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Hey, OP here. Thanks for all of your responses, they are very helpful to me.
You guys are correct that I'm looking at places to live before I have a job offer, but that's because I'll probably have to move quickly if I get one and I thought finding this out now would be a good idea. I'm just glad that I found somewhere to ask.
My biggest problem besides unemployment is meeting people and having a social life. I'm someone who really struggles with that and right now, I live in the suburbs and I never meet anybody my age to hang out with. I guess I'm not necessarily looking for a place where there are a bunch of festivals, etc. because I can always travel to those. I'm just looking neighborhood where there are people in my age range or stage of life that I can interact with day to day. I'm going to be moving here without knowing anybody in the area and it would help to live in a place where I could make friends easily.
Downtown Raleigh and Downtown Durham are where the "stuff" is if you just like to wander up to things going on, but how often do you really meet friends that way? The way to meet people is to get involved in activities, whether sports leagues, volunteer work, music groups, book clubs, etc. The Triangle has TONS of things going on of all sorts, and that's where you really are around people long enough to get to know them...especially if you are not particularly outgoing. For things like that, it is less important to live near the activity as long as it's within 20-30 minutes of where you'd be attending from.
I'm not particularly outgoing, but I am involved in local theater groups, a choral group, a kickball league, and other nonprofit volunteer work. It's places like that that I meet new people; meanwhile I almost never talk to most of my neighbors (though granted I live in a "family-oriented" suburban neighborhood).
Most of us still think you should wait for a job offer--you can always get one of those "residence suites" for a week and you will definitely find something with a little looking around, especially if you can work it out with your new employer to give you an afternoon or a day off in your first week to look around. Then YOU are the one making the decision on where you live, rather than strangers on the Internet. Or, ask people you work with, since they would know what the commuting situation is to that workplace.
As others said, it would be impractical to move to Clayton and score a job in Durham. The Triangle is quite a large area in area, more than outsiders think.
Have you done so? I ask because my experience is vastly different. I came down a year ago, at 25 years old, for a great job opportunity/promotion. I pay less and get more space and earn more, and again, while the nightlife isn't quite as broad, its still more than enough for me to do. I can only go out so many times/week.
Conversely, a close friend who relocated to the Bay area pays more for less; rents are double what it was in his previous location, and he doesn't live in nearly as nice of a location; he had to settle for somewhere a bit more suburban than the neighborhood he lived in before.
Listen, I'm not enamored with the Triangle, and I prefer the last city I lived in, especially as I like winter. But, if I were asked to relocate to DC or NYC or California, there would have to be a much more significant pay raise for me to consider it.
I think we're talking past each other. I'm not criticizing your decision to move to the Triangle, it's your choice where you choose to spend your youth.
I'm addressing myself to the OP who hasn't decided on a location and doesn't have the burden or priorities of a family man. Someday my perspective will make sense to you, but by then it'll be too late!
Someday my perspective will make sense to you, but by then it'll be too late!
Regret taking the next step up in my career? Doubt it. As I've said, I've lived in some of those major metropolitan areas. They did have more entertainment options. I did like the last city I was in more. They did, in theory, have more dating options as well, but one can only go on so many dates, and I haven't run through the Triangle's pool yet. My point is, OP should generally go where his career takes him, and if it brings him to the triangle, he won't hate it and might even enjoy it.
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