To all those seeking to live in NC, what exactly is it that you are after? (Charlotte: environment)

[laschin1]

we are looking for a place that we can set up a service business that would service the ppl with money. either landscaping,property management.. and a place that could enable one of us to get minor roles in movies..
we hear that wilmington is the place to be with a great downtown but jobs are not available which is scary..
we do hear that wilmington is getting expensive and is away from the rest of the state..is this all true?

[Carolina_native]

North Carolina is the place to be. Its the greener pasture for now. But with all the growth, and rising cost of living....

Many of the newer places that are being built are rather upscale, and are stores Ive never heard of before. Many of the new homes are well beyond me being able to afford them, and you need to be looking at about $250,000 now for a decent house with a yard - yards seem to be optional these days .

Lake or golf property? In the millions.

[TIlover]

^^ yes. Wilmington is about 2 hrs from Raleigh, which would be the closest "big" city. I'd pick a different place to live because it is getting pretty expensive to live there and jobs are harder and harder to come by.

[TIlover]

My first post here. I have lived in a resort town, Destin Florida, since 89 but have seen this coastal city's charm get paved over with condos and the invasion of the "tourons". I have also survived numerous hurricanes. Property taxes and insurance are off the charts and we are looking at yet another dicey hurricane season.

I miss four seasons and low-density living. As long as I can get to a good air hub like Charlotte I don't feel landlocked.

Several Floridians in this area are getting fed up and looking elsewhere.

I may not be able to check forums very often so accept my apologies in advance for tardy responses.

This is exactly what's going to happen to this area.

We have very little culture unless you consider drinking, hunting, and snowmobiles culture.

There is no defined culture here, either, at least not in the bigger towns. The small towns are like yours - culture is hunting, drinking, NASCAR, etc.

sorry for the double post!

[NC man]

Originally Posted by DawnW

here are some reasons we moved:

Cost of living
Housing costs contuing to rise
Good job opportunities
Clean air
Room to move around
Decent sized city but some rural areas as well


Dawn

These are good reasons to move, but lets scratch off what no longer is relative to NC Cost of living is not low in NC and its rising every day. Housing is skyrocketing in NC heck people are buying 300 plus dollar houses built with a landfill view in the back yard and water treatment plant across the street( Bedfordfalls in WF) In past years this would only be a trailer park. Clean air, NC had poor air quality way before the influx of transplants, one of the worst for ozone and pollen. Room to Move around Ya right, Not in the metros. last but not least desent size city some rural , you got that one right. One out of six not to good, so there must be some other reason people are moving here, maybe not doing the proper research before diving in on what transplants developers are peddling. No one is going to stop people moving here and Ill cope because its my home, but all the people who have the choice to choose were to live knowing what the future holds (over crowding high taxes poor schools and no proper growth management ) would choose a place that had controled growth and lower costs of living with schools that are improving. These reasons people list are not here any more ,that was two years ago and wait and see whats here in two years from now. what your complaining about now thats what.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by NC man

Housing is skyrocketing in NC ....

What part of NC do you mean? I live in the Triangle and I don't see skyrocketting prices. I see homes appreciating at 3-5% a year. Seems like modest steady appreciaiton to me. Not exactly what I would call skyrocketting. Sure there are a lot of expensive homes being built, but you don't have to buy and expensive home. There are plenty of Homes below $200K in the Triangle. If you want to be close to RTP or downtown, you will pay a premium and be pushed out of the $200K range, but in what metro area would that not be the case?

[autumngal]

Originally Posted by NC man

maybe not doing the proper research before diving in on what transplants developers are peddling.

That actually is a scary thought. I now refuse to do business with transplant builders and developers. As I, myself, have found time and time again they are trying to get these houses up as fast as they can and throw the value on them so fast, yet the quality is not quite there as compared to a local builder who cares about protecting his reputation and their clients investment.

I just dislike people trying to take advantage of people. But I suppose that's business for ya with some.

[mba2007]

Originally Posted by i'minformed

I'm just curious. I see so many people on this forum and well, on my street, that come to NC in droves and just think this area is so great. I hear many different things, weather, economy, qualiy of life. But I was just wondering if some of you could be more specific? What about the weather, what about the quality of life. What is it exactly that you feel you will have so much better here than wherever you live now?

I live in Los Angeles, CA and with a graduate degree I would not be able to have the quality of life that I am looking for because of the costs of living. I also would liek to start a family oneday and would prefer a city that has a good educational system. I have to be honest the weather in NC is not really what I am used to compared to California, but i know that my chances improve of owning a home the father I get away from the west coast. Here what you pay for a home which has a very similar floor plan and a lot more land is half of what I would have to pay in California.

Also, you are about a day and half drive away from my family whereas from California it is about a 4 to 5 day drive (I prefer driving as opposed to planes).


Your state has so many bonuses including its beauy that I could not understand why people would not want to live here.

[Father John]

I live in the desert (Mesa AZ) and want climate change, lower cost of living (for a fixed income - I just retired), mountains, hiking trails, fishing opportunities, photography (new places - I've done AZ), and closer to my father (Massachusetts) and my wife's parents (Michigan).

We're looking for quiet (here is a City of 500,000 in a metro area of over 2 million). We like arts and crafts, volunteer opportunities (we do caring clowning in hospitals and nursing homes and I play Santa), and we like higher education (hence Asheville area and Boone are of interest).

North Carolina fits the bill.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by Father John

I live in the desert (Mesa AZ) and want climate change, lower cost of living (for a fixed income - I just retired), mountains, hiking trails, fishing opportunities, photography (new places - I've done AZ), and closer to my father (Massachusetts) and my wife's parents (Michigan).

We're looking for quiet (here is a City of 500,000 in a metro area of over 2 million). We like arts and crafts, volunteer opportunities (we do caring clowning in hospitals and nursing homes and I play Santa), and we like higher education (hence Asheville area and Boone are of interest).

North Carolina fits the bill.

Tried Eastern Tennessee? Johnson City - ETSU UT at Knoxville