MIKEDB + some other crap

MikeDB officially has the best avatar on the site D D D

anyway............

I was looking for some advice, or experiences from anyone who has them.

I live in massachusetts and I'm really starting to hate it. There are many reasons why, but for the last year I've been thinking about moving south. Particularly Georgia. I anticipate my house will sell in the next three months at which point I'm facing a decision.

Do I pack my shit and roll, or do I stay here and think about it some more? I have no commitments up here right now. No girl, no job I'm attached to, small family, tight circle of friends, nothing extraordinary.

Also, I believe everything happens for a reason, and recently, I came back into contact with a girl I went to high school with, but subsequently moved back to her hometown in S.C. We got really close really fast lately and this may have just been the push I needed to separate the "thinking about it" from the "actually doing it."

I hate it up here, and I was wondering if the south is as awesome as I hear.

And please, don't start mocking me, I'm really trying to do something with my life and I don't think that being up here is helping my cause. This is a huge decision for me and I could really use some serious input. +Karma to anyone particularly helpful.

Thanks guys. D

If you've been thinking about it for a long time and then decided now that you want to move then do it.

If you are just starting to consider moving, then wait a few months and then decided what you want to do for sure. A lot of things will change once you move and that is something that you need to think about. It costs a lot (especially more than you think).

Take a little more time to think about it until you are 100% sure about it. This is not something that you want to have regrets about.

I'm family oriented, I would like to be close as possible with my family. I'm not saying you're not but I'm just telling you that if I was in your position, I would stay close as possible with my family and live near them.

Moving somewhere that you wouldn't know anyone is kind of hard but then it will be a different experience because you're going to be independent

I've lived in various places all over the country (well, the world, actually), and I prefer the South, particular Georgia and the Carolinas. I currently live in NW Georgia, 20 minutes from Chattanooga, TN and an hour from Atlanta. The location is just about perfect from a weather standpoint (last year's drought notwithstanding). The economy is good, all things considered. Cost of living is decent. Schools are quite good compared to the rest of the South (the city and county high schools here ranked up in the 90 percentile range, although they are overcrowded now). And the people are typically much nicer than up north. It's beautiful country too, here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains.

While I can't say you should just pack up and leave, I will say if you're looking to head south, I think you'll like Georgia. If you like rural, there's plenty of it, but if you like urban, there's plenty of that too. And a lot in between, which is where I like to be. Actually, one day I hope to buy a large tract of rural land to live on, but right now I'm an "in between" sort of person.

The irony is that I was stationed in Georgia in the late 80's while in the Army, and I lihatedli Georgia from that experience. I vowed never to return. lol Teach me to say "never." But that was primarily because of the Augusta area I was in -- people still refer to Augusta as "Disgusta." It's the one area of Georgia I wouldn't recommend to you at all. I wound up back in Georgia when my then-job moved me here, and now I'm thankful. I've had opportunities here that I likely would not have had where I lived before.

I would have to agree with you that people in the south are 10x nicer than people up here in the north.

pros and cons of both the north and the south, Dmorris is dead on about north georgia, its a wonderful place to live.....or you could stop about an hour and half north and live in knoxville, where i live, its nice too

[quote99260faefd="zr2152"]I would have to agree with you that people in the south are 10x nicer than people up here in the north.[/quote99260faefd]
Are you kidding me?
People here in NY are the nicest people in the world.

/sarcasm

Definitely make up your mind before you get too attached with the things you mentioned like work, girls, etc. Didn't you mention that that girl you are getting attached to has kids? I can see some future issues with that but if you really love her it should be fine (hopefully you'll end up loving her kids too).

You should just forget about it all and move to the west. Move to like Northern California or something. P

Northern California? That would be really expensive, more anywhere in the west but CA ;)

True. Sometimes it's worth it though. He should just move to somewhere tropical like Hawaii for a few years and be a beach bum. lol

South is usually cheerier as the sun shines brighter and the days are longer.

[quoted3fcddccb2="dmorris68"]I've lived in various places all over the country (well, the world, actually), and I prefer the South, particular Georgia and the Carolinas. I currently live in NW Georgia, 20 minutes from Chattanooga, TN and an hour from Atlanta. The location is just about perfect from a weather standpoint (last year's drought notwithstanding). The economy is good, all things considered. Cost of living is decent. Schools are quite good compared to the rest of the South (the city and county high schools here ranked up in the 90 percentile range, although they are overcrowded now). And the people are typically much nicer than up north. It's beautiful country too, here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains.

