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I haven't posted on this forum in a while. We were hoping to relocate from NY to NC several years ago, starting in 2007 and have made numerous visits to Wake County. What eventually held us back is my husband having to vest out of his job and transfer to the Raleigh PD. Although they would of loved to have him, the cut in salary was tremendous and to lose the full pension and all.....we just got cold feet. We actually sold our house here and everything, we were that serious to move. We have 3 daughters, one in college, one 10 years old and one 9 years old, and he is closer to retirement so we are actually figuring out how to make this move happen.
I am a RN, I work for DOE. Retirement is age 62 for me, so I have a long way to go but I am comfortable to vest out. We have a nice home here and our younger girls are in a good, solid Catholic school. I can't complain about that. Winters are harsh (It is 8 degrees here and we just got 13 inches of snow) but it is much more than that. Although we are New Yorkers (I was born in Manhattan, raised in Queens and have lived and worked in every borough except the Bronx and still do) sometimes we feel the hustle and bustle is too much, people keep to themselves too much (we are friendly and enjoy company; no matter where I have lived since we left Queens in 1991, neighbors are "Hi" and "Bye" and that is all, not even small talk). I just feel the quality of life just isn't what we were hoping for for our daughters and us.
I don't expect to move there and it be like in a movie where everything is perfect. We know that mean people exist everywhere, drugs everywhere, etc. But in general we get a nicer, more plesant vibe when we are there. Children seems to play outside and do things together. People are not rushed like up here. I guess we are hoping for a better quality of life.
We looked in many places, Heritage, Northhampton, Stonegate, Granite Crest, ThornRose, Bowling Green, Highland Creek to name a few. We also looked at many more places as well. We will be visiting again soon. I would appreciate it if any of you could suggest places to look at and local places to see to get a feel for it even more. Our price range is 275k-350k. I would also like to hear from anyone who has relocated, how they did it, how they adjusted, what to avoid.
Thanks in advance.
I just read your post and thought I could help you out. I noticed a lot of the subdivisions you mentioned were in Wake Forest. Is that the area where you have visited the most? I too moved down here not too along (3 years ago) I currently live in North Raleigh and I have been enjoying since the move. Depending on where you come from it can be a big changed. For you I would assume that living down here will seem more calmer than NYC. But for myself coming from a smaller area it was the opposite. I also noticed that on websites like this or others people who are from here like to discourage outsiders from moving here. What they might not understand is that a lot of people who want to move here are coming from areas that are decreasing in population or the lack of jobs in their hometown are slowly fading. (Both are our reasoning for moving) The overall quality of life and living down here is decent in my opinion. Some people who have lived here their whole lives may say there is nothing special about this area but I would encourage them to go live in a different part of the country and see how that is. I believe there are a lot of people who do not understand how fortunate they are to live in area like this. For what my fiance and I like to do this area fits our needs. Coming from Western PA the closest beach to us was 4+ hours away. Moving to the Raleigh area gave us the ability to take a day trip to the beach anytime we want which we may do on weekends or doing the week if we both have a day off. Also, if you like to visit the mountains those are not too far away either. In my opinion where the city of Raleigh is located it has a lot to offer in terms of getting to a beach in 2 hours or less or visit the mountains in the same amount of time. What I really enjoy about this area is the walking/running trails everywhere. That was a new concept for me because I grew up in area that didn't have maintained trails.
One thing that could be better here is the school systems. This area got real big real fast and I don't think a lot of people were ready for it. So from an outsiders perspective they may seem kind of wacky but I personally know someone on the Wake County School Board now who I respect and I believe they are going in the right direction.
As for areas for you to check out I know there are a lot of subdivision that will fit your price range. What you and your family like to do outside of your home will be a more important question to answer because that will allow you to narrow down on a particular area and exclude some as well. Do you plan to have your kids go to a private school down here or public schools? That may also be important question for you as well.
You can't swing a broken keyboard in this forum without hitting a few dozen NY/NJ transplants.
We relocated in 2007 and have officially declared it a success, though not a flawless one. There were unexpected adjustments and not everything went as we'd hoped but in the balance, the big payout for us materialized in terms of improved quality of life, lower cost of living and finding a better place to raise our children. And to frame my experience for you, I lived in Queens for my first twenty-eight years, Long Island the next fifteen, commuted to Manhattan for most of my adult life and am about as New York as you're going to find.
I'll leave the "where to look" to the Realtors hanging around these forums because they're pretty awesome at providing useful suggestions. My one piece of advice though would be to consider moving into a planned community with plenty of sidewalks and foot traffic. We went for the property (a lifelong dream of mine having been raised in a modest apartment with zero privacy) and it's been great. But because we're all spread out it's been very hard to connect with our neighbors because you almost never see them, and when you do it's from a distance where you can only wave (and some won't even go that far). I wish I'd been more open-minded to my wife's suggestion that we consider less property in exchange for an active community. But with one son graduating High School and another one about to enter it's the wrong time to move (but we're already making plans for four years out when the last one ships off). I would also suggest that you consider avoiding the slightly remote areas with the way more affordable houses because it might be too far removed from what you know to the point it will become a problem.
Good luck with your rekindled attempt to relocate.
