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My husband and I have talked over the years about relocating our family to either North Carolina or now possibly considering South Carolina as my sister-in-law might be moving there. Currently we live close to Saratoga springs, New York and would want a similar vibe.
For anyone who has not been to Saratoga, is it is a small city with immaculately kept streets. A large park downtown that contains an old working carousel. Lots of boutiques and dining, a very walkable main street. Flowerbeds planted in the summer. Lots of coffee shops, farmers markets in warm weather. Eclectic, artsy feel with organic food stores. The city library (pre-Covid) had a café in the inside where you could get lunch or coffee.
Another similar place (although larger than Saratoga) is Burlington, Vermont. Same idea with a very walkable main street with lots of shops, boutiques, and restaurants.
Mainly looking for a walkable,clean, family friendly, downtown with activities and events for kids. Places to eat. And a place that prides itself on being clean and well cared for. (Streets paved, sidewalks not in need of repair, flowers planted in springtime, etc) and relatively low crime.
I hate to leave the area we live in but there are many reasons why we have considered it, one being weather.
What larger towns or smaller cities might be similar to these places in the Carolinas? Good school districts DO matter as we have three children. Would love to be advised in one way or the other what to look at and what not to look at! We are concerned about being in an area that gets severe hurricanes.
What about jobs? I assume you're working...will you have to find new jobs?
In general, what you're looking for probably doesn't exist, frankly. Saratoga Springs is a pretty unique place...an upscale resort city thats racially homogeneous, has a high per capita income, lots of tourism, low poverty rates, etc. You *might* be satisfied with Cary, NC or Greenville, SC, but they won't be anywhere near an exact match. There are some very small places like Highlands, NC that have some of the things you're looking for, but Highlands only has about 900 full time residents, and I doubt the schools are that great.
As far as weather, have you ever experienced a summer in the south? You might find the heat and humidity to be just as daunting as a NY winter.
Pinehurst has a resemblance to a New England town, and is walkable with cute shops. However, one issue would be jobs. It is possible to commute to Fayetteville if the wage-earner can't find a job in Pinehurst. The other issue is that it is a great place for retirees, so you might not find enough children in the neighborhood. The schools are decent though.
You might also look at the Fearrington Village area of Pittsboro in the Triangle. It is much smaller, but probably has more children. Chatham County schools are not as highly regarded as Wake County schools.
Apex in Wake County might also work. Apex has a small walkable downtown with a farmers' market and it should be child-friendly. The housing is mostly bland suburbia.
Last edited by goldenage1; 04-05-2021 at 06:39 AM..
You could also look at Wake Forest. It has a walkable town center with organic food stores, etc. There is also a huge planned community called Heritage Wake Forest that provides numerous activities for kids.
If you are interested in horses and golf, Pinehurst isn't a bad suggestion. I imagine there may be some overlap with Saratoga. It is probably more along the lines of "gracious and genteel southern living" and does attract retirees, but it is home to many families.
If you want to be around lots of New Yorkers, pick Cary, or Apex, or Wake Forest, or anywhere near Raleigh, really. Very suburban. Kind of the epitome of suburban, really, but your emphasis on "immaculately kept streets" makes me think of Cary. They have pretty strict design codes.
If you want to be near a lake, you might check out Davidson near Charlotte. It's home to a prestigious small private college of the same name.
You may need to post on the subforums, too, especially the Raleigh and Charlotte subforums. The Raleigh one is especially active and there are many folks who have relocated from NY who may have been to Saratoga and get where you are coming from.
What about jobs? I assume you're working...will you have to find new jobs?
In general, what you're looking for probably doesn't exist, frankly. Saratoga Springs is a pretty unique place...an upscale resort city thats racially homogeneous, has a high per capita income, lots of tourism, low poverty rates, etc. You *might* be satisfied with Cary, NC or Greenville, SC, but they won't be anywhere near an exact match. There are some very small places like Highlands, NC that have some of the things you're looking for, but Highlands only has about 900 full time residents, and I doubt the schools are that great.
As far as weather, have you ever experienced a summer in the south? You might find the heat and humidity to be just as daunting as a NY winter.
So your reply to my post is not very encouraging LOL. Obviously we would need jobs, but this would be an issue no matter where we move to. I am in the veterinary field and so usually these jobs are fairly abundant most places you go. My husband works in engineering. As for weather, we do not want to move to the deep South because no I do not like really extreme heat, however I can deal with extreme heat much more than ice and several feet of snow. It is in the 90s very frequently in upstate New York where I live, so I’m used to dealing with heat and as long as I’m in the air-conditioning I am OK. Would much rather have a milder winter where it’s in the 40s or 50s and not subzero temps..Especially as we get older. I despise the winter months here from Nov-March. My husband and I are 41 and 40 years old respectively so not there yet, but someday we obviously will be.
I’m not sure how often you have visited Saratoga, however there definitely are areas with poverty, we actually have had an issue in the last few years with a fairly large homeless population. The average household income in the city is high, but I also should make it clear I do not live within the Saratoga city limits. I am about 15 minutes away. I’m not looking for a wealthy or upper class area, but rather reasonably middle class which is where my family would fit in. Anyway as others have suggested I will look into Cary, North Carolina. Do you know anything about the schools in the Cary area? As someone else suggested I will repost on the forums for specific cities next.
So your reply to my post is not very encouraging LOL.
I'm just being realistic. No negativity intended.
Quote:
Originally Posted by espressoyourself22
we would need jobs, but this would be an issue no matter where we move to.
Yes, it surely would, but not all places have equal job opportunities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by espressoyourself22
is in the 90s very frequently in upstate New York where I live, so I’m used to dealing with heat and as long as I’m in the air-conditioning I am OK.
Combine 90 degree temps with 90 percent humidity and its an entirely different thing. If you haven't experienced it you should before deciding to move.
Quote:
Originally Posted by espressoyourself22
as others have suggested I will look into Cary, North Carolina. Do you know anything about the schools in the Cary area?
Schools in Cary are excellent. One big difference between NC schools and many northern states is county-wide school districts in NC. Good source of school data can be found here:
I went to college near Saratoga and spent time there every summer for 20 years. I can't really think of a place around here that has the same vibe. Maybe Hillsborough would come close. If you want to live in the Triangle then I would stick close to the down town areas of any of the towns. Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, etc all have small downtowns, Cary's is growing. The little downtowns around here remind me of northern towns. I wouldn't discount Raleigh itself either, which is more suburban than not (actually parts of Raleigh remind me of Albany). Just about the entire area is clean, well kept, family friendly. What's your price range?
We do get the effects from hurricanes here (and tornadoes, which might be a surprise to you).
Don't move here without jobs. We have three world class universities right here in the Triangle and they are turning out capable grads, as are the other UNC schools, and the alumni network is strong.
Another major difference with North Carolina is that most new developments have HOA's. These HOA's are often the main source of entertainment for the kids, rather than towns or counties. They will have the pools and playgrounds, and the larger ones will sponsor social events like fun runs.
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