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Have your parents considered relocating to southern Delaware? In my opinion, either Kent County or Sussex County, Delaware would be a much better locale for your parents than either central New Jersey or the Raleigh-Durham area. Specifically, I encourage you to investigate Dover or one of the coastal communities in southern Delaware, such as Bethany Beach, Lewes or Rehobeth Beach, for example.
Believe it or not, the climate of southern Delaware is relatively similar to the Raleigh-Durham area due to Delaware's exceptionally flat terrain and proximity to both the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. Although winter in southern Delaware can be cold, it is relatively short by Massachusetts standards, and autumn and spring are noticeably milder. As you and I both know, autumn and spring in Massachusetts can be dreadfully cold, which extenuates the winter season by at least two months, if not longer, relative to much of the southern Mid-Atlantic region.
In addition to very flat terrain and lower annual snowfall totals, southern Delaware has suburb road quality and very light traffic during the off-season, which makes driving in that area relatively easy, especially for senior citizens. Unfortunately, many drivers in New Jersey are aggressive, and traffic in New Jersey is much heavier than it is Delaware -- and many other places, for that matter. Lest you forget, New Jersey is home to nearly nine million people and is sandwiched between two of the largest cities in the country (i.e,. New York and Philadelphia). The last time I visited the Raleigh-Durham area was 2011, and traffic was surprisingly heavy then; I would imagine things are out of hand by now.
Also, the overall tax burden in Delaware is among the lowest in the nation (e.g., no sales tax and no personal property tax on vehicles), and home prices tend to be significantly cheaper than comparable properties in central New Jersey and somewhat cheaper than the Raleigh-Durham area. As a result, there are many more retirees in Delaware relative to central New Jersey and the Raleigh-Durham area, so your parents would be in good company. A quick Google search demonstrated that there are numerous retirement communities in Delaware, which would provide your parents with a strong local support system.
-For NC, we dont really care about 'culture shock', since we did live in Orlando FL for a good part of the 2010s.
-For NJ, the economy doesnt matter. NJ has a well-established economy and they are in restaurants and almost retired.. so finding a good job doesnt matter in all reality. My dad has connections in both NJ and Raleigh.
-DL is a bit out of the option. Weve been. Its a bit secluded. The only reason CNJ is even being considered is because I will be close by. My parents also want to be in/near the action.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 03-31-2020 at 08:39 PM..
-For NC, we dont really care about 'culture shock', since we did live in Orlando FL for a good part of the 2010s.
-For NJ, the economy doesnt matter. NJ has a well-established economy and they are in restaurants and almost retired.. so finding a good job doesnt matter in all reality. My dad has connections in both NJ and Raleigh.
-DL is a bit out of the option. Weve been. Its a bit secluded. The only reason CNJ is even being considered is because I will be close by. My parents also want to be in/near the action.
It almost seems like to me that it should be mostly predicated on if you go to school in CNJ or not--how long will you be in CNJ if you do end up going to school there?
It almost seems like to me that it should be mostly predicated on if you go to school in CNJ or not--how long will you be in CNJ if you do end up going to school there?
~2 years? Then off to wherever. But it more or less opened up a "Oh look there's also this place called CNJ" and it looks neck and neck with eachother.
Factors
-Cost of Living:
-Quality of Life:
-Parks/Recreation:
-Beach Proximity/Quality (Within 2 Hours):
-Mountains/Hills/Hiking (Within ~1 Hour):
-Nearby Towns:
-More to Do In Immediate Area (Dont include NYC or Philly for CNJ):
-Weather:
-Transportation:
-Shopping/Dining (Again Dont include NYC or Philly for CNJ):
-Job Market for Restaurant Workers:
-Food:
-Better Happy Hour or Drinks/Entertainment:
-Activities in Immediate Area:
-WALKABILITY (Big One Here!):
-Taxation on Social Security Checks: -Overall Best Fit:
.
Don't know anything about central NJ so I'm just gonna list a few things available in the Triangle area according to your criteria.