Thank you both! We looked in North Raleigh, in Bedford and we looked a in Holly Springs in Twin Lakes, Holly Grove, Braxton Village and Sunset Oaks. I know we looked at Amberly in Cary, and we also looked in Rolesville at Granite Crest, and the Villages at Rolesville. We do want to be in a planned community, near shopping and restaurants. Property size isn't important, my current home is on a 30 x 100 lot, which is considered a decent size here in NYC.
As far as the schools, I have my children in Catholic school here because I wasn't happy with the public school they started out in. My older ones went to public schools. So to relocate, schools are important, private Catholic ones are so much more in tuition there (I looked into this) and we are open to public schools. We are aware of the redistricting, and this is a concern as well.
I would like not to have to work full time when we relocate, I currently do that now and am looking for more family time, more quality of life time. I am a RN (Already licensed in NC) and part time work is an option for me as well. We aren't looking for a mansion, or any of that stuff. Just a better quality of life.
NYC where in Queens did you grow up? I grew up in Jackson Heights on 72nd Street between Northern Blvd and 32nd Avenue. I graduated from Bryant HS in Astoria.
Sounds like you've done more than your due diligence. If you don't mind being surrounded by transplants from the place you're trying to leave, you'll enjoy it here, sounds like.
I wouldn't go as far as saying people aren't rushed here, though... the horn honking percentages have climbed quite steadily with every wave of the Great Southern Migration.
This is a nice area, overall. I think the mixtures of people from different places generally works very well for the Triangle. Good luck with your move.
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I wouldn't go as far as saying people aren't rushed here, though... the horn honking percentages have climbed quite steadily with every wave of the Great Southern Migration.
Funny you should mention horn honking. Two weeks ago I was behind someone who had stopped at a yield sign for the on-ramp of I-540 and who did not move for a full cycling of the traffic light. I gave the horn a quick honk (it sounded more like a "bip" rather than a "beep") and the guy actually got out and started walking towards my car all annoyed. He stopped when he realized I was actually laughing, looked super confused and retreated to his car because he obviously didn't get the reaction he expected. I of course was laughing because I was thinking "I wonder where in New York he's from" and upon realizing he had no weapon in hand found the situation entertaining, not threatening.
I think I've honked my horn six times in coming up on seven years living in Raleigh. If this ratio of horn honks to road rage incidents (1/6 of all such events) was the same in New York I never would have made it home in time for dinner most nights.
Here in NYC, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens.....when one walks in Dunkin Donuts before work there are about 25 people on line already and it moves fast. You cant stand there and put your change in your wallet after being handed your coffee, you have to move on! Stuff like this. Its very rushed all the time.
You all have helped me so much because I too (along with my husband and two sons) am looking to relocate to NC from NY in July. We're going to be visiting both Charlotte and Raleigh next month (still deciding between the two) and are looking for areas that will fit all our needs. We aren't looking to buy a house yet (we would rather live there for alittle before we make such a big purchase). Our son's are 8 and 1, so good schools/daycares are a MUST. And just an all around family friendly place to live that's not too close to the city, but not more than 30-45 mins away. Thank you in advance for any input you can contribute.
Funny you should mention horn honking. Two weeks ago I was behind someone who had stopped at a yield sign for the on-ramp of I-540 and who did not move for a full cycling of the traffic light. I gave the horn a quick honk (it sounded more like a "bip" rather than a "beep") and the guy actually got out and started walking towards my car all annoyed. He stopped when he realized I was actually laughing, looked super confused and retreated to his car because he obviously didn't get the reaction he expected. I of course was laughing because I was thinking "I wonder where in New York he's from" and upon realizing he had no weapon in hand found the situation entertaining, not threatening.
I think I've honked my horn six times in coming up on seven years living in Raleigh. If this ratio of horn honks to road rage incidents (1/6 of all such events) was the same in New York I never would have made it home in time for dinner most nights.
We've been here for 25 years from New Orleans. Lived in Manhattan 10 years.
To be honest, Raleigh is starting to become rude and ugly. We've had terrible issues on the roads because we don't move fast enough for the idiots, just like in NJ.
It's a downhill slope with the new administration which has gutted the safety net and pressed the middle class with tax changes to lower tax rates for the top earners.
Think hard before selecting this area. You may find many better choices if you really want to leave NYC.
Nice to see you didn't jump in to the mad rush here. I remember your prior posts.
Things are getting a lot worse here and quality of life is sinking.
That stinks to hear. I moved back to Florida in 2011 after living abroad for 5 yrs. it really went downhill while I was gone . We spent time researching since 2010 trying to figure out where to put some roots down with our family. I have lived in FL a total of 25 years and know I don't want my son to grow up here. Now that we decided on a place it seems that place too is going downhill. Guess I should have kept my family in UK? Next week we leave FL and we are excited to explore Raleigh and the area and hopefully settle. This moving stuff is for the birds !!
Quote:
Originally Posted by saturnfan
We've been here for 25 years from New Orleans. Lived in Manhattan 10 years.
To be honest, Raleigh is starting to become rude and ugly. We've had terrible issues on the roads because we don't move fast enough for the idiots, just like in NJ.
It's a downhill slope with the new administration which has gutted the safety net and pressed the middle class with tax changes to lower tax rates for the top earners.
Think hard before selecting this area. You may find many better choices if you really want to leave NYC.
Nice to see you didn't jump in to the mad rush here. I remember your prior posts.
Things are getting a lot worse here and quality of life is sinking.
Good luck to your family.
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