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My husband and I, our 8-month old baby, and our two dogs (along with my brother-in-law and his family) are looking to move from Massachusetts to North Carolina. We considered SC for a while, too, but now are leaning more towards NC.
We're in search of:
- warmer weather (MA winters are brutal)
- good school district for our kids
- low crime rate
- diversity (we're Brazilian, though we're American citizens)
- finding my husband a job - he's in the National Guard & works as a federal employee (diesel mechanic)
- finding my brother-in-law a job - he works as a supermarket manager
- living somewhat close to the coast (no more than a two-hour drive to the beach?)
Honestly, any advice would be much appreciated. We're trying to narrow down which cities/towns to consider.
My husband and I, our 8-month old baby, and our two dogs
(along with my brother-in-law and his family)
are looking to move from Massachusetts to North Carolina.
We're in search of:
- finding my husband a job - he's in the National Guard & works as a federal employee (diesel mechanic)
- finding my brother-in-law a job - he works as a supermarket manager
- living somewhat close to the coast (no more than a two-hour drive to the beach?)
Honestly, any advice would be much appreciated.
Jobs + "close to the beach" = Wilmington (and maybe 10 smaller places in that area).
There are supermarkets and diesel repair shops all over.
Find at least one solid job before moving a family anywhere.
Raleigh is about 2 hours from the coast and ha a much better job market than Wilmington. I would encourage you to carefully research wage rates and housing costs prior to moving.
If being near the beach is a priority, you might move your question to the Coastal NC Forum.
You also should come and visit the state, preferably in the summer (your winters are brutal, our summers are brutal) to see if you're trading one intolerable season for another. And, just to see NC in person since I don't get the idea you have ever actually been here? If so, I stand corrected, but tell us where you've been an what it was about those places that made you want to move to NC.
Wilmington is the largest city on the coast, Greenville is also close enough for easy day-trips. You also might want to look in the Northeastern corner of NC near the metropolis of Virginia Beach/Norfolk (or even Norfolk/VA Beach itself) which would be a good source of job prospects.
Most of the NC coast is fairly small-town and seasonal. Probably not what you're used to up there (everything is much farther apart here than there), so come see it for yourself and figure out how to balance the things you're looking for.
Being of Brazilian heritage shouldn't make any difference here.
Thank you three! Yeah, I don't think living in a coastal town is for us - we'd like to live in the suburbs near the city, if that makes sense. I've lived in Marlborough, MA for most of my life (30 minutes away from Worcester, one hour away from Boston, and a 1-2 hour drive to the beach). We'd be happy in a similar town in NC if that makes sense. Although being closer to the beach would be nice, it's not one of our priorities.
We have not been to NC. We want to make a trip there in a few months, but we want to have an idea of which towns to focus on while we're there, as we'll probably only make one trip before making the move.
We're looking at Raleigh and Greenville right now. Charlotte and Asheville, too, although they're farther from the coast than we'd prefer. Any input on those cities, when it comes to raising a family (crime rate, schools). Any other towns we should be looking at?
Thank you all!
Last edited by carlaregina; 07-20-2017 at 10:25 AM..
Thank you three! Yeah, I don't think living in a coastal town is for us - we'd like to live in the suburbs near the city, if that makes sense. I've lived in Marlborough, MA for most of my life (30 minutes away from Worcester, one hour away from Boston, and a 1-2 hour drive to the beach). We'd be happy in a similar town in NC if that makes sense. Although being closer to the beach would be nice, it's not one of our priorities.
We have not been to NC. We want to make a trip there in a few months, but we want to have an idea of which towns to focus on while we're there, as we'll probably only make one trip before making the move.
We're looking at Raleigh, Asheville, and Greenville right now. The Charlotte area was in the running, but it's so far away from the coast. Any input on those three cities, when it comes to raising a family (crime rate, schools). Any other towns we should be looking at?
Thank you all!
Asheville is in the mountains, 6 hours from the coast. Raleigh has great schools, a robust economy and is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Greenville (NC - there is also a Greenville, South Carolina) fares less well on those criteria. You might also want to consider Wilmington. Its on the coast, but is not a "beach" town. It is a tradition city with a small downtown surrounded by suburbs and has some good schools (but not all of them). The job market is not as robust as Raleigh, and the crime rate is higher. However, Wilmington's crime rate is negatively impacted by drunk tourists and immature college kids doing things they shouldn't do.
As I noted earlier, spend some time researching wage rates and housing costs here. You may be surprised how low the former is, and how high the latter is, especially in Raleigh.
we'd like to live in the suburbs near the city (30 minutes away from Worcester, one hour away from Boston,
and a 1-2 hour drive to the beach)...
Whatever you might like to have or prefer to have will likely need to wait a while.
You really need to start with ONE SOLID JOB and then over time to add & change as best you can.
After a couple of years you'll each have the better jobs that really aren't getable unless you're local.
So focus on getting local first... and that likely means a suburb of one of the main job centers.
Quote:
We're looking at Raleigh, Asheville, and Greenville right now.
Why these? Do you know of some specific job you can qualify for or are they just names on a map?
What about the National Guard units and transfers?
That sort of connection could be just the sort of anchor you can build off of.
True -Asheville is out. Since my husband is a federal employee, if he's able to get the same type of job there, it should be around the same pay. He's already applying. And housing there is way more affordable than it is here.
And the reason we're looking at those cities in particular is because I have a friend who lives in Raleigh (has all her life) and so we've been talking. But she's very biased, so I felt like I needed more perspectives.
And when it comes to the Guard, it's just one weekend a month, so if my husband has to deal with a longer drive once a month, that's okay. We're more concerned with where to focus our job search, based off of what is safe for our baby.
It's our first big move ever, so it's very overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. He's applying for federal jobs (as a mechanic) basically anywhere in NC (even SC), and in the meantime, we're researching away.
Since my husband is a federal employee, if he's able to get the same type of job there, it should be around the same pay. He's already applying.
As a diesel mechanic, the husband might find jobs at the military bases in Goldsboro, Jacksonville or Fayetteville. These are not really close to Raleigh, although people do live between Fayetteville and Raleigh and commute to jobs.
It is possible to get to Goldsboro or Jacksonville (but its a long trip) if the other job was in Greenville.
True -Asheville is out. Since my husband is a federal employee, if he's able to get the same type of job there, it should be around the same pay. He's already applying. And housing there is way more affordable than it is here.
And the reason we're looking at those cities in particular is because I have a friend who lives in Raleigh (has all her life) and so we've been talking. But she's very biased, so I felt like I needed more perspectives.
And when it comes to the Guard, it's just one weekend a month, so if my husband has to deal with a longer drive once a month, that's okay. We're more concerned with where to focus our job search, based off of what is safe for our baby.
It's our first big move ever, so it's very overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. He's applying for federal jobs (as a mechanic) basically anywhere in NC (even SC), and in the meantime, we're researching away.
Thank you all for being so helpful
Thats not true. Federal jobs vary depending on location, due to cost of living differences. The difference may not be huge, but is something you should investigate.
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