Pro and cons to NC (Charlotte, Raleigh: homes, unemployment, to buy) - City-Data Forum

tday · 04-01-2007, 03:50 PM

Can someone tell me the Pros and Cons of moving and living in North Carolina?

friendnc · 04-01-2007, 05:13 PM

The pros: NC's large metros (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro) have good job opportunities/things to do, it has three very nice small metros (Asheville in the mountains, Hickory in the foothills, and Wilmington on the coast), lots of beauty, nice sunny 4-season climate (varies a good bit, though, from the coast to the mountains as far as snow/heat/humidity), very nice people, the state's generally affordable, lots to do recreationally especially outdoors, a lot of variety of very highly regarded places to live (big/small metros, small towns, retirement areas).

The cons: The Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington metros are growing a bit too fast. More needs to be done to let the infrastructure catch up with the growth. The coastal areas are hurricane prone. Some rual areas aren't enjoying some of the economic benefits as the larger areas.

Overall, NC is a wonderful state. Not perfect, but IMO, the best state in the nation! I love it!!

lovesMountains · 04-01-2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tday

Can someone tell me the Pros and Cons of moving and living in North Carolina?

Pros:
Beautiful mountains

Many places to hike, camp, fish
4 seasons, but not too much snow - early springs
Good people, family oriented communities
low unemployment
nicely situated between Atlanta and D.C.
Some of the top colleges in the country

Cons:
The secret is out, and now the floodgates have opened...
Such huge increases in population, schools and infrastructure in some areas are being strained.
Growing illegal immigrant problem (but hey, they want to live in a nice place too!)
NC used to be a more "middle class" state for the most part, but is quickly becoming a place of "haves" and "have nots", which is adding to social tensions.

Apple Annie · 04-01-2007, 05:25 PM

Right on ... to everyone else thinking of coming here: you're tooooo late. Sorry. The herd is now headed for eastern TN and Kentucky.

It's like we threw a party for 400 people and 10,000 showed up.

BrianH1970 · 04-01-2007, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apple Annie

Right on ... to everyone else thinking of coming here: you're tooooo late. Sorry. The herd is now headed for eastern TN and Kentucky.

It's like we threw a party for 400 people and 10,000 showed up.

I've seen a line like that somewhere before.....

Apple Annie · 04-01-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianH1970

I've seen a line like that somewhere before.....

Right Brian ... it's a great line -- I stole it from you ... and changed the numbers to protect the innocent.

Carolina_native · 04-01-2007, 07:42 PM

The other posters pretty much got it right...

I can really only speak for Charlotte and the Lake Norman area since I live up here, but I think now some people are beginning to look elsewhere than these areas because its certainly not as cheap as it was even a year ago to buy here in the Lake Norman area.

I travel to Hickory alot which is northwest of Charlotte in the foothills. Ive noticed more develoment (commercial and residential) slowing making its way in over the past year in Hickory. And more people I guess are choosing places like Hickory or Lenoir because the land and homes are alot cheaper than Lake Norman. The problem as has already been stated is that alot of the jobs stay in Charlotte, and therefore it limits peoples options of where to live.

Retirees seem to be relocating more to the foothills than other categories of newcomers. And as the tremendous growth of the Charlotte and Lake Norman area continues to spill out further, I expect Hickory and Lenoir areas to actually benefit more from the overgrowth than seeing negatives. Growth seems to be affecting standards of living to a degree in the more popular Huntersville and Mooresville areas.

But still predictions of population of Charlotte are for it to continue increasing at high rates and set records for the future...

backtofla · 04-01-2007, 10:01 PM

really? kentucky is a hot spot too now? wow, so many states are now hot spots that were once really never considered "hot spots." nc/ga/ky have always been around, i guess ppl are just now exploring them??? enlighten me on kentucky's popularity --- just b/c i'm curious, that's all...

nani · 04-01-2007, 10:16 PM

I am from Jacksonville N.C, it is about 20 min from the coast. I moved to FL 3 years ago and am still homesick for the seasons , mostly the fall. Jacksonville is a military town,(Camp Lejune). It is on the coast right beside Wilmington(where they film movies, you could be an extra!) and Swansboro (great little shops) I also miss the kicked backed ways, and you can't beat the hospitality in most places. One thing I like best about the state is, you have mountains on one end and the beach on the other. So, now my husband and I are headed back up that way and have picked a spot in Ga. 3 hours away from the NC state line. Good enough for me, at least I'll have my seasons back.

backtofla · 04-01-2007, 10:25 PM

do you even have "seasons" that close to the coast of nc??? i have just been as far east as like the piedmont area, and in sept., it felt just like fla. it's already in the mid 80's in raleigh now, so i thought the closer east, maybe even warmer??? i like warmer weather, so i am just curious. if it could be a high of 80 and a low of 63 at night, all the time, that would be just fine with me. the heck with anything below 60.