suggestion for NC life

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Nov 29, 2007

Hello,

No suggestions, just wish you luck. Sometimes moving can be most difficult, especially if you have kids. I suggest getting on the NC nursing board site and doing some research into the state. Anyway, good luck.

d_d · Nov 29, 2007

thank you

QueensNurseNY · Dec 2, 2007

NC is beautiful. It's climates are desirable and only a short distance away from the mountains from the beach most anywhere you live. I live in the piedmont so that's all I can vouch for. I'll try to sum it up pretty quickly.

Charlotte= Parties, high cost of living and crime (Let's be honest here).

Huntersville (Where I live)= Slightly lower cost of living, beautiful lake Norman nearby, fun and safer nightlife and a much better alternative than living in Charlotte but close enough to get there quickly. I am a non-married female (24 yo) and I love it here. It also has some great healthcare opportunities depending on what you desire.

Salisbury= Probably more crime than Huntersville but less than Charlotte. A very growing city with lots of lower cost, decent class housing oppertunities. This is where I grew up. It's a Huntersville in the making.

Concord= Another small town between Salisbury and Charlotte that has better rates of housing and probably better schools but I don't know this. I like to visit Concord but I don't think this is the place I would want to live (Pure personal preference).

Lexington= BBQ (LOL had to do it) But really, that stuff's good. Nice country type kind of atomsophere especially during their fair. Lot's of laid back people.

Greensboro=Charlotte

Winston Salem= lots of job ops and plenty of things to do.

Will try to think of more later but I have to go back to work now.

ssanders80 · Dec 5, 2007

Hi There:

Good luck with your future plans. I was born and raised in Charlotte and I can't complain. It's no different from any other developing city, people go out, do things, I live uptown, so there is a lot of construction of high rise apt's/condos, but it worth living in this area b/c I can walk to work. Crime is everywhere (it's not different than any other medium-sized area), you just have to be aware of your surrondings no matter where you are. Prices can be high, BUT if you live within your means, then you are good to go!

I attended UNC-Greensboro, it's a nice city, but with so many colleges there (UNCG, A&T, Bennett, Greensboro College) all w/in walking distance of one another, unless you live away from the center of the city where all these institutions are, you'll be living in the college area and if you are like me, once you finish those years, it's over and you want to move on to bigger and better things.

Winston-Salem is really laid-back and Winston-Salem State University is in this area. It's a good area, but a lot of people I know who relocated (and while in college)to that area after college go to Greensboro or other areas (Raleigh, Chapel Hill, sometimes Charlotte) for things to do.

Both Charlotte and Greensboro have good hospital systems to work in, esp. with the opening of Levine's Children's Hospital in Charlotte (part of Carolinas Health Care System) and there's Moses Cone in Greensboro. There is also Presbyterian Healthcare System in Charlotte, which is also a great system! So you'll defintely get a good job once you get out of school.

I went to school in Huntersville, it's a nice town, but like Charlotte, a lot of development is going on and more people are migrating towards that area. It has hospitals that are part of both hospitals systems in Charlotte.

Concord is a quiet area with a good school, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, which is affiliated with Northeast Medical Center. A good school and a good hospital to work for after graduation. Lowe's Motor Speedway and Concord Mills (mall) are in this area. So if you like shopping and NASCAR, you are good to go!

Hope this helps! :welcome:

d_d · Dec 7, 2007

thank you so muth!

are there a good hospital in concord?

ssanders80 · Dec 7, 2007

Howdy!

There is NorthEast Medical Center, which is part of CMC in Concord, it's a really good small/medium sized hospital. I believe that is the "major" hospital of that area.

QueensNurseNY · Dec 7, 2007

I don't know from experience but it's hearsay that that hospital is not as good as it used to be. (Granted it used to be GREAT) Since CMC has taken over I have heard it has caused a lot of problems. You might want to talk to someone who is actually working there now. I work for Presbyterian and there are branches in Huntersville (about 1o mins from Concord), Charlotte (maybe 30) and Matthews. They are talking about building another branch in the Kannapolis area (5 mins from Concord) I am sure the new branch will be awesome because they are planning on taking all the good points from each of the other hospitals....

d_d · Dec 7, 2007

thank you for your information!

do you know any thing about NUC Chapel hill?

