one of the best areas for employment in the country.
Thx for the info and clarification. I think we can probably ignore comparing Nov for one to Dec for another as the diff's are likely minimal, but this is still somewhat misleading, ie you're comparing very specific areas of NC to the country overall, which is a very broad brushstroke. eg hypothetically if you had 10 areas and unemployment was 100% in one area and zero for the rest, you could say "unemployment in these areas is 10%" (technically true but misleading). Further it's not like the diff is night and day, and "best areas for employment" is a broad statement as well, as you're only talking about one figure: overall unemployment rates. Obviously very significant, but not the only factor.....
Thanks for the info. I am looking to work in either one of the local hospitals or the V.A. hospital due to being a veteran. I also was thinking of going to work on the military base in there hospital as well. So I am out trying to get as much info on NC or SC as I can. And the main reason for leaving this area is the cold weather. I am so tired of the ridicules high cost of trying to stay warm. I woke up this morning to -7 deg.
I can say that this area is worth a look for you. Maybe it won't be your choice in the end, bit it offers a lot and is worth consideration. I see a tremendous amount of misinformation and broad generalizations spouted out by some that don't want more people to come here. But I am here to point out the real deal. There are many places people can choose to live here that will provide a wonderful life. For me, it was Cary and the following is the comparison for me in Cary compared to where we lived in MA.
Overall cost of living is dramatically less here. When I combine how far we had to drive to get to things in MA, high mileage put on vehicles, expensive housing, incredibly high property taxes, insane heating bills and lower pay, it really added up. In Cary we paid less for our home, got a better home, the total utilities for the year are a fraction of what we paid in MA, property taxes are minuscule, traffic is light to moderate at it's worst, everything is extremely close, we can walk to a ton of things we need, mileage on our vehicles has dropped dramatically, now our cars will last 2 decades instead of 4 years. So for us, Cary is a LOT less expensive than MA was. It goes well past a couple of tax rates that some like to put up as some sort of evidence that the Triangle is much more expensive than MA.
Living in Cary offers us many more choices of employers in the Triangle. We are very diverse in industry here, which is what will protect us from the most severe effects of the recession. We have many colleges, a big medical industry, biotech and countless other industries, along with the unfortunate presence of many government jobs. Were we lived in MA offered almost nothing. There were no places to work in town, except the local Agway. We had to drive 45 minutes to find work and even at that, there was not much choice. To find the quality jobs we can find here, we would have to drive about 90 minutes each way in MA.
In our part of MA, roads were falling apart, homes rotting and abandoned, no sidewalks, no parks, no stores, no places to eat. It was a long drive to do anything. Living in Cary, we have almost 2 dozen parks, sidewalks & bike trails everywhere, greenways, plenty of places to shop & dine, plenty of activities for those that are active.
In MA, people were shut off from other folks. Very rushed and very rude. We have found Cary to be extremely welcoming and friendly. I would say that some of the city folk remind me more of the north, but the suburban folk have been really kind. It's not Midwest kind, but a lot closer to that than what we found in MA.
Absolute beauty here. The beauty in Cary and some other locations here is stunning. No it is not mountain view beauty, but everyday clean, well kept, manicured, landscaped, architectural beauty. Contrast that with our home area in MA, and it's like going from a trailer park to a resort.
These key points I have posted are not fiction, misleading or false. These are OUR experiences from where we did live, to where we live now. Our experiences are indisputable. They are what they are. Does this mean you will have the exact experiences? No. Yours may be even better or may not be as good. But the point of the forum is to express our opinions and experiences, so that others may be able to benefit from them. From the nice DM's I have been receiving, I can only come away with a nice feeling knowing that I have been able to help you with your decision, however it turns out.
Wow-- some of you really get all tense about these posts.
I am a NC native--- well TECHNICALLY I was born in Ft Hood, TX and moved to eastern NC with my mom to my grandparents before I was walking. I also did live overseas for just about 2 years during the mid 90s-- so there is that too.
I went to college at UNC CH, took some time off when I was making way way way too much money as a 19-20 year old as a technical headhunter and finished up at a small private college years later when I figured out UNC CH was NOT non-traditional student friendly.
I have lived in the Triangle since 1996-- Chapel Hill until 2002, Holly Springs until mid 2007 and Apex in my first purchased home from summer 2007 until present.
Jobs are very personal. One person can find a job in days with their skills whereas another may have to look for months. When I was a headhunter, I interviewed THOUSANDS and so many people just plain suck it at interviewing. Some just don't know how to follow up or even be aggressive. Some folks will be borderline annoying, but when you have that perfect opening they are the first people you remember. I think it was fortunate for me so early in my career I had recruiting experience because I learned A LOT about selling myself. Even during the post 9/11 world, the longest (thank God) I have ever been unemployed was a month. I credit it to being completely unafraid of re-inventing myself and moving into completely different roles if need be. I have done a little of everything from recruiting, HR, technical support, outside sales, business and systems analysis.
I am not saying that I think if I were to be laid off RIGHT NOW that I would not freak, but I have a Plan A and Plan B. Plan A is I am in a graduate school program which supplements my accounting/business degree and Plan B is that I am taking pre-req science courses at Wake Tech to make myself competitive for a health field (potentially radiology/nursing) should I not be able to find anything in the business world. Does it leave a lot of time for free time? Absolutely not. I am fortunate that I do not have kids to worry about, but I constantly plan for that next downfall and surprise.
