moomoo111

Thanks!

I could send you the info but that would be against college rules. Sorry you don't believe me, but I've got better things to do right now than to keep explaining. I'm happy and that's all that matters.

NO! It's not the easy way out by all means. I do just as much as I did in my LPN classes, it's just in the privacy of my own home and I do just as much research and studying, but I am better at online. Depends on each person's situation. The main thing, it's quiet, and it's at your own pace. Works great for me! I just got a wireless printer and use my laptop and can take it where I go. The College Network provides more than enough information without having to purchase extra books. Trust me, I did months of research and several LPN's I know have used it and reached their goals. The internet is just full of a lot of negative sites. That's all I'm going to say on it. I get funny faces and shocked faces when I tell others, but I'm the one with the confidence and faith and I'm going in the right direction. It's not for some, but it works for me. I wanted to hear success stories when I posted and other's experiences, but some used it before changes were made. I'm assuming they are just like any other business, using feedback from customers to better their business. There are other success stories found in other places other than their sites. I just never checked here. Nothing is free and nothing is accomplished without hard work and believe me, it's hard work, but I enjoy it. I love setting goals and achieving those goals. This is just one more for me that I will achieve!

I've been in the program for several months and spent over 3 months on the phone with both companies. Each person needs are different. It is working for me and feel it was the right choice for me. I love it and I'm better at online since I'm 49 and younger people in college are exposed to so much new technology that I did not have. The instructors allow them to use their blackberry's, laptops, cell phones, texting, whatever and it's annoying for people with ADHD. I love the online learning, it works better for me.

No, the wait list is at the schools in my area due to a drop in nursing instructors. I've already signed up with The College Network for the courses and using Excelsior for exams only. I've been using them for a few months now and have had no problems. It will save me 2 years of waiting for the schools in my area, it's over half the cost, even using financial aid and pell grants, and I did tons of research and talked with them as well as Excelsior for months before making my decision. Each person's situations are different and it was best for me and it's working. A lot of changes have been made with The College Network and I feel I'm in the right place for furthering my career. Thanks for the advice, but I made the best decision for me.

No, I'm not on a wait list with Excelsior, I'm in. The schools here have lost many nursing instructors so the wait list would be 2 or more years. It would have cost me over $20,000, even with financial aid and pell grants. Plus, I'm a single mother with twin daughters in college and have to work. School 5 days a week, work and help my daughters would be too much. I'm also 49 so online is better and everything was all inclusive. The College Network supplies the books that is included. They have also just changed their program so all exams are taken in your own home, provided you have a web cam so they can watch you. They just started that, so that keeps me from travelling an hour away to take exams, with the exception of state boards. Thanks for the advice on Yahoo and preceptoship programs. I'm not sure how that works in my state. One out of three schools in my area require that, at your own expense prior to allowing you to take state boards for RN. Don't really know how that works for LPN's using this type of school. I've inquired about that on my State's forum on this site. Tried our State Boards of Nursing web site, but did not get much information on that, guess I need to call them. Thanks again!

I am using The College Network and I'm pleased with the way they are preparing me for my RN. It's half the wait and money for me and you are allowed to work at your own pace. I'm happy with my decision even though I have a good ways to go. I'm confident and faithful that I will reach my goal and both The College Network and Excelsior have gone the extra mile to assist me. The only worry I have is the clinical part and plan on finding a preceptorship program to help me with that once I'm finished. I've been told that with the nursing shortage being so high in my state that they are willing to help you gain that experience. Even if I have to pay extra for that, I feel it's going to be worth it for me. I am interested in furthering my career and learning more about nursing and the information they provide is very good in my opinion. I'm better at online learning being ADHD and like having it at my own pace and in the privacy of my own home. I'm 49 so the younger generation is much different and I'm too distracted in class as technology as grown. Cell phones, texting, computers, talking while instructor is teaching are just some of the examples I faced while taking my LPN and I struggled, actually slept with my books and had to work very hard. A lot of my pre-req's were online as I got off the wait list faster than expected and had to buckle down to be ready. I did it and I'm going to succeed and reach my goal whatever it takes. In my state, unemployment is only 12 months, 18 if you are lucky. So I'm using that time to study when not out trying to find work. Lpn's are just being phased out in hospitals and long term care is just about it but there are skills there in that setting as well depending on the facility protocols. I'm happy with my decision! If you want it bad enough, set a goal and keep the faith, it might not be your way but I'm confident with my way of achieving my goals!

