Considering Moving from New York City (Columbia, Charleston: employment, schools, quality of life)

[allenr74]

Hello,

I'm considering moving out of New York State. I've lived here all of my life (35 years) but am looking for a change and a better life for my family. The taxes and cost of living keep rising (so does the insanity of the politicians but that is mostly everywhere... I digress)and I don't see relief anytime soon.

I am considering SC. Can anyone suggest good places in SC? I'm looking for an area that borders on suburban/rural (I live in Queens County and would like an area that is like Central/Eastern Nassau County in the '70s and '80s in terms of density).

I work in IT and could possibly work remotely with my current employer.

I'm also a Freemason, so if anyone on this board is one I'd also appreciate some guidance on local lodges (if, in fact I do move to SC.... TN, VA, NC and GA are in the running).

I don't want too much, do I? Thanks in advance for all your help!!!!

Allen

[creekgirl4life]

Hi Allen,
South Carolina might have a few spots for you and your family;-) In terms of taxes SC would be much lower than NY but I believe taxes will continue to go up for all of us.
As for locale if you prefer being closer to the coast of Myrtle Beach...Conway, Longs, Loris.... Georgetown
Lowcountry....Summerville...
Midlands areas closer to Columbia....Camden, Sumter
Upstate near Greenville....Simpsonville, Laurens
There are many other possibilities..... Discover SC.

[pburgess68]

Avoid Myrtle Beach, Conway, Longs, Loris & Georgetown (Horry County) if you have a family. The schools are subpar compared to NY schools. There are little to no employment opportunities (if you're married, or if you have a possibility of losing your job).

If you are used to the culture of the city like having lots to do, but don't want to live in the city, try areas outside of Charleston, but when I was reading their forums the other day, they too are having high unemployment problems. However, if your job was going with you, I'd consider this area over Horry County, regardless. It's more pet and family friendly than Horry county could ever wish to be, most likely because we are more focused on tourism than anything.

I've read a lot of great things about what the previous poster said about the other towns, you may want to visit those separate forums and check them out as well. (Midlands, Greenville, etc)

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by allenr74

Hello,

I'm considering moving out of New York State. I've lived here all of my life (35 years) but am looking for a change and a better life for my family. The taxes and cost of living keep rising (so does the insanity of the politicians but that is mostly everywhere... I digress)and I don't see relief anytime soon.

I am considering SC. Can anyone suggest good places in SC? I'm looking for an area that borders on suburban/rural (I live in Queens County and would like an area that is like Central/Eastern Nassau County in the '70s and '80s in terms of density).

I work in IT and could possibly work remotely with my current employer.

I'm also a Freemason, so if anyone on this board is one I'd also appreciate some guidance on local lodges (if, in fact I do move to SC.... TN, VA, NC and GA are in the running).

I don't want too much, do I? Thanks in advance for all your help!!!!

Allen

I did the same thing a few years ago and relocated from NYC to Greenville, SC. Taxes and overall cost of living is a lot cheaper here in SC. Also not overcrowded and will offer you the better quality of life that you are seeking. Columbia, SC and Greenville, SC are two areas that are nice. However whenever the topic of relocating from a larger city to a smaller city is asked I try to caution people. NY has high taxes and cost more to live there but on the flip side of that coin it also has diverse job opportunities........there are plenty of different industries located in NY. While SC does offer better quality of life then NY........it does not offer a lot of options when it comes to industries, the job opportunities are very limited here and the pay is not great. SC has one of the highest un-employment rates in the nation.

Just my observation as someone who has experienced living in both areas. Good luck.

[Greenville]

The state of South Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates, but the Greenville and Columbia metros do not. Apples and oranges.

California and Illnois have lower unemployment rates than South Carolina, but Los Angeles and Chicago both had higher unemployment rates in May than both Greenville and Columbia (I have not seen more recent data comparing metros nationwide, but I assume it is still about what it was). The point is that people need to look at the specific areas where they are moving, rather than the data for states as a whole.

[FlyDrive100b]

Columbia and Grenville have high unemployment rates, also to the OP , you have four duplicate posts/threads asking the same question

[Akhenaton06]

Aiken, Dorchester, Greenville, Lexington, and York counties are good candidates.

[FlyDrive100b]

Good counties? You could give more specifics, but SC economy is in a mess.

Denying it is unlikely to help, of course there are people doing fine, but its still a mess.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by tech2enable

Columbia and Grenville have high unemployment rates, also to the OP , you have four duplicate posts/threads asking the same question

Columbia 9.3 (below the national average), Greenville 10.5

http://www.sces.org/lmi/news/July_2009.pdf

[FlyDrive100b]

That is still high, and its only 0.1 point below the national average,

however bls says the unemployment for columbia is 10.0 and 11% for greenville,

the numbers were also not seasonly adjusted meaning the unemployment numbers coulld be higher, although state unemployment dropped.

Also see this note http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/1032766.html (broken link) about the slightly lower unemployment numbers in certain areas