Quote :

"No, it takes about 8 years to go from recruit to E7. The reason that pay grade exists is that in some officer programs, college students with no experience can make E6 or E7 pay while in school. NCSU has a nuke officer program that does that."

Quote :

"and 8 years would be a very early advance to E7, at least in the USMC. not unheard of, though. pretty sure that would be very early in the Navy, too, although the Navy seems to vary more by what rate you are than does the USMC with MOS's."

Quote :

"Yeah I should've said that 8 years is the minimum. You'd have to be in a good rate, really on top of things, and pretty lucky. To make Chief takes most people 10-15 years I'd say."

Nukes can easily make Chief in 8 years. I did it in 7, though I spent my first year frocked. As Duke pointed out, it does depend on your rate--nukes in general advance much faster than non-nukes. 10-15 years (and longer) is reasonable for the non-nuke/non-technical rates.

Oh, and [2]

11/22/2008 9:11:56 AM

come move to Beaufort, SC!!!!

11/22/2008 12:51:11 PM

i lived in Beaufort for a summer and really enjoyed it. Nice downtown area and Hunting Island was a nice beach.

Gays Fish Company had the best seafood ever. I think it was on St. Helena's island.

11/22/2008 4:45:47 PM

I live in Charleston now. In avondale area of west ashley. Been here 5 years and love it. My perception of areas of charleston:

Downtown (south of broad) - Wealthy
Downtown (Central) - College kids
Downtown (north of rutledge) - Ghetto
North Charleston - Junkies
Mt Pleasant - Yuppies
James Island - Hippies
West Ashley - Old folks
Johns Island - Black folks
Summerville - Families
Goose Creek - Rednecks
Folly Beach - Drunks

11/23/2008 4:10:47 PM

thanks for the list! I like hippies but James Island is a little farther than I'm trying to drive. Right now I'm scouring craigslist for possible apts and I'll post a list for advice on the locations.

11/23/2008 5:12:42 PM

Pretty much ignore what the guy above you posted. Except about Rutledge. That area is not one that you want to live.

11/23/2008 6:07:13 PM

i'm guessing Nerdchick will be picking james island

11/23/2008 6:52:36 PM

how about these locations

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/925660733.html

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/927586480.html - I called and the address is 19 Sires St.

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/927172211.html

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/920053961.html

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/919123814.html

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/917255061.html

thanks!

11/23/2008 7:19:59 PM

how did i miss this. i reside in chucktown. its nice. i like it. i will never move. i like to fish. it was cold on the water this weekend. i like charleston.

11/23/2008 8:04:49 PM

^^I'll get back to you on those properties when I get into the office. There are some good and bad ones on that list.

11/24/2008 9:13:15 AM

great!

11/24/2008 9:36:04 AM

Quote :

"it was cold on the water this weekend"

Hell yeah. I was in the hospital with my kids all weekend, but I heard that the wind/cold was killer this weekend.

11/24/2008 9:59:17 AM

Oh, and north charelston is now in the top 10 most dangerous cities:

http://www.walletpop.com/mortgages/dangerous-cities

11/24/2008 11:01:43 AM

well I'm from Durham, which I'm shocked didn't make the list.

11/24/2008 11:22:43 AM

As for your list of places:

1) I would try and avoid most places on Cannon Street. Overall, the street is a bad street...but there are still a decent number of college kids and med-school kids that still live there because its cheap and pretty close to school (really close to the med-school). So it's low-income street with college kids scattered about. My advice be to avoid most Cannon and Spring Street listings.

2) Stay away from this one too. Pretty sure it's between Spring and Bogard St...and it's a really small street. Again...it could be around some decent houses with good tenants...but overall in a pretty sketchy location.

3) If you can't do downtown, this one is in a great location. It's really close to downtown and the Windemere Shopping area which is a pretty nice. Location wise...this one isn't bad at all.

4) Houses in Wagner Terrace are generally pretty good. But the further you get down on Rutledge towards Crosstown and I-26...the sketchier it becomes. This one is WAY down towards (and even past) I-26...so its possible that it might even skip the real sketchy area. If I'm driving around this area in the next few days I'll check it out.

5) This is in that sketchy area around Ashley and Rutledge. Would definitely stay away from this one.

6) Line St is in a bad area too.

11/24/2008 11:51:18 AM

thanks! #3 is looking like a good choice, I'm glad it's a good neighborhood b/c the apt is really big for the price.

11/24/2008 12:02:34 PM

There really aren't too many "bad" neighborhoods in James Island, West Ashley, and Mount Pleasant areas. Most of the low-income places are in the Downtown and North Charleston areas. It does look like that place is a duplex (I could be wrong, I just glanced at the listing)...so you might have to worry about crazy college students living on the other side...but in general its a pretty decent area.

