relocating from Texas (Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill: extended stay, apartment, rentals)

[NewUser]

Very similar story for us too. We started out by researching apartments on-line that were close to RTP. A friend of ours, who lived locally in Cary, offered to scout out apartments for us too. We ended up renting an apartment in Morrisville for 6 months. We got an apartment with a 1-car garage so that we could store our junk. It was cheaper than the storage facility down the street and more convenient. We then found a realtor, who showed us houses that we located ourselves online. Our house hunt lasted longer than expected, so we extended our lease another 3 months. We ended up buying a house down by Lake Wheeler on 3/4+ acre of land.

[epattridge]

Originally Posted by jfre81

If it's for work....do it....go to NC and see what you think.

I am from the Houston area, moved to NC (near Wake/Johnston County line) and I am happy to be back in Houston.

The racial tensions in the Triangle made me think I had moved to Beaumont or Vidor while traveling back 25 years in time.

Then there are the roads. I can only speak for the Raleigh/Durham area, but they are deplorable. Single-lane country roads are backed up for miles every morning trying to get into the city because I-40 is a parking lot. Construction that should have been done 10 years ago when the area first started growing is just being done now, and the roads that are there are falling apart. You will learn how blessed Texans are to be where their highways are maintained. Your tax dollars go into something.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of taxes.....NC has a state income tax for individuals and Texas does not. It's about a $1,500 difference for someone making around $26K/year. Wake County just increased their property taxes (homes and cars) and if you have a house and lot valued at $200K then you will pay about $1,900/year if they don't increase them again. The state of NC is ready to increase taxes across the board because the state does not know how to manage money. When you buy a car in NC, whether it's from a dealer or an individual, you have to pay for tags titles, registration and insurance (about the same overall as in Texas; liability-only insurance most anywhere in NC is a bit less than in the high-population counties).

But then there's more money to go to the Tar Heel state - there is a "road tax" and a property tax on your vehicle. The "road tax" is apparently to pay for the privilege of driving on North Carolina's hazardous and outdated roads teeming with drunken rednecks and yuppie soccer moms with a baby bottle in one hand and a cellphone in the other going 70 mph right along with you. Unfortunately it does not seem to pay for anything besides marble paperweights and leather seats in the state capitol. Then your vehicle is taxed on its Blue Book value every year just like your house.

No offense to the NC folks here - in fact, I could trade some brisket for eastern NC-style pork BBQ and Duke's mayonnaise. North Carolina's a great place to visit, but not to live.

Different strokes for different folks. I am from the Houston area. Baytown to be exact. Lived there over 35 years. It's still home to me and will always be. I'm proud to be from Texas. I even have a Texas flag on my garage wall and am trying to convert NC over to beef brisket.
BUT.... after living in NC for almost 2 yrs, we really like it here. I will agree on the taxes. State tax sucks. Plain and simple. I've gotten used to it. The vehicle tax you can claim on your end of year taxes. As far as roads and traffic go, Houston seems to always have road construction going on as well. I've sat in traffic on I-45, loop 610, I-10, Hwy 59,etc. Granted Houston is a LOT larger than Raleigh. So yes there will be traffic. You go to any major city and there is traffic. I've been on a lot of two lane country roads here in NC and havent seen a whole lot in bad shape. I prefer the cleaner air here. It's nice to drive to work and not see plumes of whatever the heck it is coming from refineries and chemical plants. We like having 4 seasons. I still love Texas even wear my Texans ball cap and will always pull for the Astros no matter what. I still post on the Houston board a few times. I guess anyplace is what you make of it. Some people like other things that others dont. Right now this is home and we live north of Raleigh in small town and really like the small town. Still gotta plan a big brisket cookout one day for all the Texas folks here in NC..LOL

[jfre81]

I never met anyone else from Houston there...

Some things to consider:

1) Open a Whataburger
2) Keep letting people know there are trees and grass in Texas.

Houston has construction - it is growing, just like Raleigh. Going to NC made me appreciate what road crews do.

Raleigh's small size made all the construction there even more noticeable - downtown was an absolute mess - roads closed completely but you never see a sign until you get down there where the dead end is. Both Houston and Raleigh are growing fast. There are two things they can do - tie up traffic a little bit to upgrade infrastructure, or do largely nothing. NC does the latter.

Last fall there was a massive sinkhole that opened under I-40 south of Raleigh near the Johnston County line. Those single-lane country roads that are usually bumper-to-bumper were simply parking lots.

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by epattridge

. . . . . . Still gotta plan a big brisket cookout one day for all the Texas folks here in NC..LOL

You do that, and I'll volunteer to bring a couple kegs of beer. I'm a homebrewer, and nothing goes better with good beer than good BBQ.

[saturnfan]

We have a 1,200 sf 2BR in North Raleigh for $815. Extra for water and cats.

You should be able to get a decent rental in your budget.

[jln69]

I don't know what your price range is for housing but you could start looking at Panther Creek and Green Hope High Schools in Cary. They are the closest to RTP. Leesville High School in Raleigh wouldn't be a bad commute either. All three of these schools are very good. Panther Creek is new this year but they took students out of Green Hope to attend and schools in that area have historically done very well.