Moving to the Carolinas? Anyone up there?

[JimRori]

My wife and I are thinking about moving from Orlando up to the Carolinas. Where exactly depends on available jobs, but around Charlotte seems most likely based on what's posted on Monster.com. Though I think I'd rather be over toward Asheville.

I was wondering...any VX'ers in that general area? What is the cost of living like up there? Anybody know any good websites to check on cost of living? Picking up the family and moving is a big decision... at least the hurricane situation won't be a problem.

Any info would be helpful.

[Heraclid]

Can't speak to specifics really, but I have heard NC taxes are reputedly some of the worst. Nice thing about FL is no state income tax of course. Beautiful state though - I have had the same thoughts after several trips up there. Charlotte is a great town, Asheville is a much prettier area.

Edit: Found this, pretty in-depth:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

Significant cost of living increase it appears, in housing at least.

[Mikeys00vx]

JimRori....I moved to Charlotte back in June. Its a great city. Heraclid mentioned the taxes....Well, I moved from Nashville, TN...where there was no state income tax as well. The biggest adjustment for me was opening my paycheck and seeing extra taxes being taken out. But...in TN the sales tax was 9.25%...and here in NC its 7%. The way i see it it, it evened out somewhat. The city of Charlotte is very nice. Like all big cities, it has its rougher areas. North/Northwest/South Charlotte are the nicer parts of town. There are some nice suburbs as well such as Concord, Belmont, Locust, and Ballantyne to name a few. The good thing is that it is 2.5 hours from mountains and 3.5 hours from the beach.

Let me know if I can help.

Mikey

00 Foxfire 30k

[Maugan_VX]

I've lived in both Charlotte and Raleigh and can say without a doubt that Raleigh is a better city to live and raise a family in.

I currently live in Cary which is just outside of Raleigh, comparable to South Charlotte except not as crowded and while there are tight covenants to make everything look asthetically sterile as possible, its not nearly as bad as South Charlotte.

We have the Research Triangle Park which is a hotbed for Pharma, Biotech, and general Technology jobs.

We have 1/10th the traffic of Charlotte, and 1.5 beltlines around the city, whereas Charlotte isn't finished with their first one. We're halfway complete with the 540 loop which is a huge highway around almost all of Wake County.

As for VX's in the area, I think there are 4 I could name at one point or another being on this site, but I manage to run across another in town about once every 4 months.

[technocoy]

I agree with maugan...

I grew up in concord/charlotte, and if you love atlanta, move there, as thats what it will be in ten more years, urban sprawl. they even put a moratorium on building there because of all the crappy construction being thrown up.

I now live in raleigh, and it's a wonderful area. chapel hill, durham, and several other cool towns are close by. lots more "real" culture as well. Charlotte is a giant bank with a ghetto. if thats for you go for it. he he. but i would definitely recommend the triangle area instead, and you are still only 2 hours (1.5 if you ride with me) from the beach and 3 hours from the wonderful NC mountains.

ashville: if you can find a job there, it's freakin beautiful up there. but, the job situation may be an issue... what field are you in?

also, if you like beach living (i prefer mountains myself, but can appreciate the beach life) wilmington has some nice, cool areas. especially downtown in the historic areas.

the awesome thing about the triangle is it is blowing up as far as new business and reputation as a safe and interesting place to live, so if you get here soon and buy property, it will increase in value like mad over the next five years. we bought our house downtown a little under two years ago (fixer-upper in historic neighborhood) and it has already gained about 30,000 in equity without much work at all, and the outside still looks shoddy, lol.

you'll love it here. i descovered that tax situations tend to balance out in one way, shape or form.

let us know if you have any other questions.

[geshaw30]

My mother & stepfather retired in Brevard (20 mins south of Asheville) years ago and I have been up there every summer since. The earlier post is correct about finding employment in western Carolina...it's bleek. Brevard is a beautiful town with hundreds of waterfalls within minutes but there are nearly zero employment opportunities. For the most part the areas surrounding Asheville are retirement communities (to the south anyway). Good luck & I'd suggest to follow the earlier recommendations of those that have lived there year round...stick to the middle of the state.
________
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[JimRori]

I started this thread not really expecting much but I always knew there were a bunch of helpful people hanging out on these boards...

I am a Creative Director or Art Director or Manager of Creative Services or Senior Designer, etc. It depends on the company. Basically I would work in or manage an art dept. either in-house or at an ad agency. I do art, shoot and edit video, copywriting, marketing, etc.

