Career as RN wanting to relocate to Charlotte area. ?????? (Gastonia: real estate, rent)
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Hi everyone! Looking to relocate to Charlotte area from Rochester NY next yr. I have 2 kids 11 &14 yrs old. I'm looking for great schools and neighborhoods with lots of activities for the kids. My budget is $1000 but less is always better. Plan to make a couple visits before the move to do some search.
I'm a RN so being near an hospital is ideal. Would like a commute less than 20 min.
Lotsa competition for nurses these days. If you rely on a job for income I'd secure employment first... A friend of mine, after looking for four months, had to relocate to Albemarle for work as an RN.
Hi everyone! Looking to relocate to Charlotte area from Rochester NY next yr. I have 2 kids 11 &14 yrs old. I'm looking for great schools and neighborhoods with lots of activities for the kids. My budget is $1000 but less is always better. Plan to make a couple visits before the move to do some search.
I'm a RN so being near an hospital is ideal. Would like a commute less than 20 min.
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Native Son is right, the nursing field in NC is saturated right now. I had a friend who went back to school for her NP and couldn't get a job as one for almost a year. And she has been a recovery room nurse with CMC for 15 years!
So, just be aware, the jobs may not be here okay? Check out the two biggest hospital systems for starters - Carolinas Medical Center and Presbyterian.
But be willing to branch out up to an hour away from Charlotte in places like Rock Hill (Piedmont Medical Center) or Caromont Health in Gastonia. Your budget will go further out of Charlotte too.
Lotsa competition for nurses these days. If you rely on a job for income I'd secure employment first... A friend of mine, after looking for four months, had to relocate to Albemarle for work as an RN.
I'm a RN so being near an hospital is ideal. Would like a commute less than 20 min.
Pretty much anywhere within Charlotte's city limits is less than 20 minutes from a hospital.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingGirl12
My budget is $1000 but less is always better.
If "less is always better", we wouldn't have folks living uptown who are gladly paying $2,000 per month or better. The same can be said about the folks in the Southpark neighborhood who are paying just as much. My point is that you get what you pay for, and what you pay is all about location.
Neighborhood area amenities such as parks, playgrounds, mass transit, schools, grocery stores, etc are all factors in what you pay. So, if you choose an area where you have to drive 3 miles to the nearest supermarket simply because it was $900 per month, did you really save that much money? You'll easily spend that $100 per month savings on the added fuel cost of driving to the places that you need and want. Remember, cheaper areas are cheaper for a reason; that reason isn't always evident until you've made the mistake of moving in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingGirl12
I have 2 kids 11 &14 yrs old. I'm looking for great schools and neighborhoods with lots of activities for the kids.
This goes back to what I said above about getting what you pay for. As a general rule, cheaper areas have fewer activities (such as YMCA programs) and lesser quality schools. Well, the schools aren't actually of lesser quality. However, your kids will attend schools with higher percentages of kids who will most likely drop-out if you go for the extremely cheap areas of town. This is the sad reality of saving money on real estate, and this is a USA problem as well as a Charlotte problem. My advice is if you can pay $1,000 per month, work some extra hours and pay $1,100-$1,200 per month. Now, if living in the most affordable place is your top priority, then don't worry so much about the schools. There is a trade-off; you can't have both (great neighborhood schools and cheap living). What usually makes "Great schools" great are the kids who attend. The sad reality is that the kids in "Great schools" are the kids who are less likely to qualify for free/reduced lunch (in other words, the kids who came from households that have no problems with spending over $1,000 per month). I don't agree with such a reality, but it IS the reality.
As a nurse, your kids would not qualify for free lunch programs. However, if you settle on a place that's $700-$800 per month, many of your neighbors' kids will be the kids who qualify. Does this make sense? You'll be the RN who can EASILY afford your monthly note living next door to many folks who struggle to pay that same note (and their kids will be your kids' classmates). Are you seeing the bigger picture now? I hope so because there is no way out of CMS's (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) strict neighborhood-based school assignment program. IMO, you should do a cross reference of Charlotte's crime map with the school assignment map. From there, only choose the areas of town where school assignments don't run through high crime areas. Then you can choose the least expensive place within the low crime school assignment district. This will take some work, but it can be done 100% via the internet and will save you alot of disappointments and mistakes as you go through the relocation process. Good luck and welcome to Charlotte...
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 07-31-2012 at 07:58 AM..
