[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Keep one thing in mind. You do not "live" in a state. You live in a city or town. In any state you will find good, low crime, good school towns......but you will also find the opposite. Try going more by specific location than the state as a whole. What happens in Durham doesn't matter to you if you live in Asheville. Same goes for what happens in Orlando doesn't matter if you live in Palm Harbor.

Great advice - I couldn't agree more ^^^.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Our property taxes in Florida are almost the same as NC. Just a few hundred dollars difference. Add in an additional $1,700 in auto and home insurance and that comes to around $2,000. BUT we saved around $10,000 a year in income tax moving to Florida. We are so much better off here.

Go to the Raleigh forum and look at all the people complaining about the lack of jobs there. It is not what it used to be when RTP was growing. It's different now. You have to fight tooth and nail just to get a phone call back and count your blessings if you even get an interview.

Raleigh area close to beaches.....LOL! It isn't as close as 15 minutes and they are not the quality of the beaches in Florida, nor the amount of choices.

Drivers are better there for sure. Horrible drivers here.

People friendly? Depends on where you live there and where you live here.

Raleigh winters were way too cold for us, which was a big factor in moving. Actually it was the number one reason for wanting to move further south. A we find 4 seasons here as well, just much more moderate.

The difference in money is negligible for me when comparing QOL.

I don't see too many threads in the Raleigh forum complaining about jobs. There is one long thread that has been going for a couple months about an electronics tech who moved there without a job. No one should move to any area without having a job lined up. Anyway, If I was unemployed I would much rather be in Raleigh.

All things considered Raleigh is close to beaches. A lot of people take day trips down to the beach and it is a very easy weekend getaway. It's also very easy to go to the mountains for a weekend. There are some nice beaches in Florida(Pinellas), but you have to pay for the good ones and I much prefer the ocean over the gulf. I'll take a less crowded non-commercialized beach in NC any day. Raleigh in general is much nicer, a lot less ghetto, more trees, hills, less crowded, etc.

Raleigh's winters are lame. Any reasonable person who is not completely intolerant to the slightest bit of cold knows this.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

The difference in money is negligible for me when comparing QOL.

I don't see too many threads in the Raleigh forum complaining about jobs. There is one long thread that has been going for a couple months about an electronics tech who moved there without a job. No one should move to any area without having a job lined up. Anyway, If I was unemployed I would much rather be in Raleigh.

All things considered Raleigh is close to beaches. A lot of people take day trips down to the beach and it is a very easy weekend getaway. It's also very easy to go to the mountains for a weekend. There are some nice beaches in Florida(Pinellas), but you have to pay for the good ones and I much prefer the ocean over the gulf. I'll take a less crowded non-commercialized beach in NC any day. Raleigh in general is much nicer, a lot less ghetto, more trees, hills, less crowded, etc.

Raleigh's winters are lame. Any reasonable person who is not completely intolerant to the slightest bit of cold knows this.

We will have to agree to disagree, especially over the close to the beach thing.....LOL!

I don't want to have to "plan" a day trip or weekend trip to the beach. I want to be able to go to the beach for dinner anytime I want to, at a moments notice......which we have done often here.

We have been to the NC beaches. Awful. Simply awful, but it's the only ones they have so they are jam packed. There are so many here and some many people are unaware of, we can always find space.....sometimes touristy and sometimes quiet and tranquil. Nice to have choices. So many choices. Not sure what you are talking about when you say having to pay for them.

Mountains are pretty far away from Raleigh also, especially the good ones. It's a long drive. Heck, we can fly to mountains from here just as easily.

Jobs? Well I don't know the last time you lived there, but things have been going downhill there for several years. It isn't what it used to be. Maybe you lived there ten years ago and then I can understand your confusion.

But I get it. You hate living in Florida and everything about it and want out. No problem there. Hope you find some place you like. We have lived in dozens of places and found things to like about all of them, including NC. So far, Florida has been the best place we have ever lived......by a long shot. But different strokes for different folks.

Oh and yes, we are completely intolerant of the cold. That is why we no longer live in New England or in North Carolina and why we will move even further south upon my wife's retirement.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

We will have to agree to disagree, especially over the close to the beach thing.....LOL!

I don't want to have to "plan" a day trip or weekend trip to the beach. I want to be able to go to the beach for dinner anytime I want to, at a moments notice......which we have done often here.

We have been to the NC beaches. Awful. Simply awful, but it's the only ones they have so they are jam packed. There are so many here and some many people are unaware of, we can always find space.....sometimes touristy and sometimes quiet and tranquil. Nice to have choices. So many choices. Not sure what you are talking about when you say having to pay for them.

