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We came down for the third time to Wake County from July 10 - July 24. I thought I would share our thoughts here as I lurk here all time time and post occasionally! We stated in the Marriot Residence Inn in Morrisville. Very nice place and we were able to bring the dawg! A little far from some of the places we looked at, but still happy we stayed there and would again! Here are my observations:
In general, people were friendly. That being said, I will elaborate. Cashiers will talk with you, people will wave when you drive by, and waitors and waitresses were very pleasant and not annoyed if you asked for something. :-) People also had a "softer" look to them. Once again, I will elaborate! Here in NYC, many folks look like they will rip your head off, or...if you take a second to put your change in your purse on the line at Dunkin Donuts they are ordering over you and giving you a nasty look. No flames here please, I have lived and worked in every borough of NYC (except the Bronx) for 40 years and this is MY experience.
On Friday and Saturday nights we hit the movies, Malls and Dairy Queens..places we thought we would find teenagers and we did! Teenagers looked clean cut, didnt have gobs of make up, highlighted hair, stoned looks. I didnt see hoards of punks being rude or disrespectful and loud. If anyone knows where these types of kids are please tell me, as we looked all over and couldnt find them.I'm guessing they are somewhere out there. No place is perfect or immune from issues. It is just hard to be scouting out a new place from so far away!
We looked at many subdivisions, Heritage, Crenshaw, Northampton, Bowling Green, Austin Creek, Highland Creek, A few in Apex, drove though several in Morrisville. I didn't find any empty weed bags and blunt papers on the street and I looked everywhere. Thats common place here so again, please don't flame me! Our price range is 250,00 or less and that is do-able. House prices seem to be down compared to last summer. We also looked at Bedford which we love but was priced a little too high for us for the type of home we are hoping for.
Wake Forest seemed very family orientated to me. For example, we went to Goodberry's on a Friday night with our three daughters for yummy ice cream! There were many families there with children of all ages getting ice cream! I love to see that! Don't see that here where I live so that is why it struck me.
Groceries and eating out are very comparable in cost to where I live! Gas wasn't much cheaper. It was HOT HOT HOT when we were there. It's a dryer heat. Didn't feel humid to me probably cause NYC is surrounded by water so our humidity is much different, IMHO.
We went to the Marbles Museum in Raleigh and my 5 and 6 year old LOVED it!!
Everything is air conditioned there it seems. Here, our Dunkin Donuts and little stores have no a/c so it is like 125 degrees when you go in during the summer.
Most parents I spoke to like the year round school. I think I will like it for my daughters. My older daughter starts college in 2011 so we are trying to figure out what colleges she should apply for! She is interested in nursing and it became a little overwhelming not being from the area.
We drove by Wake Med, Rex, Duke. I am a nurse. Not sure where I would work and how the commute will be.
Trying to sell our house and then we will be moving down. We have so much to look forward to!
Our trip went by very fast and before we knew it we were on the I95 coming home.....
Thanks for the update! We were also just scouting in July, but we didn't pay as much attention to the "people" as you did, so it's nice to hear such pleasing comments.
Funny -- I had lunch today with an old friend from up North. She lives in Albany and is visiting a relative in Cary.
SHE HATES IT HERE! She says it's way too hot (for gardening or playing tennis), and there's nothing to do! She likes Albany because she has plenty to do but can take a train to NYC or Boston for big-city fun. She said Cary is SO dull. She did say Apex was cute.
I told her that the prevailing opinion is that everyone here thinks that everyone from the Northeast thinks this is the Promised Land.
I just wanted to share that there is one person in the Northeast who hates Cary and is perfectly happy in the Cold Miserable North.
But it sounds like the perfect place for you, SINY2NC. Welcome!
Funny -- I had lunch today with an old friend from up North. She lives in Albany and is visiting a relative in Cary.
SHE HATES IT HERE! She says it's way too hot (for gardening or playing tennis), and there's nothing to do! She likes Albany because she has plenty to do but can take a train to NYC or Boston for big-city fun. She said Cary is SO dull. She did say Apex was cute.
