anyone moving to the carolinas summer '08? (Boston, Boylston: renting, mover)

[llisa]

We're moving from MA to NC this summer, probably in June. We may settle in the Durham area. We haven't chosen a mover yet. I've heard it will be pretty expensive. I'm interviewing three movers tomorrow and will get quotes. Anyone know of a good moving company?

[bnatale]

We moved from the North Shore of MA to the Raleigh area about 1.5 yrs ago-- do you have your heart set on Durham? -- just curious if you have visited that area...
Also, depends on the amount you are moving, but it ran us @ 8k. I have heard Mayflower has done well by many relocaters in Raleigh. If you aren't overwhelmed with belongings they combine loads with others, so it can relieve some of the cost burden to move.

[elijahwilliams]

Originally Posted by Finnigan

We have been concidering moving to the Wilson or Durham area of NC.
May go down to check things out this summer.
Heard taxes are lower and the Winters will be shorter

You really should check things out before you go. The difference between Wilson and Durham is vast.

[SwiftCreek]

I live in the Cary area and work in Boston during the week. The weather in the Carolina's is way more agreeable as you have beautiful long springs (start in Feb) and beautiful long falls. Winter in NC is about a month - and you could call it November weather (compared to MA). Summer (June - August) is brutally hot. Travel north or go to mountains or beach in summer.

Cost of living isn't much different. Dick's is Dick's, Staples is Staples, Home Depot is Home Depot. State income taxes are about 50% higher, car excise taxes are very high, property taxes are the same as MA. I own a $500k home in Cary and property taxes at $5000 - that's comparable to Boston area. Groceries are more expensive in NC. Schools are considerably stronger in MA. There is way more to see and do in MA than NC. So why move?

Weather, Great Friendly People, Economy. Don't move there because it's "cheaper" - you'll be disappointed. But, eating outside at a cafe in November agrees with my family! Sure, I pay more in taxes, but I live an OUTDOOR lifestyle with my kids 11 months of the year. That's worth it!

Oh, beware. Houses are not built to the same standards in NC as they are up here. An Allstate inspector told me that they are built to last 10 years. So be very careful to not fall into the trap of buying a "cheap" new house. You'll pay in the end.

Finally - NC is a BIG state. Cary to Wrightsville beach (Wilmington, NC) is 2.5 hours. Outerbanks is 5+ hours. Boone/Blowing Rock (mountains) is 3 hours. Asheville is 4 hours.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by SwiftCreek

I live in the Cary area and work in Boston during the week. The weather in the Carolina's is way more agreeable as you have beautiful long springs (start in Feb) and beautiful long falls. Winter in NC is about a month - and you could call it November weather (compared to MA). Summer (June - August) is brutally hot. Travel north or go to mountains or beach in summer.

Cost of living isn't much different. Dick's is Dick's, Staples is Staples, Home Depot is Home Depot. State income taxes are about 50% higher, car excise taxes are very high, property taxes are the same as MA. I own a $500k home in Cary and property taxes at $5000 - that's comparable to Boston area. Groceries are more expensive in NC. Schools are considerably stronger in MA. There is way more to see and do in MA than NC. So why move?

Weather, Great Friendly People, Economy. Don't move there because it's "cheaper" - you'll be disappointed. But, eating outside at a cafe in November agrees with my family! Sure, I pay more in taxes, but I live an OUTDOOR lifestyle with my kids 11 months of the year. That's worth it!

Oh, beware. Houses are not built to the same standards in NC as they are up here. An Allstate inspector told me that they are built to last 10 years. So be very careful to not fall into the trap of buying a "cheap" new house. You'll pay in the end.

Finally - NC is a BIG state. Cary to Wrightsville beach (Wilmington, NC) is 2.5 hours. Outerbanks is 5+ hours. Boone/Blowing Rock (mountains) is 3 hours. Asheville is 4 hours.

I agree with most of what you said and also that North Carolina isn't that much cheaper, but property taxes are. If your comparing the same style, age, and size house from NC to MA then MA is definitely more expensive. Your 500k home probably would cost close to a million up here and you would pay around $10k for taxes.

There are good and cheap builders anywhere, so it depends on what you buy for a home. I see cheap and quality homes in MA and in NC. The one thing I like about NC homes is they use quite a bit of brick.

[SwiftCreek]

Brick is used allot in NC as it's the biggest producer of bricks in the country. However, you get more brick in some places than others. Charlotte seems to use more brick than the Raleigh area. Charlotte homes also tend to be about 15% less expensive than Raleigh. Don't ask me why, I don't know. Both areas are growing at about the same pace.

If you're looking at home in NC - make sure you go into the attic and look at the exterior sheathing. Allot of builders are now using a sort of pressed cardboard for the sheathing on the side walls of the house. If that gets wet, it crumbles. If the house has vinyl siding you can literally break through the wall with a butter knife - (yes, I tried and succeeded with a friend who is a builder - yes, on one of his own houses).

The difficulty in comparing North East states with NC is that in the NE the towns tend to be fully developed and have complete infrastructures. Allot of NC doesn't. On you drive to a nice "new" cookie-cutter neighborhood you'll drive dozens of trailers, abandoned concrete block homes, etc. BUT, most of those things are on their way out. You just have to be patient. NC is a work in progress.

