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I thought that people can get an apartment rental if they can prove they have a certain amount in the bank and or put up a larger security deposit and have really good references.
......
Sorry my friend. My wife and i visited 4 apartments and called up 5 others. None of them will give you a place until you have proof that you're working within this state. And we had $9k in our bank accounts ready for our relocation to Raleigh. They didn't care how much we had (we showed them the proof), they wanted one of us to be working within this state.
I know this may seem like a lie. But I promise you, it wasn't until my wife got hired on the spot that an apartment gave us another look. A lot of property managers know of this, but it's not common knowledge to those whom are not within that profession.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yellowbelle
How long have you been here? Cuz this isn't remotely true.
We have had terrible droughts many of the years I've been here. Just a year or two ago, Falls Lake was down to only about 90 days of drinking water. And I think it was back in summer of 2002 it only rained on the days we went to Durham Bulls games.
I've been here for two weeks. That's why I said everyweek.
In another thread, someone said they wished they'd known more about the Triangle before they moved here.
It made me wonder what other people wished they'd known. I wish I knew how uncomfortable the summers were.
How about you?
This is a great question...one that I cannot help but ponder!
If I had known that my in-laws would love this area so much that they would follow us here: I would have moved to Alaska
Ok, Ok for real: We have been here for 23 years and did not have the luxury of the internet yet, so no City-Data. It would have been a HUGE help back then!
Thinking it about though, I was not prepared for the "competitiveness" of the region. Everything seems to be a competition: from the size of your home and make of car, to your college degree, salary and job title. "Keeping up with the Jones" you could say...
And coming from a large city (Boston) where there were pro teams: I had NO idea about how passionate this area was about it's college basketball and football (remember I said we moved here BEFORE internet age). It is very infectious though and I am now very passionate too! LOVE March Madness!!
I moved here 10 yrs ago (no job) and got a nice apartment immediately. And I had a medium/large dog as well. If you have the $$$ you will get housing. Now, you won't get a mortgage without a job or proof of income, but an apartment? Sure.
Ditto on the computer test. When my husband came to the DMV to change his license, he was shocked to realize that he had to re-take the written part of his road test. Kind of that feeling you used to get when the teacher slipped a "pop quiz" in there. Fortunately, he did just fine.
Other things ... many of which others have mentioned:
1. People seem REEALLY interested in your accent here. I've brought up the "where are you from?" question on this forum, a question that people still ask me more than a decade after moving to NC. Most people are simply curious. But some, you can tell, are asking that question in a not-so-benign matter, as in, "You aren't part of this area." Those make me bristle. I've lived here for more than a decade, paid the taxes, have been a good neighbor. And I still shouldn't be here, according to you?
2. If you think people are going to visit you if you move down here, you might be sadly mistaken. If you lived near DISNEYLAND or perhaps ... just perhaps ... if you have a beach house, some might beat a path to your door. But otherwise ... very likely not. If you think you can easily catch transportation to visit them ... errr .... maybe not, either. Certain transportation providers, such as airlines, can make life very difficult for travelers. And travelling by car? (Shudders.) Thank goodness for the Internet!
3. I never knew I'd be pretty good at identifying different kinds of wood roaches. I suppose that is a good thing ....
4. August is to here what January is to up North ... NOT a good time for visiting. But the Springs and Falls are gorgeous here. I will miss that if I have to move.
5. I wish I rented before I moved here. Certain real estate personnel (not those here, of course!), will steer you to certain areas, and that is nice. But there were so many other areas that might have better suited our needs had we time to look around. (We were forced to move in a hurry.) If we move again, we will DEFINITELY rent first for at least six months and give ourselves time to explore our new region.
6. Yes, I wish I knew about the tech situation over the past decade. We had 18 blissful months before my husband's company dumped him and others. And it took years for him to get a job ... and it was out of state. I would tell people that depending on their field of expertise, they might be better served living near a more metropolitan area. We thought the tech industry would grow and flourish here. It didn't.
7. Yes, there are some facilities that provide good ethnic food here. But if you expect something along the lines of what you might get in a more urban area, think again. This, however, is changing as more transplants settle here. Still, you might have to learn to make certain specialties yourself. It's often a long drive to the place that provides food you crave. I guess that is a good thing, though. I've become a better cook since I moved down here!
8. Be very, very careful driving on roads after a winter storm. Yes ... stock advice. But many municipalities here do NOT salt or sand local roads. Getting out can be really treacherous ... particularly if you live in a hilly area ... and there are lots of those here! And people here not used to driving in colder climates sometimes have a really tough time driving after a nasty snow storm ... tough to the point of being dangerous. Temporary cocooning can be fun, though. I have many memories of happy moments when we've had to do that because of Mother Nature.
9. If you're from an area that does not charge vehicle taxes, be prepared. This area does.
10. It can be really soothing to hear frogs ... or owls ... or other animals in the Spring. If I move to a more urban area, I will truly miss that. It will be one of the things I'll miss the most.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,793,171 times
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I wish I had known that basketball is a religion here. I have zero interest in basketball or the Tarheels or their rivalry with Duke. I guess moving to a college town, hometown loyalty is to be expected, but I didn't understand the degree to which people breathe basketball here. I'm just glad I like the color blue. :-)
I wish I had known that basketball is a religion here. I have zero interest in basketball or the Tarheels or their rivalry with Duke. I guess moving to a college town, hometown loyalty is to be expected, but I didn't understand the degree to which people breathe basketball here. I'm just glad I like the color blue. :-)
I wish I had known that basketball is a religion here. I have zero interest in basketball or the Tarheels or their rivalry with Duke. I guess moving to a college town, hometown loyalty is to be expected, but I didn't understand the degree to which people breathe basketball here. I'm just glad I like the color blue. :-)
Ditto on the computer test. When my husband came to the DMV to change his license, he was shocked to realize that he had to re-take the written part of his road test. Kind of that feeling you used to get when the teacher slipped a "pop quiz" in there. Fortunately, he did just fine.
