Tarboro (Raleigh, Greenville: to rent, moving to, best)

[Tarrant]

Originally Posted by CASKHA

I live in Connecticut and I will be relocating to NC June 2007. I am a single mon with 2 young children. I am thinking about Tarboro. Tired of the city and looking forward to a quieter/slower pace. I am planning to buy a new construction home and would like to know which areas/communities that are good. I've been to Tarboro many times just to visit but never really got a chance to see its entirety. Any information would be helpful.

Tarboro has a bad rep due to the flood of 99. Over and over I have heard it was because Raliegh (up river area) opened up their flood gates so they would not get flooded and subsequently it was the first time Tarboro flooded in over 200 years because of that...and yes because it was a hellacious storm too. I don't really know. Tarboro has the largest historic district in the state with some fixer uppers and some old houses under 150K. I would strongly suggest you not move to Tarboro or Rocky Mount for reasons cited previously. Greenville has some nicer communities, bad too. Washington is a CHARMING affordable river town to look into and is booming. Nice downtown. Housing is going up. New Bern is also a lovely old town...very New England looking with a thriving downtown and affordable bungalows (150K +). Talk with as many locals as possible and look for Walmart parked on the outskirts and a Rent To Own downtown as signs of a depressed community, which Tarboro is. Anywhere on the eastern seaboard can be hit hard with the next whopper hurricane, or we could be wiped out by an asteroid or.......? Enjoy your life and don't worry about what may happen. Keep looking and good luck.

[Tarrant]

Originally Posted by CASKHA

I live in Connecticut and I will be relocating to NC June 2007. I am a single mon with 2 young children. I am thinking about Tarboro. Tired of the city and looking forward to a quieter/slower pace. I am planning to buy a new construction home and would like to know which areas/communities that are good. I've been to Tarboro many times just to visit but never really got a chance to see its entirety. Any information would be helpful.

...forgot about Edenton....very New England town, thriving downtown and very pretty....had my choice I would there.

[ncsu99]

Originally Posted by Tarrant

Tarboro has a bad rep due to the flood of 99. Over and over I have heard it was because Raliegh (up river area) opened up their flood gates so they would not get flooded and subsequently it was the first time Tarboro flooded in over 200 years because of that...and yes because it was a hellacious storm too.

Just FYI... The Tar River flows through Tarboro, the Neuse flows around Raleigh and through Falls Lake, where water had to be released after Hurricane Floyd in '99 to prevent damage to the dam and possible failure. The release of water from Falls Lake subsequently flooded Smithfield, Goldsboro, and other areas in that region. But it had to be done. These areas would have flooded without the water release too; maybe even worse. This was a 500 year storm... obviously unprecedented. The flooding along the Tar River in Tarboro, Rocky Mount, and Greenville was not the result of water released from a lake, just the result of 20+ inches of rain across the entire river basin and an extremely broad, flat floodplain.

[NCTarheel07]

I live outside of Rocky Mount, in edgecombe county. You are right, this is the poorest county in NC and one of the most poorest in the world. Tarboro is a nice peacefull looking town, but people from CT are not gonna fit in good. The schools are bad in my opinion, and if you have kids, they will be getting behind by going to a edgecombe county school(tarboro high, SW edgecombe high, North edgecombe high)

I would suggest somewhere outside of greenville for you, mabey winterville in pitt county, but if you want rural, Tarboro or somewhere in edgecombe county is the place for you. Pinetops is a nice small town, and it fits the quality of the average little calm small town. But if you live there, you gotta drive 10 minutes to tarboro or 20 minutes to wilson just do do your average shopping, that piggly wiggly might not have.

If you are the typical white-new england family, you will not fit in in tarboro. Like previously stated, edgecombe county is mostly a poor african american community- not thats bad or anything, but it does lead to alot of problems that go on in edgecombe county(ex: gang fights at SW edgecombe high school- pinetops) Tarboro and edgecombe county is also a strong christian communty, and they care alot about where you go to chuch, who you know in church, etc. If you are a church goer, then you would like it here.

As for jobs, if you want a job, tarboro is not where to find one, there are no jobs here but bojangles and the other fast food resturants, and piggly wiggly.
You have easy access to get to rocky mount or raligh on highway 64 which is a 2-3 lane freeway from martin county to raliegh and beyone. Tarboro is 10-15 minutes from rocky mount and a little over a hour from Raliegh on 64.

If you are a nurse, then rocky mount-wilson would be idea places to work at.

Stay away from rocky mount as far as living there goes, it is nothing but one big slum and ghetto, and there is nothing to do there.

