look'n to relocate

rescu2000 · **Posted:** Tue May 20, 2008 8:56 pm

Quote:

Therein lies the problem. $50k/year salaries do not afford $600k homes.

$50k + (50 being the low end) is a pretty good price for Supervisors. I have seen a lot of supervisor positions posted on Monster for 30-50k, seriously. You have to remember that these are 2-4 year degree grads with little to no experience. You on the other hand are in Mechanic Repair/Construction. More demand and sometimes more risk but more reward if you do it right.

That doesn't mean that there are no six-figure incomes around here. The cost of living is a little different that California though. A $600k home would likely be overkill for you here. You'd be surprised to see what you can get for half that here.

There are "cost of living" calculators on the web if you want an accurate representation of how big of a pay cut you could take and maintain your current level of living. But I wouldn't expect to move to the area from California and not take a cut. The area that I am in is fairly poor. The next county over is really poor, 30%+ dropout rate.

Thanks
Rescu2000

Redwolf698 · **Posted:** Tue May 20, 2008 10:44 pm

Comparing ANY two areas is extremely challenging. NC has a lot to offer cost of living wise. Meat is expensive, veggies less so. Homes are cheap, land is cheap, but the infrastructure is very stressed and it can be challenging to handle all the aspects.

Bill - good for you for finding what it is you need, but don't discount the state because YOUR wants/needs didn't match what obviously is a VERY market driven area. The tech sector has beaten up the triangle, and we never claimed to be Seattle. A lot of people are employed and EXTREMELY happy with what NC brings as far as OUTSIDE of the "salary" issues.

No - I am not that happy with my job either, but I sell things, and that makes it generally pretty easy to sell OTHER things... so I am not "captive" to what I choose... Thankfully, because I know this job won't last too much longer...

dirtykj · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2008 12:04 am

Redwolf698 wrote:

Bill - good for you for finding what it is you need, but don't discount the state because YOUR wants/needs didn't match what obviously is a VERY market driven area.

I don't want you to get the feeling that I'm disappointed with NC :-)

I'm not. It's a lovely place. It's just that I have a hard time finding comparable job to what I'm doing now that pays close to what I'm paid now. That's the gist of it. So, if I chose to stay in NC and should somehow find it necessary to look for another job (you know the back story) then it becomes difficult.

It's not strictly about the pay, though. I have had a hard time finding the type of work that is similar to what I do now. A lot of IT jobs here entail working for financial companies (and you know how I feel about the stability of those jobs), or they only use Windows servers, etc.

There are some embedded development jobs available, but they require 10 years of experience (and the next shocker is the salary, it's tiny in comparison, which I find quite odd). Something doesn't add up. In CA, a development job is fairly good job and you can afford to live comfortably. If I extrapolate the offered salary for equivalent embedded development job, I find that it doesn't actually compare 1:1 to CA situation (e.g., the same job gets you less here, that's odd).

People make a lot of fuss about the "cost of living" in CA, but you know, it's not that bad if you didn't want to actually buy a house.

Case in point: I found an interesting IT position with a startup company that wants to go nationwide (right, in THIS climate, but ok, we can pretend). Problem is it's in Wilmington. Should things not work out, there is no other IT jobs with good pay in Wilmington! I could go to RTP, but then again, I just looked at Austin and without looking very hard there are plenty of senior level IT positions available with competitive salaries.

If our company had more commitment to this group here, it'd be perfect. But, as with any publicly-traded company they tend to look at most two quarters ahead ... alas.

As far as the "home is cheap" and "land is cheap" part ... I found that it is not necessarily so. Austin is actually "cheaper" and actually more in-line with income (median home price roughly 3x neighborhood income)! I was actually rather surprised.

My wife does the shopping and she has expressed that she finds the costs of groceries to be quite a bit higher than in CA. That's rather surprising.

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2008 1:30 am

well we lived in georgia and were happy there with the land the travel time and the jobs we both had

Problem
The wife is too good at her job she was promoted and the local office was closed we had a choice of
SanFran or manhattan new york so you could say we took the lesser of two evils
It would be the only time i would EVER go to california (god knows i would not go willingly)
So the price was right and they payed for moving

Well we are nowtired of this freaken crazy backwards place and are ready to move back to the south
NC was just an idea that we started to run with ..
Looking at the job market before we move anywhere ...she is in the sales/advertizing field

but nothing is set into stone so yalls input always helps with ant future pans we may have
But one thing is for sure WE have got to get back to the south
California SUCKS

LoganSix · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2008 8:14 am

ga_repoman wrote:

...she is in the sales/advertizing field

She can probably find something in Raleigh no problem. But, that means she'll have a hell of a commute from Goldston.

You can easily buy houses in and around Cary for $200k or less (my townhouse for example). Cary Park has a ton of new development for lower prices than inside of Cary. But, if you buy used, then your options are unlimited. Most people want to buy from one of the many many new developments in the Triangle.

If you pay over $100 per sq ft in Goldston, I've got some moon rocks to sell you for your living room.