Other things ... many of which others have mentioned:
1. People seem REEALLY interested in your accent here. I've brought up the "where are you from?" question on this forum, a question that people still ask me more than a decade after moving to NC. Most people are simply curious. But some, you can tell, are asking that question in a not-so-benign matter, as in, "You aren't part of this area." Those make me bristle. I've lived here for more than a decade, paid the taxes, have been a good neighbor. And I still shouldn't be here, according to you?
2. If you think people are going to visit you if you move down here, you might be sadly mistaken. If you lived near DISNEYLAND or perhaps ... just perhaps ... if you have a beach house, some might beat a path to your door. But otherwise ... very likely not. If you think you can easily catch transportation to visit them ... errr .... maybe not, either. Certain transportation providers, such as airlines, can make life very difficult for travelers. And travelling by car? (Shudders.) Thank goodness for the Internet!
3. I never knew I'd be pretty good at identifying different kinds of wood roaches. I suppose that is a good thing ....
4. August is to here what January is to up North ... NOT a good time for visiting. But the Springs and Falls are gorgeous here. I will miss that if I have to move.
5. I wish I rented before I moved here. Certain real estate personnel (not those here, of course!), will steer you to certain areas, and that is nice. But there were so many other areas that might have better suited our needs had we time to look around. (We were forced to move in a hurry.) If we move again, we will DEFINITELY rent first for at least six months and give ourselves time to explore our new region.
6. Yes, I wish I knew about the tech situation over the past decade. We had 18 blissful months before my husband's company dumped him and others. And it took years for him to get a job ... and it was out of state. I would tell people that depending on their field of expertise, they might be better served living near a more metropolitan area. We thought the tech industry would grow and flourish here. It didn't.
7. Yes, there are some facilities that provide good ethnic food here. But if you expect something along the lines of what you might get in a more urban area, think again. This, however, is changing as more transplants settle here. Still, you might have to learn to make certain specialties yourself. It's often a long drive to the place that provides food you crave. I guess that is a good thing, though. I've become a better cook since I moved down here!
8. Be very, very careful driving on roads after a winter storm. Yes ... stock advice. But many municipalities here do NOT salt or sand local roads. Getting out can be really treacherous ... particularly if you live in a hilly area ... and there are lots of those here! And people here not used to driving in colder climates sometimes have a really tough time driving after a nasty snow storm ... tough to the point of being dangerous. Temporary cocooning can be fun, though. I have many memories of happy moments when we've had to do that because of Mother Nature.
9. If you're from an area that does not charge vehicle taxes, be prepared. This area does.
10. It can be really soothing to hear frogs ... or owls ... or other animals in the Spring. If I move to a more urban area, I will truly miss that. It will be one of the things I'll miss the most.
Your 2nd point is one that also definitely caught us off guard after a while and one that so many of the "well NC isn't THAT far from NY/NJ/FL/MA/DC.....we can still visit often and have relatives visit us" folks should not take lightly. Even when gas was WELL below $2 a gallon in the 90's, we found that we spent most of our vacation money (not to mention vacation time) going back north to visit family. In the 13 years we lived in NC we took a grand total of 2...TWO...vacations that did not involve going to visit family. We'd have visitors once every couple of years...but they would come one at a time. When you have a big extended family it is extremely naive to think that they will all come to visit you at once. If you want to be a part of family gatherings, and you are the "outlier" who lives far away; you better believe that YOU will be the one who does the traveling.
Now this obviously doesn't apply to all people relocating to the triangle. There are many people that move there from areas where they already have no family, or whose family is dispersed across the country already. But it seems a great deal of the folks posting on here (especially back in the earlier days, 2006/07) were leaving large extended families in the northeast who they said they knew they would miss but didn't think being in NC was THAT far away and that visits could happen easily and often. Unless you have a very flexible work schedule and a big travel fund; those aren't very realistic expectations.
Your 2nd point is one that also definitely caught us off guard after a while and one that so many of the "well NC isn't THAT far from NY/NJ/FL/MA/DC.....we can still visit often and have relatives visit us" folks should not take lightly. Even when gas was WELL below $2 a gallon in the 90's, we found that we spent most of our vacation money (not to mention vacation time) going back north to visit family. In the 13 years we lived in NC we took a grand total of 2...TWO...vacations that did not involve going to visit family. We'd have visitors once every couple of years...but they would come one at a time. When you have a big extended family it is extremely naive to think that they will all come to visit you at once. If you want to be a part of family gatherings, and you are the "outlier" who lives far away; you better believe that YOU will be the one who does the traveling.
Now this obviously doesn't apply to all people relocating to the triangle. There are many people that move there from areas where they already have no family, or whose family is dispersed across the country already. But it seems a great deal of the folks posting on here (especially back in the earlier days, 2006/07) were leaving large extended families in the northeast who they said they knew they would miss but didn't think being in NC was THAT far away and that visits could happen easily and often. Unless you have a very flexible work schedule and a big travel fund; those aren't very realistic expectations.
This point is not specific to the Triangle or Northeast.
Anyone moving away from tight friends and close-knit family anywhere needs to know they will be the ones responsible to travel for regular interaction.
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If I knew then, what I know now...
