Moving from WI to SC?

[Heather in WI]

Dh and I have been fantasizing about moving to a warmer state. The long, cold, never-ending winters are starting to get to us! I lived in NC for two years and CO for one year as a teenager, but other than that we have both always lived in WI.

 

Has anyone completely started over in another state mid-life?

 

What should we be looking at to prepare for this? We currently have our own small construction/remodeling business. Is this a favorable industry in the South? Should we be trying to cross train for a different field of work?

 

What can you tell us about SC? Great place to live or run far, far away?

 

Please tell me it's a warm, sunny, magical place with friendly people, cheap housing, plentiful jobs, and wonderful schools. :D

[Dana]

I can't address the jobs situation.

Housing (depending on what you're looking for) is relatively cheap. Our mortgage is still significantly cheaper than our rent was in CA over a decade ago.

 

Weather isn't as nice as CA.

The winter is cold from my perspective, but if you're moving from the north, it won't feel rough. We only get snow once or twice every year or every other year and everything shuts down if there's accumulation on the roads.

 

OTOH, spring is a "blink & it's gone". We're in pollen season right now & there are clouds (literally) of pollen. There's no way I'd have windows open. It's already hitting upper 70s and some days 80s. Kind of nice after the winter, but pretty scary for the summer. In the summer it often drops to the 70s or high 60s overnight. Luckily I can handle heat better than cold.

 

It's tougher to be secular in the south but it's not impossible.

Homeschooling isn't rough here even though it's mid-range in regulation.

Schools are hit or miss. We're in one of the "good" districts, but I've had friends who taught in them and it makes me question how "good" is defined. I'm pretty committed to homeschooling through high school.

 

Government is tricky right now (as it is everywhere) with major budget cuts continuing to go on.

 

I will say that although I think of moving away at different points, I would hate to lose our library - it was ranked one of the best in the nation :)

We've got some really neat resources & you're within a relatively easy drive of the mountains and the ocean from just about anywhere in the state.

 

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions & I'm sure others in other parts of the state will have more info too.

 

Best of luck making a decision that works best for you and your family.

[Samiam]

What part of SC are you looking at? There is the coastal area, and then mid-state, and then Upstate. They have different things to offer.

 

I lived in Charleston for 8 years (although prior to homeschooling), and while there is no snow, it is HOT and HUMID during summer months, into early fall. Like, miserable hot. You have the ocean there, but that also means you have hurricanes to be worried about.

 

Right now we live in NC, about an hour north of SC, and we are moving to Greenville SC in a few weeks for DH's job. My understanding is the weather is a clear "four seasons". Beautiful leaves in the fall, cold winters with rare snow fall, and nice spring, then HOT summers (but not as long). We've been going there a few times a week the last few weeks and it has been beautiful spring weather.

 

In general, everyone is very nice. You will find ALOT of transplants, it is harder to meet "natives" than it is to find that everyone is from somewhere else.

 

Keep in mind, you are in the DEEP south, especially in the Charleston area, so there are definately some cultural differences that take some getting used to.

 

I believe SC had one of the highest unemployment rates during the "big recession" in the last few years. I think that your DH's line of work, in general, is just difficult during these times.

 

I have found housing prices in the Greenville area to be pretty decent, in comparision to NC, where we are now, and FL where we were. I know Charleston prices were really high (8 years ago anyway).

 

As far as schools, SC typically ranks in the last 5 out of 50 states for education...I think last year they were actually 49th.....as in bottom of the barrel. So even the so called "good schools"....well I guess they are good in comparision to the rest in SC, but that is not saying much. We never considered public schools when we lived in Charleston, only did private schools (didn't know about HSing then).

Edited March 22, 2011 by Samiam

[RanchGirl]

whenever I am dreaming about moving somewhere, and that is frequent in the winter, I go to city-data.com and read the forum for that area and the page for the specific city demographics. You might get some good information there. Also craigslist.org and the local paper will give you an idea of the housing and job markets. Personally (as a person with very little experience in the construction industry) I think starting up a construction business in a new area would be really difficult unless demand there is very high, as in Katrina type damage to the area or something. Whatever you decide, good luck!!

Edited March 22, 2011 by RanchGirl
added caveat about my experience in the construction industry -- 6 months as an office manager does not an expert make!

[Mergath]

I haven't actually moved to SC per se, but I have spent most of my life in Minnesota, and went to SC for basic training when I was in the Army.

 

What I remember is that when I got there, it was so hot people were passing out left and right from heat stroke.

 

During Victory Forge, which is about nine weeks later, there were people receiving treatment for frostbite. Of course, we had to spend three days going between a foxhole and the saddest little tents you've ever seen, but still... makes the weather in Minnesota look positively sane.

 

I lived in Monterey, CA for awhile when I was in the Army, too, and I agree with the pp- if you want nice weather, you can't beat California.

[Dana]

I lived in Monterey, CA for awhile when I was in the Army, too, and I agree with the pp- if you want nice weather, you can't beat California.

 

Monterey was where I met my husband. Poor guy, after college, I dragged him out here. He'd never seen a Palmetto bug before (blech).

 

But, again, we can own a house for significantly less than we could rent out there. So, tradeoffs.

 

In CA, I missed having seasons. I only started noticing the differences (subtle) when we were moving after 6 years there. I also missed sweet tea when out there.

 

Now I miss bike paths & good public transportation.

