OK, Ive finally caught up enough to post about my local stomping grounds, Greensboro North Carolina.
Greensboro is located in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, smack in the middle of the state.
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See the cool Gmap (thx to Pat):
I’m going to use links to Neighboroo (Thanks Travis) and redisplay the normally boring demographic data layout into a pretty color coordinated map mash-up.PEOPLE & LIFE:
The Population is booming.
Lifestyle. There has been a steady and heavy influx of 20 and 30 somethings from states north, south, and west of the Triad over the past 10 years and it doesn’t appear to be slowing. Most of the people I know are from anywhere except NC. It is definately a Gen-X and quickly becoming a Gen-Y town.
Since I’ve moved here, there has been a ‘revival’ of downtown Greensboro, going from after hours ghost town to robust nightlife. There literally is something for everyone in about a 10 block radius:Dance clubs, jazz bars, watering holes, eloquent restaurants, art galleries, coffee shops, boutiques, all inhabit what used to be boarded up buildings, and the growth continues with large residential condo’s and town homes pre-selling before they come out of the ground.
Income
The Triad has undergone a serious industrial metamorphosis since the early 90’s. Once a bastion for textiles and other manufacturing industries, the area has quickly and efficiently evolved into a distribution and operations enclave for a host of Fortune 500 companies like Dell, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Fed-Ex. If you have a decent skill set and/or a college education, there is a job for you in the Triad.
Banking, Medicine, mid-level management for companies like the ones above, are the hottest job markets in the area.
JobsSpeaking personally, it is a fertile ground for entrepreneurs, with a relatively low cost of living and under serviced niches.
$60K+ Avg Income
6% Unemployment Rate
15% Job Growth predicted over the next 5 years.
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Education
Primary Education:
Prepare to send your kids to private schools, good news is there are alot of them. The NC public school system leaves alot to be desired, ranking well into the lower half of the United States. Schools are constantly under built which just seems to result in a bunch finger pointing as to whose fault it is, with no real solution. Good news is there is now a lottery in NC generating about $1M in daily funds for education in the state. Overall the education budget created by the lottery is $425M. New schools are coming out of the ground.
Secondary Education:Amongst the best in the Nation. Along a 100 mile stretch of I-40 lies some top notch Universities and State Colleges:
NC State-
HOUSING:
Avg Median Price is appx $182K, and you get a nice house for this price! $300K will have one living very comfortably.
Trulia provides a nice interface to see some listing information and other property information available for the Greensboro area. Development is booming…
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ENVIRONMENT:
Greensboro’s climate has a little Florida and a little New York. The foliage reminds me of upstate and western New York. The humidity reminds me of Florida.
Temperatures average 28F in the winter and 89F in the summer. You get a well rounded 4 seasons, with a beautiful fall. North Carolina is a very green state, lots of trees, their color change begins in September and carries through October.
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Summary:
Temperate climate, great infrastructure (well built roads and new belt lines), and a low cost of living make Greensboro a great place to live and work. It lacks a true big city atmosphere, like traffic jams and a professional sports team, but Charlotte (The Carolina Panthers and The Charlotte Bobcats) and Raleigh (The Carolina Hurricanes) are an hour or less away.
Speaking of location, Greensboro is 3 hrs away from the beautiful beaches of Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, and only 2.5 hours from the Appalachian mountain chain which contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a breathtaking scenic drive littered with small towns and winery’s quite a few thousand feet above sea-level.
Any questions? Don’t hesitate to contact me!
What do you think about the commercial markets? Specifically about the apartment market in the area. Any advice for a new investor there?
Commercial and residential investors do very well here. Of course it’s about location and the usual due diligence of a sound investor, but the mighty dollar buys alot more real estate here than in most other growing markets.
The apartment market is picking back up (vacancy wise) due to the gradual rise in interest rates and foreclosures. Coming off a soft period, now is a great time to buy low.
The Triad is cool, but The Triangle rules! Okay, just teasing but I love my neck of the woods [or city].
Raleigh, Durham, & Chapel Hill…Very nice area Matt, agreed…and you can watch the NHL.
Big Sabres Fan! No Jokes plz ;)
Thou shall not support any site that links to the University of Northern Carolina at Chapel Hill.
I have a situation with a project I’m doing in upstate new york. I bought some old building which I converted into luxury loft condos. The problem is nothing like it exists within 60 miles of Binghamton, NY. Mortgages have been a real problem. Compounded by the fact that some people want to buy and rennovate these lofts. The biggest issue seems to be appraissals, since no one seems to “get” this type of development in a place where it hasn’t occured before.