Many questions..relocating (Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington: transplants, houses, crawl space)

[newmom5497]

Have a variety of questions...relocating this summer from NJ.

--Basements---Just curious. Why don't most newer homes have basements?

--Teaching postions--I am a newly certified teacher here in NJ. Currently contracted as a long-term substitute in my present district. Is it easy to transfer my certification to NC? And how easy is it to find a teaching job? Also--@ what is the starting salaries for teachers?($30,000? )

--Year-round schools. Is this more common than not? Not real keen on this. We have a 9-yr old daughter, plus I teach, and having to go in the summer is a huge minus.

--Property taxes. What is your average annual tax bill?(home value?)

--Cities we have narrowed it down to: Have done TONS of research. Looking at: Clayton(near Raleigh), Wake-Forest, Wilmington(Shallotte), & Greenville.

Planning a 7-day visit in a few weeks. Staying 3 days in Raleigh, 2 days in Carolina Beach and 1 night in Greenville.

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

[annsbike]

I am thinking about relocating also and need any info for monroe or charlotte thanks

[Cindy2366]

I always wondered the same thing about basements too. Thats a good question.

[lovethebigcity]

The only thing I can think of in regards to the basement issue is its so hard to dig in the earth here (its red clay) that its easier not to have a basement. But I'm not sure if thats the real reason. But I do think newer homes are coming with basements because the transplants want to have basements.

[CharlotteAgent]

We do not need basements here we have bonus rooms

[mollie]

The basement question is common but not really easily answered. The coastal builders are fond of crawl spaces and bonus rooms.

Pender Co, just minutes from Wilmington features one of the top school systems in the state. There is no mandatory summer school program.

Our property taxes are very reasonable at .78/cents per $100.

[NCSC]

The ground water level is too high for basements in most of the eastern half of NC. You'll find them more in the western part of the state, but looks like you are not looking there.

You can go to most counties websites and find the tax rate -- -it all depends on the county.

I can't help you with the other questions. Good luck-

[Raleighwood]

NCSC is essentially correct about the Eastern NC water table, but it's also about the terrain of the lot. East of the Piedmont, NC is basically flat as a pancake, so you're just digging a 10 foot deep hole for a basement. Much cheaper just to build up. Western NC has more rolling topography, so it makes more sense in most cases, to do a basement rather than a 10 foot high crawl space, which I've actually seen here in Raleigh on million dollar houses. Guess the builders didn't have a clue about building basements because it looks ridiculous. I'm from just west of Charlotte (foothills, not mountains) and my parents' and most of their neighbors have basements.

[Raleighwood]

newmom, as for your other questions/concerns:
Year-Round schools- Due to the unrelenting growth here, Wake County seems to be heading toward year-round everywhere. Currently only a few schools, but I don't see any other choice. We're now the 21st largest school system in the US, approaching or surpassing cities 5 times our size.
Year round has been great for us though, not necessarily on a convenience level, but on an educational one. Our kids have done much better in year0-round than on a traditional calendar.

Property taxes- Wake County isn't that bad (compare Charlotte), especially if you don't live in a city jurisdiction, which can substantially increase your rate.

[Freedom1]

I'm in Concord, NC [ Cabarrus County ]

I recently move to NC from Philadelphia Pa.

Taxes are 75% to 85% less than what I use to pay.
Housing cost is below average. I paid 67k for 1280 sq ft brand new old house on .78 acres of land. You cannot get that anywhere in Pa.

I don't know about school schedule in Cabarrus County but I do know that they aren't year round school.

About basement...
I've talk to few builders around here. They seldom do build basement because of hard clay soil and rocky terrains.
I've witness bulldozers and cranes moving large rocks [ 4ft to 7 ft diameter] beneath 2 feet of top layer.