Who's familiar with the North Carolina

[Chances3]

Hi All,

Never say an AN isn't a life changing event.  I had planned to retire in about 6-8 years, but I am thinking of 'slowing' down now.  Problem is, I live in the North East and the cost of living is very high.  My wife and I have 3 adult children that are all underemployed.  My heart goes out to their generation.  They all want to try some place else, my youngest son is in nursing school for another
1 1/2 years.  My middle son is a chef, and my oldest works in retail banking for Wells Fargo.  Anyone from NC that could reccommend a good area for these guys to make a decent living and future for themselves.  Their girlfriends are all college graduates in education and cannot find teaching jobs here in the Northeast.  My wife and I would like to be near quality health care. 

Finally, I have done a lot of reading on internet posts.  I saw one post that said the NC locals did not like the huge influx of people from the north, and many posts said they were leaving NC and moving back up here again.   That would be a disaster for us, to relocate and not be happy.

I know this is the ANA site, but any insight from a fellow AN would be appreciated.

[Captain Deb]

Hey Chances3!!

I moved to the Boone area of NC 20 years ago from St Croix in the Virgin Islands when a class 5 hurricane wiped out my livelihood.  The mountains up here are beautiful and this area boasts a college with a fantastic football program, lots of artists, and a lot of summer people who have money to spend (2%ers)  A chef will never lack for work up here, however, work can be seasonal.  My folks ran a restaurant up here for 10 years and we were only open 6 months a year.

I can understand underemployed 30somethings with kids.  My husband's have become underemployed 40 somethings.

We were able, however, to find us a  "place at the beach" in the form of an RV which we keep on Core Sound which is the southern tip of the Outer Banks and we think it's paradise!

I was unlucky enough to have severe post-op headaches, which has limited my ability to hike, raft, and do mountain fun stuff, so I like the beach better--flat surfaces, relaxing on the beach......

My Mom's people are from NC and my brother lives nearby but I grew up in suburban Cleveland and you couldn't get me back up there for anything.  The climate up here in the mountains is a lot like Cleveland, but you can hop in the car in a blizzard, like now, and head east and be in a T-shirt by suppertime.  NC, to me, is the California of the East, only without the smog.

Medical-wise, the "belly-button" of the state has UNC-Chapel Hill Medical, Duke, and Wake Forest.  State of the art Medical facilities, all.  I chose to have my surgery out at House in LA because I had family out there who could care for me post-op--my husband was a college professor at the time and could not take off work.  Turns out I needed way more care than I thought I would, so that part was a wise choice.  Had I not had family in LA and access to House Ear, I would not have hesitated to go to Duke or UNC-CH.

North Carolina is a wonderful place to live and work--The mountains and beaches are beautiful, especially Okracoke and the Outer Banks.  Emerald Isle has the bluest-greenest water I've seen this far north, and I spent 20 years sailing the Caribbean, so I've seen me some blue-green water!  AAAAARRRRRRR!!!!

Call me when y'all get hear, ye hear? (pardon the pun!)

Capt Deb

[Captain Deb]

PS  My Stepson works for Wells Fargo in Charlotte.  It is a struggle to get the bills each month on one income, but I think that is happening everywhere.

Capt Deb

[Mei Mei]

I would NJ ASAP.    It was number one on the list of worst places to retire because of the real estate taxes.    My house here in Maryland is worth three times that of my father's in NJ but his real estate taxes in Monmouth County are a couple of thousand more than mine in Maryland.    I should have sold it within three years of his moving down here and leaving the house empty, but we got advice from the lawyer not to sell until he passes away.    The accountant told the lawyer who was now insisting that he sell that my father would have to pay $75,000 in taxes if he sold last year because after 3 years the house is no longer your primary residence and you cannot claim the Capital Gains benefit.

Bummer Big time.   Make a plan to leave NJ as much as I like it there, the taxes of horrific.  The price of Elder communities and nursing homes there are also much higher in the Tri State area.
Good luck to you.
Mei Mei