[jp03]

Has anyone successfully or unsuccessfully done this? We moved 4 years ago but for various reasons may move back to CT. Don't hate it down here in N.C. land. Moved to afford a house ..that part has worked great as we have a nice house in a good neighborhood for less than half the price of a similar house in CT and half the taxes.. But its not New England and I work from home so meeting people has been very tough. So with all family and friends up there, it feels like its the right time to move back. Its too damn hot here too ..at least for me. Now, assuming I can actually ever even sell our house (I swear its that tough here), we figure with the softening of the housing market up there this would be cost feasible at this point. Not neccessarily looking for opinions on whats right and wrong (I'll take em though but more to see if people have completed this circle.

Advice to those looking to move south...you will not find the holy grail...trust me ... Good and bad with everything.

Let me hear any thoughts./.....thanks

[lovemaine]

We moved out east from WI 4 years ago. Lived in NC, then moved to ME last year. No regrets here! NC was great in its own way, but like you, the heat was too much for us. (Plus the humidity, ouch!) We always wanted to live in ME, so when a job opportunity came up, we went for it. We also had a house to sell in NC. The market was starting to tank when we put our house up for sale, but we staged the heck out of it, priced it right, and were under contract 2 weeks after we listed it. (We even sold for list price! We had gotten 2 offers within 1 day, and took the full-price offer.)

Good luck with your decision. Life is short. Do what feels right!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by jp03

Has anyone successfully or unsuccessfully done this? We moved 4 years ago but for various reasons may move back to CT. Don't hate it down here in N.C. land. Moved to afford a house ..that part has worked great as we have a nice house in a good neighborhood for less than half the price of a similar house in CT and half the taxes.. But its not New England and I work from home so meeting people has been very tough. So with all family and friends up there, it feels like its the right time to move back. Its too damn hot here too ..at least for me. Now, assuming I can actually ever even sell our house (I swear its that tough here), we figure with the softening of the housing market up there this would be cost feasible at this point. Not neccessarily looking for opinions on whats right and wrong (I'll take em though but more to see if people have completed this circle.

Advice to those looking to move south...you will not find the holy grail...trust me ... Good and bad with everything.

Let me hear any thoughts./.....thanks

Hi. I remember when you made the move down there...it's been that long hasn't it? Yikes!

Been there bought the t-shirt. Almost went back to NC again. Turns out in the end, I'm stuck in CT and not totally hating it or loving it.

If we could take NC taxes and housing costs and put it up here, that would be perfect.

Just FYI, "entry level" homes here have not softened. There are actually bidding wars taking place on homes < 300K in "desirable" areas. What softened are the McMansions.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by JViello

Hi. I remember when you made the move down there...it's been that long hasn't it? Yikes!

Been there bought the t-shirt. Almost went back to NC again. Turns out in the end, I'm stuck in CT and not totally hating it or loving it.

If we could take NC taxes and housing costs and put it up here, that would be perfect.

Just FYI, "entry level" homes here have not softened. There are actually bidding wars taking place on homes < 300K in "desirable" areas. What softened are the McMansions.

Yep, its the price of housing that is the sticking point..Its out of line. Well, the homes in the 300 to 400 k area have gone down at least 10-15 percent from when we moved in late 2006...I have been watching closely. I know things have gotten better recently but overall its still well down from peak.

So you didnt move after all! Well, take whats good in life up there and as much as i know its much harder on the pocketbook, ultimately it has many plusses.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by lovemaine

We moved out east from WI 4 years ago. Lived in NC, then moved to ME last year. No regrets here! NC was great in its own way, but like you, the heat was too much for us. (Plus the humidity, ouch!) We always wanted to live in ME, so when a job opportunity came up, we went for it. We also had a house to sell in NC. The market was starting to tank when we put our house up for sale, but we staged the heck out of it, priced it right, and were under contract 2 weeks after we listed it. (We even sold for list price! We had gotten 2 offers within 1 day, and took the full-price offer.)

Good luck with your decision. Life is short. Do what feels right!

Thanks Toughest decision we will ever make. At least in Maine you avoided the insanity of home prices in CT..

[Yankeerose00]

Jviello, I hope you see this. Do you mind sharing what changed your mind about NC?
I'm happy you decided to stay here in CT. I truly think you would have missed it had you left.

[renovating]

Am I the only one have deja vu?

[RiceCake]

Hey all - We moved to CT from NC and while many have joked, "you're going the wrong way", we feel otherwise. Eastern CT fits us well. We love the New England landscape and really like the diversity of people here. We aren't big on sprawl - NC struggles. Education is top of the list - another struggle for the Carolinas. Oh, and we were paying similar taxes in Chapel Hill, so it's not too much more expensive.

I would say that the only big drawback for me is the job market. I work from home and travel regionally, but otherwise I'd have to get a job running a small business or working for the University... not much else here.

[superk]

I grew up in CT, left in '92 when the economy tanked, and moved to upstate NY. Finally got the opportunity to work in NC in '96, and have been here since, living in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Jamestown, Huntersville, and Charlotte. Most of the rest of the family is also here, or is somewhere in this area, spread out between VA, MD, and GA. Everyone likes it here, except for my youngest brother and sister-in-law, who moved from NC to ME for a while, then left there and moved to IN. They seem to like living there.

Obviously, I like living here. I have yet to encounter any so-called "culture shock" at least as it relates between a New England yankee and a native southener. I actually felt much more "culture shock" conflicts during the time in NY, and still do here as I'm surrounded be many natives NY/NJ'ers. No offense to anyone from those areas, but I just don't relate as well to big city folk. I like sweet tea. I like BBQ.

I won't lie and say that everything's perfect. I really doubt anyplace can be.

[Yankeerose00]

I have yet to encounter any so-called "culture shock"

You really aren't going to have much culture shock living in a city like Charlotte or any other city that is mostly transplants like Raliegh, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, etc.

There is a world of difference between a heavily transplanted city in the south and a city where a transplant from the north stands out like a sore thumb. If you moved to another part of the south, trust me, you'd feel the shock!
A lot of these cities in the south are what I call "southern light". It's like comparing Greenwich, CT and the Bronx, NY. Not that far apart mileage wise but a world of difference culture-wise.
Charlotte is a nice city but what makes it nice are the transplants not the natives.