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A quick run down is as follows; I lived in Jacksonville, NC many years ago and have quite a few fond memories of the area. Ocracoke Island is one of my favorite places to get a way too for a week or so. I have always liked the Carolinas, especially North Carolina, but my knowledge of the metro areas is minimal. My girlfriend and I have an opportunity to start new jobs/transfer in Raleigh-Durham as well as Greenville and this got me thinking about other areas such as Winston-Salem/Greensboro, Charlotte, Ashville, Jacksonville, Wilmington, etc. I was wondering if anyone can weigh in with a worth while opinion. I am looking for the facts on the ground (or where I can further my own research) and opinions of the areas. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Well, what specifically are you looking for? I'm sure lots of people could give you general opinions. Like, I like Chapel Hill, but am not overly fond of Fayetteville, but that's not going to help you a lot if you don't like the same kind of things I do.
What do you like in a city? Raleigh and Durham (two completely separate cities, no hyphen, that's the airport) are both great. I like them better than Greenville, but you might like Greenville if you liked Jacksonville and eastern NC. Or you might like Fayetteville if you like the military.
I like Wilmington better than Jacksonville, but I don't know what that means to the OP. He was not discussing a job being a possibility in either place.
If your choice is between Raleigh/Durham and Greenville for a job then I'd choose Raleigh/Durham. There's much more to do there in comparison as well as an international airport for traveling.
If I were to live in Eastern NC and not be on the coast or New Bern, Greenville would be that one and only city I'd be interested in. That said, I would live in Raleigh or Durham or Charlotte where I am now over G-Ville in a heartbeat.
The Triad, while not growing as fast as RDU and Charlotte is still a solid area. It's culturally the most southern among Charlotte and the Triangle.
Asheville and Wilmington are also both great cities and the "anchor" for the Mountains and Coast regions respectively. Asheville is a great beer and music town and the scenery is fantastic. DT Wilmington has the river and the battleship along with being close enough to the coast to get that nice sea breeze. Both cities also have the benefit of having a public 4 year university in the UNC system.
Jacksonville? I really don't have anything to positive to say about that place other than it's close to the coast. Others will disagree but it's not for me. Ditto Fayetteville.
Have you looked at New Bern by any chance? It's smaller than Wilmington, Jacksonville, and Greenville but historically its quite a gem being the first state capital. It also sits on the Trent and Neuse Rivers which IMO helps make it special. I can't say I'd be eager to move there but compared to nearby cities like Jacksonville, Kinston, and Goldsboro I would.
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