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Post by jackedup on Jun 12, 2015 19:28:23 GMT -6
Gents,
I've been contemplating making a move to North Carolina. We vacation in the OB every summer. I have friends who've moved to Durham area as well as Raleigh. And I hear nothing but how nice it is to live and coach.
So, for those who currently live and coach or who have previously lived and coach, can you give me your thoughts? I understand the cost of living is lower. Does the state as a whole value athletics? Football?
What are the areas near the water? Like Topsail?
Thanks so much!
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 12, 2015 19:45:23 GMT -6
We were in Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area, so take my opinion for what it is worth.
We lived there for 2 years and it was the worst 2 years of my life. It was like living in a third world country.
They did value football and being in their gangs. There was no value placed on education.
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Post by realdawg on Jun 13, 2015 4:28:37 GMT -6
I live about half way between Charlotte and Asheville. Which is not near the water at all unless you count the lake across the road. But the cost of living is relatively low (it wont be as low near the beach). Whether sports are valued kind of varies from place to place, here they are especially football. In other areas, not so much, especially around the larger cities. As a whole, they pay is pretty low for teaching and coaching, I think NC ranks like 48th in the nation in teacher pay. But again the cost of living is pretty low. There are some areas with alot of poverty, there are also some areas with alot of affluence. Areas near the water include Topsail, Jacksonville, Havelock, Atlantic Beach, Carteret County, Brunswick County, Shallotte, etc... and of course the outer banks.
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Post by newt21 on Jun 15, 2015 8:46:28 GMT -6
As others have said, it really depends on the area. Some areas are "football" areas, while others are "baseball" areas, or "basketball" areas. The cost of living is low, but the teacher pay is very low as well. The stipends depend on the county, some are much higher than others.
I've been all around the state, from the Fayetteville area (Southeast), to the mountains (Northwest), to the Piedmont (middle). Everybody WANTS to prioritize athletics, but some administrations don't support like they should.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2015 8:50:14 GMT -6
As others have said, it really depends on the area. Some areas are "football" areas, while others are "baseball" areas, or "basketball" areas. The cost of living is low, but the teacher pay is very low as well. The stipends depend on the county, some are much higher than others. I've been all around the state, from the Fayetteville area (Southeast), to the mountains (Northwest), to the Piedmont (middle). Everybody WANTS to prioritize athletics, but some administrations don't support like they should. where those football areas? |
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Post by newt21 on Jun 15, 2015 9:16:40 GMT -6
Southeast (Cumberland Co, Richmond, Scotland), South (Cleveland Co, Charlotte-Mecklenberg), Raleigh-Durham Area. Here's a link to all of the state championship stats if you're interested... www.nchsaa.org/football-championship-results |
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Post by realdawg on Jun 15, 2015 16:47:40 GMT -6
Areas that I consider football areas far west mountains, Murphy, Swain etc.... smaller schools, lots of community pride.
As mentioned Cleveland, Gaston, Charlotte area.... alot of good teams, 2 state champs out of Cleveland County last year (2a and 3a), the big 4a state champ is almost always out of Charlotte.
Greensboro area turns out some really good teams regularly (N. Guilford, Dudley etc...)
Sandhills (Richmond, Scotland)
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 15, 2015 17:03:41 GMT -6
Areas that I consider football areas far west mountains, Murphy, Swain etc.... smaller schools, lots of community pride. As mentioned Cleveland, Gaston, Charlotte area.... alot of good teams, 2 state champs out of Cleveland County last year (2a and 3a), the big 4a state champ is almost always out of Charlotte. Greensboro area turns out some really good teams regularly (N. Guilford, Dudley etc...) Sandhills (Richmond, Scotland) I don't know how good they are right now but Pinecrest is always looking for people as well. They were never a power house, but were decent when I was at Hoke County. |
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Post by realdawg on Jun 15, 2015 17:10:46 GMT -6
Coach Metzger has done a great job at Pinecrest. Took over a program that was on the verge of shutting down and has made them very very competitive in a tough league. Idk what the pay is like there, but they have nice facilities and the Pinehurst area would be a nice place to live.
