by: Josh Stahl | Business Development Manager
After graduating from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, I knew I wanted to live in a city where the career opportunity was as bright as the summer sun. Growing up in the cold Midwest, I was desperate to get out of the freezing, cloud-laden winters and needed a new place to call home. That’s when I began researching the best places to live for young people. I had heard of Charlotte, NC and talked to many people that were raving about it, but I was generally unfamiliar of everything it had to offer. I knew that it was growing and plenty of businesses were moving there because of the immense population expansion, but I came to find out that it had everything I could ask for. I soon realized that aside from the wonderful weather where you still get four seasons, there are mountains to the west for the skiers, beaches to the east for the surfers, 3 professional sports teams to root for and a downtown nightlife to boot.
All of that to me was very appealing, but after all the research, I thought the most attractive aspect of the city was the fact that it was affordable. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of crazy expensive neighborhoods on the outskirts of downtown, but overall, a young professional with a fairly decent paying job wouldn’t have that much trouble finding a piece of property to call home. A lot of my friends moved to bigger cities upon graduation like NYC and Chicago, but I felt like Charlotte would give me the opportunity to advance a little quicker in the real estate investment game. Those cities are great for nightlife and job opportunity, but personally I was more interested in owning a home at a young age than seeing a celebrity in Times Square on a Tuesday night. Being that is the headquarters for Bank of America and Wachovia, the largest commercial bank in the U.S. and the fourth largest banking chain based on total assets, people tend to think of the city as strictly a banking town. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. There is a plethora of diversity in industries throughout the city and with new businesses moving here daily, there is practically opportunity for any educational background.
I’m sure I sound like I’m being paid to talk about how wonderful the city of Charlotte is, but in all reality, the reason I am so happy that I decided to move here is the fact that it has everything I was looking for. At the end of the day, when deciding on relocating to another city for a career move, make sure you are doing it for all the right reasons and not just because it might have one or two things you like.
Comments