[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by HOT ROCKS

I grew up in FL. Lived in Orlando, Boca & Ft. Lauderdale, and went to college in St. Augustine. I moved to Raleigh, NC 13 yrs ago and LOVE IT!!! I still have family & friends in central FL, we visit every now and then, but have never given a second thought to moving back--no way.
I don't know why anyone would say the people here are not nice, I haven't encountered that at all. I've visited many parts of the state and can't say that I dislike any of them. Raleigh is great as far as weather goes, schools are very good and the people are a mix of many areas of the country. We have been voted top place to move on many recent polls. I like being able to go to the mountains in 3 hours and the beach in 2 hours while enjoying the seasons changing. Winters are mild with little if any snow. Summers are much nicer then FL too. Taxes are lower then FL although we do have a State tax. Our market is not as bad as the FL market because we never had a ramp up in prices. Please let me know if you have any questions, I will be happy to tell you more. I have many FL neighbors here, some Gators and some Seminoles!

We moved from Gainesville to Chapel Hill and now back to Gainesville. The cost of living in the Raleigh area was higher for us. We took a 15k pay cut moving back to FL and still take home the same amount.

[Rexer]

Go for it. NC wins, hands down simply because of people's attitute and the weather.

[Scientifical Madness]

Originally Posted by Gatornation

The public school system all around the Raleigh area is far superior than anything in FL for public schools.

Oh yeah, definitely. And the residents (on average) are more educated too. Jobs pay better, they have 4 seasons; I honestly cant find one bad thing about Raleigh - except how it's so close to Durham, which has a high AA population with higher crime.

Not one city in FL can even come close to Raleigh in comparison. No denying it.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Gatornation

The public school system all around the Raleigh area is far superior than anything in FL for public schools.

By what objective measure?

Greatschools.net, utilizing its test score grading Criteria, finds Wake County, NC schools to be a "7" overall. Martin County, Florida, for example, is rated an "8."

In Palm Beach County, just South of Martin County, the schools in the individual towns such as Jupiter, FL, are at or better than Wake County's better suburbs, such as Cary:

Jupiter Schools - Jupiter Florida School Ratings - Public and Private (10) -- Jupiter

Cary Schools - Cary North Carolina School Ratings - Public and Private (9) -- Cary

Charlotte, NC's schools are ranked a "6" ... which is on par with Palm Beach County's "overall" ranking, and surprising, since Palm Beach County is a huge source of ESOL immigration students that tend to bring scores down in immigrant communities.

The fawning over places like North Carolina as being "better than anywhere in Florida" is getting old. Outside of the progressive college influenced "Research triangle" and the hippie tourist village of Asheville, there isn't much that would compel me to ever want to live there.

You can find "nice people" everywhere in Florida. Seems an awful lot of people that spend their time whining and complaining, however, end up not getting warm receptions, or find themselves going, "why is nobody nice to me?" Maybe because people can sense the oozing, non-verbal contempt for everyone and everything around them?

My neighborhood is full of very nice people (most are not "natives") -- the kind that introduce themselves when you move in (and not just to ask you where you go to church) monthly happy hours at someone's home, invite you to parties and gatherings at their homes, organize community events to better the community, neighbors that stop and talk in the street to one another. Oh -- AND I live in South Florida, the "problem" area of Florida.

[Sunny-Days90]

There are several posters here who moved from Florida to NC and are now back in Florida.
You will find many of them who still post here and they are glad to be back in Florida.

Berryjuice is one of the most recent ones who lived in Fla and moved to NC and is now back in in Florida.

[Outta-NC]

Originally Posted by HOT ROCKS

I grew up in FL. Lived in Orlando, Boca & Ft. Lauderdale, and went to college in St. Augustine. I moved to Raleigh, NC 13 yrs ago and LOVE IT!!! I still have family & friends in central FL, we visit every now and then, but have never given a second thought to moving back--no way.
I don't know why anyone would say the people here are not nice, I haven't encountered that at all. I've visited many parts of the state and can't say that I dislike any of them. Raleigh is great as far as weather goes, schools are very good and the people are a mix of many areas of the country. We have been voted top place to move on many recent polls. I like being able to go to the mountains in 3 hours and the beach in 2 hours while enjoying the seasons changing. Winters are mild with little if any snow. Summers are much nicer then FL too. Taxes are lower then FL although we do have a State tax. Our market is not as bad as the FL market because we never had a ramp up in prices. Please let me know if you have any questions, I will be happy to tell you more. I have many FL neighbors here, some Gators and some Seminoles!

We have been here three years and don't see the hype. We live in johnston count clayton and all though it is peaceful, that's it. There is not much culture here, said by many different friends all from out of town all over US. I have family in Central Florida and am trying to be convinced as to why we should not leave. Jobs don't pay that much here in IT. There isn't a whole lot to do. Keep in mind I'm originally from NYC. Good food choices are hard to find. Lots of contract short term work in IT but not perm jobs. Big tech companies have been laying off then rehiring as temps.

Temperature is ok but not much different at all than Florida. We like heat and don't mind humidity. Cost of living is higher here now. With the exception of homes and real estate tax, all else is pretty much inline with NJ where we last lived for 13 yrs. Except I was making 37% more. Somethings you just can only research so far. The rest is left up to living it yourself.

So, can anyone tell me why NC would be better than Florida. Of course it's all relative.

[Outta-NC]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

Oh yeah, definitely. And the residents (on average) are more educated too. Jobs pay better, they have 4 seasons; I honestly cant find one bad thing about Raleigh - except how it's so close to Durham, which has a high AA population with higher crime.

Not one city in FL can even come close to Raleigh in comparison. No denying it.