But I adore our library! And we have kangaroos & koalas at the zoo, so that's pretty cool.

[Susan C.]

I am in coastal SC. It is VERY hot and humid in the summer, so much so, I can't go outside much. When we lived in an apartment, I would get heat exhaustion carrying in the groceries.

 

The area has taken a very big hit with the economy, so unless you have a solid job opportunity, I don't know if I would do it. If you do, well, you will have a pick of several hundred homes at rock bottom prices.

 

Homeschooling is very easy here. If anyone asks you why you homeschool, you only have to point out that SC is 49th in education and everyone will leave you alone!

 

It is very laid back, which can be good and bad. Good for relaxing, bad if you want something accomplished. :)

 

I do worry about hurricanes and for me, it takes a lot of the "relax" out of summer. I watch the weather closely and every time there is a hurricane out there, I panic.

 

It is very beautiful place, tropical, our backyard has a lake w/herons, ibises, storks, turtles, hawks flying above, geese stop by, and ducks. (Also has blasted biting sand gnats, the brochures don't tell you about that, and the bites are worse than the mosquito bites you will also get...)

 

My dd wants the computer, so my train of thought has been broken, HTH!

[Heather in WI]

Well, you ladies know how to give a reality check! :D

 

We are looking at the Charleston/Mt. Pleasant area. I'm somewhat familiar with Southern attitudes, living on the coast, big bugs and hot weather; my dad's entire family lives in the Morehead City, NC area (where I lived as a teenager).

 

I don't remember being terribly frightened by hurricanes even though we had a few scares when I lived there. I have vague recollections about all of my friends going surfing then. I'm sure my feelings will be slightly different now as an adult now though, especially post Katrina. I think the jellyfish invasions freaked me out more. Yuck!

 

How would you describe race relations? When I lived in NC, there were definite prejudices abounding. I don't know if this was because it was the South or because my town was really, really small. The N word was frequently heard. That was a real shock to this Northern girl. I guess our ideal town would be small-urban. Urban enough for non-prejudicial attitudes and good food, music, museums, libraries, and entertainment, but not too big that there are the huge urban problems. We live right next (8 blocks away) to Milwaukee -- population 605,000. This is too big.

 

I think the job prospects are our biggest hurdle. Dh was a chef before becoming a journeyman carpenter working up to foreman before opening our own company, so he has a wide variety of interests and skills. He was looking at foreman / supervisor type positions with larger companies on the internet.

 

Finally, stupid question, but how is the soil? I love to grow my own berries and veggies organically. We have a nice size garden that the entire family (except the baby, LOL!) enjoys working in. I've heard (from this board?) that the soil in FL, for example, is terrible for the home gardener. Can you garden in SC?

[DawnM]

We moved from SoCal to NC about 6 years ago. I miss CA a lot but I know my family is happier here so I am making the best of it.

 

It is a great place to raise a family for many reasons.....one being the ability for us to buy LAND and a larger house AND have me not work.

 

But that has nothing to do with moving from WI, just for those who mentioned CA.

 

We live in the Charlotte area, just over the SC line. I could drive due South as the crow flies and would be in SC in one mile! :D It is about 3 miles driving.

 

Do you have the ability to just up and move to wherever you want or will your DH need to find a job? We are limited in where we can move because of DH's job. It has to be a large city. There are no jobs for him even in Raleigh due to the nature of his job.....so it was Atlanta or Charlotte for the most part when we were looking to move to the SouthEastern area.

 

SC is often rated 50th in the nation for public K-12 schools. Now, of course, there are individual pockets of great schools, but the general overall rating is low.

 

Dawn

[H_Household]

We live outside Greenville, SC and Love it! We came from the Northeast...Philly area but moved down here to be near our families.

Greenville has large industries in it including GE, Michelin, BMW among others. It has lots of cultural things including the Peace Center for the performing arts, the Bilo Center (our indoor arena), and different kinds of museums including our new Children's museum which is tons of fun. Greenville is located at the foot of mountains so it's not far to go find plenty of hiking, state parks and even lakes for boating and fishing. It's got tons of shopping and events all year long. It is a very family friendly place for sure.

Greenville has some more affluent area and has many transplants so it's a good diverse area. The housing market has slowed but isn't stopped completely. You might find that people are looking to do things in their homes instead of moving which might work for your line of business.

The weather can get warm in the summers but not as hot and humid as areas further south like Columbia and Charleston. The winter...we have snow every once and a while....where things close down because they just don't have the means to clean up the snow. It is quite funny after living in the North where snow is more common and they don't freak out about it.

I'm so thankful that God brought us here and we call Greenville area home. Good luck as you decide what works best for your family!

[Jan in SC]

We lived in Mount Pleasant and loved it!! Housing is more expensive than in other parts of the state, but it is a wonderful place to live.

 

I don't hear the N word ever, but that might be the company I keep rather than the area in which I live.

 

Politeness rules in SC - even if someone is angry with you. It won't be difficult to tell the difference, though! :)

 

It is already 80 degrees and the pollen is awful. You need to like the heat and humidity, not just be able to tolerate it.

[Susan C.]

Soil wise, you want mid or upstate. Our soil is sand, and we have to fertilize, fertilize, etc. to get our lawn green, to get tomatoes to grow, to get palm trees to put out leaves, etc.

 

Greenville/Spartanburg area is great, I would be there if it could be worked out! Very nice small city.