[linamoore]

NOT TRUE.........Well, to get straight to the point. Are you black or white? Edgecombe is a mostly african american county........THERE A LOT OF WHITES TOO,LIKE ME AND ALL OUR FRIENDS...........
It is not going to be an easy area for outsiders to adjust to.
If you are from there, I am sure that it is great. However, as an outsider, I can't imagine choosing to live there.
Greenville is 40 miles from but about 30 years ahead of Tarboro.WELL THIS IS WRONG TOO,WE LIVE IN TARBORO FOR 8 YRS NOW,MY HUSBAND IS WORKS AT THE EAST CAROLINA U,AND MYSELF STAY AT HOME MOM,NOBODY CAN BE MORE OUTSIDERS THAN US,I LIVE IN SPAIN,FRANCE,NEW YORK BEFORE COME TO TARBORO SO HELLO!!!,AS MY HUSBAND TRAVEL AND LIVED ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!TARBORO IS SO SIMPLE,IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A SMALL TOWN WITH A SIMPLE LIFE,....WE KNOW A LOT OF BLACK PERSONS,AND IS NOT EXACTLY ABOUT COLOR.....THEY'RE DIFFERENT BUT EVERYONE GET ALONG,WE NEVER HAVE A PROBLEM IN 8 YRS ..EITHER OUR CHILDREN OR DOGS OR CAT OR FISH OR MOUSE ......GREENVILLE IS MORE ACTIVE TOWN,A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE HOUSING,IS ONLY 30 MINUTES DRIVE,ROCKY MOUNT ABOUT 15 MINUTES,FOR SHOPPING,MOVIES ECT,TARBORO IS SMALL TOWN WITH SPECIAL CHARM ,ONLY IF YOU LIVE HERE YOU WILL KNOW.WE HAVE A HOSPITAL A WALMART,FOOD LYON,LIBRARY,MUSEUM(2),SCOUTS,CLUBS ECT,PARKS,GYM FOR $10 A MONTH,PUBLIC,CLEAN ,WELL KEPT NICE POOL FOR $25 FOR ALL SUMMER,THE RIVER IS NICE AND JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE GET FLOOD INSURANCE,IS NOT LIKE YOU GET FLOODED EVERYDAY.......THE SCHOOL ISN'T AS BAD,SCHOOL OF EXCELENCE,THERE'S A LOT OF NEW PROGRAMS TO HELP THE CHILDREN,THERE'S RICH AND POOR PEOPLE LIKE EVERYWHERE,YOU CAN FIND A 80,000 SMALL BRICK HOUSE AND LIVE IN PEACE...OR A BIG TURN OF THE CENTURY FOR 300,000,AND LIVE PEACEFULLY.......SO COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF,WE HAVE A COMMERCE CHAMBER THEY CAN HELP YOU PROBABLY.

[stillma]

I stumbled upon this older discussion and was very surprised to read the comments. There are always those who have something negative to say, but in this instance several comments were way off base and certainly out-dated.
Tarboro is a beautiful town who welcomes outsiders, in fact, they welcome everyone. My husband and I moved here 3 years ago and since that time my daughter has moved here from Atlanta and my folks have moved here from Maryland. We love the gorgeous historic district, the town common, the riverfront park, the brand-new sports complex and the downtown is rapidly becoming a popular daytrip destination for antique shoppers and history buffs. It is one of the friendliest towns I have ever lived in and the friendliness is blind to racial differences. Everyone is your "neighbor" and we all treat each other with dignity and respect. There are still very affordable homes here, but it has also become a popular spot for the current trend of house "flipping". Just in the past year I know of several homes that each were purchased for $100,000 or less, renovated and sold for sizeable profits. For those just starting out, you can find a decent starter home in a nice neighborhood for under $50,000.
I agree, our schools here have not been the best but we're all aware of the situation and now that new folks and new tax dollars are arriving, the schools' futures are looking bright. Like many small towns, Tarboro relied on factories for jobs and when the factories moved out of the country for cheap labor, Tarboro's economy felt the crunch.
But that was in the past , as was the Flood of the Century in 1999.
Tarboro is on its way up and now is a great time to "get in on the ground floor". A local developer has just purchased to two shopping malls in town and is remodeling them to suit the new residents in Tarboro. People are discovering this treasure of a town and moving here from across the US. Entreprenuers with web-based dusinesses love it because Tarboro is a Sprint town (now Embarq) and the internet infrastructure surpasses anything you usually find in a town this size.
If you think Tarboro is less than great... you need to come take another look.