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 15, 2015 18:58:16 GMT -6
Coach Metzger has done a great job at Pinecrest. Took over a program that was on the verge of shutting down and has made them very very competitive in a tough league. Idk what the pay is like there, but they have nice facilities and the Pinehurst area would be a nice place to live. Agree. IMO it is the most desirable area of the Sandhills region by far. Beautiful school and definitely the nicest facilities in that conference. Well, maybe second to Richmond. Not sure. |
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lbjames
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Post by lbjames on Jun 18, 2015 20:47:24 GMT -6
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 18, 2015 21:41:06 GMT -6
Nice. Any idea what Hoke did with their money? |
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lbjames
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Post by lbjames on Jun 24, 2015 13:24:43 GMT -6
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Post by CoachHess on Jun 24, 2015 22:21:04 GMT -6
Taught in NC for 3 years after college. Rocky Mount High School. Made some great friends, got to know some great kids. Pay sucks, stipend sucks, teaching (if you can call it that) sucks. Wouldn't go back unless I was on the coast, and that would take a high school paying like 'Bama.
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 25, 2015 6:46:15 GMT -6
Taught in NC for 3 years after college. Rocky Mount High School. Made some great friends, got to know some great kids. Pay sucks, stipend sucks, teaching (if you can call it that) sucks. Wouldn't go back unless I was on the coast, and that would take a high school paying like 'Bama. I don't even know if I could talk my wife into going back there for pay like 'Bama. Totally agree though. Aren't you in the middle of nowhere Indiana too? |
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Post by CoachHess on Jun 25, 2015 7:43:31 GMT -6
Taught in NC for 3 years after college. Rocky Mount High School. Made some great friends, got to know some great kids. Pay sucks, stipend sucks, teaching (if you can call it that) sucks. Wouldn't go back unless I was on the coast, and that would take a high school paying like 'Bama. I don't even know if I could talk my wife into going back there for pay like 'Bama. Totally agree though. Aren't you in the middle of nowhere Indiana too? That I am. Miss the NC athletes, but this is home. |
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Post by realdawg on Jun 25, 2015 9:49:52 GMT -6
You guys that have been down east giving NC a bad name! LOL. Living here in Cleveland Co is like living in paradise. Lol. Really everyone. All of NC is not a bad place to live in coach if you don't mind the pay not being too great.
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Post by rsmith627 on Jun 25, 2015 11:09:55 GMT -6
You guys that have been down east giving NC a bad name! LOL. Living here in Cleveland Co is like living in paradise. Lol. Really everyone. All of NC is not a bad place to live in coach if you don't mind the pay not being too great. I haven't seen Cleveland County, but have never heard anything bad about it. There are really nice parts of NC. We loved Raleigh and Charlotte a lot, but had already turned to sour in the place to give living in them a chance. |
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Post by CoachHess on Jun 25, 2015 18:34:59 GMT -6
You guys that have been down east giving NC a bad name! LOL. Living here in Cleveland Co is like living in paradise. Lol. Really everyone. All of NC is not a bad place to live in coach if you don't mind the pay not being too great. I haven't seen Cleveland County, but have never heard anything bad about it. There are really nice parts of NC. We loved Raleigh and Charlotte a lot, but had already turned to sour in the place to give living in them a chance. Agree. NC has nice spots. Where I was is not on that list. |
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Post by buck42 on Jun 25, 2015 19:33:19 GMT -6
I have been in Raleigh, Jacksonville, Brunswick County, Charlotte and currently just outside of Raleigh...
I don't have another state to compare it to...however, I think pay here is crap for the most part. There are about 20-25 schools that take football as serious as we would all like....and maybe half of those that pay what some of the better states pay.
The state of NC education system is a wreck and charter schools are going to have a huge impact in the next few years.
I have 9 more football seasons in North Carolina and I'm going to another state...
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Post by realdawg on Jun 25, 2015 21:16:54 GMT -6
I agree that the pay is crap. I am in year 15 and my assistant coaching supplement is about $2800 and 10 percent per week if we make the playoffs. And thats considered good for most of NC. And the state teaching pay is something like 46 or 48 out of 50. But hey cost of living is low right??
I have never lived east of Cleveland Co., but I do know that Brunswick and New Hanover are nice places to live, as is Asheville and some of the western mountain towns.
However, I also know where some of you guys have been; Fayetteville (called it Fayetnam) and Rocky Mount are not on my wifes lists of places where I can take a job.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2015 21:18:47 GMT -6
I used to live right on the TN side of the NC line. I'll be moving back there soon if things work out.
Parts of the state are cheap, but the pay is cheaper. The state legislature is a wreck and is trying to push the charter schools in and put all the money there. Some places haven't had a raise in 5-8 years now, IIRC. The nicer places to live are not so cheap--Ashwville is not affordable on a teacher salary now.
