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

[nascarnancy]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

We are a new family in our early 30's and we want to live the American dream - home ownership!!! We also want a traditional life where I can be a stay at home mom. Both things that are nearly impossible to accomplish in CA. We thought about AZ about two years ago, waited and as the other person stated, got priced out of there!!! We figured this time no more talking - we just need to do it. Believe it or not, we discovered NC on the internet. We started searching for another state with affordable housing, jobs, nice people, family values, etc and NC kept popping up. We decided to go for it almost blind, we are flying out for a week next month to interview and then driving ourselves out there by the end of summer. No more being scared or nervous. This forum has helped me gain a better insight about what to expect and has eased most of my fears. Every now and then someone will say something that will give me a wave of doubt, then I just remember we are doing what is best for our family and every new place takes time to adjust.

Make sure to take your kids to "The Wooly Worm Festival" in Oct. It's in the mountains, I want to say near Boone? They have caterpiller races for the kids. Your child picks a piller and races them up the strings, it's pretty funny. All the little kids walk around with their caterpillar boxes . They have some booths set up and food. We had fun.

[fastfilm]

Expectations? That's a little hard as we haven't done the formal scouting yet, and I do like to be realistic and practical about important things (to counterbalance the dreamy artist side.) I know what I haven't been drawn to in my many years of visiting family all over the South: summer extreme humidity, people who thought I was "weird," and problems getting rural houses fixed. When another friend suggested western NC as a viable alternative, this seemed to click and the research started.

(The disagreements aforementioned: He liked Italy (!) I didn't, not to live!!! I liked the PacNW, he didn't. He liked Nashville, I don't. I liked Chattanooga, he didn't. So... how about a beautiful Southern area with mountains and a little less humidity, some larger mid-size cities and enough rural areas near those cities that aren't chock full o' cookie cutter houses? [We adore older properties with a bit of land.] Are our expectations realistic here?)

[lovemaine]

We decided to leave WI last year for really no other reason than wanting to live somewhere besides WI. (I lived there for 20 years.) So many of our friends have lived in WI all their lives. While that's great for them, I couldn't imagine spending my whole life in the same place. Hubby and I grew up moving around a lot. Given a choice, I choose the adventure of moving around. We now live in NC after a short stint in NJ. We like NC a lot, but I doubt very much that we'll spend the rest of our lives here. We're not chasing some ideal way of life or wanting to find the perfect place. We just want to experience different things and meet interesting people. Who knows, maybe someday we'll stay put somewhere, but not till we're old and gray. This country is too big and life is too short to stay in one place.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by i'minformed

That isn't population, that's electoral votes though. The only states that saw a decrease in population from 1990 to 2000 where W. Virginia, Iowa, and North Dakota. The reason for the loss of electoral votes is for the growth rate being significantly lower than the national average... making that certian state's population a lesser percent of the national population. Hence, less electoral votes. Between 1990 and 2000 New York State actually grew by almost 1imillion people, but because it was already such a large state, that was only a 5% increase in population while the national average was over 8%

.

According to the Census Bureau, the population of the United States grew 13.1% between 1990 and 2000, while the state of North Carolina saw a population increase of 21.4% over the same time period. The congressional apportionment map was posted only to illustrate which states are hot and which are not.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by nascarnancy

Make sure to take your kids to "The Wooly Worm Festival" in Oct. It's in the mountains, I want to say near Boone? They have caterpiller races for the kids. Your child picks a piller and races them up the strings, it's pretty funny. All the little kids walk around with their caterpillar boxes . They have some booths set up and food. We had fun.

Woolly Worm Festival - Banner Elk, NC

[CAKD]

Why because we live in CA now....nuff said!

[I'minformed2]

Originally Posted by holt4fam

We decided to leave WI last year for really no other reason than wanting to live somewhere besides WI. (I lived there for 20 years.) So many of our friends have lived in WI all their lives. While that's great for them, I couldn't imagine spending my whole life in the same place. Hubby and I grew up moving around a lot. Given a choice, I choose the adventure of moving around. We now live in NC after a short stint in NJ. We like NC a lot, but I doubt very much that we'll spend the rest of our lives here. We're not chasing some ideal way of life or wanting to find the perfect place. We just want to experience different things and meet interesting people. Who knows, maybe someday we'll stay put somewhere, but not till we're old and gray. This country is too big and life is too short to stay in one place.