I’ve heard that Asheville is beautiful, but I haven’t seen any openings up there either. Most of the jobs I've been finding are in the Charlotte area with a few others in Raleigh. Although, there is something in Mooresville that I am pretty interested in right now, if I can get the cost of living to work out. It looks like the homes are less up there than in the Orlando area. So even if the pay is lower and there is a state tax (our sales tax is the same - 7%) I might end up with a very small mortgage.

Thanks Heraclid for the link to the cost-of-living calculator. I spent some time googling different ones and found that none of them seemed to agree much at all.

"Charlotte is a giant bank with a ghetto." Well, that's just ripe for a bumper sticker isn't it? Makes me want to concentrate on Raleigh…

[JimRori]

So, with all this helpful info, nobody has anything to say about South Carolina...good, bad, ugly...?

[shoota77]

As you can see from my location I have great insight to this question.

Two words: Myrtle...Beach. I'll visit every year...twice. :p

Seriously though, good luck with the decision!

[technocoy]

jim, oddly enough my company is looking for someone with your credentials... lol... check out craigslist for the area and look up brooks bell interactive or senior designer. they should be moving me into the position, but what the hell, i'm not one to stop a fellow VXer from finding work!

also send a resume to "mckinney and silver", "center line productions" and ogilvy in durham.

lol, no one said anything about south carolina because the only remotely good thing there is the beach and thats a serious matter of opinion, not to mention after living in florida the beaches here will seem shoddy, lol. oh and charleston is beautiful, but noone can afford to love there unless they are independently wealthy. ha ha.

the triangle area is booming and has great schools and a mix of taste as far as what kind of community you want to be in. not to mention the largely best part of the ACC basketball bracket ;-)

not sure if center line is hiring but they are great people to work with and mckinney seems to always need someone for an art director role. i know ogilvy was looking a while back... OH and don't forget to look up the "republik" in durham as well as "front door advertising", i hear they are doing well and growing fast....

my brother lives in mooresville, unless you love nascar and being bored, don't bother. of course, it may just not be my style.

if you are in to video/post/production check out "serious robots" and "trailblazer studios".

[technocoy]

also, if you have a price range for housing i can point in a good direction for some cool neighborhoods... you like historic and downtown or whitey and housing development? I'll send you info on both.

hope that helps,
technocoy

[JimRori]

Hey Technocoy, thanks for the leads. I'll check out craigslist and see if the position you mentioned looks like a fit. But don't let me keep you from the job. If you want it, go for it!

I'll take you up on the housing info when I get a little closer to knowing whats happening.

[Mikeys00vx]

Yes..Charlotte does have some rougher areas...but Bank with a Ghetto may be a little harsh. I'd check it out for yourself before making a decision.

Mikey

[technocoy]

A trip up 85 would do you good to see everything for yourself... obviously thats just my opinion.

But I'm also the creative designer/southern guy who seeks culture type, lol. Charlotte is just sterile to me where it should be inviting and shady where you should be able to live with peace of mind (of course, durham probably has a higher crime rate, but i doubt you would move there anyway, i just like to visit for the historical value). It's like one of the largest financial centers in the country. Of course you could always live in mooresville or concord for a nicer home life.

As a designer/artist raleigh/triangle area seems more enriching to me as a whole. more history, variance, and intrinsic value.

like i said, if you like atlanta, you'll like charlotte, only charlotte doesn't have as interesting of architecture.

Check it out on the way up and then give me a call and we can meet up and I'll (maugan too?) can show you around the triangle.

it's all relative!

Good luck with it all!

technocoy

[technocoy]

the nightlife is pretty good if you're into that. It does have the Panthers. It also is closer to ashville than raleigh. It has dicovery place. and one of the larger comics conventions in the area, heroes con.

[mbeach]

I can't help but notice how helpful the members have been in this thread -what a good bunch.

From my experience (after living in NC for 6+ years), it's been my favorite state. I love the weather, foliage, culture (except Nascar), and all of the quaint little towns/suburbs. I was actually looking for a job in NC when I was contacted about my current position.

The Triangle will put you comfortably out of range of all but the most devastating hurricanes -which could be comforting.

[Maugan_VX]

If you are into the arts and culture then I would definitely choose the triangle over charlotte, only because that town is all about its sports.