Hello All! I am currently an LPN since 2008 and unemployed due to lay offs. I finally decided to go through The College Network and using Excelsior for Exams only. The wait list would have taken me 4 years and double the money if I used the technical colleges close to me. I know people say it's the easy way out, but it's very detailed and I find the learning experience online better for me as I'm 49. If you are going this route, I would like to hear from some other LPN's using this program or Paramedic's. I was a Paramedic for 15 years before I went to nursing school. Would like to hear other's experiences using this route. If you are using The College Network/Excelsior by exam, what are you doing as far as experience since the clinical is only for one weekend. I'm trying to find a job in a hospital to gain experience but LPN's are just not used in hospitals in this state and are being phased out, even in doctor's offices. Doctor's offices are not my thing, I would rather work in Long Term Care and can't work a 1st shift position and keep up with school or it would take me forever to finish. I'm looking for a weekend shift or a 3 12 hour shift position. I am willing to travel but am limited and would have to find a position closer to my parents to have a bunk for 3 days. Don't want to do travel nursing, want to find a weekend shift and stay with my parents and work on school during the week at my own home which is 2 hours away. The LPN positions are just not in my area. Anyone using this route, please tell me your experiences or have completed the RN program using this school. Was it hard to find a job after using this type of school without clinicals? Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

I recently am under the care of a physician in NC and there is an LPN there that is the lab person that is licensed in Maryland. She said NC won't accept her license either so she had to go to school in NC to get a Medical Assistant and phlemotobomist certification to be able to do that. She is a single mother of 6 and is unable to go back to school. What did you end up having to do or have you resolved that yet? It's hard to have to move to another state with a license not recognized due to the economy and you would think with the need of nurses being so high, they could come up with some type of reciprocity system or maybe a course for that state with a simple exam. I thought when I got into nursing it was pretty much the same as far as laws and the practice of nursing but each state is different. That confuses me. I'm trying to get licensed in Ga as I live on the SC/GA state line but can't find the info on the SC web site either. Have not called yet. Just curious as to our outcome so I might be able to help her out.

Hello all!, I am currently an LPN in SC with two years experience in several areas, mostly med surg and long term care. I was laid off in January 2011 after the nursing home I was employed with, was bought out and laid off several LPNs. I live right at the SC/GA state line and am not having any luck in finding a job. I am currently enrolled in an LPN/RN bridge program online with The College Network and using Excelsior by exam only. I know the law in GA about Excelsior. I've read the changes but would live close to several nursing homes in GA and need a job before unemployment runs out. I've even tried travel nursing but at the time with family needs, am not able to travel at this time. Do any of you know what the requirements are for getting licensed in GA with a SC Compact license that does not include GA? I've tried the SC state board of nursing but have been advised to go through GA state boards of nursing. I'm not able to find that info on the web site. Could someone direct me in the right direction as to how I can get licensed in GA? I graduated from a technical college and have about 18 mos experience in med surg, long term care and worked as a nurse tech/cna for 2 years at a small hospital in med surg while in school. I was also a Paramedic with 15 years experience in SC. I know Paramedic and nursing is two totally different areas, finding out that the hard way when I started nursing thinking it was going to be a breeze. Not the same and it was an adjustment. Any advice or suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Thanks to all who respond.