Tennessee sucks for teacher pay and working conditions, but we still had people coming here from NC. The coastal regions had an especially bad reputation for teaching. I remember their recruiters always seemed desperate when they came to job fairs when I was in college.
I talked to a guy on here once who relocated to NC after starting in upstate NY. He said it was like going from owning a brand new BMW straight out to leasing a broken down old Hyundai.
My mentor teacher during student teaching started her career in Charlotte. Lots of gang stories. My favorite was when she told me about prostitutes taking calls from men in the middle of class.
It's a shame. There are some beautiful places to live there. Some very good athletes in some areas, too. If they'd pull their head out of their butt on pay and funding, I'd move to some areas in a heartbeat.
Actually, just about everything I wrote is true of the south as a hole. Education'a never really been valued down here and the Republican legislatures seem hellbent on dismantling what little support there is. We re not much better here, from what I gather.
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Post by realdawg on Jun 26, 2015 3:28:20 GMT -6
Got our first raise in several years this past year, the new pay scale that the legislature put in place is all kinda jacked up. Heck they stopped paying people more who had their masters! Its not really the coastal regions that have a bad reputation. Teachers are beating down the door to get a job on the coast. Its the counties that are 2 counties to 2 hours inland that are in the situation you describe. See rsmith's description of his time in NC. Fayetteville is one of those areas.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2015 8:24:17 GMT -6
Got our first raise in several years this past year, the new pay scale that the legislature put in place is all kinda jacked up. Heck they stopped paying people more who had their masters! Its not really the coastal regions that have a bad reputation. Teachers are beating down the door to get a job on the coast. Its the counties that are 2 counties to 2 hours inland that are in the situation you describe. See rsmith's description of his time in NC. Fayetteville is one of those areas. [br Congrats on the raise. I could be mistaken on the coastal areas, but I remember the recruiters liked to use proximity to beaches as a selling point. Maybe they meant they were just close to the coastal counties. TN was trying to phase out extra pay for advanced degrees last year, too. The compromise that got worked out was telling school districts they needed to consider "other factors" for pay increases along with those degrees and they also cut the top off the pay scale, so now a teacher can top out after 10 years and if you were on step 18 before, they can just freeze you there. The changes were estimated to cost a new teacher about $40-$50k over a career on average. I'd move to Asheville in a heartbeat if the pay was better. The salary looks pretty good on paper, but the cost of living there eats it up. |
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Post by ksmitty79 on Jun 29, 2015 17:59:47 GMT -6
Gents, I've been contemplating making a move to North Carolina. We vacation in the OB every summer. I have friends who've moved to Durham area as well as Raleigh. And I hear nothing but how nice it is to live and coach. So, for those who currently live and coach or who have previously lived and coach, can you give me your thoughts? I understand the cost of living is lower. Does the state as a whole value athletics? Football? What are the areas near the water? Like Topsail? Thanks so much! I must first say this as a disclaimer. I only know what its like coaching in other states through word of mouth (college buddies/Message Boards.) As far as teaching goes. It's really simple do a quick Google search of teaching in North Carolina and you can read all you can about that. As far as Coaching. It really depends on where in the State you locate. Down east you have a couple of power house 1a and 2a teams that are great places to coach with TONS of success Wallace-Rose Hill comes to mind. Not to mention Havelock that has won 3 out of last 4 3A state championships. New Bern has also have pretty good success.In the Middle of that state you have the Raleigh Schools that have high turnover rate among Head Coaches. The Triangle area is in the midst of a population increase. It is not uncommon for a Raleigh team to make it to the state finals without playing anybody outside of the Raleigh area. For the most part the surrounding counties have had pretty decent success when it comes to football in the 3a Level. When you are talking the "mecca" of High School football you are looking around the Charlotte area. Several state champions came from Mecklenburg County and the counties surrounding it. I say that to prove that football is competitive in pretty much every area of the state. When talking about High School football in North Carolina you can not discuss football without mentioning Scotland County and Richmond County. Those two counties are all about football (I would also lump Cleveland County Schools in to this as well).. Very loyal following the in community.. Although those schools have been very successful you can be on the chopping block with a couple of 11-2 seasons. I will say this... Coaching in North Carolina is no different then a majority of other places in the country. The pay sucks!!! Several successful head coaches has headed south to South Carolina where the pay is much better. For the most part I feel like the state values athletics but that again is a school by school thing. Some schools Administration could careless for "after school activities." While other schools that is the blueprint/foundation for their school. I firmly believe you can go anywhere in this State with a good staff and win. |
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