North Carolina for us? (Charlotte, Raleigh: transplants, health insurance, condos)

[IllinoisSix]

My wife and I are in the process of deciding whether or not we want to move to North Carolina. We currently live approximately 35 miles east of St. Louis in Illinois. Our town has approximately 7,000 people and it is my hometown.

I moved away during college and the first 10 years of marriage and always wanted to move back home. But after my father passed away, I felt as if I wanted to experience something different with my life. In addition, it is not always east to go back home. My wife feels the same way that I do, but we do have four children (10, 8, 5, 2) and I want to make sure that we find a place with activities for kids and tweens.

We have vacationed in Florida, but have never been to North Carolina. We have done extensive research about the Southeast and feel that North Carolina would be a good fit for us. We will be traveling to NC later in July to get a feel for the state.

I am a high school administrator and my wife is a stay at home mom right now, but is a school psychologist. I have looked at job possibilities for school administrators and school psychologists and I feel that we would be able to find a job.

The only part we have to determine is what part of the state should we consider living in. North Carolina is so diverse with regard to topography it is hard to decide. We do not mind cold weather and can handle humidity in return for more moderate winters. There really is no preference for us (mountains, beach, etc.), but we do want…

-A progressive area. By progressive I mean clean city, with good public infrastructure, parks, recreation activities (ex. YMCA), good police force, etc. I do not mind paying our fair share of taxes for these amenities.

-Good schools. I know this is subjective to the state, but I want a school with a responsive administration, and activities for students to participate in along with good facilities. Do schools offer multiple year contracts for administrators? Do school districts pay for family health insurance for administrators? Do they make TRS payments for administrators?

-We will adjust and adapt to the local traditions and way of doing things.

Any information about the state would be greatly appreciated. I would really like to hear from people that work in schools and learn what their thoughts are about this possible move. I know that there are many questions that I am leaving out, but hope some dialogue is created by this post and more information comes to the forefront.

Sorry for the long post, but after reading post after post, it seems better to get as much info out there for the experts to read and answer.

Thank you in advance for any responses.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by IllinoisSix

[font=Times New Roman]I am a high school administrator and my wife is a stay at home mom right now, but is a school psychologist. I have looked at job possibilities for school administrators and school psychologists and I feel that we would be able to find a job.

With the current budget crunch I was under the impression most public school systems in NC are under a hiring freeze. At least that is the case in Wake County, NC which is home of the largest school system in the state.

If you plan to work for the public school system I would make sure you have a job locked up before moving. Good luck!

[IllinoisSix]

Thank you. I certainly will not move until I have a signed contract from the Board of Education.

Let's assume that I am able to get a job, where should we look to live that meets the criteria that I stated in my original post?

[louise50]

Of course I am biased... but google... Hendersonville, NC! Centrally located to all major cities..
4 distinct Seasons...
Also, google area schools...

[urbancharlotte]

I think you will not regret moving to any part of NC. However, I think your kids will enjoy the Charlotte area best. I have a six year old, and Carowinds (local theme park) keeps him quite busy. Season passes for him, me, and my wife were less than $300. A family of your size would be less than $500 (I think). Here is a link to Carowinds.
http://www.carowinds.com/attractions/index.cfm

There is also the US National Whitewater center.
http://www.usnwc.org/

Lake Norman area (just 20 minutes north of Charlotte)
http://www.queenslanding.com/home.html

The bottom line is that you can LIVE anywhere and be just fine. However, if you like having more things to do close by, I would suggest focusing on Charlotte. For me, North Carolina is quite boring outside of Charlotte (I used to live in Kentucky and I thought that state was quite boring outside of Louisville and suburban Cincinnati).

You WILL most likely enjoy the suburban schools in Charlotte more than you would the schools in the city. Just take my word for it.

