Monthly Archives: May 2015

The Pros and Cons of Living in Myrtle Beach

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As I have now spent a year in Myrtle Beach, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of the city. I really like it here and have enjoyed exploring it over the past 12 months. Although the positives far outweigh the negatives, for the purpose of this blog post I am going to keep it even. On this beautiful Sunday I wish to provide you with my top three pros and top three cons of living in Myrtle Beach.

PROS:

Weather – Some people like it hot. Well, count me in as one of them. When I moved here, everyone told me that the southern humidity would cripple me. It never did. While it was a little bit of an adjustment to get used to the different type of air, I never felt as if I was drowning. The high temperatures and abundant sunshine that accompanies the humidity is right down my alley. I am the type of guy that doesn’t mind 100 degree temperatures three months out of the year.

However, it took Halloween for me to really realize how much I love the climate of Myrtle Beach. I was running a social media promotion outside on campus at CCU for the entire day. Throughout the whole morning and afternoon the sun elegantly shined down on us. The 80 degree day contrasted with the cold, windy, gloomy, snowy days of past Halloweens out west.

The weather in Myrtle Beach provides opportunities to enjoy summer activities throughout most of the year instead of just during July and August.

The weather in Myrtle Beach provides opportunities to enjoy summer activities throughout most of the year instead of just during July and August.

The Beach – They don’t put the second word in the city that I live in for nothing. I have grown to really love the ocean and marvel at its magnificence. I can drive five minutes from my apartment and be on a beautiful, non-tourist beach. I have started many weekend mornings this way and the peace I get from it is very nourishing. Since arriving here, I have explored other beaches in the area too and always find comfort knowing that I enjoy living in an area where others go to vacation.

The beach is beautiful and calming. It is definitely one of my favorite aspects of living here.

The beach is beautiful and calming. It is definitely one of my favorite aspects of living here.

Geographic Location – The city that I live in is also great because it provides me lots of options when I want to get away from it for a day or two. Because of the location of Myrtle Beach, I am able to travel to a whole host of really cool places. Both North and South Carolina have many historical and charming cities that I can get to in no time. Two of Georgia’s best cities, Atlanta and Savannah, are located relatively close to Myrtle Beach. You go a little more south and you are in Florida! Up north the options are numerous as cities like Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia are just a day’s drive away. Location location location!

Not long after arriving in Myrtle Beach, Sidney and I traveled to Atlanta to watch some baseball and to explore the city.

Not long after arriving in Myrtle Beach, Sidney and I traveled to Atlanta to watch some baseball and to explore the city.

CONS

Traffic – During tourist season, traffic can become a little frustrating. A notorious highway in Myrtle Beach that is necessary to travel on to get to many places becomes a standstill. Vacationers not familiar with the area make boneheaded mistakes that back up traffic. Rush hour becomes a nightmare. Since I go to work very early in the morning and because I use an alternative route going home at night, I do a pretty good job at avoiding the worst of it. However, I still spend my fair share of time in traffic every now and then. I may or may not yell at my imaginary passenger when I really need to be somewhere and instead I am stopped behind a line of 500 cars.

Hellish Roadways – If the traffic on the roads wasn’t enough, the debris that somehow land on them really makes commuting in Myrtle Beach a challenge from time to time. I don’t know what it is, but I have never driven in a city that has more crap on the roads than in MB. Any given day I dodge road kill, garbage, lumber, plants, nails, and remnants from other vehicles. It really is an obstacle course out there. One dark morning I ran over a gigantic log, popping my tire instantaneously. I am scared to enter into turning lanes because these places usually have the most random junk ready to derail your vehicle. If you could see the hodgepodge of items that end up in the roads here you would be very surprised.

Allergies – I had no idea I was susceptible to allergies until I moved to South Carolina. As I mentioned in Thursday’s blog post, I spent most of April putting up with a nasty cough, constant watery eyes, and a bothersome runny nose. The pollen here really does impact your system. When I first moved here I quietly dismissed the people who told me it might take some getting used to but now as I look back on it they were right.

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As I said, even though I described three positives and three negatives, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I didn’t even mention the people, the restaurants, the shopping options, the mini golf, the BBQ, and the numerous other characteristics that make Myrtle Beach such a great place to live. In a year from now, I am sure I will have even more positives to add to the list. Don’t Blink.

Reflections on My First Year at Coastal Carolina University

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It is funny. Often times you can look back on a period of time and not quite know if it flew by or seemed to last. If you are like me, sometimes you end up deciding it was a little of both. Today I celebrate my one year anniversary at Coastal Carolina University. For the most part, the last 365 days passed quickly. But then I realize that next week I will cover my fourth commencement and it makes me feel like I have been around campus for a little longer.

This is my one year anniversary photo!

This is my one year anniversary photo!

On May 1, 2014, I reported for my first day at Coastal Carolina. I spent that Thursday in new employee orientation learning about policies and procedures. It was an uneventful and low key day. That would be the last one of those. From the end of that initial day on out I had the opportunity to go full speed ahead and that is exactly what I did. I arrived on campus just before the start of graduation week and went right into covering the craziness of it. I covered a lot of events and met a lot of people. Those first ten or so days really helped set the tone for my first year.

My rookie debut at CCU was a good one. Yes, it was successful. Our social channels grew exponentially, #CCUSocialMedia became a brand, we won an award, and we received far more media coverage than I could ever imagine. But that is all I want to say about job performance. My one year reflection blog post is much more than that.

What I want to really hit on is what a good fit this position has been. I came from a job where I wore a ton of different hats and had little free time. For the past year I have showed up for work at a place where my focus is much more defined and my time out of the office much more adequate.

From the start I said I took this job because I could concentrate on social media. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t grown in other areas. Although I might not have 15 different responsibilities to tend to on a given day like at Montana, I have been able to embrace a diverse set of opportunities that improved me as a professional. Encouraged to create my own news show segment, assigned to write for our alumni magazine, requested to serve on working groups, and asked to help out on search committees, I was enabled to expand my reach. Aside from running our social media program, I relished these additional roles.

Another part of the fit has been the energy and culture at CCU. Our university is growing, both in terms of physical structures and student enrollment. We are an institution on the rise and I wanted to be a piece of that. Additionally, and I truly mean it when I say this, Coastal is just different. We are built on customer service and this attitude is reflected from the top down. There is a pride and a vibe here that is special, one that I relate to and embrace. Our “Feel the Teal” mission motivates me at work each day.

Most importantly, this arrangement has worked because of the people. It all starts out with our Vice President of University Communication who had the guts to hire me. Bill Plate brought me from Missoula to Myrtle Beach and I am so glad he did. He had the vision and rationality to know that a social media position was needed at CCU and he made it a reality. So many other people helped me (and continue to help me) after Bill and I wish I could recognize them all. Although this is not possible I do want to thank a few people really quickly. Thanks to our administrative assistant Kim Harper for helping me with pretty much every office task and organizational logistic you could think of. Thanks to April Betsch for reaching out to me at one of the first events I worked and taking me around to meet many of the key people I would end up working closely with. Thanks to Eileen Soisson for teaching me what it means to Feel the Teal and for going out of her way to support me. Thanks to Matt Hogue, Seth Horton, and Kevin Olivett from athletics for treating me so well and for genuinely caring about my ideas and input.

Year #1 is in the books and it was great. I am appreciative of the opportunity Coastal Carolina University has afforded me and I can’t wait to improve. Don’t Blink.