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We'll be relocating to the Raleigh/Durham area from MA later this month. Not sure of the town since we are moving in to corporate housing in Morrisville and will start house hunting when we get there. Visited the area in the summer, we are leaning towards Apex (Hubb will be commuting to RTP, so we are ideally looking around 55, 64 and north of 1).
I have a couple of questions plse!
What kind of outerwear does your kids wear? Do we need heavy 4 in 1 jackets like in MA, or would mid-weight waterproof fleece lined one do?
How do I go about finding a preschool for my son? Will I even be able to find a spot for him somewhere (prob around January when we have a new house) or would we have to wait until the new school year?
Hello- I moved here last year from Mass. You definitely need a warmer coat- maybe not the warmest that LL bean sells but it does get chilly here. Last fall/winter we had some mornings in the 20's. Temps can be in the 30-40's in the mornings but can warm up to upper 40's or 50's. The cold season is way shorter than Mass- that is for sure. If you already have the 4 in 1 jackets, then you can decide how to wear them. We used a 2 in 1 jacket last year for my nine year old. My teen just wore hoodies. I wore my winter coat some days in the mornings but the mid weight fleece was good for the rest of the day. My daughter also used hats and mittens in the mornings. As for preschools, I don't really know the answer to that. There are tons of preschools around- in churches, in daycare type facilities, etc so you may be able to find a spot somewhere for him somewhere. Good luck with your move!
I am originally from NY and relocated here over a year ago.
It does get cold here! Not as freezing as up North though, and not much snow to speak of. Basically the difference is that when you put on a coat in NC in the winter, it ACTUALLY warms you up!
There are 2 types of schooling here: Year round and traditional. You may opt either for your kids. I am finding more and more people love year round schooling because kids go for something like 3 weeks and then are out for three weeks. It all depends on your family's schedule.
Apex is a really nice area and very up and coming. More and more people are locating there to get out of the hustle bustle traffic of downtown Raleigh and Cary.
The coats here are completely different than the ones in NH. I find they do not have quite the layers built in to them. You still need a winter coat but they are different...heh not sure how to describe it. The winter coat you all currently have will work but you might find next year you might downgrade a little in the bulk.
In the winter I find I wear more long sleeve/half sleeve shirts and not as many thick sweaters too. I still wear them, just not as much. All the outerwear is a little different, just a little lighter.
We moved from MA just 3 weeks ago; you are going to love it here. We do so far! The DH and I are just tickled pink that here it is the 1st of November and we are both in shorts and T-shirts! Best of luck on your move! The drive is a long one from MA, but well worth it in our opinion!
we moved here six years ago from Georgetown, MA. and have loved the weather, people and commute. You'll be amazed at how much time you save when you don't have to factor in 128 or 495!
Our kids have winter coats but they are not anything like the bracers you need in Mass. And you only have to wear them for a couple months tops, not December through late March/early April
This is the first year I'm having to actually buy a coat for my 4 year old because we had coats from previous years & hand me downs from cousins that we used in MA. I can't even decide what kind of coat to get her & we have been through a winter already here. So far we have a sweater & a light weight waterproof jacket lined with fleece that are serving just fine.
I think that any 3 in 1 or 4 in 1 type of coat would work just fine for here. We are actually running around without coats for the most part. It does get cold, but when you're used to the frigid temps of the Northeast then it's really not that cold! I remember living in MA & thinking 40 degrees was warm after weeks of below freezing temps.
You might have some difficulty finding a spot in a preschool or you may not. There are so many people moving into and moving out of this area for job reasons. I'm sure you'll be able to find something. Preschools here in NC are usually 9am to 12pm & are in the local churches. My dd attends a preschool that is not affiiliated with a church & is 9am to 1pm. It's in Cary, but not far from some areas of Apex. Triangle Academy Preschool
Many daycare centers have a part time preschool also. I know Primrose is one of the highly reccomended ones, but they are quite expensive. Coming from MA tho you might think it reasonable.
Most half day preschool programs start the registration process for the following school year in February!!
A great resource for Moms in the Triangle is a free support group called Triangle Mommies. They have an extensive website with lots of forums and even a "Relocation Board". Everyone is very friendly & helpful there. The area groups also get together for playdates pretty frequently. Check it out : TriangleMommies.com--the Triangle area of North Carolina's Mom-to-Mom Connection
You wouldn't be one of the families relocating due to Fidelity closing offices in MA would you?
I got Oshkosh 4 in 1 jackets for both of them at Kohls (I got 60% off between sale price and using a Kohls Charge Card Coupon ) Its getting chilly here and theyve outgrown the ones from last year. Its not too bulky/ski type, sounds like it will be perfect based on your descriptions.
Our move is scheduled for the week of November 12th. Plse keep your fingers crossed that our sale goes through without a hitch. The past 6 months has really been frustrating.
Those of you who drove down, did you overnight somewhere along the way or drive straight through? We havent even looked at the route yet. We'll be driving down in 2 vehicles, the kids and dog with me in our minivan. My Dh will follow us in a minivan rental with our clothing etc. that we want to take in to temp housing.
Its somewhat frustrating dealing with the relocation company/3rd party but the relocation package perks are excellent, so I guess its worth putting up with.
Thanks for the school info! Im glad to hear that it might not be as difficult as I thought. We go to church, so church affiliated preschool is fine by me. Define reasonable! Im probably going to have sticker shock. Currently Im paying $150 p/m for 2 days p/w (2.5 hrs p/d) at a wonderful center. For some folks around here thats considered expensive. Obviously Im not close to Boston!
Yes, we are Fidelity transplants. As far as I know its bec they are running out of space, not closing offices.
For two days per week at Triangle Academy Preschool it was $220 per month for us last school year. My daughter goes 3 days a week now from 9am to 1pm & it's $310 per month. TAP is not the most expensive school, but it's not the cheapest either! Definitely look into the church affiliated preschools. They are very reasonable.
My dh works at Fidelity & I thought he told me they were moving everyone either to Merrimac or Raleigh. I guess he never said why. I just assumed it was because they were closing down Marlborough. I didn't realize they were running out of space!
When we moved down with Fidelity this summer we were able to divide our stuff into "temporary" and "storage" and the moving company brought our "temporary" stuff to our corporate housing and I think it only cost us about $100 or so. The apartments are great but come with just the bare minimum in the kitchen. If you have a chance, bring along a couple of pots and pans, frying pans, cookie sheets and especially knives. The few knives they provided were dull. I also had them put all my food and spices etc. in with the temporary stuff as I didn't want to throw out canned foods etc. that were still good and I didn't want to put it in storage as I had not idea how long it would take us to find a house We had one of our vehicles shipped down and drove one down and we stopped in CT with relatives and then in NJ to go to Six Flags to break the trip up a bit.
Feel free to ask me questions if you have any. We are part of the Fidelity relocation and have been down here since July. We moved into our house in Chapel Hill last week.
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Fellow Northerner
Relocated from Central Mass May '06
) Its getting chilly here and theyve outgrown the ones from last year. Its not too bulky/ski type, sounds like it will be perfect based on your descriptions.