I am a LPN with 2 years experience in South Carolina. I became unemployed due to lay off's, and decided to go through The College Network/Excelsior by exam. I take the courses and only use Excelsior for the exams. I am planning to return to work soon, but will have to travel and stay with my parents with a weekend shift. I have worked in Med Surg at a small hospital and gained 2 years experience as a Nurse Tech/CNA, then graduated with LPN and worked there about 18 months. It was extreme, doctors not there at night, just an ER doc, was floated to ICU when they were short and floated to ICU as a Monitor Tech/Secretary several nights. I have 15 years as a Paramedic prior to nursing but that scope of practice is so different from nursing. The experience I got from that was a great learning tool for me. I went into a skilled nursing facility because due to the hospital sending you home often due to census, I was just not getting the hours I needed to financially support two kids in college and had no choice. After I left the stress was gone! My question is, what is the best way to obtain the hands on clinical experience while using The College Network/Excelsior? Can you find preceptor that will let you gain experience in case I'm not able to find work in a hospital as LPN's in this state are being phased out in all areas except Long Term Care/nursing homes. It looks as if I may have to go that route. Where do you find preceptors to allow you to follow so I can gain experience or is that possible? I live in a small town and it was an extremely long wait list plus double the money so I prayed about it and decided it was the right choice for me. I'm better at online classes since I'm 49 and the younger students don't have as much discipline in classes like they used to back when I was in school. They are allowed to talk, text, use computers to chat, ect. and it was way too much distraction for me and I struggled through LPN school due to that. I'm doing find with The College Network and feel I'm more than getting my money's worth going this route. I also have experience in IV therapy and IV sticks with my Paramedic but I will have to get certified for nursing and plan to do that through a technical continuing education course before I take RN state board so I can have that on paper. I have EKG experience and saw more as a Paramedic since I worked for a large hospital system's Ambulance service, Nicu, Critical Care and other transports where a Paramedic had to be in the back with the patient. Talk about crammed in with a Respiratory Therapist and vent, RN and some doctor's on board with us for long term transports. I'm open to any suggestions. I don't want to go in as a new RN with no clinical experience and you only get one weekend with an 8 hour day, and two 12 hour days. Please advise if you have experienced this. Please excuse me if I repeated myself, a little brain fog and anxiety this morning after reading some forums on using The College Network. I'm happy with them and feel it was right for me. Thanks to anyone who responds.

We have sent this poor woman to the ER so many times. They send her back saying there is no doctor there to change the tube. This lady's family finally requested that the tube be taken out since she was eating. They took it out and found that 1., the tube was too small which is what we kept telling them, she was getting too much feeding, rate was too high with her eating too, and 2. there was a broken off q-tip in the tube causing a blockage! The lady has since been released to home without her feeding tube and is doing well. Thanks for your help. moo

You are right, I apologize. I do have a "P". I am working way too much!

I am the one who posted the question on the forum. "P" does not stand for practical, my number does not have a "P" in front of it. I think it means what someone else said, the "P" is for reciprocity from another state. I was looking up someone to see if they passed their state boards that I attended school with and noticed it on one and had never seen it. Thanks, moo

I am an LPN in South Carolina. Does anyone know what "pr" in front of a nursing license number means? Example: let's say my nursing license number is "12345", so what does it mean if you have "pr12345"?

I am an LPN and have a little experience with feeding preemies. I am a mother of 21 year old twin girls who were premature and we had the same problem with them. They did all the tests and nothing with bowel problems or obstructions. The problem was colic. They would only take 1-1/2 oz every 3 hours and if we tried any more, they would do the same as these babies. They would not take it, if it was before the 3 hours and if we got them to , they would projectile vomit the whole amount. We finally had to change formulas and used Isomil. The Enfamil with Iron was making it worse. So we put them both on Isomil, Levsin for the colic and they feedings got better and better and the weight began to increase. They were gassy all the time on the Enfamil and we tried all the formulas. Of course, they have so many more now. We tried Nutramigen, spelling, and we tried powder mixed, we tried Milacon, Mylanta for babies and it just did not work. Until we switched to Isomil and the Levsin for the colic did we see things get better. They are now healthy 21 year old girls. I saved all the notes and had a journal on their feedings. One was only 3 pounds when she was born. We brought her home and she weighed only 4.1. She had more problems than the other but we finally had no choice but to take her off the Iron Enfamil and put her on Isomil and it worked. Just a thought you can consider. I hope these babies get better.