This area is not Oz with a golden brick road. However, it is far better off than many other cities I have been to in the West and Northeast. Would I move to this area without a job? Hell no! I wouldn't move to ANY area without a job.
Do I think this place is losing its charm? I personally don't think so. I still love living here. I loved living in Chapel Hill and I love living in Apex. Holly Springs was a little too randomly planned for me. I personally do not want to live in an underdeveloped decripit area. My NC hometown is one of those! You think you have to drive here?? In my hometown you have to drive far to get anything of quality-- you only have a couple grocery stores to choose from-- and prices are pretty high for a community that is DYING. But then again, I guess it still has it's "small town charm" if you like mass unemployment (for years not just suddenly), abandoned downtown, high crime, etc.
Once again, we get Charleton Dude's hyperbolic sales job for the Triangle in general and Cary in particular. It is just irresponsible to lure people here when we have this kind of unemployment. Just because the Triangle is lower than the national average doesn't mean we want to encourage MORE unemployed people to move here! I hate to say it, but there are a lot of stupid people out there who will incur the cost of moving here, only to find that they can't get jobs in 2009. I work with homeless families, and demand for our assistance is WAY UP. Many of these families came here thinking it was the land of milk and honey, only to discover that they just got laid off or they can't even find a job to begin with. I hope the new folks who move down here remember to look up Charleton Dude and hit him up for rent money when that happens.
So, CD, settle a bet for me. Are you:
(a) a realtor trying to get sales,
(b) a PR man for some local government trying to earn his paycheck, or
(c) a small business owner who needs more foot traffic to make a profit?
Amen Saturnfan. Just because where you are from is some god forsaken S-Hole why do you have to act like a sheep and come in droves to destroy someone else's hometown?
I'll tell you why. Because you are exploiting the fact that your former place of residence was grossly overpriced. You sell, move down to take advantage of lower housing costs, driving up costs of the people who have lived in North Carolina for generations. You come down and scream at the top of your lungs that life here is so great. Yeah, it's great for you because you essentially got free money by exploiting our quality of life when you cashed in your absurd equity. And then you crow about it? You shameless, tacky, braggart, loudmouth Yankee with your stereotypical BS. That is exactly why you will never be accepted here and never be a local. There is a fundamental difference between people who rub salt in the wounds of others and the decent common folks.
Why these Yankees seem to not have one drop of pride in where they are from is beyond me. Has greed and the euphoria of personal gain at the expense of others so thoroughly evaporated these peoples souls that they have no capacity to empathize with the people that they are trampling upon? There is a soul sickness in this country and it infects North Carolina and the Triangle more and more with each new real estate serpent that slithers down I-95 to gobble up more forest forcing us to slap up ever more trailers in a desperate attempt to educate their soulless kids as well as our own.
What you give out comes around and you better believe that the euphoria you feel now at the warm winter and cheaper housing will change. You will want to close the door behind you and what you see today as less-crowded and more green will tomorrow seem like it is getting too crowded and that the green space and woods that you loved so much near your house has been raised to build cookie-cutter condo’s or another strip mall. The same exact thing that you brought that broke my heart will break yours down the line. But not as much because you will then move on to the next “Best” place and crow about the opportunity there. And I will remain, having to view the ruin of your former “opportunity” as I drive yet another generation of my family to their baseball game or school or whatever. Because to you my home is something to make you feel wealthy, that you can brag about to your friends and strangers on the Internet. To me, it is a part of me, that with each new you is snuffed out a little bit more. Now after fifteen years of it I’m weary but you can’t see that fatigue on my face, because you are too busy looking past me at the opportunity of the dirt like the good little capitalist you were conditioned to be.
Wow-- some of you really get all tense about these posts.
This area is not Oz with a golden brick road. However, it is far better off than many other cities I have been to in the West and Northeast. Would I move to this area without a job? Hell no! I wouldn't move to ANY area without a job.
Do I think this place is losing its charm? I personally don't think so. I still love living here. I loved living in Chapel Hill and I love living in Apex. Holly Springs was a little too randomly planned for me. I personally do not want to live in an underdeveloped decripit area. My NC hometown is one of those! You think you have to drive here?? In my hometown you have to drive far to get anything of quality-- you only have a couple grocery stores to choose from-- and prices are pretty high for a community that is DYING. But then again, I guess it still has it's "small town charm" if you like mass unemployment (for years not just suddenly), abandoned downtown, high crime, etc.
Thanks for a great post. As I always say, in today's economy I would never suggest that anyone move here without a job unless they have a very large reserve fund or are already out of work and feel their area will not provide another employment opportunity for them. It gets even tougher if you have kids. If you don't have kids at home, like us, you are able to take more of a gamble. I definitely advise anyone to line up a job before they move anywhere, when possible.
In the end, it is up to each individual to look at their own situation and where they live. No matter how many people post that you will be worse off here, rather than where you live, that will not make it so. They have not lived where you are living. Only you can understand the condition of your town. Those of us that left decaying and dying towns to come to a newer and growing area are the ones that understand the difference and can appreciate what this area has to offer. I sometimes feel people that have lived here a long time forget just how good they have it. That's probably why us transplants have a much better appreciation of the Triangle. We came from something far worse, more recently. We have something to compare it to.
What was the cause of your dying state? Is it now thriving? And is this a warning to those moving here the impending doom that happened there is now here?
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You're kidding I hope.
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