Knowing The Tides of the Myrtle Beach Economy
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4/16/2008
Just wanted to offer a primer as someone who has grown up here and worked on-and-off for the past seven years along the Strand.
Understand this: You can always find a job. Whether or not you keep that job once the "season" is over is another matter.
When summer rolls around in Myrtle Beach, this place becomes the land of milk and honey for those seeking good pay without actually knowing a lot. For the uneducated with a bit of personality, you'll do just fine here from about March to September.
However, once the last motorcycle leaves and the Snowbirds begin rolling in, things quiet down and Myrtle Beach becomes, in essence, a medium-sized low-density town. The economy reflects this, and if you are in any service industry job after December, the weeks following Christmas present a grim picture, as the unemployment office files out of the door and down the sidewalk.
Understand: Although the economy here is primarily resort and restaurant, the people working in it also fluctuate constantly. The have a secure place on the Strand, you must have an industry that can survive off of either the local population or on the Snowbirds in the winter...otherwise, you risk not only being layed off for a few months, but the possibility that there won't be a place to return to come the next "season".
Also: The jobs, if any, are going to be in Myrtle Beach and along the ocean. However, the price of living makes it necessary to live away from the beach, generally somewhere near Conway or Socastee. Do not try to find work near where you live, because it generally doesn't exist. You might live five miles away from the ocean, but the job market evaporates within two, not counting the major arteries to and from. To survive in Myrtle Beach, you must drive and drive often.
Carson | Little River, SC