Moving South

[DIScrazy456]

Looking for advice

My DW and I want to move south (likely South Carolina) We are currently in MA and looking for a change. I have a decent job and she takes on some side jobs here and there for supplemental income

The weather, cost of living, and people are what is attracting us to that area

My greatest concern is wages. Has anyone made this move? Was there a significant pay cut? Was it truly offset by the lower cost of living Any advice to persuade us further?

I am in sales as a career

Any advice or personal experience is appreciated!!

 

[a1tinkfans]

I didn’t move to SC... but did move NE to
SW Florida.
Have not looked back and it was the Best Move.
My suggestion is to visit several times, if you can stay for extended time and then research the neighborhood/community area ( real estate stability/police stays etc)
I also suggest... if at all possible to rent
Before purchase. What you learn at that time....about traffic patterns, shopping, and so much more can truly help you determine Which location is best for you.
Best of luck!!

 

[tzolkin]

We moved from NY to NC 5 years ago.

We did not have to move; we just decided we wanted to. We did a good amount of research and narrowed it down to a few places. I took a trip down here and checked out a few of the areas on our list and made a tentative decision. Two months later husband, kids, and I all came down for a trip where he had some job interviews and we put an offer on a house.

Like you, my one concern was the financial aspect. We were in a bit of a different situation because for us (despite the fact that we were from NY) the cost of living in NC was going to be significantly higher than our expenses in NY. And the income was going to be way less (a pay cut for him and I was not planning to work).

Somehow it has all worked out. My husband is now making significantly more money than he was in NY and I also got a full time job earlier this year where I am making nearly as much as what our entire family income was when we moved here. Absolutely no regrets about making the move.

 

[DIScrazy456]

Thanks for the replies

It is just me and my wife (no kids) I have minimal debt just a car payment where I owe about 9k

The hardest part right now is finding the time to visit places.

 

[Eeyore daily]

I find it funny how you want to move to the south from MA and I want to move from the south to MA.

I'm not sure about SC but the lower cost of living could also mean increase of taxes coming out of your paycheck to end up with less money. At least it was in AR. Good luck though!

 

[smiths02]

Where I always see the big cost of living discussion is around housing. That is what I would look into. Will your monthly mortgage and/or rent be enough to offset the lower wages?

 

[TwoMisfits]

Plan the trip as your vacation and hit some tourist sites while you hit home sites...tends to be the easiest way to make sure you find time to visit!

Also, rent 6 months to a year before you buy. That way, if you don't get the full picture in a visit, you aren't stuck long term...

 

[martikus]

We have so many transplants in Charlotte Nc area. Many live across border in fort mill sc and clover sc. housing is higher than used to be due to the good schools but we love location of 3 hours to beaches and 2 hours to mountains. Also heard Greenville sc is a great place to love but we preferred Charlotte area.

I think property taxes can be some of the biggest difference. we used to pay thousands. In fort mill more like $1700. We are a growing area that some things like groceries aren’t much cheaper.

Good luck. We’ve been south about 15 years now and love it. My parents ended up in Hilton head and love it there. I think they found Charlotte a bit young even though there are lots of grandparents here.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Looking for advice

My DW and I want to move south (likely South Carolina) We are currently in MA and looking for a change. I have a decent job and she takes on some side jobs here and there for supplemental income

The weather, cost of living, and people are what is attracting us to that area

My greatest concern is wages. Has anyone made this move? Was there a significant pay cut? Was it truly offset by the lower cost of living Any advice to persuade us further?

I am in sales as a career

Any advice or personal experience is appreciated!!

My friend moved from NJ to SC 2 years ago. Her husband is retired & she’s a nurse. She’s found plenty of employment since moving there. I never asked her about wages. They purchased a new build house for $250,000. They are very happy in SC. This was planned for many years prior taking many trips & checking out areas. They did rent for the first year until they knew they were sure where they wanted to go. I moved from California (originally from NJ) to GA 3 years ago. I automatically thought everything would be less expensive but it’s not. It does greatly depend on where you live. We live in a desirable area & neighborhood with top schools. You’ll pay more for that. My husband did take pay cut. I’m also a nurse & salary is lower than compared to California (but California is rated highest for nurse wages). I would definitely recommend researching.

 

[mdsouth]

We have so many transplants in Charlotte Nc area. Many live across border in fort mill sc and clover sc. housing is higher than used to be due to the good schools but we love location of 3 hours to beaches and 2 hours to mountains. Also heard Greenville sc is a great place to love but we preferred Charlotte area.

I think property taxes can be some of the biggest difference. we used to pay thousands. In fort mill more like $1700. We are a growing area that some things like groceries aren’t much cheaper.

Good luck. We’ve been south about 15 years now and love it. My parents ended up in Hilton head and love it there. I think they found Charlotte a bit young even though there are lots of grandparents here.

