Best places to live in NC?? (Charlotte, Raleigh: insurance, low crime, student loans)

[al_roethlisberger]

If you are looking for a small town feel with mid-sized(30k pop) town features, one might consider Sanford. Being centrally located to Raleigh/Durham(30min), Fayetteville(20min), and Greensboro(50min) one has many work/play commute options to the larger metro areas while maintaining a residence in a smaller town atmosphere.

We moved to Sanford from San Jose, CA (after a year renting in Cary) and have really enjoyed our choice.

City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website

Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce

Downtown Sanford, INC. | Sanford, North Carolina

Live Well Centered.

Good luck!
Al

[chance2jump]

Still comes back to: best place to be in NC is where you have a job.

[findinghope]

Durham

[carolinadreamin']

Originally Posted by Francois

Charlotte is the only really "large city" in NC. Raleigh is #2 in population, but it is by far mostly suburban/sprawl, and the downtown is more like that of a "small city". Beyond Charlotte, you're looking at Atlanta...there really aren't so many "large cities" in this corner of the US.

As Charlotte sprawls from Lake Norman to Rock Hill SC, and from Gastonia to
Union County. It does have a bigger downtown though.

[carmenza]

hi can someone tellme how is the school system in Raleigh, Garner ,Cary or Apex. we are thinking to move to NC and we don't Know what is the best areas to live, help us

[niceguy19125]

Originally Posted by carmenza

hi can someone tellme how is the school system in Raleigh, Garner ,Cary or Apex. we are thinking to move to NC and we don't Know what is the best areas to live, help us

Nearby Chapel Hill has the best school district in the state and one of the best in the US. The others are okay.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by carmenza

hi can someone tellme how is the school system in Raleigh, Garner ,Cary or Apex. we are thinking to move to NC and we don't Know what is the best areas to live, help us

All of these places share one school system, Wake county, as the schools in NC are mostly county-based. Currently Wake County schools are in a state of flux because the school board just "changed hands" as it were, with a new majority taking over and making changes as far as student reassignments. Skyrocketing growth in the county has caused overcrowding in most schools, necessitating sometimes frequent reassignments to keep up with growth. I would do a web search on "wake county school board" to hit the major issues going on right now.

Chapel Hill has what are generally considered the best schools in NC, but where would you be moving? Do you have a job lined up? If not, you need to worry about that first. If not, why are you looking at NC? The state is not homogeneous, so the coast is very different from the mountains and piedmont; urban areas are different from rural areas; conservative parts different from liberal parts. The "best place to live" is highly subjective on what a person is looking for and might or might not be in NC, depending on what specifically you are looking for.

[PrincessJoyce]

Welcome to North Carolina!! If you are looking to move to a large city choose either Charlotte or Raleigh. A mid-size city: Greensboro or Winston-Salem. Small and upcoming town: Ashville or Cary. Here is some school information for you to look at.

North Carolina Public Schools North Carolina Schools
Asheville City Schools Asheville Schools
Home Charlotte Schools
Wake County Public School System Raleigh Schools
Cary Schools - Cary North Carolina School Ratings - Public and Private Cary Schools
GCS Online Greensboro Schools
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools - WSFCS (http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1 - broken link) Winston-Salem Schools

After all that research, it is time to take a break. That is if you are in town.
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Much success to you in this new year!

[mabelle]

My husband and I are looking for a place to housesit for about 3 to 6 montths around Charlotte. We wnt to move to the area from rainy Oregon because our children and grandchildren's are there and housitting would be a great way to look over the area and look for a job at the same time. We are close to "retirement" and are honest and reliable people. We housesat before and have experience at it. Maybe someone is moving overseas or need a sabatical from their jobs and do not want to leave their house empty. Thanks

[ashley.boldman]

Originally Posted by kris10xxx86

My husband and I would like to settle down in NC to raise a family in the near future and we were also looking for the best area in NC to live. I'd like to be a short drive to the beach and the mountains.. kind of in the middle, but closer to the beaches would be nice! Some areas were thinking about are Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, Apex, New Bern & Fayettville.. any reccomendations? I'm a nurse and he is in the Navy, but will be leaving the Navy when we do move to NC so that's no concern. We like the small town feel, but access to amenities, shops & restaurants and a safe area to raise kids and good schools. Thanks

Did you ever decide on where you were moving in NC? I just started looking and your amenties that you mentioned above are about 100% on the dot where we would like to relocate too (beach, mountains, small town feel, shopping and so on)? I would love to hear your opinions and posts.