Where would be best for me? (Roanoke, Lynchburg: sales, sublet, 2014)

[mag-nolia]

Hi everyone!

I am a 26 year old female that is born and raised in Northwest Connecticut.

I have been toying with the idea of moving to somewhere new for a few years now but haven't found what seems to be a great match. Virginia is a state I am considering, though I've never visited. I'm a pretty easy person to please...I moved to an area of Pennsylvania for a year that I had never been to and didn't have many issues. I only moved back home to CT because my father had died while living there and I wanted to be closer to family & friends (this was 3 years ago).

I've spent 25 of my 26 years in CT and I just am really itching for a change. I've been looking through the picture thread and my god...what a beautiful state you have! Whether it's the beach or the woods...so stunning.

I'm also just very sick of the high cost of living here....everything is so expensive and it's so hard to make it here as a young working female.

To tell you a little bit about myself...

I am 26 and have a BA in Communications. I currently work full time for a small boutique communications firm as a project assistant, I've been there for a little over a year, and wouldn't mind doing something similar in VA. I've also worked part time (on Saturdays) for some of the big pet food companies out there as a sales rep, and I love this as well, and wouldn't mind also perhaps finding a good job in the pet industry. I also have some admin experience at a law firm and interned at MTV during college.

I have 2 dogs, and they are definitely the most important thing to me! I'd love to be somewhere dog friendly and having dog parks nearby would be a huge plus. Besides that, my entertainment needs are pretty simple...I like going to the movies, going out to eat, going to concerts and occasionally going to a bar.

I currently am just having trouble making ends meet in this state...and I feel like i'm going to be stuck in this stage for awhile when this state just keeps going downhill it seems. Do you think Virginia could be a good fit for me? And what about employment prospects in either the communications/marketing field or the pet industry?

To tell you about what I like in regards to living environment, here are just some words that come out off the top of my head:

Green
Lush
Mild temps
Fairly quiet
Woods
Mountains
Streams/rivers
Serene
Suburban

Right now, if I had to choose (based on what little info I do have), being close to the beaches really appeals to me. I've grown up in the woods in Connecticut, so beach life would be something new for me, maybe a nice change!

Thank you for any insight you can give me!

[LynchburgLover]

Well, since no one else has answered, I'll jump in with my standard advice. Find the job first. It is still a tight job market outside of Northern Virginia, which is a very expensive area. Your criteria can really be found just about anywhere. Jobs are harder. Just start sending resumes and then you can zero in on specific neighborhoods etc.

But, truthfully, if I were you, I'd skip Virginia and look at Greenville, SC. (Virginia is about to elect a slate of Democrats so the taxes and cost of living will be soaring soon). Greenville fits all of your criteria with a fairly low cost of living and it is booming with young professionals. The upstate of SC is more conservative and is four or so hours to the beach so you'd have to take that into consideration. One of our children lives close to Greenville and they love hiking in the mountains and taking their dog to the dog parks.

Best of luck.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by meg31816

Green
Lush
Mild temps
Fairly quiet
Woods
Mountains
Streams/rivers
Serene
Suburban

When I read this list, I was ready to say Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke, Roanoke and Roanoke.

But then you said beach, so I had to recalculate.

If you can settle for the beach at a lake (or a several hour drive for a beach fix) you would love Roanoke I think. Great size of city for having opportunities but a very compact metro area. Read through some of the discussions on the separate Roanoke section of the forum.

[ArlingtonRenter]

At your age, I would focus on re-locating somewhere with a strong job market with a lot of diverse employment opportunities.

Another poster (LynchburgLover) recommended Greenville, SC. Based on this article from Forbes magazine (see below), it sounds like Greenville is very dependent on manufacturing. I mention this b/c your background would not be a good fit for a manufacturing type job.

The Best And Worst Cities For Jobs This Spring - Forbes

I would recommend Northern Virginia. Sure, the cost of living is high, especially housing. But salaries are competitive, and the job market is strong, and there is a lot diversity in the types of employers and industries that are represented here.

If I were you, I'd start applying for some jobs in the NOVA area right now and then think about relocating here sometime in the early spring of 2014, even if you don't have a full-time job lined up. You can always find a survival job while you're job searching, and it helps that you have experience with sales and retail. You could probably find an shared sublet in a shared housing to keep your expenses low while you're doing the survival job.