While I can't say you should just pack up and leave, I will say if you're looking to head south, I think you'll like Georgia. If you like rural, there's plenty of it, but if you like urban, there's plenty of that too. And a lot in between, which is where I like to be. Actually, one day I hope to buy a large tract of rural land to live on, but right now I'm an "in between" sort of person.

The irony is that I was stationed in Georgia in the late 80's while in the Army, and I lihatedli Georgia from that experience. I vowed never to return. lol Teach me to say "never." But that was primarily because of the Augusta area I was in -- people still refer to Augusta as "Disgusta." It's the one area of Georgia I wouldn't recommend to you at all. I wound up back in Georgia when my then-job moved me here, and now I'm thankful. I've had opportunities here that I likely would not have had where I lived before.[/quoted3fcddccb2]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input. I just had a few more questions, mainly for DMorris, but if anyone can help that'd be great...

What exactly is the job market like down there? I'm looking for something insurance related, as I'm pretty sure insurance is going to stand the test of time and power through the recession, as well as offer a decent future. Obviously, there's not much I won't do in order to just get by at first, but I just need to know what the opportunity levels are like down there, and, if you know, how they compare to Mass... D, you said you've had opportunities there that you wouldn't have had in your other place, so that seems promising to me because you're obviously a smart guy that knows what's up.

Also, does anyone know any rough estimate of what it would cost to move or the best method to take? I don't have much stuff. I do have a house, but it's pretty empty. I have a queen size bed, a bureau, a weight set and an entertainment center. I also have a giant drum set that I'm considering trying to unload before I roll. (if I roll.) Honestly, I could probably fit all my shit into a 10-12ft cube truck if packed properly.

Also, Puppeteer, you have a good point about being near family, but honestly, the only people I'm close with is my mom and my brother. I have a very very small family, my dad never really cared too much. He pretends to, but it's no problem leaving, but I do know it'll break my ma's heart. She does want what's best for me though and doesn't want to hold me back, but other than my ma and bro, I really don't have anyone. There's the obvious comfort of acquaintances and some friends here and there, but, nothing that would be a tragedy to leave.

and J4, yeah, that's the girl that has the kids, goddamn you really pay attention when we shoot the shit back and forth, eh? that was a really really offhand comment when I brought that up D D D haha, and yeah, i'll move to Cali, can i crash on your floor?? But no, I really don't care about the kids. I don't want my own anyway and I know she wouldn't pressure me for any, so that's one in the bag for me. D D D

I appreciate all the advice too, I owe a few of you Karma D

Packing up and leaving all behind is a very big decision. I did it when I was 21. Left my whole family in PA and moved to CA(all by myself). At the time I was loving it. After a few years though I became homesick. Decided to move back home and then I met my husband, so here I am still in CA. It's very expensive here and I live in probably the cheapest part of CA (the Central Valley). shock

You are young and not tied down to anyone or anything, so I would say take the jump now. If it doesn't work out, or you miss the north, then move back. If you don't, you may regret it later on in life.

Marie 8)

I moved from NY to NC and love every bit of it. The wife and me moved to NC with no family or jobs here, we were just sick of NY (upstate) not the city. So far the biggest grip i have is people can't drive for shit here.

South -- the dirty third.

Lived in Kentucky for 4 years, (they consider it the south, but I think its more attitude than geography) and absolutely loved it.

In fact I would move back to the Lexington area in a flash if I could. The band I played in (nothing exciting, I was more of a hired player) toured a little bit throughout the south through Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia and it is beautiful. I think ricopet said it best, you're young, make up your mind and do it now and see what happens.


My wife is Hawaiian and moved to the Midwest for college. She loves the mainland because of the changing seasons. She doesn't regret moving and is glad she did it. You can always go back if it's not for you.

Best of luck.

If you can keep yourself together.. check out Nevada. We have a strong economy, no state tax, most anything you would ever want to do (within reason) is legal in some part of the state and right now (as has been the case for about the last two years) the housing market is shit. I know people who are literally renting million+ dollar homes on golf courses for $1,000/month.

Nevada is one of, if not the most unique state in the country. Amazing opportunities and very reasonable cost of living right now compared to 4-5 years ago.

I will tell you right now though, if you have any problems with drinking/gambling/drugs Las Vegas is definitely not for you as the temptations will be at your fingertips 24/7 I've seen it eat alot of people alive.

