North Carolina

I've been thinking about going to North Carolina for a few years now. It's warmer than it is here in Ohio, but it's not so far south that I wouldn't feel the cold if I wanted. Hopefully I'll be going in July-September (sometime in that period) for a few weeks of this year. I'm just saving the money, and if I like it there I may contemplate moving there. My goal is to have at least $5000 in my savings account before I even take this trip, and if I decide to move there, I'd like to have enough to be able to pay at least 6 months of rent, if I get an apartment, or enough to be able to put down on a home, if that's the option I would choose.

I'm doing very well saving my money at the moment, and I hope I can keep it up. My problem isn't saving money, as I've always been good at doing that, it's once I get out on my own again, not doing something stupid where I'd have to start using my savings to pay for rent, etc. That's what landed me back in my parents house, not having enough money to live on my own because I basically cleaned my savings completely dry after I lost my job at Shell. 

I've always had a terrible time meeting and keeping in contact with new people, and I hope a whole new atmosphere would help with that, plus I have a really good friend that lives in North Carolina, so I wouldn't be going there with blinders on. I'm actually going to seriously think about things, which is something I need to start doing more often. In the past, sure I thought about things, but I didn't think them over long enough before I decided on what to do. This time I want to make sure I've thought of everything, have plenty of money in case something goes wrong, etc. 

The last thing I would want to do is come back to my parents again, defeated, because I don't think before I do things.  The areas I am looking at now are Winston-Salem and the Greensboro area as a whole. I'd be looking for either a one bedroom or a two bedroom with at least one bath (I'd prefer 2 if I'm getting a two bedroom). I'm hoping to have a roommate (my friend) if I do decide to move there, but we haven't decided on anything yet. 

I've always lacked confidence, and hopefully this will help me with that as well. I don't know how though lol .