Looking to move to SC from Boston

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Hello,

I'm thinking of moving to SC in the next year or two from Boston.

Can anyone please give me any advise as to where I should move, and work.:confused:

I would love to live inland from the coast, not a poor community, or a very expensive community, some where in the middle.

I will hopefully be an RN by then. :nurse:

I have read some posts about the jobs, and it's a little scary, also the base pay too.

I have read that for new grad's it about $22. that's a little scary compared to Boston, but I have also seen that the houses are more affordable!:yeah:

Any advice would be great!

HDfatboy-chick

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I just graduated in December and relocated to Greenville, SC about 3 weeks ago. I absolutely love it here! I'm originally from Pittsburgh so the weather is definitely an improvement as I'm sure it will be for you over Boston weather too. I was just offered a position at a hospital as well so I'm very pleased. Greenville isn't an expensive city and is more middle class. It is just a gorgeous place to live.

One downfall right now at least is job difficulty. There are quite a few nursing schools in Greenville so there are many new grads and RNs and few jobs, especially in this economy. I was lucky to get a job with one interview before I even take the NCLEX. I'm not sure if it's like that around the rest of the state though.

I lived in the Baltimore/DC area during nursing school which was extremely expensive so this is truly a nice breath of fresh air. Rent, groceries, gas, etc. are all a TON cheaper. My starting salary is around $22 like you said but again it compensates for the low cost of living.

Good luck with your decision!! You're going to LOVE it here! :redpinkhe

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Thank you so much,

It does look so beautiful down there, and I wish you the best of luck with your career!

Good for you for getting a job before the exam.

Best wishes! and thank you again for your quick respond!!

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Greenville is a nice place to live.

Fort Mill is also nice and you could work in Charlotte if you lived here.

Pay down here is lower and jobs are hard to get, but it's a great place to live.

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Thank you for your input, I'll check into these towns!

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moved here myself from new england,,,the pay is definitely lower by quite a bit,,the cost of living is lower tho,,,,RN for 37 yrs making $27/hr in the myrtle beach area. the area is beautiful tho.

nursing jobs are extremely limited in this area.

i do wish you best of luck in your search.

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You will be paid less but of course everything down here is cheaper also. So it all evens out. The two main coastal areas are Charleston, SC, Myrtle Beach, SC. But there are more.. Charleston is absolutely gorgeous but I have no idea on the job market or how much the housing is but I will tell you the cost of housing will be more close to coastal areas. As everyone else has said, Those areas they mentioned are nice. They are not near the beach except for the Myrtle Beach one. All are within maybe 2,3-4 hours depending which one(beach) you go to. I hope this makes since, I trying to write fast, I have loads of homework and some quiz's to do. You will like here especially if you have Harley-- because of the weather. If you don't you will still love it.

I am in nursing school now myself and have no idea what the job market will be like when I finish. New nurses -- I have concluded that inexperienced nurses will make less and experienced ones will make more but I suppose thats how it should be. They have paid their dues. What that amount is,I don't know and it does depend on if you work at the hospitals or a doctors office.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Greenvillae, Spartanburg. ANderson shour be s good fit.

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I agree, Greenville and Anderson areas are nice...... Not Big city but has the accomodations.

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Remember that smaller cities have fewer hospitals. I know students who have graduated and are being told no one is hiring in the Gville area. Now they are new grads and that is a problem everywhere now but the Gville/Spartanburg area has around 6 nursing schools in the area. Gville Tech, Spartanburg Tech, Piedmont Tech, Tri County tech, USC Upstate, Clemson and Im sure I am missing a few here and there. Most of those who were offered job recieved them during clinical rotations. With 6 schools and only a few hospitals they are all tied in with fresh students who have done clinicals. But not being a new grad you may be fine.

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Specializes in L&D.

I'm thinking about moving to Aiken, SC and I would recommend it. It's a charming, small horsey town that seems to have a lot of art and culture. There's an Aiken Regional Medical Center, but it's also a half hour from Augusta, GA which has several hospitals and an hour from Columbia, SC which also has several hospitals.

Just out of curiosity, how old are you and are moving as a single or with a spouse/children?

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Have you thought of sending for an apartment guide from Greenville or Columbia or Charleston or Myrtle Beach areas? :) They are free; one is small, and the other larger in size has some of the same or different properties. This will give you an idea of where you might want to live before you buy. Go on line to apartmentguide.com and look at the "Greater Columbia Apartment Guide." I prefer the book in my hands for quicker searches. They should list the other areas listed above as well as online to look at and to send for their guides. Right now I can't think of the bigger different apartment guide. :crying2:

I've lived in 3 states growing up in the cold :idea: North including Pittsburgh and found Columbia, SC (the "Midlands") perfectly in the middle of things as an area growing so fast! We are 1/2 way from the mountains and 1/2 way to the ocean (each 2 hours drive away). :yeah: I'm happy we chose here as our 2nd summer, Hurricane Hugo, came in to Charleston high tide the middle of the night! :grn: It took them 10 years to rebuild down there which affected several states going up North through the mountainous states! That was a rarity, but everyone fled up here though we had some minor effects from it, such as no electric in hot early September 1989. Charleston is quaint but lacks great shopping and an area for those into cultural events.

Myrtle Beach isn't like the ocean cities with boardwalks that N.J., MD., NY., and Delaware have with rides and shops, but that's the beach to those here and nearer states. The housing market is very depressed there like Charleston and apartment/house/mobile home renter's or owner's insurance is sky high or no longer available to mobile/modular/manufactured homes as of the other day. As one would expect prices are quite high still. :crying2:

The Greenville/Spartanburg area gets cold and has snow more plus jobs are harder to find. Though this is the capital city, we are spread out some and run into people often who we get to know. Our area is military, government civilian jobs that pay more, hospital (medical school and teaching hospitals) and some tourism.

I love my 7 Walmarts in Columbia!!! We're not a state of huge malls 2 or more stories. Weather is nice enough to go to the strip malls or 3 indoor malls (1 small in zipcode 29210, 2 stories at 29223, and 29212 by Lake Murray)

Expect jobs to be far less in pay as we are a "Right to Work" state from Maryland on down throughout the South; unions don't exist unless you work for the VA Hospital with federal benefits and all. Cost of living isn't too bad. Though summers can be hot, we LOVE our air conditioning! :spnngwlcm:

The address for the Greater Columbia Apartment Guide is 1320 Elmwood Avenue., Suite C-Columbia, SC 29201.

You can live up by Lake Murray (Irmo-Harbison zipcode 29212) which has a drive with traffic into and out of town but a great place. Lexington is a nice little community (29072) across the beautiful dam with lots of shopping and the same type of commute near the lake.

The "Riverwalks" (about 6-7 of them) near to downtown offer walking trails and biking and roller blading and scenic areas by the river with call boxes and lighting for safety and picnic tables and fishing and rest rooms and a dam near the end of one, to name a few offerings are closer downtown in zipcodes 29201, 29169 (West Columbia not 29033 oe 29172) and....29210 by the Riverbanks Zoo if closer to town in Richland County. :) The other side of the 3 small rivers in Lexington County in West Columbia 29169 has a back entrance to the zoo with the Botanical Gardens at Riverbanks Zoo way up on the hill for a good trek down or around the zoo walking areas or taking the tram car to ride up or down for free.

My last website that will tell you more about S.C. is called "sciway" (pronounced "skyway") where it will give you a wealth of information about our state and areas.

I hope this helps, and you learn to love South Carolina as much as we do. I love obtaining as much information I can before I visit or move somewhere which was more tedious before computers and many websites were not available. This IS our home!!! :redbeathe :)

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