From NY thinking about Raleigh, Charlotte or Wilmington (Durham, Cary: transplants, real estate)

[silverzrod5]

If from New York what do you think?
I am thinking about moving to North Carolina .... either Charlotte, Raleigh or Wilmington?
How is the weather? Mainly in the summer
How is the nightlife in each area is there lots to do? I like the outdoors is there hiking trails? What about the lakes in North Carolina is there any nice ones and things do do at them????

Info on any of the areas would be helpful thanks

[Yflo]

well i will try to make this positive. we moved here 8 weeks ago from western ny. we moved to holly springs just south of raleigh. we visited all the other areas you mentioned but felt this was the fastest growing best place to raise a family. july and august have been so hot all these front porches you see- nobody uses becasue of bugs, and the heat. everyone stays inside. kind of like winter in ny. kids have been released from school early twice for tornado touch downs and the hurricaine situation was scarey. its very pretty, the stores are abundant. love all the organic grocery stores. southern hospitatlity is not here. all the transplants are friendly but alot already seem to have their own bunch of friends. we are heading back next week. we gave it an awful good try but miss way too much back home. good luck to you- the weather has been great but need to go home.

[raleighjayne]

Honestly, I don't think that 8 weeks is enough time to make such a decision. Summer is the worst time to move down here, IMO. It is just way too hot and humid to really enjoy NC. The tornado warnings are such a rarity, but I can understand why they freaked you out. Seriously, I can't remember the last time there was bad weather like that. Tornadoes are usually associated with hurricanes it seems, and they don't happen too often. I'm from the midwest and I feel like we get much less bad weather/storms here in NC than we did back in the midwest.

When we first moved here in 98, we moved to a new neighborhood but our house was the last one built on our street. So most of our neighbors already knew each other and had made their connections so it was a bit harder to make close friends. We built our next house in the early stages of the development and have noticed a huge difference in terms of making those connections.

I'd say give it a little longer, Yflo. The winters are great here and the spring & fall are simply amazing. We don't use our front porch or screened in back porch much in the summer, but we are out there the rest of the year. Your neighbors will start coming out and socializing more now that cooler temperatures are coming.

I'm sorry you've had a rough time of it so far, but it will get better. Really, it will.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by silverzrod5

If from New York what do you think?
I am thinking about moving to North Carolina .... either Charlotte, Raleigh or Wilmington?
How is the weather? Mainly in the summer
How is the nightlife in each area is there lots to do? I like the outdoors is there hiking trails? What about the lakes in North Carolina is there any nice ones and things do do at them????

Info on any of the areas would be helpful thanks

I think you should visit each area and focus on the one that has the best employment opportunities for you. FWIW, I think you will find Raleigh and Charlotte offer more in the way of jobs. I think Yflow's response is not very representative of the majority of transplants in this area. No place is perfect for everyone and we are all entitled to our own opinion of course, but I think it takes more than 8 weeks to adjust to a new area and give it a real try.

Good Luck!

[saturnfan]

Originally Posted by Yflo

well i will try to make this positive. we moved here 8 weeks ago from western ny. we moved to holly springs just south of raleigh. we visited all the other areas you mentioned but felt this was the fastest growing best place to raise a family. july and august have been so hot all these front porches you see- nobody uses becasue of bugs, and the heat. everyone stays inside. kind of like winter in ny. kids have been released from school early twice for tornado touch downs and the hurricaine situation was scarey. its very pretty, the stores are abundant. love all the organic grocery stores. southern hospitatlity is not here. all the transplants are friendly but alot already seem to have their own bunch of friends. we are heading back next week. we gave it an awful good try but miss way too much back home. good luck to you- the weather has been great but need to go home.

Lucky you weren't here for August 2007. Now that was hot.

[MrsRhythm]

Hi! I grew up in western NC (near Hickory) and moved to Wilmington when I was in my early 20's. Spent almost 10 years there before moving to Durham, then Raleigh, then Cary, then Raleigh again I've been in this area for over 6 years now. About the weather, I'd say western NC had the most temperate climate, with mild summers and winters. Wilmington was very hot and humid in the summer, but there was usually always a breeze especially the closer you get to the ocean. The winters were extremely mild. We wore shorts all year round. Raleigh, I've found to be the hottest in the summers. It seems it's always several degrees warmer here than it is in Wilmington, and the humidity seems worse because you don't get the ocean breezes.

As for nightlife, there was zero nightlife where I grew up. But plenty of it in Wilmington, especially downtown and Wrightsville Beach. I think the college being there, and the tourism, help. And here in Raleigh we have tons of things you can get into at night.

And last...outdoorsy things... in Wilmington, the only park I can remember is Carolina Beach State Park. We used to go there for walks and picnics. Mostly, we hiked along the beaches. Everything is flat there, so there's not much in the way of "real" hiking (for lack of a better term). In Raleigh, there are lots of parks with tons of things to do. One of my favorites is Lake Crabtree. You can hike around in the woods and around the lake, ride bikes, rent canoes, and even fish!

I moved to Raleigh because I lost my job in Wilmington with the dot com bust. I was out of work for almost a year looking for office work. At the time, jobs were more plentiful here so here is where I came. I absolutely loved living in Wilmington, and was really nervous about moving here, but I didn't look back and I have no regrets - I absolutely love living here also Good luck with your decision!

[ardita]

Moved here from Maine a month ago. Neighbors have lined up at our door to say hello and be welcoming.Temps were brutal but we left the cold behind by choice. Wilmington very little to do but close to coast; Raleigh has lots of great retail and restaurants, good cultural stuff thanks to the surrounding colleges and great museums, Charlotte a bit more urban, but none anything like a big city.

[NCgirl]

If you can visit all three. Use the search feature and you'll get lots of threads comparing Raleigh and Charlotte.
The Charlotte area has two major lakes, Lake Norman and Lake Wylie. For Hiking - Crowder Mountain or Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parks

Here are a few helpful Charlotte websites:

The U.S. National Whitewater Center
Charlotte Observer Newspaper - Online
Charlotte Culture Guide - Arts events, museums etc.
The Official Travel Resource
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation

[mm34b]

You can compare local weather here:

Historical Climate Summaries for North Carolina | Welcome - Southeast Regional Climate Center

Some areas of the state have summertime highs below 80 degrees.

[Cathey]

We're in the same boat. We want to retire in 10 years, we've been looking at areas. We go every May for the NASCAR race. This year we stayed the week and looked at areas,Apex,Cary,Cornielus,Mooresville,Huntersville ,Davidson,Lake Norman,Lake Wylie. We go back October and are looking at Wilmington and south of Lake Wylie. Our problem is we want to buy land and develop in 8 or 9 years.

I would make a visit or 2 before you decide. Stop at the Chamber of Commerce and a real estate they are the nicest people. Pick-up a local map at the Chamber.
If your from the north as we are (long island, ny) I would worry more about the winter than the summer. Check out "detailed profile" on this site. And keep checking the boards and chatting with all the fine people who share information on this site. I've been looking at theis site for a good year. Althrough this is my first post.


Look closely at each development. We didn't see much outdoor living not many fences (pools, patios, hot tubs,gardens, screen houses). Hubby says we lock ourself in by build fences. I guess our season is so short we take every opportunity to spend it our side.

Like I said we go next month for the week, but we plan on another trip in February (this way we've seen February, May and October). We all know the summer is hot. Good luck in your search.

ps:thanks ncgirl and mm34b, I'll use those links.