I told her that the prevailing opinion is that everyone here thinks that everyone from the Northeast thinks this is the Promised Land.
I just wanted to share that there is one person in the Northeast who hates Cary and is perfectly happy in the Cold Miserable North.
But it sounds like the perfect place for you, SINY2NC. Welcome!
To each his/her own. I have a family member who lost their job in NC and found one in Albany. They absolutely hate it there. In their opinion it is too "blue collar." Most of the youngish and educated have left in search of better opportunities elsewhere. They find the entire area to be totally depressing and can't wait to move back to the Raleigh area.
I find your statement that "everyone from the Northeast thinks this area is the promised land" inaccurate and rather condescending.
Not true at all. In my case, we've researched the area (and several others) very thoroughly and my husband has been offered a job that will in fact be a promotion. We have visited Cary several times a year for several years to see family and have loved all our time in NC. However, to think that anywhere is the promised land would be naive. Life is what you make of it.
It is very evident in many of your posts that you are very unhappy here. Why not move back to Upstate NY....?
Perhaps some people just like complaining anonymously in hopes of scaring off potential transplants.
Thanks for the update. It's good to hear you had a good experience. It's helpful that you were so observant. That's the one thing I always check out when visiting new places. I did notice the same when visiting there. Everyone was polite and very helpful. Good luck selling you home in NY and good luck moving to NC.
I have been doing some research regarding year round schools. I previous school district followed a year round schedule but it seems different. Here we started mid July, had two weeks of in October, three in December and two in March and then ended end of May. We did not have tracks, so that will be different.
Who said I was unhappy here? And you're not even here and you're telling me to go back where I came from? Hmmm.
And you're complaining anonymously about someone complaining anonymously?
LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zut_Alors!
To each his/her own. I have a family member who lost their job in NC and found one in Albany. They absolutely hate it there. In their opinion it is too "blue collar." Most of the youngish and educated have left in search of better opportunities elsewhere. They find the entire area to be totally depressing and can't wait to move back to the Raleigh area.
I find your statement that "everyone from the Northeast thinks this area is the promised land" inaccurate and rather condescending.
Not true at all. In my case, we've researched the area (and several others) very thoroughly and my husband has been offered a job that will in fact be a promotion. We have visited Cary several times a year for several years to see family and have loved all our time in NC. However, to think that anywhere is the promised land would be naive. Life is what you make of it.
It is very evident in many of your posts that you are very unhappy here. Why not move back to Upstate NY....?
Perhaps some people just like complaining anonymously in hopes of scaring off potential transplants.
Funny -- I had lunch today with an old friend from up North. She lives in Albany and is visiting a relative in Cary.
SHE HATES IT HERE! She says it's way too hot (for gardening or playing tennis), and there's nothing to do! She likes Albany because she has plenty to do but can take a train to NYC or Boston for big-city fun. She said Cary is SO dull. She did say Apex was cute.
I went to college near Albany and your friend is either making the best of it because she can't move or loves gray, gloomy weather for at least half the year. I can't believe she can find more to do up there than down here (unless you were holding out on her) and it's easier to take a 90 minute flight to NYC than to drive there from Albany.
My DH drove back to NY last Sunday and made it to Delaware in 7 hours and then it took him 5 hours to go the last 135 miles.... one of many, many reasons we are THRILLED to be out of the northeast. Call it North Carolina, call it the Triangle, call it the Promised Land, if you haven't lived in metro NY, don't knock our love for this place
I went to college near Albany and your friend is either making the best of it because she can't move or loves gray, gloomy weather for at least half the year. I can't believe she can find more to do up there than down here (unless you were holding out on her) and it's easier to take a 90 minute flight to NYC than to drive there from Albany.
My DH drove back to NY last Sunday and made it to Delaware in 7 hours and then it took him 5 hours to go the last 135 miles.... one of many, many reasons we are THRILLED to be out of the northeast. Call it North Carolina, call it the Triangle, call it the Promised Land, if you haven't lived in metro NY, don't knock our love for this place
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Don't see that here where I live so that is why it struck me.
Thank you for posting