[quote90ef1ca9a6="TravMan162"]What exactly is the job market like down there? I'm looking for something insurance related, as I'm pretty sure insurance is going to stand the test of time and power through the recession, as well as offer a decent future. Obviously, there's not much I won't do in order to just get by at first, but I just need to know what the opportunity levels are like down there, and, if you know, how they compare to Mass... D, you said you've had opportunities there that you wouldn't have had in your other place, so that seems promising to me because you're obviously a smart guy that knows what's up.[/quote90ef1ca9a6]
Insurance works just about everywhere, so if that's your thing, you shouldn't have much trouble. We're an industrial town here, and there's a huge labor force. Much of that is an immigrant force, as we have a very large immigrant population. Mostly Hispanics, from all Latin countries, but a lot of other nationalities as well. And they tend to pay everything in cash, including their insurance. Not long after we moved here (almost 15 years ago), two of my wife's sisters and their families moved out here as well. One of them married an investment banker here, and he helped her get her license and open her own insurance brokerage. They were making money hand over fist, mostly from Hispanic customers. They sold it and moved to Florida a couple years ago (he's a bank VP and they moved him down there). Other than that, I don't know much about the business, but it seems we have a broker or agent on every block around here. In fact, my sister-in-law opened hers in a strip-mall type office complex, [i90ef1ca9a6]right next door[/i90ef1ca9a6] to the insurance office she worked at while learning the ropes to get her license. ) They treated her pretty badly when she worked there, so her husband went out of his way to lease the vacant space next door, and she took her old customers with her... right next door. It was hilarious to see. Revenge is sweet, I guess.

Anyway, the job market here is VERY strong. Obviously things are in a dip as they are everywhere, but compared to the rest of the country we're still doing well. And the economy liwillli pick back up. Even my HS dropout son, now 24, makes almost $15/hr as head cook at Chili's restaurant. His wife makes more than that as an HR rep in one of the local mills. Of course they have 3 kids (1 + twins) so they still barely make it, but I can't imagine them making it this well in most other places. McDonald's has to pay $9+ per hour or they can't get help, because there's too much high paying mill work here.

[quote90ef1ca9a6="TravMan162"]Also, does anyone know any rough estimate of what it would cost to move or the best method to take? I don't have much stuff. I do have a house, but it's pretty empty. I have a queen size bed, a bureau, a weight set and an entertainment center. I also have a giant drum set that I'm considering trying to unload before I roll. (if I roll.) Honestly, I could probably fit all my shit into a 10-12ft cube truck if packed properly.[/quote90ef1ca9a6]
I'd say just rent a U-Haul or something similar. With that little bit of stuff, it won't cost you much at all.

[quote90ef1ca9a6="TravMan162"]But no, I really don't care about the kids.[/quote90ef1ca9a6]
I'm hoping you didn't meant that the way it came across...

Wow, David, thank you for all the help.

I heard something about a nuclear power plant opening up around there that's going to create 400 or so jobs in the next few years, any truth to that?

You've pretty much convinced me that this is the place to be. See up here, the whole mantra is "the cost of living down there is pretty cheap but you also make $4 an hour"

You live there and are obviously telling me that straight up, that ain't the case D Do you know of any specific companies down there that compare in any level to Mass Mutual up here? If you don't know what that is, it is the insurance company. I mean THE insurance company. They always have jobs opening, and once you get in, you're pretty much set for life unless you're an idiot, but it's damn near impossible to get in because of the demand.

Anything similar to that down there?

And about the kids.............. I totally did not mean that the way it sounded haha. What I meant was "the fact that she has kids does not bother me" D D D

This thread is more like "SOME OTHER CRAP[/sized0c580c182] + MIKEDB[/sized0c580c182]" lol

[quotef644285968="J4320"]This thread is more like "SOME OTHER CRAP[/sizef644285968] + MIKEDB[/sizef644285968]" lol[/quotef644285968]

perhaps i should rename this hahaha

Georgia has 4 reactors currently, with another scheduled to come online at Vogtle by 2015, according to this report[=http//www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/states/statesga.html]this report, dated 08/2006. Haven't really heard anything about something more recent.

Tennessee also has reactors, 3 I believe. Haven't heard about any new ones.

As far as large insurers around here, I really can't give you any accurate info as I don't run in those circles. I know there are some large insurance HQ's up the road in Chattanooga, TN (such as BCBS and another that I can't recall at the moment).

As far as low "standard of living" down here in the South, there is a stereotype but like anywhere else, you have your good areas and bad areas. This area of Georgia is quite good. Others, particularly in south Georgia, probably not so much. Same with Alabama, north 'bama (Birminghan, Huntsville) can be really nice, while "L.A." as we call it can be a real crapshoot as far as economy goes. I grew up down there and went to college in Mobile (University of South Alabama). I loved Mobile as a young single guy, but upon returning there with a family when I got out of the Army, I quickly realized how bad things were. I hear it's much better now, they've had a kind of revival what with the cruise lines opening ports there. I still wouldn't consider it over north Georgia, though.