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In all seriousness, from the brief postings of yours that I have read, I think you may want to visit the areas in downtown Seattle, Chicago, Portland, Austin, Burlington, Minneapolis, Madison.
Raleigh is on the way, but not there yet. There is a Southern flavor here which may or may not agree with your preference. Until one experiences these places, it's impossible to second guess whether it will be a pleasant, mediocre or appreciated experience.
Portland seems to be a place which you're zoning in on, and although I have lived there and prefer NC, I would never discourage anyone from experiencing living in the PNW, ever. You only live once, so go for it. Good luck!
Toodie
Searching a bit for housing, I see almost all McMansions and very generic looking houses, as well as mostly very boring looking apt and townhouse complexes. Are there good lofts for rent, or actually anything in downtown itself?
There is some interesting housing in and around downtown. Have you checked out the Cotton Mill or Caraleigh Mills?
My husband, an Oregon native, is actually on board with our plans to relocate from MA to NC. But we'd both prefer going back to the Pacific Northwest if we could make it happen.
Eveybody is going to have to make their own decisions on where to live based on what's important to them. If there were a perfect place or if one place was objectively and subjectively better than everywhere else, everyone would be living there.
There are going to be things about each city/area that are advantages. The task is to identify those things that are most important to you. The second task is to carefully wade through all the data that is both objective and subjective. What one person likes, another person undoubtedly despises. Perceptions are realities and each one of us is going to have our own. Objective data is easy to find and plentiful. However, subjective information gathered here is certainly influenced by every single individual experience. I personally know folks who think Portland is the "be all, end all" place. I also know others who went there on advice of these folks and hated it. The same is going to be true for Raleigh/Durham. Some will love it, some will hate it.
What's encouraging via this forum is the passion that folks have for all parts of the Triangle. That passion is best exemplified by the sheer amount of volume the Triangle blog gets and how much people like their communities. I am sure that each and every place is the perfect place for them. However, each of us are going to have to find our place where our puzzle piece fits.
BTW, I am a native Oregonian but love my life like it is now.
BTW, I am a native Oregonian but love my life like it is now.
Really? I keep uncovering Californians and Oregonians in North Carolina. Chalk me up as another who doesn't think Portland is worth the hype. I'm so disgruntled with it, that I'd even move back to LA if I could afford it. Thankfully, there are cities like Raleigh out there. I know no place is perfect, but all I seek is nicer weather and generally friendlier people.
Really? I keep uncovering Californians and Oregonians in North Carolina. Chalk me up as another who doesn't think Portland is worth the hype. I'm so disgruntled with it, that I'd even move back to LA if I could afford it. Thankfully, there are cities like Raleigh out there. I know no place is perfect, but all I seek is nicer weather and generally friendlier people.
My parents left Oregon with kids in tow when I was younger. They were midwesterners who moved to Oregon after they were married. Although there were many things that they loved about Oregon, the people weren't one of them. They still talk about how cold and aloof people were back then and how unfriendly they were to people who were not natives. This was decades ago and I wonder if you think that sentiment still exists.
BTW, one friend of mine who went to Portland and left after a year hated it for all the dreary days.
My parents left Oregon with kids in tow when I was younger. They were midwesterners who moved to Oregon after they were married. Although there were many things that they loved about Oregon, the people weren't one of them. They still talk about how cold and aloof people were back then and how unfriendly they were to people who were not natives. This was decades ago and I wonder if you think that sentiment still exists.
BTW, one friend of mine who went to Portland and left after a year hated it for all the dreary days.
Oh yes, I think it still exists. They hated Californians, especially, and still use us as scapegoats for everything from smog to tooth-decay.
I grew up in Portland and just recently (end of July) moved to Cary (just outside of Raleigh).
I agree with PDXmom.
I'd come here and not just look at Raleigh but also at some of the close outlying communties for more "interesting" looking houses (I assume you mean houses with a bit more character than cookie-cutter). Apex, a small portion of Cary, Morrisville , Chapel Hill would be good choices.
UNC is located in Chapel Hill and you might look for bio-tech jobs there.
Your money will go further in NC than in OR - that's why we moved and we did it without jobs.
We both now have jobs that are better than the ones we had in OR.
It's do-able but you need a plan and a budget.
I'd come visit in June or July if I were you - August was REALLY hot here.
Unless you like the heat....then I'd say anytime in the summer.
I'd come here and not just look at Raleigh but also at some of the close outlying communties for more "interesting" looking houses (I assume you mean houses with a bit more character than cookie-cutter). Apex, a small portion of Cary, Morrisville , Chapel Hill would be good choices.
ooh, like this one! Moderator cut: advertising
that's how much normal little houses cost here. 6000sq ft, and all those woods?!
Last edited by autumngal; 12-03-2007 at 07:30 PM..
We live in Raleigh and have a son that is a junior in high school. He is in public school here (Wake County wcpss.net.) Don't move here unless you put your children in private school. We just received a letter from the school system that they failed to met the Adequate Yearly Progress (APY) for 3 consecutive years system wide elementary, middle and high schools in reading. We have put our son in year around or magnet programs but even those are not what they used to be... so glad he's graduating Class of 2009.
Also schools in the south have over 50% of their public school children in poverty (with Mississippi and Louisiana leading the pack.) N.C. misses this by 1% we are at 49%. This article was in Raleigh's newspaper the News and Observer (or News and Disturber.) We had neighbors that moved to Portland and I was (and am) envious of them. (I like the progressive more tolerant greener atmosphere.) Also we have a terrible water shortage that rivals Atlanta's. Our city h20 bill is sky high. My mom that lives in No Va doesn't even have a bill like ours (approx $170.00 bimonthly for 3 people granted a teenage boy that takes long showers.)We are on severe water restrictions also because of the drought. Our temp keep getting higher too (Al Gore's right... September had record days in the 90's...our summers run into October. Well hope this helped
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) We had neighbors that moved to Portland and I was (and am) envious of them. (I like the progressive more tolerant greener atmosphere.) Also we have a terrible water shortage that rivals Atlanta's. Our city h20 bill is sky high. My mom that lives in No Va doesn't even have a bill like ours (approx $170.00 bimonthly for 3 people granted a teenage boy that takes long showers.)We are on severe water restrictions also because of the drought. Our temp keep getting higher too (Al Gore's right... September had record days in the 90's...our summers run into October. Well hope this helped