I'm in Cary right now, which is about two minute's drive away from Morrisville (I'm about to go get some sushi in Morrisville after I complete this posting) which is about a 15 minute (no traffic) commute down I40 into downtown Raleigh. You're also not very far from Durham either.

One drawback is that Morrisville is directly across the highway from RDU. You can't escape the planes. Although the airport shuts down at 11pm, it starts up again at like 5am.

Wish I could help you out as far as finding a job, but it looks like technocoy's better connected in your area of expertise. Unless you know something about Oracle or have worked in the Pharma industry, I can't help ya :)

[JimRori]

Yup, we'll definately be up there checking things for ourselves, but it is good to have input from those who have been there already. I'm pretty busy with work but I might be able to squeeze in a long weekend in early Dec. If not, it will be late Feb. before I'll have any real time. I will let you know if I'm gonna be in your area.

I ment to ask about the weather too. About how hot in the summer and how cold in the winter? Is there much of a difference in temps. between Charlotte and Raleigh?

What's the deal with basements? Don't they build 'em up there? I've looked at a few realtor websites and there seem to be some nice/big homes but no basements.

[JimRori]

Also wanted to ask - what's RDU?

[Mikeys00vx]

RDU is the three letter identifier for Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Mikey

[technocoy]

not sure about the basements question, there are lots of houses with them, maybe you just haven't run across any yet. They aren't as standard here as I hear they are up north, but it's a common thing.

as for the weather... pretty mild except for summer (but i hate the heat) and the only reason thats bad is because of the 98degrees combined with the 100% humidity. Of course, coming from florida, you won't be to out of your element. ha! usually get one to two small winter storms, very rarely anything huge. the fall months are beautiful especially in the mountains.

[Maugan_VX]

the reason why there are no basements around here is because the soil in which the foundations for homes rest is mostly red clay. Its the nastiest stuff on the planet, but its also known for not providing the best foundation support, therefore basement walls tend to crack when the house shifts.

So instead they just lay footers in the ground with a crawlspace and no basements.

[Heraclid]

the nightlife is pretty good if you're into that. It does have the Panthers.

LOL! Well, I know that the night life in Tampa got interesting when a couple of Panthers cheerleaders were in town. :p

[technocoy]

that was SO AWESOME... my wife and i were like, oh i wonder if they got in a fight? then when we heard what happened it was like, sweet!

[JimRori]

Well everybody, thanks again for the helpful info. I've got a second phone interview Monday afternoon. I hope to impresss them with my near god-like abilities. We'll see how it goes.

[coolk41]

I[/IMG] live in Rock Hill, S.C. and commute to Charlotte for work 4 times /week. I love it down here. I live about .5 miles from Lake Wylie. The Property taxes here in York County are much lower than in Charlotte(Mecklenberg County) and the sales tax is 5.5%. It is a little safer here too. The crime rate is lower and the life style is slower.

[technocoy]

in Rock Hill back in my manual labor days... pretty nice area, and a short commute into charlotte.

[JimRori]

Thanks for the Rock Hill, SC tip. If I end up with a job in Charlotte I will keep that in mind.

Well the phone interview went well. We're trying to schedule a face-to-face sometime in the next week or so. This job is in Mooresville.

I'm really interested in this job. The problem is that the pay is a lot less than I make now. On the other hand there might be more potential with this job. One step back for two steps forward?

Anybody have any specific info on Mooresville - schools, nice neighborhoods, etc?

[technocoy]

ncie historic area downtown, from what i remember it was relatively cheap to get property there, but i'm sure it's grown a bit since then. It's similar to any bordering town. smaller, quieter, good for a commute.

not a bad place at all, just not my style as far as being a designer, etc... but you will be very close to charlotte, so no biggie there.

good luck with the interview.... let us know how it goes.

technocoy

[Maugan_VX]

Hope you like NASCAR living in Mooresville :)

[technocoy]

this is VERY true.... Maugan aint lyin'.

[JimRori]

Well guys, it looks like I'm gonna have to pass on the Mooresville job. I am really interested in it, but I just can't live on what they're offering. My wife and I have tried to trim our budget...

I'm pretty disappointed. I was looking forward to working for a big company that had a path for career growth.

I'll just have to keep my eyes open for the next opportunity.

[Maugan_VX]

Jim, thats ok, there will always be greener pastures...

you're welcome to visit anytime.