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I am big into my family/ friends here and I have a big support system in NY, so it will be a big move for me- I guess I will need to be a in pretty young, populated area in order to make new friends, which I am looking forward to! [/font]
I have lived in various southern states throughout my life from FL, TX, & SC. I found after I experienced the culture, heat, and lifestyle of the South, that the North was a better fit for me. However, it is the fact that you have a huge support system up here is why I would recommend you stay up North. There are plenty of small towns and cities within a two hour radius of NYC that could better fit your lifestyle while at the same time keep you close to family and friends. I thought it would be easy when I was younger to make new friends, establish a new life when I picked up and moved. What I found that it is really difficult because most people become set in their ways and social circles and it is hard to rebuild that from scratch. Not impossible, but hard. And I think that is true for anyone making a move to another place - not just North to South. If your network here is as strong as you say it is, why go so far away?
Hi,
I am also hoping for some advice on relocating south. I am not sure whether moving to North or South Carolina (or even Georgia) would be the best fit- to be honest I don’t know much about either, other than I was going to go to college in Charleston, SC…
I am 27 years old and I grew up in Westchester, NY. I then went to Maryland for college and moved back into NYC after graduation to do the whole ‘single with roommates in the city’ thing. I quickly realized that city living was not for me, so although I work there (for a city hospital staffing medical professionals in HR), I moved back to Westchester (the burbs) and commute to work every day.
I definitely need a change of pace. NY is not really where I want to be at this point in my life, and I realized I am a small town girl at heart. I do enjoy being close enough to young city life, but I rather be somewhere a bit warmer, friendlier, and close to a smaller city. NY is just too big, too fast, too expensive, and too dirty!
I am very active, so being outdoors is a passion of mine (running, hiking, biking)- Being close to the ocean or a lake is really what I am hoping for. I also enjoy meeting new people and eating really great food, so going out to fun restaurants for drinks/dinner with friends is pretty much what I like doing rather than going to a lounge/club. I am big into my family/ friends here and I have a big support system in NY, so it will be a big move for me- I guess I will need to be a in pretty young, populated area in order to make new friends, which I am looking forward to!
Any advice?
My guess is you would be looking at Columbia SC. It's close to Lake Murray and it has a good mix of employers so you're not dependent on any one industry. It also has abundant indigenous sources of energy so expect electric bills to be much lower. Dallas is surrounded by a number of smaller lakes.
Odds are, if you move, you will be even more isolated than you are now.
You will lose friends and family, and be an outsider in a city who only knows a few work people.
If you move to a small town, everyone will be married by 27.
But, you'll need to learn that for yourself.
Are you living with your parents right now?
Do you have many friends in Westchester, or did they all move to NYC?
My advice is to first make the best of your current situation. Branch out in Westchester.
There are lots of active 20s and 30s people into running, hiking, biking. You just need to find them.
I do each of those 3 activities (and others) with various friends.
From her first 3 paragraphs, it looks like Nancy has more things to worry about than isolation. At her age, rank and income level, it makes more sense to move elsewhere where there is higher demand for someone with her skills and working conditions are better such that it will take less of a toll.
Forest,
Are we reading the same thing? Where do you read that her skills are in higher demand elsewhere?
If she moves, she might have to get a job at Starbucks. Giving up her job is a major risk in moving.
The only reason she gives for wanting to move is that the city is "yucky". A stupid reason to move to the South.
I am the one saying that her skills and experience are in higher demand elsewhere.
She said works in hospital staffing. There are cities where hiring in healthcare and other admin work is more robust, like Dallas and Memphis. Or she can work in a shared services job. It doesn't have to be Starbucks. Especially when it comes to admin work, NYC is no longer competitive.
Now we all know that the payscale in that field in the NYC metro is paltry compared with the COL - lower $$, longer working hours over and above a long commute.
In other cities, that pay will stretch further, she can get a job closer to work and overall QOL will improve.
There is always a risk when one leaves a job to move elsewhere. I did it when I came to NY. There are other people in the NY forums who have done it and have been successful in finding work and most of them are happy with the decision.
OMG you have GOT to think this through! I moved to Westchester from Virginia 5 years ago. I had a young daughter adopted from another country and my husband had died. THAT ALONE - BEING THAT DIFFERENT (a fairly young widow with a 'foreign' kid) was enough to drive me to seek more progressive grounds! Yes, it is more laid back in the southeast, yes people seem very friendly on the surface (but honey, they will talk about your behind your back in a heartbeat). I'm stereotyping, but NY'ers will tell you to your face what southerners will spread behind your back. LOL. If you like country music, fine, but can't you listen to it here? What are you going to do in Nashville, crawl the country music clubs every night? if so, fine.
The cost of living is very low and so are the taxes, but you also get what you pay for. My daughter ended up having special needs and people told me "I don't want my tax dollars to go up paying for your kid's needs, why did you bring her here anyway?"
And of course when I told people I was going to move to New York, the negative reaction was enough to make me sure I was making the right decision! "Why would you want to live there?" "aren't NYer's bad people?" etc. etc. and I'm not talking hicks here. I'm talking professionals and semi-professionals in a moderate sized city.
OMG you have GOT to think this through! I moved to Westchester from Virginia 5 years ago. I had a young daughter adopted from another country and my husband had died. THAT ALONE - BEING THAT DIFFERENT (a fairly young widow with a 'foreign' kid) was enough to drive me to seek more progressive grounds! Yes, it is more laid back in the southeast, yes people seem very friendly on the surface (but honey, they will talk about your behind your back in a heartbeat). I'm stereotyping, but NY'ers will tell you to your face what southerners will spread behind your back. LOL. If you like country music, fine, but can't you listen to it here? What are you going to do in Nashville, crawl the country music clubs every night? if so, fine.
The cost of living is very low and so are the taxes, but you also get what you pay for. My daughter ended up having special needs and people told me "I don't want my tax dollars to go up paying for your kid's needs, why did you bring her here anyway?"
And of course when I told people I was going to move to New York, the negative reaction was enough to make me sure I was making the right decision! "Why would you want to live there?" "aren't NYer's bad people?" etc. etc. and I'm not talking hicks here. I'm talking professionals and semi-professionals in a moderate sized city.
so, good luck!
Interesting. My experience in Nashville was quite the opposite. The people I met in Nashville were some of the nicest, most welcoming people I ever met. They loved the fact I was from New York and loved asking me about my New York accent. I've got a few friends who have moved south (North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and they all love their decisions. None of them have any desire to come back to the Northeast.
Be careful with the Nashville country music stereotype! Of Nashville's top 25 radio stations, only four are country stations and none of the country stations are in the top five listened to! NYC is actually the LARGEST country music market in the USA.
Most of the clubs/bars in Nashville do not play country music. If you hang out and crawl certain parts of downtown you'll definitely find the honky-tonks and live country music bars that attract so many tourists, but you'll also find some amazing live jazz, blues and rock music. You can also find your typical clubs, just like you would in any city. Nashville's Bridgestone Area is the 6th most popular music venue in the USA for artists to stop at on tour.
I don't know much about special needs programs down south, so I cannot speak to that. If someone wants to move, they should do so and learn if it's right for them. If she doesn't like it, she can always come back to New York or some other metro area.
I'm in no way trying to insult you, I just want it to be known that many of the northeastern stereotypes about the south are not true. Perhaps I'm biased. I visited Nashville and had an amazing time! All of my stereotypes were shattered and I was shocked at how cosmopolitan the city actually is.
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