THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504200170
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY DARA McLEOD
CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
While many people have realized their dream of relocating and working on the Outer Banks, employment experts say determination and resilience are prerequisites for making it here, where employment opportunities are limited, wages are low, and the cost of living is high.
The rewards, though, are endless.
Angie Brady-Daniels, spokeswoman for the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, says loads of relocation guides are sent out each year, most often to people who have vacationed here and were impressed by the friendly people, the family atmosphere and the beautiful surroundings.
``We try to give them a realistic look at what it's like to live on the Outer Banks,'' she says. ``A lot of people sacrifice higher salaries and a more active city lifestyle in order to live here.''
Chris Toolan, owner of Grade A Services Inc., a local employment agency serving about 400 businesses, says he and his staff have done hundreds of relocation interviews.
``We actually sit down and interview people here, and before long it all starts to sound familiar,'' he says.
Toolan says he and his staff often hear, ``I feel like a native,'' or ``I've been vacationing here for years, and I just thought it would be a great place to live.''
But many people have high and often unrealistic expectations about moving to the Outer Banks. The Grade A staff say they sometimes encounter middle managers hoping to move here and find a job making $50,000 to $100,000 a year.
``I'm sure you wouldn't go to the desert and apply to be a farmer, yet that's what some people are doing,'' he says. ``The Outer Banks draws people from metropolitan areas, where middle-management jobs grow on trees. They don't exist here.
``We treat people with dignity and respect and try to meet their needs. But we're honest with them, and they appreciate that.''
Dorothy Pennel, branch manager of the local Employment Security Commission, says some tourists quickly abandon their dream of moving here when they learn how limited employment opportunities are for certain occupations, or how their income here would compare with their current salary. She estimates that less than 10 percent of those who inquire will actually move.
Toolan estimates that about 20 percent of those interviewed at Grade A Services do relocate. Many are convinced they can make a living here, one way or another, and some can.
But others say they'll clean cottages to live here, not knowing how difficult that really is.
``People with applicable skills can work anywhere. You can't discount those people that actually have a plan,'' Toolan says. ``But each person is different. It really depends on your occupation and your dedication to staying here. Of course, some just want to surf and fish, and that doesn't really count.''
Experts say the people who find work here usually have specific skills that are marketable in the area's predominant industry - tourism. Those with secretarial, clerical, construction, restaurant or civil engineering skills have an advantage, although a substantial number of the available positions are seasonal and offer no benefits.
Applicants also are often disappointed, sometimes even shocked, by the income gap that exists in many occupations between the Outer Banks and medium and large cities.
While the average clerical workers in a metropolitan area might make $14,000 to $17,000 a year, here they may make only $10,000 to $12,000. Managers in a metropolitan area might make $40,000 to $60,000, while here they may not make more than $25,000. And people in the computer or human resources industries might make half of what they would earn elsewhere.
``There's no group here that actively suppresses wages,'' Toolan says. ``It's just small business.''
On the other hand, people in real estate sales or in the restaurant business will probably make as much here as they would anywhere.
Young college graduates make up a substantial portion of those interested in finding work and settling here. But experts warn them that a college degree doesn't guarantee that they'll find a job or make a lot of money on the Outer Banks, where experience is often more important than education.
``Some have only vacationed here,'' Toolan says. ``They've only had fun here, and they expect to move here and have a job that brings in $35,000 to $40,000 a year.''
The reality is the accepted hourly wage on the Outer Banks is $5 an hour, according to Toolan and others. Unfortunately, the cost of living is on the opposite end of the scale, registering 114.1, with a national average of 100.
But Toolan says the Outer Banks does offer a world of both entry-level and entrepreneurial opportunity.
``You get paid a ton in experience,'' Toolan says, although he adds that there is often little opportunity for advancement in small businesses.
He estimates that only about 10 percent of the people who relocate here each year will stay for more than a year or two.
Generally, those that leave do so because they're unhappy feeling underemployed, or they simply can't afford to stay any longer.
``Most people end up dipping into savings, or they have to get someone to fish them out. But usually, when the money runs out, they leave.''
Toolan and his staff tell people who are determined to relocate that they will probably have to start out underemployed, give the employer their best efforts and realize that most small business owners want to pay their employees as much as they can.
``The best suggestion I can give is save up enough to live for a year and rent,'' he said. ``Just scope it out. The biggest thing about relocating is you have to get used to change and risk.''
And Toolan should know. He grew up vacationing with his family every year on Hatteras Island. After college, he worked as a human resources consultant for three years in New York City and New Jersey. He moved here and established Grade A Services in 1990, and he started out waiting tables and working as a musician when he wasn't in the Grade A office.
``We're compensated in lifestyle and nature and beauty, although if you're working all the time, you'll never see any of it,'' he says, laughing. ``I think there is a plethora of opportunity here, but it is a very difficult place to live.'' MEMO: [For a related story, see page 14 of the Carolina Coast for this date.]
by CNB