See, I can respect that, while shuddering at the thought because it's not for me. I dream of the day that I can "discover America" and take a months long roadtrip accross this great nation, but I would want someplace to come home to.

[Redrover]

I just found this site in my quest for information about the Raleigh area being a high risk for hurricanes. Like others on this forum I am considereing a move to North Carolina and Raleigh in particular. I currently live in Houston, TX and have for a very long time. Until last year I never really worried about hurricanes and certainly never in advance of their arrival. Now however I can't stop thinking about them and don't want to go out of the frying pan into the fire so I need to know how Raleigh might be impacted. As to why we are considering Raleigh, there are a number of reasons. After so many years of only 1 1/2 seasons (hot and not quite so hot) we are ready for something approximating four seasons. We want something that is green most of the year (not brown like AZ, CA etc.), has big city amenities, good health care, a viable economy (we both hope to work at something while "retired"), some culture, a decent airport and many other things. We have visited there and plan to again to confirm our initial feelings but we really liked what we saw. So, back to my question: what is the risk for Raleigh during hurricane season and if one hits nearby, what is the likely impact? Thanks

[Bethanytedder]

Raleigh is some 190 miles from the actual coastline. So the chances of a direct hit aren't there. But during Fran, 1996, and Floyd, 1999, while storm surge isn't the main concern but during Floyd it was. I don't think Raleigh faired as badly adn the other 22 counties that were affected but they probably had some damage. Floyd was not that big of a wind maker. The floods is what got to us then. Now Fran was an entirely different matter altogether. And from what I remember, Fran came in through Wilmington and cut a wide westerly course that went through Raleigh and there was considerable amount of wind damage that years. Also over the past couple of years, the courses that the hurricanes have been taking, entering at the Mississppi-Alabama border or the Mississippi-Louisana border has brought what is left of the storm to the western part of the state. Considering the type of terrain that is vastly different than the coastal areas, you can see mud slides off the mountains and I believe Jeanne might have been one of these storms that caused this. Generally speaking the hurricanes that have affected North Carolina either entered the state at Wilmington and moved up the 95 corridor on up to Virginia and finally back out at sea, or they came in at Morehead City. Fran got our fence, the roof and we had leakage as well. We stayed home during it. Brianna was two at the time, then we have Miranda who was about 10, Jennifer, 13, Madison was a newborn at the time, plus 6 adults in our home. I believe she was a cat. 3 when she roared in and we are about 90 miles from the coast and about 50 miles inland from the Pamlico Sound region. A lot of people had damage during Fran right on up through Raleigh and slightly beyond. The children, with the exception of Brianna and Madison, were scared to death. I think after staying home for Fran, I would rethink my options again. Floyd was a true red herring. It came, he saw and he got the heck out of Dodge. But when the water starting rising from two hit by Dennis a month before and then Floyd on top of it, the trouble started about 72 hours after Floyd hit. I have a video of the damage and the flood waters in North Carolina during this period. I can't sit here in good conscious and tell you that Raleigh will never be affected by a hurricane. But I will say this, you would probably be better off in Raleigh than where I live. Good luck. Oh, and even though was had Isabelle in 2003 and Ophelia last year, the most massive damage came during 1999 Floyd, at least more inland. So with a record of a Cat 3 storm hitting once every 3 years, we are on the lookout this year. My best advice is watch the tropical update on the Weather Channel that should be starting on June 1st at 50 minutes after every hour. Also remember that just watching the eye is not going to help you that much. That is just the part of the hurricane they use to determine the point of direct hit. Tropical Storm winds and Hurricane winds can spread out in 100 miles or more in all directions from the eye.

[Steve W]

"I don't personally think moving anywhere MAKES you happy. Changing youir enviroment can be good, but it's not like taking some magic pill. However, if you are already happy with your life, but commute 4 hours a day, have to work your butt off just to pay your mortgage and taxes, can't even downsize because there's no where to go that's cheaper than where you currently live (no where safe, anyway), are sick and tired of the traffic, congestion, overdelopment, rudeness, etc., then it seems like no brainer to me.

I already wave to my neighbors, talk to people on line, smile at people walking down the street and stay involved in my church community. I'm just looking for a place where that seems to be the norm.

NC or any other state alone would not make me happy. BUT, happy + mortgage free + friendly+ warmer climate=ecstatic.

Oh, I also look forward to saying Merry Christmas to people without getting an icy glare. Small, but significant to me."

Jerseymom -- Exactly! I couldn't have said it better!