I would recommend that you look at Huntersville where you will find Huntersville Presbytarian hospital and Mooresville where you will find Lake Norman Regional hospital. There are also numerous medical offices and clinics near these places. The surrounding neighborhoods would meet all the criteria that you state in your OP. North of Mooresville there are two hospitals in Statesville. Statesville is too far of a commute from Charlotte, but it is certainly possible from either Mooresville or Huntersville.
All of these areas are safe, there are lots of activities for families and you can easily find a place to live for the rent you specify. The schools are also good.
Pretty much anywhere within Charlotte's city limits is less than 20 minutes from a hospital.
If "less is always better", we wouldn't have folks living uptown who are gladly paying $2,000 per month or better. The same can be said about the folks in the Southpark neighborhood who are paying just as much. My point is that you get what you pay for, and what you pay is all about location.
Neighborhood area amenities such as parks, playgrounds, mass transit, schools, grocery stores, etc are all factors in what you pay. So, if you choose an area where you have to drive 3 miles to the nearest supermarket simply because it was $900 per month, did you really save that much money? You'll easily spend that $100 per month savings on the added fuel cost of driving to the places that you need and want. Remember, cheaper areas are cheaper for a reason; that reason isn't always evident until you've made the mistake of moving in.
This goes back to what I said above about getting what you pay for. As a general rule, cheaper areas have fewer activities (such as YMCA programs) and lesser quality schools. Well, the schools aren't actually of lesser quality. However, your kids will attend schools with higher percentages of kids who will most likely drop-out if you go for the extremely cheap areas of town. This is the sad reality of saving money on real estate, and this is a USA problem as well as a Charlotte problem. My advice is if you can pay $1,000 per month, work some extra hours and pay $1,100-$1,200 per month. Now, if living in the most affordable place is your top priority, then don't worry so much about the schools. There is a trade-off; you can't have both (great neighborhood schools and cheap living). What usually makes "Great schools" great are the kids who attend. The sad reality is that the kids in "Great schools" are the kids who are less likely to qualify for free/reduced lunch (in other words, the kids who came from households that have no problems with spending over $1,000 per month). I don't agree with such a reality, but it IS the reality.
As a nurse, your kids would not qualify for free lunch programs. However, if you settle on a place that's $700-$800 per month, many of your neighbors' kids will be the kids who qualify. Does this make sense? You'll be the RN who can EASILY afford your monthly note living next door to many folks who struggle to pay that same note (and their kids will be your kids' classmates). Are you seeing the bigger picture now? I hope so because there is no way out of CMS's (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) strict neighborhood-based school assignment program. IMO, you should do a cross reference of Charlotte's crime map with the school assignment map. From there, only choose the areas of town where school assignments don't run through high crime areas. Then you can choose the least expensive place within the low crime school assignment district. This will take some work, but it can be done 100% via the internet and will save you alot of disappointments and mistakes as you go through the relocation process. Good luck and welcome to Charlotte...
Thanks! I will do my own research of course. Just looking for helpful info ONLY!
I would recommend that you look at Huntersville where you will find Huntersville Presbytarian hospital and Mooresville where you will find Lake Norman Regional hospital. There are also numerous medical offices and clinics near these places. The surrounding neighborhoods would meet all the criteria that you state in your OP. North of Mooresville there are two hospitals in Statesville. Statesville is too far of a commute from Charlotte, but it is certainly possible from either Mooresville or Huntersville.
All of these areas are safe, there are lots of activities for families and you can easily find a place to live for the rent you specify. The schools are also good.
I thought URBAN gave some incredibly insightful info and maybe I read it wrong, but OP's response seemed like a brush off. ?????
What is it you want from us, if not info on how to figure out what is best for you and your kids based on how much you can spend and with the unknown factor of where you may end up finding employment? (You asked for 20 min commute but no way we can describe that until we know where you will be working). One person even suggested basing your search on areas N of the city in anticipation of possibly finding work around Huntersville.
There is no guarantee you will find a job at any given hospital in this region. I know that may be hard to believe, but it is true. I can tell you to move to S. Charlotte . . . and then you may end up with a job near Mooresville . . . that isn't going to be very helpful at all - and it sure won't be a 20 min. commute. The most helpful bit of info I can give you is . . . sure, come look around! See what you think about various communities, apply for jobs . . . And once you land a job, let us know where it is and we can help you figure out what areas would have good schools and still be a decent commute.
Hospitals are not in desperate need of nurses here. So moving near a hospital might seem like a great idea in many cities, but in this town, you may live near a hospital and find the only job you can land is with an entirely different hospital system 45 minutes away.
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