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I'm on a month visit scoping job opportunities in the Raleigh area. It feels kind of empty compared to what I'm used to up in Worcester, MA. I was thinking about heading back home to continue the job search but wanted some input. I think I'd like it here in about 10-20 years when things are built and it has more of a 'city feel'. My friend told me that I should have moved over by Charlotte it would be more like home with the mountains, roads and uptown. Maybe I just moved to the wrong part of the state?
I just spent a couple weeks down in Brevard county FL and liked it there, but couldn't find work. Any suggestions?
Charlotte absolutely is more city like. I view Raleigh as a town, frankly, not even really a city. Charlotte is like a mini city. Atlanta is the closest real city.
Yeah, NC is not the best place to be looking for a "big city feel"--in fact, most who move here are coming to get AWAY from that. Atlanta or DC are the "cities" in this area, but if there is some reason it MUST be NC, go for Charlotte. But look into the job market in your field first--competition is worse than it's ever been, in part because of folks (like you) all wanting to move here from everywhere else.
I've got an apartment lined up for work in both Clayton, NC and Charlotte near Carrowinds. Im a Computer Engineer and when I punch in a few keywords I see ~100 related jobs in Charlotte vs ~30 in Raleigh. I've made a few recent posts but didn't really address my concerns. How bad are the hurricanes and crime rates and commutes? What would you rate as having more outdoor activities such as hiking? The beach is a commodity, I think I would find the mountains more a necessity. A little background on my current situation i'm from new england suburbs about 40 minutes from Mt. Wachusett with a 30-40min work commute and trying to make a move in the same scene down to NC. Should I aim for Raleigh or Charlotte? Any other immediate areas nearby worth checking out before signing on the lease?
I'm on a month visit scoping job opportunities in the Raleigh area. It feels kind of empty compared to what I'm used to up in Worcester, MA. I was thinking about heading back home to continue the job search but wanted some input. I think I'd like it here in about 10-20 years when things are built and it has more of a 'city feel'. My friend told me that I should have moved over by Charlotte it would be more like home with the mountains, roads and uptown. Maybe I just moved to the wrong part of the state?
I just spent a couple weeks down in Brevard county FL and liked it there, but couldn't find work. Any suggestions?
If you live in Clayton and you see that as representative of Raleigh as a whole than that is not accurate. That would be like saying Monroe or Mooresville is representative of Charlotte.
Charlotte does have more of a city feel and is bigger, bur Raleigh is NOT boring by far. Also, how can you like Brevard County, but then think Raleigh is boring? I've been to Brevard county several times and it has the beach, but it is not a "city".
I've lived in both Raleigh and Charlotte (and ironically enough, I'm looking at moving to the Boston area now), and I can tell you that Charlotte does have more of an urban feel, but only in certain places. A lot of the area inside 277 has that feel, and there are a few neighborhoods like that nearby which have been around for about 100 years. Most of them were originally streetcar suburbs, and are laid out accordingly. South End, Dilworth, Plaza Midwood, Myers Park, and Elizabeth come to mind, but there are a few other areas like that too. Beyond that, pretty much everything is your typical urban sprawl.
In Raleigh, you have downtown, but it's mostly offices and is pretty empty at night, except for the area of Glenwood Ave. inside 440 and some student hangouts near NCSU. Everything else is basically the same as it is in suburban Charlotte - malls, shopping centers, new residences (as in less than 30 years old for the most part), and big box stores.
The mountains are closer to Charlotte than Raleigh, i.e. about an hour and a half from Charlotte vs. three from Raleigh. Raleigh is closer to the beach, though, if that interests you.
Charlotte has a small light rail system that opened a few years ago, but there's only one line and new lines are coming along slower than anticipated. It's nowhere near comprehensive and won't be for quite some time (20+ years), so you'll definitely need a car unless you live and work in one of the areas I mentioned above. Raleigh has been talking about rail transit for 20 years, but as far as I know, nothing has moved beyond the discussion stage.
In short, if you want true urban living, it's going to be hard to find here. That's not to say that Raleigh and Charlotte aren't great places to live, just that that's not what they have to offer.
Last edited by bushpilotwannabe; 07-03-2011 at 08:06 PM..
I would focus more on finding employement--if it can be found--near an area you like. Most people are looking for employment and moving to where the job is. If the area is priority, then you might want to do a tour of Charlotte and investigate the job opportunities that might be there.
They're closer than most people think...
All sizes | Charlotte skyline from The Vue condos | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bz3rk/5448210820/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
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