I just helped my brother move to the Charlotte area from Illinois. My mother, older sister and brother are already living close by in South Carolina, one in the Columbia, SC area and the other near Florence, SC. They all love it. My mother and sister moved there about four years ago and my older brother has been living in SC for close to thirty. We all grew up together in Illinois but would go visit relatives every year for two or more weeks in SC growing up. Now, I am the only one from my family still in Illinois. I expect after my husband and I retire I will be making a move to SC/NC area as well.

TTo the OP:

My father grew up in rural SC an hour inland from Hilton Head, so I am familar with that area as well. There are lots of wonderful communities in SC, and the prices to live in each can vary dramatically. Like most places, living in a smaller community will have lower housing costs.

I would start your job search on Indeed or something like that, looking for employment in SC. It will give you an estimate salary figure. Then you can look more specifically at those communities where the potential jobs are to check out housing prices using Zillow or other real estate site. The real estate sites will give you great ideas on pricing for both renting and buying.

Once you have narrowed down your list to a two or three communities, plan a short visit to check it out.

 

[barkley]

Where I always see the big cost of living discussion is around housing. That is what I would look into. Will your monthly mortgage and/or rent be enough to offset the lower wages?

that DOES seem to be the biggest factor in c.o.l. determinations but when we moved from one state to another we tried to look at ALL our normal expenses to see what the difference would be-

property taxes

homeowners/auto insurance (can GREATLY vary area to area let alone state to state)
car registration (HUGE differences between different states)

utilities (12 years after moving from california, despite moving to a place with snow and temps in the negatives all winter, i am still paying less per month than i did in california dating back to the 1990's b/c of lower rates)

income taxes-we moved to a state that doesn't have it but if considering a move to one that does i would look to see what the rates are like. along the same lines-state benefits. in california there was state disability insurance that was covered through a small payroll deduction. when we moved to washington they had no similar program so a cost consideration was a long term disability policy

sales tax-it's higher than what we had previously paid but it's offset by lower cost on most taxed items. the state adjacent to us taxes groceries though which for me would not be desirable since it's one of our biggest expenditures on a yearly basis

cost to commute-gas prices, tolls, public transportation. is free parking the norm w/employers or do employees have to pay (fairly common here depending on the type of job)?


stuff that isn't a necessity but you consider part of your lifestyle-

drinking/smoking-we have sin taxes that cause people to go to the adjacent state (at $3.77 per litre PLUS 20.5% for alcohol and $3.52 per pack on cigarettes it's worth the drive),

personal 'upkeep'-hair, nails, massages, dry cleaning are tremendously less expensive unless you move to an area w/few providers which drives up the cost,

sports/hobbies/entertainment-if you are into a specific one research how much it costs to do where you are considering moving to. golf here is less expensive than other areas but that's b/c we have lots of courses. figure out if your liesure enjoyments can be met in a new area or if you will have to travel to access them (entailing more expenses).


good luck with your research.

 

[OhhBother]

I live in Pawleys Island, SC - just south of Myrtle Beach. We're right on the coast, and it's absolutely beautiful here. This is the second-fastest growing area in the country - tons of people moving in. I grew up in Tennessee and lived in Louisiana for awhile, but the Carolina coast is where I always wanted to be. We love living here! Happy to answer any questions you have.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Well, when we moved from NH to NC in 2015, DH got a small bump in pay. NH has no income tax or sales tax, but very high property tax. Overall, income/spending seemed to be a wash.

HOWEVER (and this is big for us), or NC house is much, much nicer than our NH house was. In NH, we owned a standard 2000sqft faux colonial--nice enough, but nothing special. For less than 10% more than we paid in NH, the house we purchased in NC is more than twice the size. It's 4400sqft, not including the 14'x40' sun room and ~13'x13' work room (not counted because they aren't heated/cooled--we put a portable heat/AC unit in the sun room.).

There are plenty of other differences, too. We don't own a furnace (we do have a heat pump). Of course, we spend more in A/C. We have a week of winter (no shoveling, snow-blowing, etc.).

We really like it here, although the kids sometimes miss skiing and snow sports. We don't miss icy roads. We have "weather days" versus snow days. And we're coastal, so no basements, and our city was hit hard by Hurricane Florence last year. Note: being inland, such as Charlotte, would mitigate most hurricane issues.

 

[mdsouth]

I live in Pawleys Island, SC - just south of Myrtle Beach. We're right on the coast, and it's absolutely beautiful here. This is the second-fastest growing area in the country - tons of people moving in. I grew up in Tennessee and lived in Louisiana for awhile, but the Carolina coast is where I always wanted to be. We love living here! Happy to answer any questions you have.

I have vacationed several times at Pawley's Island, we stayed at the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort all three times. It is a beautiful area and great community.