Considering relocating to NC (Cary, Asheville: salaries, taxes, living in)

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by Mvn2nc

Gosh- i feel your pain. In a humerous way of course!!!
I love Trader Joes and i myself from Calif. and moving to N.C on June 15th i might stock up before we drive out there!!
Also i will miss my favorite mom and pop Mexican Resturants as well. And the Salsa at Whole Foods- Casa Sanchez they dont have. When i would go visit my son i would pack some in a carryon on ice and alo bring fresh Beckmans Sourdough bread to him.
Another thing we are fond of is Tri tip that they dont seem to have.

Okay after searching all over the place...we did finally happen to find Tri tip at Earth Fare supermarket in Charlotte (Ballantyne area)

[enlightenme]

Originally Posted by Mvn2nc

Gosh- i feel your pain. In a humerous way of course!!!
I love Trader Joes and i myself from Calif. and moving to N.C on June 15th i might stock up before we drive out there!!
Also i will miss my favorite mom and pop Mexican Resturants as well. And the Salsa at Whole Foods- Casa Sanchez they dont have. When i would go visit my son i would pack some in a carryon on ice and alo bring fresh Beckmans Sourdough bread to him.
Another thing we are fond of is Tri tip that they dont seem to have.

I am actually from the area where Tri tip was first made. I thought we would be fine with Tri Tip since they sell it at Costco. Am I wrong to make that assumption??? Is it only in regional Costcos? Don't tell me I won't have Trader Joes and tri tip!!! We are moving in August and I also plan on packing boxes of Trader Joes food with me. It will be hard since most of my favorite stuff is the frozen and cold food items. I know there will be some other big adjustments with moving, but I think I will seriously go through withdrawals without my favorite burritos, Trader Joes and now maybe even Tri tip. Once I get through that, I am very excited about North Carolina and trying their BBQ.

[nascarnancy]

Yes, I too will be stocking up on Trader Joe's items, my husband loves the biscotti's (better that Costco) and my dog loves the peanutbutter dog bones. Have you had the chocolate covered sunflower seeds? They are so good. Thank goodness the have the packaged corn cake from El Torito, I am buying a case of that! The grocery strike out here sucked, that was terrible! I shopped at TJ's and Henry's market.

I forgot to mention Lomeli's our favorite Itailian restaruant, the lasagna is to die for. Never found another restaurant that even comes close. Since we are bringing our travel trailer with us I might buy a tray of the lasagna and pop it in the freezer. I wonder if I can fit 2 trays in the freezer? Hmm I may have to do some measuring tomorrow.

I can definately live without Ikea, I don't know why but I have never liked that store. I hate that you have to walk the whole darned store to find what you are looking for. My brother and sister in law go to Atlanta quite a bit and they always hit Ikea, they love it. As far as retail stores go they pretty much have a lot of the same stores. So that will be fine.

I love antuquing and that definately won't be a problem, although I will miss the Long Beach Antique Market, the have over 600 or 800 vendors. I think the Raleigh Antique Mart has about 200, although that's every weekend and LB is once a month.

[NYer]

Ok, news flash- My husband says that in the N & O yesterday they wrote that Trader Joes is looking for space in Cary... so problem solved.


As to Ikea, their stuff is not of the best quality. Since people come from all over the country & the world for NC furniture I suspect we will all be upgrading our furniture, locally, and will be thinking back to the bad old days times when we had to buy from Ikea!

[nascarnancy]

Originally Posted by NYer

Ok, news flash- My husband says that in the N & O yesterday they wrote that Trader Joes is looking for space in Cary... so problem solved.


As to Ikea, their stuff is not of the best quality. Since people come from all over the country & the world for NC furniture I suspect we will all be upgrading our furniture, locally, and will be thinking back to the bad old days times when we had to buy from Ikea!

Thanks for the Trader Joe's update, great news!

I totally agree with you on the whole Ikea thing. I went on to the Hickory Furniture website and sent away for my catalog which I have already received. I can hardly wait to furniture shop!

[Mvn2nc]

Originally Posted by lovethecarolinas

Okay after searching all over the place...we did finally happen to find Tri tip at Earth Fare supermarket in Charlotte (Ballantyne area)

Thanks so much on that tip!!! Now pun intended!!!
I wonder why that is not typically found there to begin with???

[jasjam]

Originally Posted by jama

Additionally, do not forget the Yankee factor. We did not experience it directly, but many friends of ours were very suprised to encounter the disdain for the "yankees." The Southern folk simply do not like Yankees and they use that term in a derogatory manner. You will miss the North, i gaurantee it. Create what you are looking for in your home town are. Move closer to work, look for a new job, make new friends, etc...

