What do you love about the Triad area? (Charlotte, Raleigh: house, purchasing)

[keithhtt]

What do you love about the Triad area?

[Lorieleanor]

I haven't been here for very long, but one of the first things I noticed is that everyone is so friendly. It seems genuine to me.

I think the change of the seasons is so nice. Each one unique and pretty.

Driving anywhere is easily managed.

I do think shopping could be improved on a bit, but that is certainly a personal opinion.

If you are careful and do your homework (though it sounds like you personally no longer need to), you can find exceptional public schools. That is continuing to amaze me (the level, not the fact that they are here).

The cost of purchasing a really nice home here was/is, to us, a very important part of the equation.

There are a few negatives (for me), but you didn't ask about those.. :-)

[Lorieleanor]

Also easy access to both the mountains and the beach is a big plus.

[keithhtt]

Originally Posted by Lorieleanor

I haven't been here for very long, but one of the first things I noticed is that everyone is so friendly. It seems genuine to me.

I think the change of the seasons is so nice. Each one unique and pretty.

Driving anywhere is easily managed.

I do think shopping could be improved on a bit, but that is certainly a personal opinion.

If you are careful and do your homework (though it sounds like you personally no longer need to), you can find exceptional public schools. That is continuing to amaze me (the level, not the fact that they are here).

The cost of purchasing a really nice home here was/is, to us, a very important part of the equation.

There are a few negatives (for me), but you didn't ask about those.. :-)

Thank-you so much Lorieleanor! You've been very helpful.

[WFW&P]

The four seasons; don't like one, wait a couple of months it will change.
Time travel.
The central location makes day trips convenient.

[arbyunc]

Just to add my 2 cents to the above comments, I like:

- The climate. We get extremes of heat and cold, but most of the time it's quite pleasant. One notable difference is that even in the hottest part of the summer, it usually cools down nicely in the evenings. Not so in the southern and eastern parts of the state, where it often remains quite uncomfortable well into the night.

- Ths size. Not too big, not too small. Plenty of things to do, good shopping (while someone mentioned lack of shopping above, I think it's quite adequate but then again I'm a guy so what do I know about shopping?), restaurants, arts, outdoor activities, etc., yet virtually no traffic problems when compared to larger cities.

- The location. Close to lots of things, like the mountains, lakes and other recreation areas, larger cities/airports (Charlotte and the Triangle are about an hour away), and not too far from the beach.

- The diversity of people. Here in Winston-Salem, the universities, medical facilities, and corporations attract people from all over the world.

- A sense of community, history, and town character. This is very strong in Winston-Salem, not sure how strong it is in other parts of the Triad. Older buildings and historic structures with period architecture, Old Salem, Bethabara, Bethania, a strong sense of community even in suburbs like Lewisville and Kernersville, and I would also put into this category the strong support for the arts and for charitable causes (Winston consistently is at the top of the nation in per capita charitable giving, and it was the first city in the US to establish an Arts Council).

- A strong economic base that has managed to hold its own despite the decline of "traditional" industries like furniture, tobacco, and textiles.

- And one of my favorite things of all about the Triad--the Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market!

[akwebb81]

Originally Posted by WFW&P

Time travel.

WOW, please tell me where I can find the DeLorean


When we were looking to move to NC, we had opportunities in Charlotte, Raleigh and WS. After just spending a few days driving around the areas and between the different areas, we saw the biggest appeal of the Triad...traffic, or lack thereof. We were living in Houston, and I couldn't stand wasting up to 2hrs a day commuting anymore and Charlotte and Raleigh just looked like more of the same. Are there certain things I would like to have here, sure, but this area has 95% of what I want, with little to no traffic to deal with. I'll take no traffic any day over not having a Pei Wei or climbing gym 5 mins from my house. Both are 30-60 mins away now (reallocated commute time.

The weather, other than the summer is great here. Growing up in the north, not having 6 months of cold, grey and dreary weather is a blessing.

My only gripe, are the hours of some of the places we frequent, especially children's attractions. 11-5 seem to be common hours and with kids that still take naps, that's rough.

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by akwebb81

WOW, please tell me where I can find the DeLorean

You can use the car you currently drive; a quick trip into a neighboring rural county can instantly take you back 50 years.

[gorgiapeach]

My husband and son moved ahead of me due to our house taking forever to close, and when he calls me everyday he is full of awesome stuff to report about the Triad. One thing that they love the most is how nice everyone is. He laughs while telling me the lady at McDonalds called him baby, and my son said the cafeteria lady called him baby too. He's been called sugar, sweetheart and lovey by ladies at the supermarket and so on. People in the north don't talk like that, so it is refreshing and sweet. Nice people rock. I can't wait to be down there with them.

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by gorgiapeach

My husband and son moved ahead of me due to our house taking forever to close, and when he calls me everyday he is full of awesome stuff to report about the Triad. One thing that they love the most is how nice everyone is. He laughs while telling me the lady at McDonalds called him baby, and my son said the cafeteria lady called him baby too. He's been called sugar, sweetheart and lovey by ladies at the supermarket and so on. People in the north don't talk like that, so it is refreshing and sweet. Nice people rock. I can't wait to be down there with them.

..........and sweetie, honey, hon. That's about right for this area.