California Family relocating to NC... INFO Pls. (Charlotte, Raleigh: to rent, chapel)

[vince_sf32]

We are considering relocating to NC, and would love some information about NC that is family friendly with GREAT schools.

We are considering Concord, Greensboro, Cary-Raleigh.
Our friend said we should consider Waynessville and/or Ashsville.

We like a house that is open, not bunched up together with a LARGE back-yard for very active dogs and son.

Any suggestions would greatly appreciated and needed.

Also we need... a Realtor that can assist us with first renting a TEMP house and finally helping buy our home! The catch, Temporary house (2-6 months) with a BIG yard... that accepts our two 4 year German Shepherds, 3 lazy cats and a active 4 year boy!!!

[zthatzmanz28]

Hmmmmm...guess the proverbial first question is--employment? Do you need to work or are you self-sufficient?

IF you need to work, the decision on where to live will be made by that requirement.

If employment is not a concern, e.g lotto winners, mass windfall from investments etc. then you will separate the choices via other wants and needs.

Asheville / Waynesville is great, but it snows there quite a bit.

Concord is a suburb type of Charlotte.

Greensboro is in the middle (sort 0f) the state.

And Cary/Raleigh is where rural meets quasi-urban.

It would be easier to decide or at least have TWO places to consider when there is a list of what is important to you and yours.

All the areas are great, but not necessarily for everyone.

They each have sections of wonderful houses and great schools.

We have been to the Waynesville area several times and have said that when we hit the lotto, we wil have a place there just to watch the mountains every morning and evening.

Would you want the snow / mountains?

Want to be at the beeach? or within X hours of the beeach?

Choices that should be addressed before you look at any one city / county.

[Francois]

What line of work are you in? I would research job openings (if there are any) in your field in whatever city is on your radar. Are you aware that unemployment in NC is among the highest anywhere? Different industries are more likely in different areas of the state to have jobs, but you'd want to do a lot of research before just moving and assuming.

The best schools in NC are said to be Chapel Hill/Carrboro, but that's also an expensive area. Of course, "best schools" and "expensive" almost always go hand in hand, wherever you are, don't they? Supply and demand...

Finding somewhere to rent with 4 dogs will, as you suspect, be the hard part! I'm sure there are places, but whether they fall in the "good schools" areas and near jobs in your industry will be the trick.

[OMGosh Josh]

Asheville native, here. Great place to live and meets your requirements.

And contrary to what Zman said, no, it really doesn't snow very often here.

Last winter was just a freakishly crazy one. We have one bad winter, about once every decade.

[vince_sf32]

Originally Posted by Francois

What line of work are you in? I would research job openings (if there are any) in your field in whatever city is on your radar. Are you aware that unemployment in NC is among the highest anywhere? Different industries are more likely in different areas of the state to have jobs, but you'd want to do a lot of research before just moving and assuming.

The best schools in NC are said to be Chapel Hill/Carrboro, but that's also an expensive area. Of course, "best schools" and "expensive" almost always go hand in hand, wherever you are, don't they? Supply and demand...

Finding somewhere to rent with 4 dogs will, as you suspect, be the hard part! I'm sure there are places, but whether they fall in the "good schools" areas and near jobs in your industry will be the trick.

I'm EMT-Firefighter being laid-off in San Francisco, Ca (Budget Cuts... they rather spend more money on the homeless "58 million", then public service or education) and actually we have only TWO (2) dogs.

We've narrowed our search to Chapel Hill-New Hill, Cary-Raleigh and finally Apex. Any feed back would greatly appreciated.

[zthatzmanz28]

Sorry, I was just going by weather stats that show an average of 12-15 inches of snow annually.