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We moved from Manassas, VA to Beaufort SC in February. Mostly to get out of No Va and move to a less expensive, more friendly area. But, while I got lucky in the job market, my husband has not and we are looking to go to NC probably in early to mid-2008. Primarily for better jobs, better schools (since SC schools stink!) and also so I can work for an EMS system that is progressive and hopefully so DH can find something! Secondarily because my family is from NC (grandfather went to NC State and Guilford Coll and coached at Lenoir-Rhyne, etc.).
I wondered if anyone is from the Manassas area and could compare any cities in the Triad, or anywhere in NC to the conveniences, population, housing, etc. of Manassas? We moved from there because housing was so expensive and the demographics had changed so much recently that everyone in the county had to be bilingual to speak to greater than 50% of the population. (Not trying to start the immigration debate here, but Manassas, VA is the #1 location for illegal immigrants to come to after crossing the border, per Immigration officials) But I loved being so convenient to DC, shopping, restaurants, beaches (3 hrs away), mountains (1.5 hrs away) and just generally being able to have the city conveniences without being in the city. Most everything was open every day of the week and only closed early on Sundays. Here in Beaufort, SC, most everything closes at 8, "downtown" shoppes close at 5 and are closed on Sundays, banks are only open M-F. We have Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Belk, Best Buy and recently TJ Maxx. That's about all for the "big" stores, unless we go 25 miles+ for others, and we have 3 major restaurants outside of fast food (Outback, Applebys,Ruby Tues)
When we moved from NoVa to SC, we had been here a few times to visit my other grandparents who live near Hilton Head (about 20 miles from us). We thought how nice it would be to live in a relaxed, less expensive area that has no traffic, etc., and while some of that was correct, this place goes to sleep at 5pm! We can't really afford to move back to No Va, not that we'd consider it anyway (because of the demographic changes). So please, if there are any similar places that anyone could recommend, I'd love to hear it! We are planning to visit the areas that we are interested in, in January/February.
FYI - per my answers in my quiz on ****.com, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Rocky Mount, Greensboro and Greenville are my ideal "spots". I think that pretty much covers the larger areas, huh?
I'm from DC metro (Gaithersburg MD) but lived in Greensboro NC for 12 years and in Manassas VA (Gainesville, right at 29 and 66) for 1 year. To be honest, there was more things about Manassas area that I didn't like than the things that I liked. I hated the traffic lights which seemed like an eternity! Also, the unfriendly neighbors, illegal immigrants (especially around Sudly Ave.), crime, OUTRAGIOUS realstate prices, etc... but loved the shopping, Redskins on TV, big city stuff, Potomac Milles, Restaurants (loved Foster's grill and Thai Garden in Old Towne Manassas), etc....
I can't really think of any NC cities that compare to Manassa area but based on what you said and my experiences in both places, I'd highly recommend the Triad area(Greensboro/Winston/Highpoint). It's about 2 hours away from the mountains, about 3 hours or so away from the beach and is just big enough. You might also like Raliegh/Durham but Greensboro is much more laid back, with less traffic and plenty of shopping, big city stuff, etc... But I have to warn you, I"m very biased as I absolutely LOVED living in Greensboro and in NC in generall. NC is one of the best states I've ever lived in. Good luck to you!
I lived in Dale City and went to school in Manassas back in the mid to late '80s. Things have grown a lot in that area by now, I'm sure.
I would recommend the Raleigh area (you could work, shop & dine there and live in a smaller town nearby), the Triad or the Charlotte area. Each has a different feel to it. The Triad seems more homey to me and yet still has good shopping and dining and activities. Charlotte is probably the most high-falutin' (my brain isn't giving me the word I really want lol) of the three, but there's lots to do. You'd want to live outside of Charlotte though, I would think.
My personal preference is Greensboro. I've lived here for nearly 16 years and I love it. Winston-Salem and Raleigh would be my second choices.
Greensboro is large enough to offer a wide variety of entertainment options, but, it is small enough that people will speak to you when you are walking down the street. Greensboro also has a wide variety of educational options but...... it also hosts the ACC tourney from time to time. Basketball is somewhat of a state obsession.
I grew up in Dale City and my parents still live in Manassas so I am very familiar with the area. I've lived in High Point now for almost 7 years and if you want something like Prince William county, you won't find it here. The public schools just aren't the quality of Prince William or Fairfax schools, some of them are downright aweful. The schools in the northern parts of the Triad (around Oak Ridge) seem to be the best. The schools closer to central High Point or Greensboro are the worst. However there are a number of excellent private schools from what I've heard. Housing is very inexpensive in most of the Triad. It really just depends on what exactly you are looking for. As for conveniences, the Triad has everything Manassas has, all the stores, but without all of the traffic, but again that depends on where exactly you want to go. I'm in High Point on the border of Jamestown and can get to 2 shopping malls and any big box chain store I can think of within 10-15 minutes, I never have to deal with any significant traffic either. That changes if you live in Winston-Salem/Forsth County, which does have traffic congestion issues. I hope that helps, feel free to email me if you want more details.
I grew up in Greensboro and have lived in Charlotte for over a year.
I also have traveled over much of the state. I greatly prefer Greensboro
in the larger city category. It has a great quality of life. It also has the
best roads of the larger cities and some of the best colleges/universities
anywhere.
I lived in Manassas for 16 years and Leesburg for 7 years. Then moved to Greensboro. I don't regret it for a moment. Prince William County, and now even Loudoun County, are so congested and housing prices are horrible, unless you sell from there and buy here, which I did. Made a huge profit on my house in Leesburg and bought a better, bigger, newer house here for half the price. Now I'm moving to Raleigh, but must say I love Greensboro.
Greensboro is much, much less intense than the DC suburbs. Raleigh is more intense than Greensboro, but you wouldn't notice the difference between Greensboro and Raleigh if you're coming from the DC area, they both seem very relaxed. I like Beaufort, used to live near there. But Greensboro and Raleigh both have more "city" features, as well as lots of "green" space.
Beaches to the east, mountains to the west. Can't beat either Greensboro or Raleigh in my experience.
Live in Leesburg right now and we're looking into moving to the Winston-Salem area. Actually, the job my husband is looking at is for PPG in Lexington, so he'd be commuting to there. Looking for the best area around there, without too long of a commute. He works in Herndon now, so used to a 30 min. commute.
We can't wait to escape the overly expensive No.Va area.
As a side note to a comment earlier... I'll still be able to watch the Redskins on TV down there, right?
My cousin is moving from Hickory to closer to the Lexington plant, but they're going to Lake Norman. We don't want to go that far and were looking more at Winston-Salem, High Point, etc.
Suggestions on neighborhoods? Might rent first, then buy...
Thanks!
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