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fun! We moved here with an infant and a 2yr from CT many years ago and we never looked back. For us, we initially chose living in North Raleigh as we found older homes to be what we wanted (vs. cookie cutter new developments). and it had terrain (hills, windy roads). and had lots of northern transplants. The raleigh parks & rec, Falls Lake, etc were awesome for our young/school-age family.
I am not sure where you are coming from but the thing that is different down here is that 'community' is based on family, neighborhood, church and/or college basketball/football.
We found chapel hill to be very based on UNCchapel hill. Nothing wrong with that, especially if either of you are considering a masters as UNCchapel hill would totally be the way to go. I ended up getting a masters at Duke as they funded me better and I learned to really enjoy Durham.
We recently moved to Cary to have a more central location to Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, to be closer to the kids high school, because we got tired of maintaining a 1.5+ acre lot in a 10 month a year growing season, and we were spending a *lot* of time in the car driving the kids across wake county for activities (a downside rarely mentioned in the 'magnet school' system - your kids have friends in southern wake county which is a 30 min drive from northern wake county). We now have a 'postage stamp', live 5 mins from the kids high school & are thrilled to be devoting every weekend to activities vs. being a slave to the ever-growing yard and the car. :-)
So, prior posters are correct -- it isn't as urban as a city - but you can find awesome things to do all the time all within 20-30 mins. You can actually attend all the downtown raleigh parades as there is plenty of parking, it is 'safe' from crime, and many events are free. You can hop over to Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill for free concerts from Spring until Fall. For us, the tax relief (CT property and pers. property taxes) made an awesome difference in our lives. You just can't quite expect all the 'stuff' that comes with the taxes - good metro type transportation being pretty top of the list.
So....you will drive a lot down here.
You will shop at three grocery stores to replace a 'stop & shop' experience. you will not miss the snow, taxes, incivility of the north. You will miss family, friends, and metro here.
You will want to live in a 'neighborhood' that has an HOA for the pool/tennis 'community' or join a church/synagogue for the sense of community it brings. Or convince the rest of your family and friends to move here (which happens) and then you are good.
Have fun looking. Come down in April or May as the weather is outstanding. Come back in July/August to experience the dreaded humidity. although we find we get quite cold here in the summer with everything heavily air conditioned and like to step outside to warm our chilled bodies. I carry a white sweater in the car at all times during summer whereas I don't in wintertime...
The other thing nice about NC is that there are fab beaches 2-3 hrs from RTP and mtns 3-5 hrs away - all within the state! you are 5 hrs from D.C. and a 10 hr drive to Orlando or NYC.
Thank you so much for all the replies, it's helpful and makes me feel much better. We are moving to get away from the city and are looking a simpler life where we're not spending hours in traffic and just rushing through the day. We love the outdoors and when the weather is nice we hope to be enjoying it as much as possible. I was asking about activities for the cold or rainy days when we're going nuts inside or the odd time and we actually get a date night. I don’t need a lot going on but enough to have a something to do and based on what you all have said I don’t think it will be an issue at all. Thanks!
WeLuvNC I can totally relate to you comment about A/C, I wear long sleeves at work in the summer because it's freezing in the office. Can't wait to have a 10 month growing season, I look outside and all I see is snow lol I love to garden. You're right about the nice beaches, we vacationed in Nags Head one year in July and loved it.
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