I work in a nursing home, LTC. I have a resident that has a peg tube. It continues to get clogged. We even sent her to the ER to have something done because no-one could flush it. When you try to flush it, it just won't go. We have tried coke, sprite, pepsi, at the doctor's request and it just would not flush. It has a Y port so when you try to force it, we get sprayed. Another nurse that worked in LTC for years, told me it may be the meds we are putting in the tube and to flush with cranberry juice after the meds. The ER doctors manipulated it and said it had a kink in it and he straightened it out. They won't change it and I don't know why. She is only on Osmolite 1.5 at 40cc/hr continous. We are flushing the tube every two hours with 100 cc of water but it keeps getting clogged. I was reading some facts on line and one place said if it had a Y port to use the side port to flush. I mix the meds with warm water and disolve them real good before I flush. She is on trazadone at night and some bp meds during the day. Not a lot of meds. And liquid vitamin supplements, just 15 cc of that. Any suggestions would be great. Could it be that the rate is too slow or too much? The other night right after I flushed her, she started having chest pain and I called the doctor and he said to send her to the ER. After that, I went back to the room and she was projectile vomiting and she vomited a piece of Osmolite in the shape of the tube that looked like about a five inch piece of spaghetti. It was Osmolite and it was very hard to break off. It was soft, not hard like a finger nail, it was just like old dried up spaghetti. I sent it in a bag with the ambulance crew. They sent her right back and said it was nothing and to flush it with a 2 liter pepsi!! I said "my gosh, you are going to blow her up with all that"! So of course I did not. I tried the cranberry juice last night and it was flushing fine this morning when I left. Please tell me your opinions on what could be going on. She has some sort of mass in her lower abdomen, not sure if it's pancreas, gall bladder, colon, but it's in operable. I'll try to find out exactly what that is and get back to you on that one. That could be something to consider also. Thanks for your help. Moo Moo I'm an LPN by the way. Rn's have tried different things also. It's a Kangaroo pump, if that means anything.

Yeah, A bit long. I guess I was just venting. The job is going great and I just ignore her like everyone else in the place does.

I worked in Med Surg before I worked in LTC and I love LTC. Yeah, you have to pace yourself but I always manage to get my work done and yes, sometimes I have to stay over but I have learned the system. Some of the wings are harder and have more demanding residents but I have gotten to where I like it and I'll take it any day over Med Surg. I've also worked ICU. It's more money and it's not as stressful. I'll take it any day. I think it depends on what "you" like. Just because you are a nurse and work LTC is not a bad thing. Everybody has their own preferences so don't look down on somebody who loves their area of nursing. If wa all worked the same area, how would that work out? Be realistic. I don't use my skills as much but I like what I do.

I worked for an HMA hospital in South Carolina. Very cheap place to work. Supplies were not the best, always short on nurses. They would have you scheduled to come to work and if one pt was discharged, they would send you home, be home two hours and call you back. I never had just 6 or 7 patients. It was always too many to handle and the CNA's got away with cussing patients, talking disrespectful to nurses. The employees were friendly but administration always had mandatory meetings, so many you never got a day off. Always have some inservice and it just seemed like I never left the place. No Christmas bonus, which was usually a $50 gift card, no raises unless you did all these computer tests. The supervisors were always fussing about how bad we were behind but they never helped out. I left two months ago and I know of several more nurses who have left and are leaving soon because they are burned out on the job expectations with the patient loads. The company is billions of dollars in debt. All I can say is "Good Luck".

Our policy is that the oncoming nurse has to count what's in the drawer while the off going nurse verifies what's on the sheet, the narc book that we sign them out on. Example: I have the book when I am the off going, I start with the first resident and tell her it shows that we have "28", she pulls the card out and says "28" and so on. If that is confusing, I can try to explain it better, it works for us. If that would have been at our facility, everybody would have been drug tested which is what they do at the hospital I work with prn also. I would have been very suspicious of the person who wrote the "incident report". Sounds fishy to me if the DON had them re-write it and take your name out of it. I would be looking at that person and I'd be very careful from now on.

Our instructors had cd's for us to listen to along with our reading. They highlighted on the important stuff to remember. Another way is to read all of it and if you see something that you think might be important, and this is where your critical thinking comes in, you highlight those. After you have an exam, you'll get an idea of what they are looking for in each area. Don't try to cram too much in and read every detail. You never get that in nursing school anyway, you get that when you start working with patients and you learn the important things to look for in each disease process. Good luck to you and don't sweat the small stuff. My exams were so much harder than my state boards but I used extra books, the internet and asked the nurses I worked with while I was a nurse tech/CNA on each disease and that really helped me. If you are not working now, then ask the nurses that you are doing clinicals with. They are always eager to help the students out. You'll figure it out and you'll get the grasp of what is important. You could try to "Google" liver disease or diabetes and you'll figure out what's important in nursing in each disease and what you need to know and what you need to be looking for. Hang in there, Allnurses is a great place to start. MM:redbeathe

