Chris Robinson Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Thought I'd throw this one out there since we're a geographically and professionally diverse group with a common love of Klipsch and audio. My wife and I moved to coastal SC 16 months ago and we've been pleased with some things and disappointed in others. Getting settled here has been hard. We started our own company (franchise) but have struggled with recruiting good labor. Cost of living is very high too. Weather is great though. We're thinking that next year we'll be making a stay/leave decision. What we'd really like is to trade in the expensive real estate for a nice comfortable house in the $400K or below range. Both of us have masters degrees (wife: communication, me: MBA) and would like access to jobs but not necessarily super-stressful and lucrative. Good schools would count too. Any of this ring true to places you live, or have lived and wish you stayed? Thanks. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Hi Chris, I think they have to bus your help in don't they. The labor is a real issue where you live. I live in Danville, VA. It is a blue collar town and unemployment is in the 8% range so finding service type employees is not too hard. One can get a home on the cheap here. We just purchased a 6100 sq ft home that is under ten years old for 412K. Public schools suck so we have our kids in a private Catholic school which runs about $800 a month or two kids. The school just was awarded a blue ribbon award and was one of only 10 schools in Virginia to get this award. I can certainly tell an educational difference. For us Greensboro, NC, Raleigh, NC and Roanoke, VA is all within a 1 1/2 hour drive. You have to grow a taste for a town like this, but if you do you can do fine! This is an area where you can be a big fish in a little sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Chris, We live just North-West of Phil in Powhatan, VA. We don't have kids in school but the schools here are reportedly really good, (have a neighbor that is a highschool teacher here). We got into a 10 acre place with a 1800 sq ft house with two barns (one is a 35 x 65 cinderbock dairy barn with full hay loft) and about 8 acres pasture or yard area for $185,000 4 years ago. It just apprased for $235,000 tho and we could easily sell for more. A bare 10 acre lot across the street sold for $125,000 last month. The area is growing pretty rapidly and with the comprohensive plann that the county has in place the new housing that is going in here is only very high end (and boy is that pissing off the lower income people of the county). They are requiring that if a large track of land is subdivided that it has to average 5 acre lots and the smallest lot can only be 2 acres, so the developers are putting $400,000 (min.) homes on the lots. There is a development (185 acres) that just got rezoned 6 months ago that this developers average price will be $600,000 and its only a mile from me. We are about 30 miles West of Richmond. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 Phil, bussing in labor can happen but I haven't seen too much of it. We've been trying to tap the Hispanic community which is local but so much of it is un- or falsely-documented labor. Since we bond our employees, we've steered clear of them. They are, however, the best labor in the area. We have a choice to make. Interestingly, if we check social security numbers and decline to hire based on a "bad" number, we are in violation of the law for discrimination since the SSN database is so riddled with errors. Go figure. The Virginia area for both you and Steve sounds nice. Are there any jobs to be had there for educated folks in their 40's and 50's ?? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Chris, We are in Athens, Ga. Most of what has already been posted is the same here. I guess it's the south in general. A lot of growth, high income housing, excellent appreciation, good schools, and UGA (The dawgs). Atlanta less than an hour away. Athens is a rural town with the classic southern city downtown area. Because of the University the town has many services and technologies that wouldn't be found in such a rural type southern city. The latest thing is "concept" subdivisions. There might be a "town center" with open market and shopping areas, horse trails, lake, old style 2-3 level housing built close together, condos, sidewalks (remember those?), golf communities, almost always wooded lots, large acre lots. I was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and moved here almost 7 years ago. Knowing what I know now, had I come here say 15 years ago: I'd be retired. Athens was just on CNN as now being a top retirement community, which surprised me a little. Rolling Stone magazine voted Athens the #1 college campus for music a couple of years ago. The music community is outrageous (REM, B-52s, WideSpread Panic, etc). Lots of great live music on any given night in the many bars and theaters downtown. Just a given. Sports to die for. UGA (Georgia vs Tennessee Saturday night) We have a condo in Palmetto dunes and so I am familair with Hilton Head. A great place obviously. But I can understand trying to live there and make a living year round might be difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 In Danville it depends on what you are looking for. The medical field is always booming, however, not really knowing