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I've only been here a few months, but I (and my husband and mom) LOVE it here. I'm sure I'll whine about the cold in January or February, but it beats whining about Florida's non-stop heat in the summer.
It's hard being a place where you're unhappy. We moved to Florida for my husband's job and I didn't like it from the get-go. I gritted my teeth and made a life though, and was happy. I had a family, work, and friends.
Fast-forward 30 years and my kids have flown the nest, my friends moved away and I no longer work outside of the home. There was nothing holding us in Florida but husband's job. It eventually was in jeopardy and we decided to finally go.
The trick is to try to go where you think you'll be happy. But you also have to be happy to like a place. The one poster is pretty unhappy being parted from children and that colors the perceptions of living here. One has to decide to move near them or try to make a go of it.
I have no family or friends here (yet), just my hubby and mom. It's a bit lonely for me. The neighbors are friendly, but it's casual friendly. That's not unique to this area.
But it's a good place. The people here are friendly. I like seasons and gloomy days. I'm hoping to get at least one of my kids down here and both my hometown and one of my daughter's residences are only an 8 hour drive away, instead of a 2 day drive.
It's good.
Part of the trick of living in a place is learning how to fit yourself in. In spite of my Florida dislike, I never let the natives see it and heck, after 30 years, I'm as much if not more Floridian than anything. If all goes well, this state will be where I stay for the rest of my life. That's not a bad thing.
If you can, go where you're happy, if you can. If you're still not happy, go elsewhere and try again.
And to the natives and long-term residents here, thanks. So far, you've made this a great place to live. I have no regrets about coming here. In fact, if I have my way, I'll entice others to move here. Great place. Want the mountains? A couple hours west. Beach? Couple hours east. All kinds of fun things to do around here and in a scenic place.
Can't wait 'til fall. I have so missed fall. And to have holidays cold, as they should be. Awesome.
P.S. Cary naysayers, boo, hiss. It's a nice place to live. I'll gladly put up with the scorn, but I've no complaints about Cary.
I understand your sentiment, having grown up on Long Island, I am often asked: "what in the world are you doing in NC?" I also agree that negative feedback is really not productive for anyone. NY will always be home for me; unfortunately, it is also one of the most expensive places in the country to live in. While you cannot compare the two, I have found that while I find lots not to love about the Triangle area--it is really about using your experiences and then carefully planning where to go next. I do not intend to stay here forever but what I will do is carefully investigate the next area I do settle into.
I hope that you find your next destination all that you want it to be--don't beat yourself about it though. Regrets are most useful when they are viewed within the context of self-reflection.
Without a doubt, people will like some places more than others. Every area has something to offer just as it will have some negatives. That being said, I've found that I can be happy living just about anywhere-and believe me, I've lived in some places that just about anyone would complain about (Youngstown, Ohio for one). Over the years I've found that people who whine about where they live probably whine about a lot of other things-in fact, they are probably not happy in general!
If it is truly where you live that is making you unhappy-move! Life is far too short!
I don't regret moving to Wake Forest but the area has changed so now I'm considering moving to Carter County Tennessee. Probably going to downsize to around 1,500 sq. ft. all on one level with a little bit more land than I have now.
Here's a picture of my current place that me and the lovely Mrs. Grizzmeister will be leaving behind.
"Regret" is probably a bit of an overstatement for me (but know my wife would flame on about what's now MY call to relo here 9+ years ago :-).
However, I/we plan to flee NC the second our youngest graduates (or drops out of) high school. I'm highly skilled/educated so can work about anywhere, and my wife doesn't work outside the home so is flexible. Why move? Well, it helps to know why we came here from Twin Cities (MN) -- brutal, protracted winters there (ie., Sept to mid-May). Why the Triangle? 10 years ago the Wake schools were quite good; now they borderline suck (eg., Leesville is now Sleezeville lol). Today there is NO way we'd choose to move here (as opposed to a work-related move).
I must admit that I've (we've) met many good people here... native and otherwise. But OTOH I've/we've met far more than a fair share of as*holes here as well... disproportionately local or long tenured, as well as an absolutely astonishingly large number of religious nut jobs.
In short, had we had that proverbial crystal ball 10 yrs ago ;-)... we probably would have moved to Denver, or Seattle, or even Cleveland or Pittsburgh where the snow is somewhat less but the winters last only 5-6 months and the average daily low is like 25 degrees (F) higher lol!
I know this question has been posted numerous times, but would like to hear the more recent regrets.... We have been living in this area for 6 years, both in North Raleigh, and now just over the Wake line in Johnston County. We are NYC born and raised, but moved here from the Ft. Lauderdale area after almost 30 yrs. living there. I will admit it was a pleasant change at first, but not so much anymore. Many people told us when we first moved here that this was a great area to live, just around 2+ hrs. From the beach and 3+ hrs. To the mountains. At a later date I mentioned this to someone and his reply made so much sense "So we are in the middle of nowhere" this has really made sense to me now, as I am at wits end from living here, I hope in short time we can get our money back from our house so we can move on to a more suitable place for us, though it's going to be challenge to figure out where to go!
PS
I am not looking for negative comments of what we should have done before moing etc. etc. just curious how many others have similar feelings ! :-)
Hello: My husband and I moved here Sept. 2011 and we are from NC originally, so we were quite familiar with this area. We really needed to move for jobs, which we found, but didn't realize living here would disagree with us. We are in the same predicament, trying to figure out where to go. It does seem like a great place to live on the surface, but once your here for any amount of time, you find that it's very hollow on this inside. I wish us both the best in finding a place to suit us!
In my extremely humble opinion the Raleigh area has simply grown too fast and in the process lost the charm that made it "the Gateway to the South". Also, the wackos are taking over everything from local politics to religion. When I first got here the area seemed much more tolerant but now not so much.
I've been here 25 years & came to escape the cold Midwest. I've had lots of growth here in many, many ways and even met my partner here, who's been here 30 yrs. With the extreme right turn in politics in just 6 short months, what state NC may be in in another 3.5 yrs with the tenure of McCrory is frightening. With the gerimandering done to the voting maps sounds like they'll be in control for decades. We too are looking to move and not exactly sure where. We have several criteria, knowing there is no shangri-la. MD is doing some wonderful things with their policies, if looking at politics is important. One of our bigger concerns is fracking as we know from family in NEPA what it's done to the environment there on so many levels. It's sad to have to consider so many factors that politics has had a hand in that bring the quality of life to new lows, but that's the state of affairs that don't seem to be changing anytime soon in this country.
I'm not quite up to speed on NC politics. It seems as if what I am reading is a bit counter intuitive though. You would think the influx of Northerners would bring a bit more Liberal tilt to the area. The South in general at least up here in NJ is that it leaned more Bible Belt than not. Not that that is a bad thing don't get me wrong. The lean to the right I don't get at all. These things have a habit of changing over time and I don't plan on looking to leave because of it. Whatever policies the current admin puts into place can't have that great of an influence on my day to day life. I would hope not anyway. I've managed to survive the crooked pols up here in NJ for over 60 years so whatever they throw at me can't be as bad.
There are days when I question my decision to move to Wake County but I don't ever regret leaving Long Island. The lifestyle here is so much better in almost every way. The only weird thing is that, in some ways, Long Island has more of a small town feel. On Long Island you live in a village of around 10-20K people called something like Massapequa, Great Neck or Glen Cove. Here, it seems, most people live in a place called 'Cary'.
But I know I made the best decision based on my circumstances at the time. Would I have been happier in Asheville, Round Rock, or San Luis Obispo? Maybe, but it's not like you get to try out every town in the country before you move there!
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