The interview went well

[witzend]

Now I think we're both very nervous. They told him that he would hear in a week or two, but the recruiter thinks that it will be sooner. I am finally over my antibiotic induced diarrhea - I hope - and it is our anniversary today. I'm hoping to go out this evening. I haven't really been out of the house in weeks, and have been sick one way or another since before Christmas.

I did send that letter to my therapist asking her to either see me or refer me to someone who would be a quick study. That's been several weeks, but I haven't heard anything. I don't hold out high hopes for that. I'm looking at moving companies and houses. There are just so many unanswered questions.

 

[DammitJanet]

Ohhhhh Witz...Im glad it went well! Now tell me, what area are we talking about? I can tell you about nice parts of town and nice things to do. Places we could meet! I would so love to meet you. It would be the highlight of my year. I promise I would go down and get Star and we would come up and do dinner. Hell I would spring for a hotel up there so Star and I could spend a Saturday with you. Is it the RDU or Charlotte? Oh I am so excited!

 

[witzend]

Thanks, Janet. The job will be in the heart of downtown Charlotte. I'd prefer to buy a house, but I don't know if we can get a loan if we don't have a permanent position. I know absolutely nothing about Charlotte, other than what I have read on Wikipedia. HELP!!!

 

[DDD]

Sounds good, Witz. Since you don't know the area at all leasing might give you time to see if it's your cup of tea. Will you have to sell your home before relocating? Moving is so exciting and so exhausting! LOL DDD

 

[Nancy]

My nephew and his wife lived in Charlotte for several years and absolutelyy loved it. They made so many friends there and often go back to visit.

I hope it all works out.

nancy

 

[witzend]

I agree, 3-D, leasing does sound like a good idea. I'd really like to look at a lease-to own deal. Find someplace in an area that is handy and will accomodate the dogs and not need a lot of work, and if we like it, then we can buy it later and not have to move again. Today I was looking at this thing where they bring big trailer to your house and you get a few days to load it up, then UPS hauls it across country for you. I think that is probably what will work best for us.

I think we can sell the house without taking a loss on it. We have re-done it top to bottom, and have a new furnace and water heater. That and being a single story with a master bedroom as big as our first apartment makes it special and attractive. Fingers crossed...

 

[DammitJanet]

Are you talking about those PODS things? Those are great!

Now Charlotte...you will be about 70 miles west of me! I would advise looking in Monroe County instead of inside the city of Charlotte itself. You will be happier with the ambiance of the location of being right outside the huge city but still not more than a 15 minute drive right in. Nice subdivisions, town homes, condo's, etc. Charlotte is a huge city that is extremely congested if you live right inside the city limits but if you go to the outskirts, its lovely. The skyline is beautiful. Being that you want greenspace, I think Monroe would be perfect.

 

[witzend]

...typing "Monroe" into redfin and zillow immediately! Thanks! I will be back for more info soon, I'm sure!

 

[witzend]

Is there a reason that I don't see fences in the yards on the houses that I look at? Oscar would be gone like a shot if I let him out loose without a fence. Mandy would be making far-away friends too. Am I just not seeing them?

 

[DammitJanet]

I have no idea. I dont live in Monroe but I know from my dad living in what was called a structured community or something like that, that sometimes places have HOA type deals saying what you can and cant have. Now I could never live in such a place. Before my dad lived in that last house, we always lived in normal communities. I would think normally you can have fences. I know lots of places in Monroe are more country too so it may be that you should look for places that are not gated communities.

 

[DammitJanet]

Witz...check these names... Lexington NC, Rock Hill SC, Mathews NC

 

[ThreeShadows]

I'm sure you know about this site, but in case you don't:

North Carolina Forum - Relocation, Moving, Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum

Good luck, Witz, you deserve it!

 

[buddy]

You deserve every happiness. I am so thrilled for you to have this great adventure.

 

[Hound dog]

Oh, I'm just tickled pink! Now why am I getting all excited? You're not coming my direction. lol Oh well, still excited for ya!

 

[everywoman]

Witz, look south of charlotte in the SC area, Rock Hill, SC...that area is beautiful.

 

[witzend]

EW, do you think that there are problems for tax consequences if I live in SC but husband works in NC? Here in Oregon, many people live in WA but work in OR. OR has income tax and no sales tax, while WA has sales tax and no Income Tax. If you live in one and work in another they tax your OR income tax. It doesn't matter which is which, but OR takes their share out of the paycheck either way.

What kind of taxes do you all have down there? Income, sales, and/or both?

One thing is for sure, I'm going to have to learn how to pump gas. LOL! I bet you all think we're nuts here, but our gas is cheaper than WA or CA and we are not allowed to pump our own. That means no standing in the wind/rain/heat and getting fumes and gas all over your clothes. The other part of that being that I don't know how to pump gas...

 

[HaoZi]

Not allowed to pump your own gas? Cripes, I can't think of the last time I ever saw a "full serve" station. That's what they're called, right?

 

[DammitJanet]

SC has much lower gas than NC. NC has the highest tax on gas on the east coast. On the other hand, NC has the cheapest cigarettes. But if you are anywhere in the area we are talking about...you could just drive to NC to get cigs. Oh but you dont smoke...I forgot. Never mind. Thats Lisa Im thinking about. I really should drive to SC to get my gas if I am filling up. I am 17 miles from the border and it is cheap enough that it would make it worth it. I think the state income tax is a bit lower in SC too. I dont know about property taxes. You wouldnt have a property tax on a home until you buy it so that woudnt be an issue but here, you can get a disabled property tax credit. I get it on my home. Also if you have your utilities in your name, you can get certain advantages using the disability card. Like I dont have any fees like taxes or notice fees on my electric bill. Not a huge savings but still saves about $10 a month. Depending on who your light bill is with, it could be more.

 

[Fran]

Witz, hope you get an answer one way or another regarding the job. It's got to be exhausting just waiting. We have been in the raleigh area for close to 5 yrs. I really love it. The summers are still a little too hot and long for my tastes but great compared to Dallas. It's green and mild most of the year.
Charlotte is a bigger city than Raleigh but very lovely. Everyone I know who has moved to Charlotte have loved it.
I put up a fence for my dogs. It is common to see invisible fencing in this area. My puppies weren't buying that so we fenced a good part of our property.
Good luck.

 

[witzend]

LOL! We don't call it "full service" because it's the only kind of service we get! I went to WA a few weeks ago and filled my tank at Costco where it's super cheap. I couldn't figure out how to make the pump stay on until it was full, and this lady behind me saw my OR plates and came and showed me the little clip. The OR lawmakers keep trying to tell us how cheap our gas would be if we'd just pump it ourselves, but we are NEVER going to fall for that. They have three guys pumping gas at minimum wage, I figure that's $900 a week the station owner is going to save. How the heck is he going to pass that "great savings" on to me? Baloney! It costs me $70 to fill my tank and I see them put $900 into cars just as I'm sitting there. Those guys pay for themselves. There's no way we're standing out in the rain and cold to pump our own gas if the law says we don't have to.

Janet, I did not know that about my utilities. I should probably look into that in any case. I don't know if they have anything like that here. Fran, we'd definitely have to put up a fence. Not that it's that big a deal if it's our own place. If we're leasing or renting though, it may be a problem.