11/24/2008 12:09:23 PM

There is a good half of Ashley Ave and a bad half- its divided by 17. I spent an awesome summer staying with friends on Ashley. Just stay near the schools.

11/24/2008 3:00:37 PM

THIS THREAD MAKES CHARLESTON SOUND LIKE A TOTAL SHITHOLE

11/24/2008 3:06:44 PM

^I think Charleston was just ranked as the #2 travel destination in America by cnn.com. There are bad places in every city...and honestly the bad places in downtown really aren't that bad...but if you can avoid, why not avoid them?

There honestly isn't a city in America I would rather live in...maybe San Diego...but that place is expensive as shit. Beautiful weather, great downtown, nice beaches, good shopping, amazing bars and restaurants, and great preserved history. Can't get much better.

11/24/2008 4:16:48 PM

'cept for those cockroaches

Nothing worse than seeing those great big three inch diamter fuckers creeping down the cobblestone roads at night

freaks me the fuck out

11/24/2008 4:26:43 PM

I do get in arguments all the time with people who call them "Palmetto Bugs."

It's a fucking roach. Don't rename it something to make it sound less appealing. They reply with..."no..Palmetto Bugs fly...roaches don't fly." Everywhere I've been in the US, I've seen big ass roaches that fly...get out of here with that shit.

/rant

11/24/2008 5:00:12 PM

yeah, I was very sad when I found out the reason for all those screened in porches.

11/24/2008 6:00:56 PM

most of downtown Charleston is great and you have to go pretty far north to have any problems but by that point you need a car.

the nasty parts of downtown arnt really any worse than the bad areas of Raleigh.

11/24/2008 6:11:28 PM

i lived in an apartment in west ashley 04-05 and am considering moving back.

would be working near citadel mall so mt pleasant would be too far a commute. i remember just north of bees ferry was starting to get some new development, but that's still pretty close to "west nasty" as somebody else called it. I'd be looking for a house, need good schools, access to shopping and all that. how's the commute from summerville these days?

[Edited on March 12, 2009 at 6:02 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2009 5:54:21 PM

Quote :

"'cept for those cockroaches Nothing worse than seeing those great big three inch diamter fuckers creeping down the cobblestone roads at night freaks me the fuck out"

oh man, DC is the same way. in the summer time you cant walk 5 yards down a street or sidewalk without a *CRUNCH*. maybe just capitol hill, but seems like its happened in georgetown before...flipflops FTL

3/12/2009 6:05:02 PM

they're palmetto bugs!! not cockroaches, duhhhhh

3/12/2009 6:19:07 PM

Quote :

"how's the commute from summerville these days?"

If you've got a regular 9-5, then pretty shitty. But the traffic isn't any worse than it is on the beltline or I-40 during rush hour.

And there are plenty of good neighborhoods in West Ashley now (a decent amount has changed their in the last 4 years). But Summerville would be a good option...and the housing is a little bit more affordable there too.

3/12/2009 7:32:01 PM

Oh this thread! The bf and I are making Charleston our landing destination. We plan to start a family and such there in the far future. I loooooooove this place, not to mention the beach!

3/12/2009 8:02:23 PM

qntm, I live out in Summerville right now (pretty far out actually) and i commute to Mt. Pleasant/Daniel Island every day for a 9-5. It usually takes me 35-45 minutes to go the 25 miles, its all highway driving once i get through summerville. There are some days where its a royal pain in the ass, like if theres a wreck, and you spend an hour or so on the highway, but most days its not horrible.

For us, living in summerville was the difference between a 2600 sq ft house with a pool, and a 1200sq ft dump in mt pleasant, for the same price.

Although with the current market, houses in Mt Pleasant, especially out near 41, are VERY reasonably priced compared to what they were 2 years ago.

The only real complaint is that most of my friends live in Mt. P, and being this far from the harbor prevents me from just jumping on a boat on a whim.

3/12/2009 8:58:52 PM

I've been living downtown (meeting and market) for almost a year now- and it is overpriced imo (2300 for a 3 bedroom, electric, gas, and water included, but the place is in bad shape due to crappy landlords.) Just found a much nicer apartment/building (brand new, eco friendly) but it's not nearly as nice of an area (between meeting and east bay by the crosstown).

For anybody that is looking at living here and does not NEED to be downtown 5+ days a week, find a place just over either bridge (I'd prefer Mt P to James Island or West Ashley, but that's me. I work out in West Ashley, and I'm just not fond of the area in general.) Besides, you can get parking downtown for not that much. Mine is just 100/mo for a great location (and it's covered).

And just a side note- this is by far the best city I've lived in yet. It far surpasses living on the water in St Pete, and I honestly can't imagine moving away anytime soon.

3/13/2009 12:45:03 AM