[SunnyKayak]

Do your homework on this city

Median house value below state average.
Black race population percentage significantly above state average.
Median age above state average.
Foreign-born population percentage below state average.
Institutionalized population percentage above state average.
Number of college students below state average.
Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.

Last major event
Flood Forecast Mapping, Tar River Basin, North Carolina - Flood Inundation Map Animations: Tarboro, NC (http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ncflood/an_gifs/tarAnim50.html - broken link)
Flood Forecast Mapping, Tar River Basin, North Carolina - 3D Flood Inundation Map Animations: Tarboro, NC (http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ncflood/avis/tr3dflood.html - broken link)
Visible Earth: Flooding in Tarboro, North Carolina

The median income for a household in the town is $34,400, and the median income for a family is $42,938

How the schools rank in comparison to the state
High School grade average High Student Performance - School Level
elementary grade average High Student Performance - School Level
middle school grade average High Student Performance - School Level

[trkdrvr]

Originally Posted by stillma

I stumbled upon this older discussion and was very surprised to read the comments. There are always those who have something negative to say, but in this instance several comments were way off base and certainly out-dated.
Tarboro is a beautiful town who welcomes outsiders, in fact, they welcome everyone. My husband and I moved here 3 years ago and since that time my daughter has moved here from Atlanta and my folks have moved here from Maryland. We love the gorgeous historic district, the town common, the riverfront park, the brand-new sports complex and the downtown is rapidly becoming a popular daytrip destination for antique shoppers and history buffs. It is one of the friendliest towns I have ever lived in and the friendliness is blind to racial differences. Everyone is your "neighbor" and we all treat each other with dignity and respect. There are still very affordable homes here, but it has also become a popular spot for the current trend of house "flipping". Just in the past year I know of several homes that each were purchased for $100,000 or less, renovated and sold for sizeable profits. For those just starting out, you can find a decent starter home in a nice neighborhood for under $50,000.
I agree, our schools here have not been the best but we're all aware of the situation and now that new folks and new tax dollars are arriving, the schools' futures are looking bright. Like many small towns, Tarboro relied on factories for jobs and when the factories moved out of the country for cheap labor, Tarboro's economy felt the crunch.
But that was in the past , as was the Flood of the Century in 1999.
Tarboro is on its way up and now is a great time to "get in on the ground floor". A local developer has just purchased to two shopping malls in town and is remodeling them to suit the new residents in Tarboro. People are discovering this treasure of a town and moving here from across the US. Entreprenuers with web-based dusinesses love it because Tarboro is a Sprint town (now Embarq) and the internet infrastructure surpasses anything you usually find in a town this size.
If you think Tarboro is less than great... you need to come take another look.

I had asked a co-worker about the Tarboro / edgecombe co. area. He lives in Pinetops where he lives @ w/ his family. It is quiet but he was born & raised in Tarboro. I was looking for something deep in the country but found one near the hwy. Yes the town is small but they have a near by food lion, walmart, & other stores. They are building a lowes so the town is obviously growing. My neighbor right now has lived in harnett county all his life & has seen alot of changes. Some for the good & some for the bad. If you are looking @ moving to a small town, research it on the internet & see what the crime rate & population is. That explains a lot. I did before I moved to Nc. I did a lot of searching before I made my move. I have done my search of Tarboro / Edgecombe co. & so far, I am satisfied. The population is not to big & not to small. It is definitely a big difference from the city life so be prepared to adjust to it. Rocky Mount should be out of the question. Good to visit but not to live (so I have heard from people that have moved to a different town). Some of the co-workers live in Rocky Mount & the rest that live in Tarboro, Nashville, Pinetops, & Whitakers used to live in Rky Mt & are glad they moved out.

[Butterfly21]

Trkdrvr
your response along with everyone elses has been helpful. I too will be relocating to the NC area myself. Specifically Whitakers. I hope to find employment and register my child at the Rocky Mount Charter school. Any advise to a newcomer ,oving out of NYC.
Butterfly21

[Ann in Oriental]

We moved to Red Oak (outside Rky Mt.) in '86 from Massachusetts. It was a VERY unhappy 17 years.(moved to Oriental in'03) People were real nice for about 2 hrs. until they found out we were not Baptist.I am "new-age" husband is Agnostic.They were horrible to us and also to our children. I begged dh to leave but his job was good and he was gone so much he didn't get the brunt of it. By the way, he worked in Whittakers. If you are narrow-minded, or an Evangelical Christian you may do okay in that area. Of course maybe you have family in NC. If so that may help. Yes, it's much cheaper then the North East, but it's a VERY high price to pay.