My wife and I are looking into the possibility of moving down south to escape the high cost of living in the Boston area. There are 2 locations on our radar, Marietta/Suwanne, GA and Charlotte. I have been to Marietta 8-9 times and I really like the area. Atlanta has many businesses with their corporate offices based there and my line of work (Corporate Security) is not easily found with small companies. My wife is a nurse so she should have an easier time getting a job.

Someone I know recommended Charlotte to us and we have been looking at homes online, we like what we see. I have been focusing in on the SE Charlotte area, my buddy is a member at Raintree CC and said that area is nice. Where we live now $350-360k gets you a small 3bdrm 1 bath home, down there $260k gets you twice the Sq feet.

So a few questions:
1. Are there any other major cities I should consider?
2. How is the public school system?
3. I know Charlotte is a banking meca, how is the job market there now, are employers hiring?
4. This is for anyone who relocated from the Northeast, did you find that you could find jobs that paid similar to what you made up north? Anything more then a 10% hit in pay starts to negate even looking there.
5. Now don't laugh but does Charlotte get snow in the winter?

Any other things I have forgotten please chime in your thoughts/concerns.

Thanks

 

Hopefully I can shed some light on this for you. Both areas are great, having been born and raised here I am a bit bias with the Charlotte area but in comparision. Charlotte is a about 2-3 yrs behind ATL in growth, which IMO is a good thing. Traffic, home values, etc.

Charlotte continues to grow even in this suspect economy. Banking is the core but you should not have many issues finding a job. Your wife will have a very easy time finding a job either in the hospitals or in a private office setting. There is high demand for RNs.

We do get snow but being from Boston you will laugh at it and it happens every so often. I have too friends that relocated from NY and they do not own heavy coats. They laugh at us in Dec and Jan! So go ahead and sell your snow blower, if you show up with it your neighbors will laugh.

The schools are very good, but that like most cities depends on where you hang your hat. A street over in a certain neighborhood could mean a big difference in schools and relative in price per square foot. The South Charlotte area is good, but look at the Huntersville (Lake Norman area, north) Balyentyne area, Waxhaw, and Weddington areas. Good homes for price per square foot, good schools, lots of transplants which is good for community spirit.

Good luck, either one you will not be disappointed in but Charlotte will give you a smaller town feel with about everything else you are looking for and then some. It is worth a visit to come check it out.

Good luck.

Michael

 

Michael,

Thanks for the response. Our plan would be #1 get me a job 1st then we will buy a house that makes the most sense for commuting. I have had a 1+hr commute for 90% of my working life and it sucks! I am lucky now that mine is VERY low stress, it's more back country driving for 27 miles so I even get my HWY mileage for my car.

Your friends from NY, did they mention any changes in salary for the same job? My current salary is not bad for MA but would be pretty damm good in NC. My wife found the norm for a nurse is $27-28+Hr, here it's mid-hi $30Hr, so thats not that bad of a rate.

As for the snow blower, yeah that would be on Craiglists. Thats not my worry it's my big-*** riding mower, I had 3/4 acre now so cutting my lawn with a 46in deck riding mower on a <1/4 acre lot would get some looks.

Thanks

Michael

 

The cost of employment is less expensive in NC, no doubt. You will probably make less but if you are paying less for your home, groceries,taxes, etc. You will probably forgo the 2 hour commute as well, increasing quality of life.

My friend that works for the bank says when his coworkers call from NYC looking for an answer to a question at 6:30 he has been home an hour enjoying dinner with his family and off to the ball park for a t-ball practice with his son. Worth the 10% paycut in his opinion.

 

Yeah I could afford a 10-12% pay cut but after that there is no R.O.I. on me moving. Though I did speak to someone in that area, I exp'd what I made and what the range is for my job here in MA, it was a $5k diff on the low to high end.

I spoke to a couple of contacts that I have based in the Charlotte area. Job market not looking overly great right now. Looks like I might have to send my resume to people and convince them they NEED me. Too bad Billy Mays died or I'd hire him to do an informercial on me! LMAO

I couldn't agree with you more that quality of life has a price tag.