Spoiled1, MSN, RN · Dec 13, 2007

Hi,

Just wanted to add to the comments here. I am a nursing student at Cabarrus College, affiliated with CMC-Northeast, and I am also an employee at CMC-Main downtown Charlotte, and I also live in the Lake Norman area(Huntersville/Corneilus/Davidson), just as some of the other posters.

About CMC-Northeast, the hospital was experiencing some problems (financial), but CMC was NOT the cause of it, CMC actually stepped in to HELP the hospital. I am not sure if I am the right person to address this post because I am partial to the CMC system--CMC-Main where I work. Things are done a little different in Cabarrus county (CMC-Northeast). See, what you have to understand is the history of CMC-Northeast. the hospital was built by a local family, the Cannon's who owned Cannon Mills. Cannon Mills no longer exists, and it's from my understand their money is dwindling. Some where along the lines the hospital has mishandled funds, and they no longer have the Cannon money. There is still some of that "good old boys " mentality there, along with diversity issues. Overall I think the hospital is okay,there are great nurses there just as with any hospital. The best thing to do is go visit the hospital and make your own impression. The school that is affiliated with the hospital is GREAT. CMC-Main, well it's another whole ball game. If you are looking for a challenge, (and I mean challenge), very sick patients, traumas--level1 center, etc then that is the place for you. It is a teaching facility and you will learn a lot, but burn out can come fast in a place like CMC-Main. Just as the other poster mentioned, we just opened a new children's hospital that is BEAUTIFUL. We also just opened a new ICU wing that places all of the ICU's (SICU,TICU, MICU) together. It's lovely as well. In my opinion you can't compare CMC-Main to CMC-Northeast becausue the culture of the two are totally different. I think your choice sort of lies in where you are in your career. I know that some of the CRNA's in our hospital choose to work at CMC and Presby. They always say that working at Presby is like being on vaction, because the cases there are not as hard. But it saves them from complete burn out. We have had CRNA's leave CMC to work at Lake Norman Regional (Mooresville NC) which is another hospital in our area with less work and the same amount of pay. So where are you in your career? Are you still looking for the challenge? I really don't know about Presbyterian, but everything I have heard has been great.

About Charlotte--Charlotte is a great place, compared to some major cities it's behind, but there is a lot to look forward to here. Construction has pretty much taking over the city and all the surrounding areas--even the Lake area. So you will have to patient with our roads and traffic. Lake Norman is very nice, but expensive as well. There are tons of great neighborhoods, and to be honest some of the better schools are in this area . Many of the charlotte-area schools are crowded, simply because the area is booming and everyone wants to live here. Now, if/when you decide to move to Charlotte, you will hear people bash our school system(CMS). I will say in their defense that I think I received a GREAT public school education. I felt challenged along the way and I had access to some great schools and teachers and that makes all the difference. I found when I went away to college I was better prepared than most. So I hope this has answered some of your questions.

d_d · Dec 14, 2007

thank you

any information for me is usefull

Hi,
Just wanted to add to the comments here. I am a nursing student at Cabarrus College, affiliated with CMC-Northeast, and I am also an employee at CMC-Main downtown Charlotte, and I also live in the Lake Norman area(Huntersville/Corneilus/Davidson), just as some of the other posters.
About CMC-Northeast, the hospital was experiencing some problems (financial), but CMC was NOT the cause of it, CMC actually stepped in to HELP the hospital. I am not sure if I am the right person to address this post because I am partial to the CMC system--CMC-Main where I work. Things are done a little different in Cabarrus county (CMC-Northeast). See, what you have to understand is the history of CMC-Northeast. the hospital was built by a local family, the Cannon's wd a new children's hospital that

bonesrn · Jan 8, 2008

I worked as a travel nurse at UNC for 2 years and it was a great hospital. Chapel Hill is a college town, nice, old money. Raleigh is more metropolitan. Wake Med and Rex are good hospitals, good cost of living and a lot of things to do. Great weather and great people. Getting ready to go back. Good Luck