Looking for others from Michigan who moved to North Carolina - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

dobguy1 · 01-28-2011, 01:15 PM

Ive been here 5 years....longest time of my life, I live in Durham which is very strange for me......Its a different type of place...my wife likes it, I havent worked in 5 years due to getting sick.......I lost my house and found that there is not alot of work for construction types, alot of attitude....I cant figure out this place but it seems everyone else has got it licked...Im definitly in the wrong place no doubt...Im homesick for san Diego where I grew up.....I am having a difficult time here and depressed over t all.....Its not a good place if u are not from here....not at all....

xXmovieloveXx · 01-29-2011, 12:34 AM

hi--
moved to charlotte from detroit in 2009. so glad to leave detroit mi. it is beautiful here, and the air is much better. we left det because of employment.

my husband had been on 4 interviews in one month here. in det you were lucky for 4 interviews in a year.

we did have a slighly hard time adjusting at first. we never lived so far away fron the mall..lol. we had no money for about 8 months after moving here, and were almost ready to give up and go back. but we found new "peoples". he found work, and i got cable.

for anyone who lived in metro detroit...yall know comcast....time warner is so much better. we found a few good places to eat, and started to learn the busses better. now we can plan to go to northlake, or southpark and we dont feel so shut-in.

i will say this, the sun here...i was unprepared...compared to our weak michigan sun, we had to adjust real fast. but i love it, and cant wait until this cold is done...

there is so much stuff here to do and we havent dont to much of anything yet. i did take a couple of nice pictures coming down the mountain in wv..

zthatzmanz28 · 01-29-2011, 05:28 AM

Wife and I were in the exxodus class of 2009. We love the area, the people and especially the location in realtion to traveling the eastern US. We make weekly roadtrips across the state. It seems like nothing is too far? We love the winters, wonder about the humid summers, and the rain is wonderfully different.
The pay is less, but for us, the taxes are much lower. Just the real estate tax (we paid $4500 on a $110K house) alone was worth the move. We are still amazed that I am making $15K less and we have money left over at the end of the month. Maybe it is because we aren't making six figures (do those folks have higher taxes or just spend more?) or drive new cars (the HUT can be expensive on NEW cars) or live in a $150-$200K house that has higher taxes, but we seem to have less going to taxes than we did in Michigan (we were 100 feet from Detroit border).
We wonder what took us so long to realize the economy was killing us and why we held on so long...

eriol611 · 01-31-2011, 11:33 AM

I've been here about two years and can't wait to get back to Michigan! No offense to North Carolina, but it doesn't seem to be for me. I've had a very difficult time adjusting to the climate (summers waaay too hot for my liking) and the winters are brown and boring. I also miss beautiful fresh water to swim in. I think the problem might be is that I'm in Fayetteville, which is about 360 degress from where I lived before (Harbor Springs/Petoskey, Mi-north western lower peninsula) I imagine I might like living in other parts of NC better. My husband is military, so obviously, we didn't really choose to be here, but we're making the best of it until he's out, I guess. On a high note, I've made a really fantastic lifelong friend through work here, so that is a plus! Also visited Wilmington this past weekend and thought that was great, so like I said, I think my problem might just be Fayetteville.

zthatzmanz28 · 01-31-2011, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eriol611

I've been here about two years and can't wait to get back to Michigan! No offense to North Carolina, but it doesn't seem to be for me. I've had a very difficult time adjusting to the climate (summers waaay too hot for my liking) and the winters are brown and boring. I also miss beautiful fresh water to swim in. I think the problem might be is that I'm in Fayetteville, which is about 360 degress from where I lived before (Harbor Springs/Petoskey, Mi-north western lower peninsula) I imagine I might like living in other parts of NC better. My husband is military, so obviously, we didn't really choose to be here, but we're making the best of it until he's out, I guess. On a high note, I've made a really fantastic lifelong friend through work here, so that is a plus! Also visited Wilmington this past weekend and thought that was great, so like I said, I think my problem might just be Fayetteville.

Possible..not that Fayetteville is all that bad, but it is not like Raleigh or even Clayton. We just moved south of Lillington about half way to Ft. Bragg. Though it is really different from the Triangle area, we still have plans to travel. We are now closer to Seagrove, Asheboro and even Salisbury. If we were even thinking about staying in and around the SPring Lake area on a daily basis I would be worried...there is just so little in the immediate area as for events and activities unless you head for Raleigh?

Karrie73 · 02-08-2011, 08:48 PM

I'm from Ann Arbor and now in Fayetteville.... can we say culture shock? I do miss the safety, fun, youthful and quirkiness of Ann Arbor.

chance2jump · 02-09-2011, 05:55 AM

Exxodus class of 2007, but kicked around Ohio for a few years before heading to NC. I am originally from the Lansing area and the Charlotte region is almost similar in the spread, but more traffic and congestion down here. This is a transplant city, so there is no defined culture, but it is what it is. I miss the Lakes and the fresh water the most. The winters down here are short and sweet - yes, they are brown, but it is warm enough to go out and do things. I love the spring and fall.

My cost of living increased down here speaking as a renter. In MI, I only had to pay rent and received a state tax credit as a renter. In NC, I have personal property taxes on my vehicles, rent is higher and no tax credit as a renter.

mackinac81 · 02-09-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Karnie73
I'm from Ann Arbor and now in Fayetteville.... can we say culture shock? I do miss the safety, fun, youthful and quirkiness of Ann Arbor.

Have you been to Chapel Hill? It reminds me a lot of Ann Arbor. I know this thread is two years old, but I'll respond anyway.

I'm from exodus class '09 (Kalamazoo/Portage) and came down just to get a job. The hardest adjustment was just leaving home. My whole support network was up there and my job and location (Warrenton, a small town north of Raleigh) don't allow me to have much of a social life.

The easiest adjustment is the sunshine and the overall friendly people. The winters are incredible--not too cold and sunny. Love it!