Mountains are pretty far away from Raleigh also, especially the good ones. It's a long drive. Heck, we can fly to mountains from here just as easily.

Jobs? Well I don't know the last time you lived there, but things have been going downhill there for several years. It isn't what it used to be. Maybe you lived there ten years ago and then I can understand your confusion.

But I get it. You hate living in Florida and everything about it and want out. No problem there. Hope you find some place you like. We have lived in dozens of places and found things to like about all of them, including NC. So far, Florida has been the best place we have ever lived......by a long shot. But different strokes for different folks.

After reading this post I almost don't believe you've ever lived in NC, lol. Different strokes for different folks I'll agree on.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

After reading this post I almost don't believe you've ever lived in NC, lol.

Likewise about you....as least not recently.

I would be curious as to when you last lived there. We last lived there last year.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Likewise about you....as least not recently.

I would be curious as to when you last lived there. We last lived there last year.

I moved towards the end of '07, but didn't live there full time until '10. I have family and friends there that are all doing well. Maybe the bleak outlook you have is the result of the recession? Florida is much more tolerable for me now that I don't live here full time.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

I moved towards the end of '07 and I go back almost every month. I have family and friends there that are all doing well. Maybe the bleak outlook you have is the result of the recession? Florida is much more tolerable for me now that I don't live here full time.

The effects of the recession came late to NC, at least the Raleigh area. 2008-2012 was the worst of it for them. Your timeline explains why you don't understand what happened there. When we moved there it was still going gangbusters. Things changed though.

Here is some factual data for you to review:
http://gri.unc.edu/files/2012/08/GRI...ugust-2012.pdf

"The Great Recession” has altered North Carolina’s labor market in unexpected ways. Three significant trends merit attention: (1) the severity of the economic downturn; (2) the slowness of the labor market recovery; and (3) the shift in the composition of the population of low-income and poor households.

The recovery in output that occurred between 2009 and 2011 was slower in North Carolina than in the nation. Moreover, employment trends have proven much more volatile in North Carolina. Indeed, the recession battered a labor market that had never fully recovered from the 2001 recession. To put the matter bluntly, it is difficult to overstate the problems that have troubled the North Carolina labor market over the past decade. Policy wonks are still debating some of the details, but no one doubts that conditions remain distressed."


We did get lucky though that even though the winters were too cold and dead for us, at least we never got any of the horrible ice storms they are noted for.

So where are you living when not in Florida? Will it be a permanent place for you eventually? I truly hope you enjoy it. Everyone should enjoy where they live.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

The effects of the recession came late to NC, at least the Raleigh area. 2008-2012 was the worst of it for them. Your timeline explains why you don't understand what happened there.

So where are you living when not in Florida? Will it be a permanent place for you eventually? I truly hope you enjoy it. Everyone should enjoy where they live.

I've had several job offers in NC over the past few years. None were as good as the job I have now, but I could easily find a good job there if I had to.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

I've had several job offers in NC over the past few years. None were as good as the job I have now, but I could easily find a good job there if I had to.

I provided a nice link of factual data for your review, rather than anecdotal stories. You will find in quite educational as to the real state of affairs.

I wish you the best in whatever lies ahead for you. You deserve nothing less.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

I provided a nice link of factual data for your review, rather than anecdotal stories. You will find in quite educational as to the real state of affairs.

I wish you the best in whatever lies ahead for you. You deserve nothing less.

Your factual link did not mention Raleigh. Were we not discussing Raleigh?

Raleigh did better than any other city in NC during the recession. Many rural areas and smaller cities in NC have been declining for years. This is nothing new.

Lets compare Raleigh to Tampa since they are somewhat close in population. Tampa has .1% lower unemployment than Raleigh, but then we can look at the quality of those jobs by the household income.

Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina Metropolitan Unemployment Rate and Total Unemployed | Department of Numbers

Raleigh North Carolina Household Income | Department of Numbers

Raleigh's income has declined, but is still much higher than the national average and blows Tampa out of the water.

Tampa Florida Household Income | Department of Numbers

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Unemployment Rate and Total Unemployed | Department of Numbers

Bloomberg Businessweek said "Raleigh-Cary MSA is the 5th strongest job market in the country in 2010."

America's Strongest Job Markets: No. 5 Strongest Job Market: Raleigh-Cary, N.C. - BusinessWeek

Raleigh is also on the "best places" list all the time for a reason.

I'll stick with my original statement that I would rather be unemployed in NC.