. Cost of living is going up but still cheaper than where they would be coming from. Quality of life? eh I'm going to say life is what you make it, a place on paper maybe be excellent but someone would still hate it, I like here tho lol Parks/Recreation: Actually pretty damn solid, I live in Cary, a vast majority of the neighborhoods are directly connected to the greenway system. Bond park is like the hub of greenway system. From there you can take it to the white oak greenway, follow it to the american tobacco trail and get to downtown durham all on the greenway, easy. or in another direction you could take it(don't know if they bike) but you could bike in the other direction to the black creek greenway, and hit up lake crabtree, take that into the 5000 acre umstead park and get to Raleigh on the other side. So many other greenways and parks. anyways there's a lotta parks and biking trails around here, You can get in 60 miles+ easy(easy as in not worrying about any cars hitting you). Beach Access: You can get to the Wilmington area beaches within 2hrs, Virginia beach in like 2.5 to 3, Myrtle Beach like 2.5 to 3, and OBX in like 3hrs and some change, Think Charleston would be closer to 4 but Charleston is pretty nice so it would be worth it.
Mountains/Hiking: Plenty of places to get a hike in within minutes, William B Umstead has Access points in Raleigh(basically where Raleigh and Durham meet)(HW 70) and in Cary(Harrison St). Eno River State Park in Durham is also a nice spot to hike when you aren't trying drive all the way to the mountains. While it's not with in a hour, of course you have the blueridge mountains but when you want to get to something closer, Hanging Rock State Park and Pilot Mountain(probably 2 hrs but only 30 minutes from Winston which is nice spot to check out if you make it out there, old salem is like a miniature williamsburg va, if they are in to history)
Near by towns: Actually several worth checking out even if it's for a bite to eat and drink or a festival: Cary, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Wendell, Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Saxapahaw
Transportation: Not the best, they will definitely need a car
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I wasn't even going to comment but I'm bored any who, I'm pretty sure other posters will answer the rest.
Massachoice, I'd take a look at Red Bank, NJ. This is the North Jersey coast near Sea Bright. Nice, walkable town. Beautiful coastal area with tidal rivers (Navesink and Shrewsbury). Beaches, lots of boating, convenient NJ Transit train to Newark and New York.
Hey guys! My parents wanted to move down to NC for the longest time. The mountains nearby, the beaches within 2 hours, etc... its just a nice place to live. However, I may end up in NJ .. and they want to be close. So they are looking into moving to Central NJ (Monmouth County, Ocean County, parts of Mercer County or parts of Middlesex County) or Raleigh-Durham-Cary area. They are stuck between the two. Basically, we arent familiar too much with the areas .. and theres not a forum directly comparing the two... So if you guys could help us decide a little more, it would greatly be appreciated! *Note my parents like seasons, dont mind a little bit of cold, love to be active and love to dine out nearby! They are very social people from Boston if that helps!* Another big factor is what area has better parks, town centers and overall walkability? On Google Maps both Raleigh/Cary and Monmouth County/Ocean County seem to be equal in this regard. Is there something I am missing? Also another factor is cheap drinks.. they like to go out and have a few cheap beers/cosmos. They currently live around Boston and a beer will be $9 at their suburban local bar with no happy hour deals. They wouldnt mind no happy hour in MA, but the drinks are over $10! Its absurd! They just want a walkable area, in a nice place with access to mountains/beaches/hills/hiking/trails/town centers/nice towns/great local food/good people/things to do! CNJ and RDA seem equal, so maybe you guys can help us out a little bit.
So between Central NJ and Raleigh-Cary NC, what is the better area to move to in your opinion?
Factors
-Cost of Living:
-Quality of Life:
-Parks/Recreation:
-Beach Proximity/Quality (Within 2 Hours):
-Mountains/Hills/Hiking (Within ~1 Hour):
-Nearby Towns:
-More to Do In Immediate Area (Dont include NYC or Philly for CNJ):
-Weather:
-Transportation:
-Shopping/Dining (Again Dont include NYC or Philly for CNJ):
-Job Market for Restaurant Workers:
-Food:
-Better Happy Hour or Drinks/Entertainment:
-Activities in Immediate Area:
-WALKABILITY (Big One Here!):
-Taxation on Social Security Checks: -Overall Best Fit:
Its so expensive and the suburb they live in not really all that walkable. Since Btown became a world class city, its lost the interest of my parents.. they want to move on. Try something new, a little more mild.
Boston is great and all but we've been here for a while/majority of our lives. They wanna move on.
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