One of the nice things about NC is that it's new. Things are better thought through as the towns understand traffic patterns, growth projections, etc. Driving through Cary for example, you don't experience allot of traffic - even at peak times. It's well planned and easy to navigate.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by SwiftCreek

Brick is used allot in NC as it's the biggest producer of bricks in the country. However, you get more brick in some places than others. Charlotte seems to use more brick than the Raleigh area. Charlotte homes also tend to be about 15% less expensive than Raleigh. Don't ask me why, I don't know. Both areas are growing at about the same pace.

If you're looking at home in NC - make sure you go into the attic and look at the exterior sheathing. Allot of builders are now using a sort of pressed cardboard for the sheathing on the side walls of the house. If that gets wet, it crumbles. If the house has vinyl siding you can literally break through the wall with a butter knife - (yes, I tried and succeeded with a friend who is a builder - yes, on one of his own houses).

The difficulty in comparing North East states with NC is that in the NE the towns tend to be fully developed and have complete infrastructures. Allot of NC doesn't. On you drive to a nice "new" cookie-cutter neighborhood you'll drive dozens of trailers, abandoned concrete block homes, etc. BUT, most of those things are on their way out. You just have to be patient. NC is a work in progress.

One of the nice things about NC is that it's new. Things are better thought through as the towns understand traffic patterns, growth projections, etc. Driving through Cary for example, you don't experience allot of traffic - even at peak times. It's well planned and easy to navigate.

Plus, homes in the northeast have to withstand colder winters and a larger difference in temperature.

Many of the communities are new in North Carolina, where in MA many homes and places are 50-100+ years old.

[luvmyguys]

I have to agree with pretty much everything the other posters stated. Believe it or not, everything we thought we wanted to get away from is what we missed the most. I DID miss the winter. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth but I missed it. I missed the four seasons. I found it very hard to pace myself through the year since I didn't think there was really any "fall". Spring was nice in NC, as was winter (even though I said I missed New England winter . I'd be lying if I said the winters weren't enjoyable but I guess I missed snow days, playing in snow with the kids, going sledding. Summer was unbelievably HOT and it went well into late October/early November. I think any savings you get from using your heat less, you pay right into your electric bill for your Central Air and running your air in your car all the time. You know how in New England you don't see your neighbors all winter because they are in the house staying warm? Well in NC it was like you dont' see your neighbors in the summer because they are in the house staying cool

We had a hard time with no basements and all the red clay ruining the kids shoes and clothes.

We missed all the comfort foods (I know, how pathetic)...dunkin donuts, roast beef sandwiches, good chinese and pizza (or at least what the northerners call "good")

The schools were well behind the schools in MA. I have a child in middle school who said that what he was learning while we were in NC is what he had learned the previous year in MA.

I missed the quintness of MA. NC is a far cry from the Norman Rockwell feel of New England. Even though we bought a brand new home in NC it lacked the character and charm of a older New England home. We found NC to be one subdivision after another. There is no snaking in and out of neighborhoods to avoid traffic like you can do in New England.

A friend of our who is a builder wandered around some of the model homes in our subdivision in NC and he was shocked at how different they build homes in NC and we lived in a $500K plus custom built subdivision

Groceries are much higher in NC as is your residential water bill. Honestly I think the cost of living is basically the same for both states, just money spent differently. Like the previous poster said, Dicks is Dicks, Macy's is Macys, Walgreens is Walgreens. I agree that there are a lot of taxes in NC. Not sure why MA is referred to as Taxachusetts since there were more taxes in NC. Go figure......

Of course our time in NC was not all negative. I would hate to have anyone think that it is a miserable place to be, because it isn't. We had some really good times and fun road trips while we were there. I just wish that some of the things we found out the hard way had been apparent to us before we made the big move south.

I think it is a personal decision. Obviously there are thousands of people living quite happily in NC. We just felt that MA is where we belonged.

Good luck in your decision.

[j4heels]

Ironically, I've lived in North Carolina for 12 years. I lived in Chapel Hill for about 7 years (including 4 years of undergrad) and have about 5 years under my belt in Durham.

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill (The Triangle) is a GREAT place. I really feel like I want to raise my family here one day, when I have one. I'm currently 30 and single, and I'm really considering a move to Boston to be in a big city. I am about to receive a job offer their, and I'm so terrified about the decision--leaving everyone and everything I know and move all alone is scary!!

I am willing to provide feedback to anyone about NC, though. I do love it here, but am considering trying something very new.

[ncwannabe2]

We just move from MA to North Raleigh this past Monday (6/23).

We used Mayflower (Scott's Relocation out of Attleboro). I would recommend them. We had virtually no damage to our personal property. Although they did mark up some of the walls going up the stairs in our brand new home. I am working to resolve this now. I think they were extremely professional. They even bought my family lunch both here and in NC.

One note on cost of living - home and car insurance was cheaper in NC. Also noticed gas prices about $0.10 - $0.15 per gallon cheaper in NC.