Here is a link to the many things there are to do here in Charlotte.
http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/

Aside from things to do, you can't wrong with ANY part of NC. I just prefer the things that comes with being in a midsized city like Charlotte. When you come, be sure to take a driving tour of the state's largest cities (you can see them all in under 5 hours of driving). I think the driving tour will give you a better understanding of this state far better than the internet will. Also, you can take advantage of South Carolina's cheaper property tax in metro Charlotte. Just 15 minutes south of Charlotte is South Carolina. Here is the Baxter Village community in suburban Fort Mill, SC.
Baxter Village | Photo album


Good luck with your search and welcome to Charlotte (ahem, I meant North Carolina).

[CLTKing]

I would go for Charlotte. Although CMS has laid off many teachers lately. Charlotte is the biggest city in the state, and although we are not as liberal as Raleigh (we are getting there, we need more transplants), we are still less conservative than the rest of the South East. Good luck, and do NOT move without a job.

Home

[al_roethlisberger]

If you like the Triangle/Triad area, and you are looking for land, open space, affordability, and more of a small/mid sized town feel, you might consider Sanford.

We are almost smack-dab in the middle of the state, and practically equidistant from Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham/Cary, and Fayetteville. So we have easy ~30min access to any of those metro areas(Greensboro closer to 50 min), and are equally 2-3 hours from beach or mountains.

Sanford has everything you need, being a mid-sized city of around 30k population, but still has a mayor that will wave to you and probably know you by name. And if there is something you "want" that Sanford doesn't have, again, the larger cities are just ~30 minutes away.

We moved here, by way of a quick 1yr in Cary, from San Jose CA and have been very pleased. In the short 3 years we've been here, we've made more friends and gotten more involved in local government, community, etc than we were able to during a decade in the "big city". It really seems like you can make a difference and see progress in these smaller communities.

Being relatively small, Sanford has a variety of housing, everything from rural farms, historic housing, new condos, to golf/gated communities... all within minutes of each other, and we've been very pleased with the schools having three children from 5 to 14yrs of age.

City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website

Live Well Centered.


Here are some maps showing Sanford's relative position in the state:

Live Well Centered.



With it's close proximity to the Triangle(Raleigh/Durham area) and Fayetteville(Ft. Bragg, Pope AFB), Sanford is a popular "bedroom community" for many that work in either area, especially for those looking for a little more "elbow room", affordable housing, and a slower small town pace.

Good luck!
Al

[IllinoisSix]

I wanted to thank North_Raleigh_Guy, louise50, urbancharlotte, CLTKing, and al_roethlisberger for all of their information.

We have begun reviewing the websites and looking at all of the areas mentioned. You guys and gals are great.

[trese]

I suggest the Raleigh/Durham area.

[tinmat02]

Thank you Al, this was VERY helpful to me. I am much more postive now.
Again, thanks
Tina

Originally Posted by al_roethlisberger

If you like the Triangle/Triad area, and you are looking for land, open space, affordability, and more of a small/mid sized town feel, you might consider Sanford.

We are almost smack-dab in the middle of the state, and practically equidistant from Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham/Cary, and Fayetteville. So we have easy ~30min access to any of those metro areas(Greensboro closer to 50 min), and are equally 2-3 hours from beach or mountains.

Sanford has everything you need, being a mid-sized city of around 30k population, but still has a mayor that will wave to you and probably know you by name. And if there is something you "want" that Sanford doesn't have, again, the larger cities are just ~30 minutes away.

We moved here, by way of a quick 1yr in Cary, from San Jose CA and have been very pleased. In the short 3 years we've been here, we've made more friends and gotten more involved in local government, community, etc than we were able to during a decade in the "big city". It really seems like you can make a difference and see progress in these smaller communities.

Being relatively small, Sanford has a variety of housing, everything from rural farms, historic housing, new condos, to golf/gated communities... all within minutes of each other, and we've been very pleased with the schools having three children from 5 to 14yrs of age.

City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website

Live Well Centered.


Here are some maps showing Sanford's relative position in the state:

Live Well Centered.



With it's close proximity to the Triangle(Raleigh/Durham area) and Fayetteville(Ft. Bragg, Pope AFB), Sanford is a popular "bedroom community" for many that work in either area, especially for those looking for a little more "elbow room", affordable housing, and a slower small town pace.

Good luck!
Al