Wow!! I'm actually shocked to see Raleigh get that much praise. I won't bash it cause it's ok but certainly not great and yes there are several flaws. Crime is one of them and rising. Taxes going up 3 yrs running is another. Over priced homes on door mat properties. Having to transport your child several miles further because you want traditional schooling rather than year round. No culture. Very small pockets of caribbean restaurants. Only latin food is Mexican. Lacking Catholic churches. RDU airport is nice. Congestion traffic but not so bad now due to unfortunate unemployment rising. People keep denying unemployment is not high. Tell that to those being forced out of their homes and into apartments if they're lucky. Lower wages, higher cost. Auto and home insurance rising. Hi DUI rates. Higher state tax and going up. Very small downtown. Glenwood is only small strip of bars. Nothing to brag about. Beach is 2hrs + away.

Yeah it's Utopia alright!!!

[Outta-NC]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

By what objective measure?

Greatschools.net, utilizing its test score grading Criteria, finds Wake County, NC schools to be a "7" overall. Martin County, Florida, for example, is rated an "8."

In Palm Beach County, just South of Martin County, the schools in the individual towns such as Jupiter, FL, are at or better than Wake County's better suburbs, such as Cary:

Jupiter Schools - Jupiter Florida School Ratings - Public and Private (10) -- Jupiter

Cary Schools - Cary North Carolina School Ratings - Public and Private (9) -- Cary

Charlotte, NC's schools are ranked a "6" ... which is on par with Palm Beach County's "overall" ranking, and surprising, since Palm Beach County is a huge source of ESOL immigration students that tend to bring scores down in immigrant communities.

The fawning over places like North Carolina as being "better than anywhere in Florida" is getting old. Outside of the progressive college influenced "Research triangle" and the hippie tourist village of Asheville, there isn't much that would compel me to ever want to live there.

You can find "nice people" everywhere in Florida. Seems an awful lot of people that spend their time whining and complaining, however, end up not getting warm receptions, or find themselves going, "why is nobody nice to me?" Maybe because people can sense the oozing, non-verbal contempt for everyone and everything around them?

My neighborhood is full of very nice people (most are not "natives") -- the kind that introduce themselves when you move in (and not just to ask you where you go to church) monthly happy hours at someone's home, invite you to parties and gatherings at their homes, organize community events to better the community, neighbors that stop and talk in the street to one another. Oh -- AND I live in South Florida, the "problem" area of Florida.

I live in NC and hate it. I have family in Central Florida and they love it there. Been there several years and would not leave. Convenience, jobs pay better than here, more to offer, universities are cheaper, USF, FSU, etc..

We want to move and would like some good information as to what is a good salary to live and pay bills an be comfortable, cost of utilities, homeowner insurance, auto insurance, average distance to school and do they bus, cost of garbage, water, sewer, and anything else you're willing to share.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

By what objective measure?

Greatschools.net, utilizing its test score grading Criteria, finds Wake County, NC schools to be a "7" overall. Martin County, Florida, for example, is rated an "8."

In Palm Beach County, just South of Martin County, the schools in the individual towns such as Jupiter, FL, are at or better than Wake County's better suburbs, such as Cary:

Jupiter Schools - Jupiter Florida School Ratings - Public and Private (10) -- Jupiter

Cary Schools - Cary North Carolina School Ratings - Public and Private (9) -- Cary

Charlotte, NC's schools are ranked a "6" ... which is on par with Palm Beach County's "overall" ranking, and surprising, since Palm Beach County is a huge source of ESOL immigration students that tend to bring scores down in immigrant communities.

The fawning over places like North Carolina as being "better than anywhere in Florida" is getting old. Outside of the progressive college influenced "Research triangle" and the hippie tourist village of Asheville, there isn't much that would compel me to ever want to live there.

You can find "nice people" everywhere in Florida. Seems an awful lot of people that spend their time whining and complaining, however, end up not getting warm receptions, or find themselves going, "why is nobody nice to me?" Maybe because people can sense the oozing, non-verbal contempt for everyone and everything around them?

My neighborhood is full of very nice people (most are not "natives") -- the kind that introduce themselves when you move in (and not just to ask you where you go to church) monthly happy hours at someone's home, invite you to parties and gatherings at their homes, organize community events to better the community, neighbors that stop and talk in the street to one another. Oh -- AND I live in South Florida, the "problem" area of Florida.

FL has some very top schools in certain areas and some very awful ones. Raleigh has a much more balanced system. btw I was only talking about Raleigh and public in my claim.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by Outta-NC

We have been here three years and don't see the hype. We live in johnston count clayton and all though it is peaceful, that's it. There is not much culture here, said by many different friends all from out of town all over US. I have family in Central Florida and am trying to be convinced as to why we should not leave. Jobs don't pay that much here in IT. There isn't a whole lot to do. Keep in mind I'm originally from NYC. Good food choices are hard to find. Lots of contract short term work in IT but not perm jobs. Big tech companies have been laying off then rehiring as temps.

Temperature is ok but not much different at all than Florida. We like heat and don't mind humidity. Cost of living is higher here now. With the exception of homes and real estate tax, all else is pretty much inline with NJ where we last lived for 13 yrs. Except I was making 37% more. Somethings you just can only research so far. The rest is left up to living it yourself.

So, can anyone tell me why NC would be better than Florida. Of course it's all relative.

You live out in the sticks so I'm not sure what culture you expected there. Living in Clayton is nothing like living in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill. It gets very country in NC not far out of the cities.

Also on you University claim UNC-CH is always named the best value for public colleges. FL's public college tuition is about to get raised much higher also.