LoganSix · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2008 8:22 am

rescu2000 wrote:

I hate the barbeque (it's vinegar and red pepper based) but everything else is good Southern Style cooking. Just hope you aren't a vegetarian.

You can just take that blasphemous tongue of yours and suck on a soap bar.

There are two (2) types of North Carolina BBQ and yet you selected the wrong one. Go for the Western or Lexington Style version, with tomato in the base and sauce for covering.

Now, being from the Mid-West originally, I actually prefer beef BBQ and I am fond of brisket style. However, apparently my family cooks a version that is found no where else in the Mid-West. It looks like pulled BBQ, but, it's tangy and made from beef.

rescu2000 · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2008 9:51 am

GA Man. Go to www.hospira.com I saw some openings for sales in our company. I think the big ones were in Tennessee (around Nashville). It's Pharma sales, so you can tell people your wife sells drugs... That's a bonus you get for free

Oh, and Nashville has good BBQ LOL
Rescu2000

TRUE STORY: Stephen King used to come through my hometown a lot (I think it was on the way to his Mom's house). Anyway, he'd always stop and get some BBQ at this little hole-in-the-wall shack in town called Roy's BBQ. This place sold BBQ and live bait through the same drive-up window. Ewwwww.... you could get nightcrawlers and BBQ and the same person brought both of them to you... I think they used separate bags tho. I always expected to see a Stephen King novel about it...

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:03 am

now another question for those of you in Carolina
I am looking at still moving and wondering if there is good movie theater in or around there
Now not just any theater ...In georgia we had a place called buckhead backlots
I am looking for a place very much like this place
let me explain ....think of a restaurant like applebees or chilli's with booths and tables in a room with a large movie screen running 1st run movies

So is there anything even similar to this anywhere in carolina's vast land

just wondering

thanks in advance for all ya'lls help thus far

eta 4 to 5 months

LoganSix · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:24 am

We have Raleighwood. Not only does it show movies, but they do the Super Bowl and the NCAA Basketball tournament there.

As far as first run, I think it depends on the movie.

Albert · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:01 pm

ga_repoman wrote:

only about an hour drive to a major city in any direction

and being in the middle of no where is the idea

looking at a nice little piece of about 10=acres and isolated

If you want "middle of nowhere" and not too much heat come up here. We got mountains, lakes everywhere, black flies and mosquetos that will eat you up, rattlesnakes and rednecks too..........and 6 feet of snow in the mountains in the winter......believe it or don't.

LoganSix · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:39 pm

Albert wrote:

If you want "middle of nowhere" and not too much heat come up here. We got mountains, lakes everywhere, black flies and mosquetos that will eat you up, rattlesnakes and rednecks too..........and 6 feet of snow in the mountains in the winter......believe it or don't.

Are you trying to sell the place or warn those heading there?

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:52 pm

it's just been finalized
We are moving east
Looking at renting in the Burlington area or surrounding towns/cities
Any and all info from the locals would be nice
Don't want to move into a bad neighborhood
Please help thank youall for your help

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:54 am

oh come on I know somebody is familier with the area????

We are looking to rent aplace first and get the lay of the land so to speak
than look'n to buy and i cant wait to leave Kommiefornia

So any help about the area would really make look'n for rental property helpful

Start off small 2/3 bedroom

thank you all

LoganSix · **Posted:** Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:50 am

Okay, you are going to have to be a little more specific than "Burlington" area.

What towns are you looking in?

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:56 am

I dont know any of the towns that was really my question
You see I am in California at the moment
So my questions was what towns or cities in that area should I avoid and also which towns in that area should I lean more toward..

dog_party · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:09 am

I've stayed in Burlington a couple times, but just over night. Other than the fact that it's located about midway between Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte, I don't know much about it. Hopefully, someone from that area will chime in and give you some advice.

LoganSix · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:17 am

Actually Burlington is more mid-way between Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro.

Burlington area Map

Burlington is nice enough, the biggest town in that area. You should be able to find any shopping that you need there.
Elon is a college town. Private college, so it's probably a good place.
Graham would be another good choice. Also allows for easy access to Lake Jordan and Uwharrie National Forrest.

Beyond that, any of those small towns are just very small towns. As long as you don't cause a fuss, they'll leave you alone. Haw River used to be the stripper town. Not sure if a club still exists there or not. But, it's where the trucks stop.

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:17 am

so what i am gathering from this is that in that general area there is really not a "bad" , must avoid town,
not really a bad element or get robbed at a red light type of area around there..

that is all i was really looking for is to avoid moving into a really slummy or crime riden area

have to basicly rent sight unseen because of the moving timing .........

Planning on moving to the area and then using this as a base of operations to scout out a setting down piece of land / house

thank you all for your input and help thus far

LoganSix · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:05 am

I don't get news reports from the area, but you shouldn't expect car jackings or the such.

Frankly, if you are outside of the cities around here, most people know not to mess with good 'ol boys. Plenty of woods to bury bodies around here.

ga_repoman · **Posted:** Sun Sep 07, 2008 3:54 am

To quote eric chartman "sweeeeet"

look'n to relocate

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