I am a new LPN that graduated in August of 2008. I have worked as a Paramedic for 15 years prior to becoming a nurse. I worked in a Hospital in a Med Surg department four months. I am a new employee in a skilled nursing facility. I was oriented by two RN's who are clinical nurse managers for three days, then oriented for three more days with a brand new LPN. As I was leaving work the other night, a RN that has worked for this company for eight years approached me and told me that I needed to go to the Administrator of the nursing home and demand that I be oriented with a nurse who has more experience. I asked why she felt this way. She said that she noticed that the LPn basically threw me the keys and let me do med passes while she sat at the nurses station and did our charting and paperwork. Now, I don't want this discussion to be based on the fact that a new LPN was orienting me. I worked in the med surg department that had team nursing. My job was do all the meds. There were many days that I was assigned to the assessments, with an RN supervising and I was also doing much of the charting on the days that we didn't use team nursing. They knew all this before they let me do the med passes after she showed me how the mars were set up and the charting was done. This girl showed me every piece of paper that had to be completed and I was given notes and samples in a packet to use. They have not found one piece of charting that was not completed correctly or any mars mistakes. I too, was a little shocked when the girl told me that she graduated when I did back in August. After the third day of this new LPN orienting me, the nurse manager took over and followed up on all the paperwork to make sure I was getting it. The process has been a smooth transition for me. I don't agree with the new LPN doing this either, but with the nurse shortage at this place and the way the schedules were set up, I'm assuming that is why they did this. They wanted me to work on first shift the first week so I could see how the doctor orders, pharmacy orders and other things that get done on first shift are done. I am now on second shift and the nurse manager and followed up closely and they have found no problems. I have noticed that some of the things this girl has done, were obvious she is a brand new nurse with little experience. I had to show her a few things such as how mars orders are changed and noted and flagged so you'll know there has been a change. I know which residents are on acute and what needs to be followed up on closely, such as very sick residents and hospice patients that have different protocols that need to be done as far as paperwork. My problem was not this. My problem was that this RN approached me and basically bad mouthed the company for the way they were training me and bad mouthed the company for several other things that she is not happy with. She told me that I needed to go to the administrator and demand that I get another period of orientation. I spoke to two of the clinical managers regarding this and they said that I handled it in a mature manner. I told her that I understood her concern and that I had a few questions but that I would take it up with one of the clinical mangers. Our DON is out on medical leave right now so I can't really go to her. The administrator met with us for several hours during our first day and stressed the importance of any problems we encounted and how important it was for us to follow the chain of command which is what I have done. My problem is that here we have an RN with years of experience in many areas who held me over for almost an hour to vent about how bad this company was and that I really didn't belong in a nursing home as a new nurse. I worked as a Paramedic for 15 years and I saw everything that was really bad and I had to act quick and I had to follow protocol in the back of a truck in the middle of the boonies with nobody there to tell me what to do. I did what my protocol and standing orders allowed me to do. I never killed anybody so to speak and I never got called into the office. I never screwed up in patient care and I always got a doctor on the radio or phone if I ran into something I thought I needed guidance on. They know all this about me. I worked in a med surge department and even worked in an ICU department under an RN in this same hospital and I don't want this thread to turn into a debate about that either. That is a completley different situation. My problem is how the RN unproffessionally handled this situation by coming to me and just running off at the mouth about how screwed up this company was. I have not heard one bad thing from any other employees and I've worked in two other nursing homes and this nursing home is a very clean and well managed nursing home. Our managers are very careful to make sure that duties are done and done right. We only have two bed sores in the entire place and they came to us from other facilities and have only been with us a few weeks. The residents are well taken care of and I am so impressed with this facility. We have a good medical doctor and he shows up every single day. It is one of the best managed skiled nursing facilities I have ever seen. It is so clean and the residents are always clean, rooms are cleaned, the place is so clean and it doesn't even have the nursing home scent that most do. We have some of the best CNA's I have ever seen. They have enough staff on our second shift that the residents get so much attention. Beds are always cleaned and I've done several body audits and these residents are so very well taken care of. All of the employees are happy except this one. My concern is this one RN. I was told by some other nurses that she is about to be fired for this type of behavior. I am not going to pick up the phone and call the administrator and tell her that I demand to be oriented all over again. My paperwork is checked every day and they meet with me as soon as I get there every day to tell me that my paperwork looks good, my MARS are good, there are not holes, no med erros and that I am very efficient. What do you make of someone acting like this? I can handle the new LPN with my clinical nurse manager but no way am I going to go over someone's head and go straight to the big boss because this girl doesn't like the nurse managers and those were words straight out of her mouth. She talked about them concerning other things she did not like about them and it has nothing to do with work. Their personal lives, the color of their skin, ect. I was so mad that this lady vented so long and had me on the clock well over my shift just to vent about some body she doens't like. And that is the opinion that I got. She doesn't like some of these people and the new LPN is one of them. This new LPN has been at this place for four months not a week. Please give me advice on this but I would really like the opinions on some of you who are in manager positons with years of experience. And I don't want this to turn into a heated debate on the LPN's working in ICU at the hospital. That is another problem with this cheap hospital that uses them to cut money. I couldn't exactly refuse to work in an area they assigned to me and that is one of the reasons I left that company, but I really don't want this thread to be about that so please don't debate that. That is for another time. Thanks for your inputs. mm:no:

I live in South Carolina. I live close enough to some places in Georgia that I could commute and work there so I have been following this process. My question is, no matter where you attend school, don't you all take the same State Board's licensing exam? What has the school you attended matter if you can pass the exam for your state? Sounds like politics or somebody has "control freak" issues. Just my 0.02 cents. I hope they change it back for all of you that have worked so hard through school, not to mention the cost for Excelsior. I will say a special prayer for you all affected by this situation.:heartbeat

Hi Sweetooth, I thought I would reply since nobody else has and it's been over a day since you posted. I can only offer my experiences from where I have worked and lived in SC. I was born in Charleston, SC and lived there until I was 12 but I'm 46 now. It is very warm there and I only saw snow and ice one time when we lived there. There are many hospitals to choose from there. MUSC is a teaching hospital and has a children's hospital. I have relatives that still live there and can't really offer much on the salary level but it is a very pretty place. I have an ex sister in law that is a nurse in oncology that works at Roper Hospital which is in downtown Charleston. Her husband is a pharmacist with MUSC. They live in Mt. Pleasant, which is about 15-20 min away. They have lived there and worked there for about 20 years and they love it. As far as real estate, it depends on where you live. It's pretty competitive there but you can Google some homes in Mt. Pleasant, downtown and an area called "West of the Ashley" and look at prices on homes. I am a former Paramedic brand new LPN now and have worked in Greenville, SC for many years. I don't work there anymore but they have a teaching hospital too, Greenville Memorial is what it used to be called but I think it now is called Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center. They have a children's hospital that is operated under the Shriner's which is all donation but it is owned by Greenville Memorial. You can go to www.ghs.org and look at their site. They have the salary information for each position you apply for. Now the salaries listed for nurses is for a brand new nurse with no experience. They will pay you really good money for years experience and they may even take into consideration that you were a Paramedic before. I worked for their private ambulance service as a Paramedic back in 2001-2004 and they paid me really good. About $17.00 an hour but they added shift differential which was $4.00 more an hour for weekends and more for each shift. They pay really good and have excellent benefits. If you are looking for hiking areas, Greenville is the place to be. They are only miles from the mountains and only about an hour from Asheville, NC which is close to several mountain areas. And the area is beautiful. When I worked in Greenville, I commuted an hour to work because the pay was worth it. I only saw snow and ice one time each winter that I was there. The climate is warmer in Charleston, you can look that up too. You can Google anything. I would choose Greenville over Charleston even though Charleston has the beaches. Both places are beautiful with tons of things to do. You won't find hiking in Charleston but tons to do. Greenvile is about 3 hours from Charleston and 4 hours from Myrtle Beach which is where everybody in SC goes for the beach. Real estate in Greenville is about the same as Charleston from what I see on the internet. Greenville also is close to Spartanburg which has Spartanburg Regional Hospital but the do not have a children's hospital. The only thing that Greenville will not treat is burns. Charleston used to treat burns but everything in this state goes to Augusta, GA burn center for burns. And I know that by working EMS for as long as you did. 12 years. I got burned out on the 24 hour shifts and I am making more money as an LPN than as a Paramedic. I plan to finish with my RN but wait lists moved to LPN first. You can Google Greenville and Charleston and see anything you want. Both have tons of shopping, great schools for kids and just lots to do. Good luck and I hope I helped. Average winters here are not really cold until December, January and spring is usually here by late Feb early March. I know tons of people who are from the north and love it here. Beth:nurse: