Moving from Michigan (Raleigh, Durham, Cary: best neighborhood, sales, renting)

[ivyinmichigan]

Any help would be appreciated as I find my next home. I will be graduating with my Masters in Accounting in a few months. I will be making a career change from Corrections to Accounting, and am hoping to get out of Michigan. I've never lived any place other than Michigan. I have the following questions:
1. In which city should I live? I've heard good things about Raleigh and Cary - I am not a country girl, but like the cozy neighborhood feel with the option of have the big city accessible. I would like to stay away from the mountains & would like to be in an area where I do not have to worry about hurricanes or floods. As well as crime.
2. Are there bug problems? This may sound funny to some, but I am so serious. I really hate bugs - we have our summer mosquito problem in Michigan, but nothing like flying roaches and scorpians like in Texas.
3. What is the weather like year round?
4. How's the accounting job market? Base pay in Michigan for entry level is $50,000... is it comparable in NC?

[PennyH]

ivyinmichigan -
1. The city really depends a lot on your budget. There's a lot of strings about areas so you may want to check out some of those, but in general Cary and Chapel Hill are the most expensive. Are you buying or renting, and what's your budget? There's a lot of great suburbs with good access to everything in Raleigh, like Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Garner, Wake Forest, and much more. I've been here 3 years and no hurricane warnings yet. For flooding, check the area to see if you're in a flood plain. The worst I've heard about was the Crabtree Valley Mall area, which is right next to Crabtree Creek - in general there doesn't seem to be a flooding issue.
2. There's more bugs here than I'm used to (from Washington State), but most people use a pesticide service. Haven't seen any flying roaches or scorpians! In general haven't seen many big bugs, just your typical stuff.
3. Weather is MUCH warmer than Michigan. The first summer will take some getting used to. No snow - maybe a dusting once a winter. Fall and spring are great - balmy, comfortably warm.
4. I've seen a lot of postings for accounting jobs. Not sure about the base pay, but I've found Salary.com to be helpful -you can plug in your job title and area, and it comes back fairly close, with a range of salaries.

[sls76]

Try salarycalculator.com for a salary comparison. I'd say Michigan summers (at least my experience in Northern Michigan where my parents summer) are at least as buggy as here, but because of the drought, this summer didn't seem so buggy. Both my kids are very sensitive to mosquito bites and 2006 was a tough summer for us here. In terms of weather, the summers here are long and humid, the winters are fairly short (don't expect much snow). Spring and Fall are wonderful. If you're young and single you might not like Cary. Raleigh might be a better choice.

[Moving From Michigan]

I am moving out of Michigan after the school year (my wife and I are teachers). We have done EXTENSIVE research, including my new addiction to these forums. We started by looking at Money Magazine's Best Places to Live. Both Apex and Holly Springs are in the Top 25. So, naturally we started looking there.

As it turns out, Wake County Schools are forcing many students to change schools from those closest to them to accommodate overly rapid population growth. Many of the schools are also turning to a year-round calendar. In addition, Holly Springs is soon to be the proud owner of a new dump. While there are no guarantees that these things won't happen elsewhere, I definitely would like to at least try to avoid these situations, so my wife and I pushed my research a little further out from Raleigh.

I have wound up my research in Clayton. My wife and I even went back to looking at other states. No matter what we do, we wind up back in Clayton. So, it's official, we are no longer looking elsewhere. We will be down for a look-see to pick out a specific community in February...can't wait!

Clayton, from ALL reports maintains a small town feel, is further removed from the urban sprawl of Raleigh than Apex, Cary, or Holly Springs, and provides better "bang for the buck" than any of the others. The people of these forums have been extraordinarily helpful in our efforts as well. You might want to check out the www.4042.com discussion threads for even more helpful advice/info.

Anyway, wherever you end up, after your own research, GOOD LUCK!

Merry Christmas to all!


Brady

[ivyinmichigan]

Thanks for your help. I currrently live in the city of SE Michigan. I am not in the best neighborhood - just where I can afford to live. I currently own, but would probably start off renting. I would need a place that is dog friendly. I could comfortably afford to spend about $750 on a place, as I am taking a pay cut to start my new career.

If you don't mind me asking - what kind of bugs would I be dealing with or is it just a lot of the typical bugs (ants, mosquitos, flies)?

I am single (30), so I will keep my focus on the Raleigh area. Is there an area I should stay away from? I currently live about 20 miles from Detroit. I do not like Detroit - I usually just visit for concerts, sporting events.... I prefer to feel and be safe.

[ntchanga]

Hello IvyinMichigan-

I'm a Michigan gal myself and moved here (Durham) last year. As for your questions, I'll try my best to answer a couple of them...
1. If I can make some city comparisons, here's what I'd say... The city of Chapel Hill reminds me a little of Ann Arbor or E. Lansing because of the university vibe. It is expensive though, so it really depends on your job/budget, etc. Durham is like a small Detroit. Pockets of nice areas, lots of diversity, etc. Raleigh reminds me of Grand Rapids. Clean, professional. Cary reminds me of a nice Detroit suburb-- family oriented, lots of big box stores, sprawl. I'm still looking for a place like Traverse City (where I'm from and miss so much!)
2. The insects here are worse than south Texas, especially the spiders! (I lived in San Antonio for several years and never had an issue with the bugs.) Mosquitos weren't bad this past year, but I guess it's due to the drought. Comparable to Michigan?
3. The weather is less extreme than Michigan. The summers here don't seem as hot as Michigan to me. I think a lot of it has to do with the humidity. Michigan is definitely more humid in the summer. Of course the winters are milder here.
4. I can't help you with accounting salary info. Just be careful with the salary calculators. My husband and I used them before moving and I don't think they were quite right. It's more expensive here than the salary calculators estimated, especially for food. Be sure to get a job before moving!

Good luck! BTW: Where in Michigan are you from?

[ivyinmichigan]

I am from Grand Rapids - so I am really glad to hear there is a city like GR. I currently live near Auburn Hills, which is about 20 miles north of Detroit. Is Raleigh and Durham pretty close in distance?

Is there sales tax on food?

[sls76]

Originally Posted by ntchanga

Hello IvyinMichigan-

I'm a Michigan gal myself and moved here (Durham) last year. As for your questions, I'll try my best to answer a couple of them...
1. If I can make some city comparisons, here's what I'd say... The city of Chapel Hill reminds me a little of Ann Arbor or E. Lansing because of the university vibe. It is expensive though, so it really depends on your job/budget, etc. Durham is like a small Detroit. Pockets of nice areas, lots of diversity, etc. Raleigh reminds me of Grand Rapids. Clean, professional. Cary reminds me of a nice Detroit suburb-- family oriented, lots of big box stores, sprawl. I'm still looking for a place like Traverse City (where I'm from and miss so much!)
2. The insects here are worse than south Texas, especially the spiders! (I lived in San Antonio for several years and never had an issue with the bugs.) Mosquitos weren't bad this past year, but I guess it's due to the drought. Comparable to Michigan?
3. The weather is less extreme than Michigan. The summers here don't seem as hot as Michigan to me. I think a lot of it has to do with the humidity. Michigan is definitely more humid in the summer. Of course the winters are milder here.
4. I can't help you with accounting salary info. Just be careful with the salary calculators. My husband and I used them before moving and I don't think they were quite right. It's more expensive here than the salary calculators estimated, especially for food. Be sure to get a job before moving!

Good luck! BTW: Where in Michigan are you from?

I'm going to have to strongly disagree about the summers here. My parents are slightly north of Traverse City (in Petoskey) and we have spent a lot of time there in June, July, August and September. The summers here are significantly hotter and more humid than any part of Michigan and they are very long.

http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/rh.html

Moderator cut: link not allowed
Moderator cut: link not allowed

[toot68]

Having spent 5 years in East Lansing, I can confidently say that the bugs here are non-existant compared to those in michigan. There's some mosquito's, but they are very spotty...high in some places and absent in others. Usually depends on whether you are near some bottomland. Very few biting flies compared to michigan. Alot more ticks down here though.

[ivyinmichigan]

Thanks for the info - good to know about the ticks due to my little doggy girl...