your fields, I'm not sure. I just sold a house in Midlothian , VA in Chesterfield County next to Powhatan County. Those are GREAT areas and one I could move back to. In Chesterfield county I got a 110% return on that real estate, however, the bubble has hit. I sold in January in 3 days and got more than asking price. I don't think this is an unusual story around the country in real eastate over the past few years. Schools in both Powhatan and Chesterfield county's are great. I would put our kids in the public school system there, in either county. I think Powhatan county is the next "gem" of the area. Land prices are still reasonable and the road way system is getting much better now that a belt line has been developed and opened with in the last two years. The Richmond area certainly would offer your job oppertunites as well! It is geographically located a hour and a half from the beach, mountains, and Washington DC. I am in the Hotel business and have lived in many cities in the Southeast. I can say with confidence that Richmond was my favorite city. Big city feel and still small town charm can be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 For Me, I already live there, Born in Boston, Mass., parents moved to Salem N.Y. 1964, been in the Northern Part of New York ever since, will die here, this is my home, my family was born and raised here, educated here, I'm very happy here, my wife, she would go down south in a heartbeat, not this old fart..............I figure I am pretty lucky to own a house where I want to live. Winter sucks, but the other 3 seasons are nice..........Out of Saratoga but only 8 miles away...........Expensive tax wise though.......Can't have everthing...Can Ya' ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Chris, Here is a link to the Watkins Centre that Chesterfield County just approved. The info on what is gong into the Centre is vague but it does sound promising as to a business park and living centre. I'm not sure what kind of business you are in now but this is promising to bring in people from all the surrounding areas and states. http://www.watkinscentre.net/ Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Houston has it going. Probably one of the lowest costs of living in the U.S., but with all the big city sophistication you'd want. Texas has the best looking women of all the states. With a robust economy, we are much more insulated than the rest of the nation from recessions, etc. Many of you might have felt the pinch when stocks crashed through the bottom a few years back. Over here, we kept moving almost like it never happened. All the homes are built by illegals (whether or not you think this is good or bad), and because of that, the cost of housing is very low. Katy, which is a satellite town on the West fringe of the city is the fastest growing area. There is alot of wealth on the West side of town. Jobs are plentiful. The downside is Houston is flat, hot and humid. The upside is there is a horizon, and we don't put chains on tires or scrape ice from windshields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Hong Kong is cool, but cyberspace is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Houston is a true success story. After the crash in the 80's one could get real estate dirt cheap. Those that did have made out like fat cats. Many companies moved their world operations there as the City did an EXCELLENT job in luring them from other city's through aggressive tax incentives. Many city's would have gone in the other direction, and some have! Prettiest women....hmmmm....some very pretty ones for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 What Jeff says is basically true for all of the major cities in Texas, although we do get the occasional ice storm in Dallas/Fort Worth. Housing is cheap because there is no shortage of land to build on, not neccesarily because of who does the labor (land supply/demand curve). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 not in my head- it's not good in here these days.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 What Jeff says is basically true for all of the major cities in Texas, although we do get the occasional ice storm in Dallas/Fort Worth. Housing is cheap because there is no shortage of land to build on, not neccesarily because of who does the labor (land supply/demand curve). Oldie's observation on plentiful land is right, too. Big land supply, plus cheap labor makes for low, low prices. I would not be inclined to agree that all major Texas cities are hot (on cost/income basis). Houston definitely is. Dallas definitely is. San Antonio is pretty good - and still probably great compared to much of the nation. Austin is too attractive, and the market there is a little tighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I live in Post Falls, Idaho about 7 miles west of Coeur d'Alene. The area is exploding with growth for good reason. We have our 4 seasons but they're relatively mild. No hotter than a few 100 degree summer days and anything below zero in winter is rare. About 25 inches a year in local precipitation in various forms (heavy snow is around 8 inches). Yet the are around is mountainous and get a ton of moisture. It feeds our aquifer and many rivers and lakes. Water from the tap is paid for in bottles elsewhere. Forests and wildlife abound and farm fresh produce is readily available. Car insurance and