I'm originally from Ohio and I lived in Rural NC (outside of Elizabeth City) for four years. There were almost as many of us Yankees living in the area as there were natives. For the most part, the natives were kind and generous. There was the occasional "Yankee" comment, but most of the time...it was a cultural difference..... we Yankees do tend to talk faster and louder. Some of the old time native southerners still talk about the "War" as if it just happened yesterday....and it is clear that that they still hold a grudge against the north...but what can you do... for them it's about pride and being loyal to your ancestors and heritage.

[BlueRidgeLover]

47 years ago my family, from Florida, began vacationing in Balsam, NC. In 1962 we bought a house there and I spent my summers there from about the age of 8-18. We got in at the right time, dollar-wise. Balsam was, back then, a hamlet, population of around a hundred or so locals with a real country store, a post office and the Balsam Mtn. Inn, which was rather dilapidated but still running.

The majority of the population was Scots-Irish, as indeed, am I. With the exception being that my family moved to Florida from New York/New Jersey before my birth. Moonshine was prevalent and a real problem for these dirt-poor folks. As a child, the adult natives were very friendly toward me. My peers there spent my first ten summers either threatening me or beating me up. Hey, that's the culture. Then something happened (we all grew up, I guess) and they accepted me into the group. There is nothing, at that point, they would not do for me. I felt a warmth and bond with them and their families that I never experienced in Fort Lauderdale.

All my friends in Balsam went straight from high school to Viet Nam. They returned with drug addictions in the same way their parents battled alcoholism.

Balsam, Sylva and Waynesville now - I wouldn't want to live there and frankly I could not afford housing. We tourists changed everything. Progress. Right now the previously unthinkable has occurred: There is beginning a massive development for the wealthy in Balsam. Multimillion dollar homes, gated, with a country club and golf course. Unbelievable. I used to hike through that land. The incredible beauty of nature, flora and fauna. Free for everyone to enjoy. Alone, communing with nature. I love the mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the feeling of freedom and peace that one can still experience when you leave the road and hike off the paths into the woods.

Next week my family will rent a house in Ashe County. Looking at the census data, it seems like perhaps the last little corner in NC that harkens back to days gone by. The median income is half the US average. Meaning, they are all poor. The value of the average home was $58,100 in 2000. I'm checking it out as a possible place I can afford to retire to. I still long for the beauty and solitude of unspoiled places.

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by nascarnancy

Yes, I too will be stocking up on Trader Joe's items, my husband loves the biscotti's (better that Costco) and my dog loves the peanutbutter dog bones. Have you had the chocolate covered sunflower seeds? They are so good. Thank goodness the have the packaged corn cake from El Torito, I am buying a case of that! The grocery strike out here sucked, that was terrible! I shopped at TJ's and Henry's market.

I forgot to mention Lomeli's our favorite Itailian restaruant, the lasagna is to die for. Never found another restaurant that even comes close. Since we are bringing our travel trailer with us I might buy a tray of the lasagna and pop it in the freezer. I wonder if I can fit 2 trays in the freezer? Hmm I may have to do some measuring tomorrow.

I can definately live without Ikea, I don't know why but I have never liked that store. I hate that you have to walk the whole darned store to find what you are looking for. My brother and sister in law go to Atlanta quite a bit and they always hit Ikea, they love it. As far as retail stores go they pretty much have a lot of the same stores. So that will be fine.

I love antuquing and that definately won't be a problem, although I will miss the Long Beach Antique Market, the have over 600 or 800 vendors. I think the Raleigh Antique Mart has about 200, although that's every weekend and LB is once a month.

I thought I was the only one that like those chocolate sunflower seeds. My friends laugh at me they think it gross.

Hey Nancy when you leave your job in Sothern Cal can you refer me

[nascarnancy]

Originally Posted by a1m1700

I thought I was the only one that like those chocolate sunflower seeds. My friends laugh at me they think it gross.

Hey Nancy when you leave your job in Sothern Cal can you refer me

Sorry, the job has already been filled.

Well just before we put our house up for sale in Feb, I told the 2 guys I work for that I wasn't resigning yet but that they needed to start thinking about what they wanted to do as we were putting the house up on the market the following week. The company and my bosses have been great to me and I just didn't want to turn in my 2 weeks and leave them high n dry. I do the budgets, plan the sales meetings, tradeshows and a million other things. So we actually hired a gal who already worked in house, she started back in June. It's great because we have more than 2 weeks to train someone. So many details in meeting planning and tradeshows.