from ct to nc

[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

I am surprized that your car insurance in higher....coming from Ohio, ours is much lower....as our our utilities.

I was VERY surprised by this one too as my father in law told me how much money he saved when the moved down here so I was looking forwar dto paying less. Of course, he lives in the middle of nowhere and we are right outside of Raleigh. I am not surprised by the number of near accidents I have been involved in here though.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

I was VERY surprised by this one too as my father in law told me how much money he saved when the moved down here so I was looking forwar dto paying less. Of course, he lives in the middle of nowhere and we are right outside of Raleigh. I am not surprised by the number of near accidents I have been involved in here though.

I am in Wake Forest (right outside Raleigh)....so it's not like I am in a rural area. I wonder what the diff is.

As for the driving...other then not understanding four way stops, I've not noticed anything worse then Ohio drivers for the most part.

[ajgranda]

Can anyone respond the my cost of living comparisons? I stongly doubt even Cary can come close to this.


QUOTE=ajgranda;380749]Hi all,
I guess the question is what does high mean? Do you have stats? For example, our house is appx. 3,300 sq. feet (excluding basement), we have well water and our own septic, so we don't pay for that separately. But septic is in others taxes and therefore, you have to consider taxes as well. In other parts of Westchester County, taxes may be slightly higher than what we pay based on house value, but they don't pay separately for sewer and garbage = which we do. So, our house costs $17,000 in taxes for 3,370 sq. ft (4,000 incl. basement) - and 2 acres land in a high end (wealthy) town. Garbage is another $48/month or $576 a year. Our heat is electric, which based on my friends that have oil, costs are similar. So, our electric and heat,a/c averages about $390/month or $4,650 a year. Lawn care is about $45 a week and this is basically year round as snow plowing is $45 a storm, so it averages throughout the year (when your not cutting your lawn, your plowing snow), that is another $2,340 a year. Car insurance for relatively new cars (appx. $25k-40 value) is about $1,000-$1,300 a year for excellant coverage and middle age drivers with good records. So, does anyone have stats they can share in Cary, NC area to compare to this?
Also, groceries cost more? Please give some examples to compare. I don't understand why they would as many veggies and fruits, OJ, come from warm weather (southern) states which NC is closer to than CT and NY.

Thanks.[/quote]

[ajgranda]

I think Cary/Triangle area may be expensive/have a relatively high cost of living by NC standards, but not by NYC suburb standards.

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Can anyone respond my cost of living comparisons? I stongly doubt even Cary can come close to this.


QUOTE=ajgranda;380749]Hi all,
I guess the question is what does high mean? Do you have stats? For example, our house is appx. 3,300 sq. feet (excluding basement), we have well water and our own septic, so we don't pay for that separately. But septic is in others taxes and therefore, you have to consider taxes as well. In other parts of Westchester County, taxes may be slightly higher than what we pay based on house value, but they don't pay separately for sewer and garbage = which we do. So, our house costs $17,000 in taxes for 3,370 sq. ft (4,000 incl. basement) - and 2 acres land in a high end (wealthy) town. Garbage is another $48/month or $576 a year. Our heat is electric, which based on my friends that have oil, costs are similar. So, our electric and heat,a/c averages about $390/month or $4,650 a year. Lawn care is about $45 a week and this is basically year round as snow plowing is $45 a storm, so it averages throughout the year (when your not cutting your lawn, your plowing snow), that is another $2,340 a year. Car insurance for relatively new cars (appx. $25k-40 value) is about $1,000-$1,300 a year for excellant coverage and middle age drivers with good records. So, does anyone have stats they can share in Cary, NC area to compare to this?
Also, groceries cost more? Please give some examples to compare. I don't understand why they would as many veggies and fruits, OJ, come from warm weather (southern) states which NC is closer to than CT and NY.

Thanks.

[/quote]

[kmhbt]

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

Oh, you are in for a surprize if you are going to be looking at the schools down here the same way you do in CT. The school systems are just not set up the same way.

Visit the schools....test scores don't tell the whole story by far. Either that or cough up the cash for Ravenscroft because it sounds like you aren't going to find a school you like down here.

Would you mind being more specific? How is the school system not set up the same way (other than the year round school factor)? I would think that SAT scores would be very relevant. If the participation rate and SAT scores are high than generally that would define a good school in my opinion. We are very seriously considering a move to Cary. We are coming from Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland which have some of the highest ranked schools in the country so we are being very careful to move to a comparable school district. Thanks for any more info.

[lynnsprufera]

I relocated from LI NY where our schools were also considered excellent and although the public schools are more diverse, the education can surpass what is offered in the Northeast if you understand the system. They offer a block schedule in HS that allows the students to go ahead of their grade level in almost all subjects. My son was a straingt A student and we relocated for his senior year in HS. He was behind in Math and Spanish. He had to work extra hard to catch up! He was amazed at how far ahead they were. The colleges are also excellent in that you have Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. My son already has a PhD planned for his future and we can afford this here.
For anyone researching schools try www.ncreportcards.org/ and www.wcpss.net and for all public and private options www.schoolguidemagazine.com- (broken link) just click the online version (no need to purchase) Money magazine or one of those publications did a ranking of HS and Enloe came up on the list as one of the best in the country. It is a Magnet school. They also have charter schools that post very high in SAT math.
If you want a free relocation package email me at lsprufera@fmrealty.com

[Tracy_Santrock]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

Where in CT are you from? My wife and I are in Pound Ridge, just north of Stamford. We are also looking to move to the Cary area for economic and quality of life reasons. The housing and taxes here in Pound Ridge are some of the highest in the country. I have found some really nice home sites in Cary priced at $500-$700 range. Let me know if you're interested. We are planning on going out there this summer. N. Scottsdale, AZ is also an option, but a much more expensive one. We have a 10 mos old daughter and education is also a priority given that Westchester schools are some of the best in the country. Just be careful when they say that all of Wake County has excellant schools. I think they are comparing them with the rest of NC.

Good Luck, AL

Al,
I recently worked with several families that are looking to move to Raleigh. They believe the housing market is a much more stable market than in Scottdale, AZ..And they are right.

Westchester Schools are fantastic..I'd place Wake County Schools, specifically Cary schools, right there with them.