Step-By-Step…How To Find Your Best Places To Retire or Relocate To In North Carolina or South Carolina.

Hi I'm Bob Bencivenga from Places of Value.com and today I’m talking about the steps to finding your best places to relocate or retire to in the Carolinas.

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices of the Best Places for you to live in the Carolinas, you’ll need to visit them. In order to make your final decision on where to relocate or retire, there are basic steps you must take to ensure the city or town you finally select will have those things that you’ve determined are a must quality for you to have to be happy there.

1. The first step is a stop at the Chamber of Commerce which may also be called the visitor center or information center. It’s the basic starting point. Usually they will have maps of the general area as well as very detailed maps of the city or town your visiting which will help you to get your bearings in the area and locate hospitals, shopping districts, points of interest and local government buildings. While the staff is very accomodating at the Chamber of Commerce, they may not know everything about the area, so we’re going to make several stops.
2. The next step is to visit the building, zoning and planning departments of the area. Usually these departments will be in the town hall where the assessor and town clerk’s offices are located. You can ask the people at the Chamber of Commerce where to find find or call information for the town clerk. These departments are a wealth of information. The employees are usually residents of the area and more importantly, they have access to the information about what projects are planned for the city or town. Take the time to sit and talk with employees of these departments. They will be able to tell you where exisiting hospitals, schools, colleges and shopping centers are. Ask them what applications have been made to develop properties in the area and where they are located and also what projects are under construction. This is public information and its important information for you when making your decision of where to live so don’t be put off by a clerk that may not want to be bothered with your questions. You have every right to this information.
3. I’m now at the Department of Transportation or the engineering department as some citiesor towns call it. They will be able to tell you which roads are being expanded, under construction and even what roads are being repaired. But make sure you find out what roads are planned to be built. You may not want to buy a home next to a planned major highway. This information will help you to know where the new growth of an area is or if the area you’re thinking of purchasing in can sustain the growth. Also check the city or town’s website.
4. The next stop in determining if an area is the best place for you to relocate or retire is the Agency for Economic Development. The Economic Development Agency can tell you what employers are currently in the area, the types of businesses, how many employees, how long they have been there and the types of jobs as well as the employers that are interested in relocating to the area and when. I also visit the hospitals, colleges and airport to see if they are expanding. Are more beds being added at the hospital? Is the college expanding its dorms and enrollment? Are more flights being added at the airport?
5. The last stop when determining if an area is the Best Place to relocate or retire is the local Police Department. Don’t just read statistics from a website go in and talk to the law enforcement in the area. Find out what the crime rate is for the area but find out what types of crimes are the highest. Don’t be put off and dismiss an area just because the overall crime rate may be a little high. Not all crimes are equal. The crimes might be petty theft, rather than violent crimes.

By taking the steps I have described you will be able to make a decision if the city or town you are visiting should remain on YOUR LIST of the Top Ten Best Places for you and your family to relocate or retire.