registration...too embarassing to quantify....dirt cheap. Downside(s)..... Property was truly affordable up until 2 years ago. Since values have at least doubled for every home/land near the cities. Property taxes have followed and many longtime Idaho families cannot afford to pay current tax base on homes purchased for nothing in the past and now worth tons. Labor is short. There is relatively no alien or migrant workforce in the northwest. Education is good but could be better. All other living amenities exist from major stores to cultural affairs, major art and music events, etc...... Oh, there's NO upscale stereo outlet in the region. We do have the audio-video appliance dealers but no hefty stereo gear. With the tons of retirees with tons of $$ moving this way a stereo business seems ripe for opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 What's the deal Chris?? Thought you guys were pretty happy with the area and things?? Maybe you need to get off of Hilton Head proper. Anyhow - just curious 'cause this talk of yours is surprising to me. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Houston has it going. Probably one of the lowest costs of living in the U.S., but with all the big city sophistication you'd want. Texas has the best looking women of all the states. With a robust economy, we are much more insulated than the rest of the nation from recessions, etc. Many of you might have felt the pinch when stocks crashed through the bottom a few years back. Over here, we kept moving almost like it never happened. All the homes are built by illegals (whether or not you think this is good or bad), and because of that, the cost of housing is very low. Katy, which is a satellite town on the West fringe of the city is the fastest growing area. There is alot of wealth on the West side of town. Jobs are plentiful. The downside is Houston is flat, hot and humid. The upside is there is a horizon, and we don't put chains on tires or scrape ice from windshields. You forgot the worst part about Houston... It is in Texas![6] Good to see you back on a regular basis Jeff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Don't be trashin Texas. Them there are fighten words...............................[:@] Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 What's the deal Chris?? Thought you guys were pretty happy with the area and things?? Maybe you need to get off of Hilton Head proper. Anyhow - just curious 'cause this talk of yours is surprising to me. Tom Tom, the reason we're thinking this over is because YOU HAVEN'T COME TO SEE US [] Seriously, this has been such a tough year on many fronts. I haven't dragged you through it because of all the issues you're coping with. We like HHI a lot but we've really been a bit bummed by the cranky nature of the island people here. There are a lot of retired people who require special consideration and handling; just a fact of life. They're also a lot of our customer base. There is a significant percentage who just require lots of special accommodation. This year we started our Molly Maid business on January 3rd. Since then, we've had 21 employees, with an average staffing of about 6 employees. That's 3-1/2 turns of employees during the first nine months. We've been growing very fast but then had a bunch of bad employees this summer. Some wouldn't show up regularly for work, a few were trying to steal customers for weekend side business, some were just plain lazy and some just showed a lot of attitude with customers. Our cancellation rate with customers got pretty bad this summer, right when the summer doldrums set in, so we got whacked doubly and the net being flat sales from June through September. We're trying to get the business to a breakeven. We may hit it between now and Christmas if we can control quality and keep getting market penetration. However, it's been over a year since a paycheck from anywhere and we've pumped about $130K in the business, including franchise and territory fees. Most of the investments are behind us and we just want to get the business to start generating some cash. The emotional and physical toll have been high. Carrie and I just look at ourselves some nights and say, "Man, this is waaaaaaaaay too hard ..." It's kind of "heartbreak hill" during the Boston Marathon. The first year in a new biz is always huge and exhausting. We're just thinking about Plan B, should we need to implement it. We've always, through our marriage, kept a Plan B in place because "life happens" every day. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Thanks, Steve. Hey, Rich... Texas is a very proud state; yet, we are the "friendly state." We have a fantastic history here. Ain't no place like Texas. Where else can you go where everyone is friendly, the cost of living is low, and there are plenty of job/career/business opportunities? We are very blessed in this great state of ours. I think I'd lose my wits in Chicago, LA or New York. Californians, for the most part (Klipsch Californians excluded), are arrogant. New Yorkers are just pi$$ed off as they ride elbow to a$$h0le in subway trains to get to tiny apartments that cost alot of money. Chicago - well I don't know much about Chicago, except it is very cold and windy. Did I mention earlier that Texas has the best babes in the nation.... bar NONE!??? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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