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Just wondering if anyone has opinions on how the two states compare? I am thinking of the raleigh, clayton or matthews areas, in particular, for a good, affordable, place to raise a family, housing in the $200-$250k range. I grew up in va bch 30 yrs ago but have lived in ny and briefly colorado since then, and I know va has greatly changed. (For VA, I am thinking of the semi-rural areas, not northern va. I prefer small-town feel to urban!) ty!
I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I've lived in Virginia (both Fairfax County and Roanoke) and North Carolina (born in Greensboro and have lived in Triangle for last decade). Ignoring Northern Virginia, which is totally different, here's my take:
In terms of natural beauty, both states are beautiful, but NC has much more interesting beaches with the Outer Banks. Access to both mountains and sea is much easier with I-40 going mostly E-W through the middle of NC (66 and 64 in Virginia only cover the northern part of Virginia).
NC always struck me as a little poorer in terms of state-provided amenities. Roads in NC are not kept up quite as well, the NC DMV is a decentralized mess (separate title/tax offices from license offices, both usually crappy), and some local government interactions I've had have usually favored Virginia. However, I think people in NC are more prosperous individually (again, excepting Northern Virginia), owing to the dynamic economy. The cities of NC are changing much more rapidly and often have greater numbers of younger (college-age and just beyond) folks than comparable VA cities. That means that you get a great sense of forward progress in NC, whereas in VA (e.g. Richmond, Petersburg, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Blacksburg, and points west, and even in Charlottesville) things move much more slowly. Some towns in VA are not very different from what they were 10 years ago, but most NC cities have grown rapidly.
In terms of the Triangle specifically, you can find "down-home," small-town feeling in areas like Clayton, Garner, Smithfield, Knightdale, and Wake Forest (basically, southern and eastern edges of Raleigh). The Triangle area in general, except for some really bad parts of Durham, is very safe and a great place for families who want to live affordably (200-250 should find you a pretty and relatively roomy house) but also give kids great opportunities for the future (good and diverse school system, eventual access to a lot of great colleges).
Small town southern VA and small town NC seem pretty much the same to me. The only way I can tell is the license plates on the cars.
I totally agree with you! I've lived in the rural southwestern Virginia, Charlotte, and Raleigh. I've also spent quite a bit of time in Richmond and the surrounding towns around the city (Mechanicsville, Chester, Ashland, etc)
The funny thing is that I would compare the Triangle area more to Northern VA, except that NoVA is bigger, much more expensive, and has TONS of federal govt. jobs etc. The big difference in feel to these areas is that NoVA has a considerably more northern feel to it ans by all standards has lost any southern feel it might have once had in the past...and although the Triangle is catching up in that area I don't think this area will lose ALL of it's "southerness" like NoVA did a long time ago.
Now I'll leave out NoVA like you said and in that case I would give the edge to North Carolina. I think the cities in NC are more progessive than VA (sans NoVA) and there is just a different vibe here. My wife grew up in small town southern VA and I grew up in northern VA, so I think small town NC is pretty close to small town southern VA, although I haven't spent too much time in small town NC, minus Emerald Isle which is a beach community and nothing like other small inland towns in NC. The Triangle has some nice paying jobs for an area that is considered afordable by many people's standards.
Bottom line is I think there is not much difference in small towns in either state (minus NoVA smaller towns), but I would rather live in Raleigh than anywhere else in VA, including NoVa due to cost of living and traffic. I miss home a bit, but I know Raleigh is home now and my wife and I will probably live here for the long haul.
Hi, One BIG difference between Raleigh and Virginia Beach is the cost of living . The pay scale in Virginia Beach is very low......probably because of the large military presence . And the cost of housing there has gone UP in the past five years. A simple 1200 square feet, 45 year old starter home without any upgrades will cost you at least $225,000. Also Raleigh is doing a much better job addressing traffic problems. All they do is talk, talk, talk in Virginia Beach, but Raleigh is actually building new roads.
I haven't spent a lot of time in Raleigh - yet - but I currently live in Va Beach but am hoping to move to Raleigh hopefully by the spring. Is there anyone else that can compare the two areas? Also, how do the drivers compare? Don't even ask what I think about drivers in VB!
Location: Between a nook-a-ler reactor and a dump, North Cackalacky
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Having lived in VA and the Triangle, the semirural places physically seem the same. In fact, they seem the same as areas in Ohio, PA, and numerous other states I've spent time in.
One difference I've noticed that sets VA apart is people's pride in their state (aside from NoVa and Tidewater/Beach areas). You can take this one of two ways:
- Semi-rural Virginians believe Virginia is the Chosen Land and let you know.
- They truly love the State and are very passionate about it.
The other difference is interacting with locals. Here in NC, I've had nothing but good, helpful experiences. In VA, if I stopped somewhere to ask for directions, for example, I usually got something along the lines of: "Head on down the road a mile to where General Lee's horse took a dump. Take a left. Go on another mile to where Stonewall set up the defense to repel those Yanks, and take a right. When you get to the tree where J.E.B Stuart fired up his troops in '63, take a right and you're there".
The other thing is Virginians don't dump their trash along the roads and highways, while Carolinians seem to have no inhibitions about doing it.
My husband and I got a laugh at the "historical" directions. We noticed, too, how prominent history was in Virginia, particularly Charlottesville, where we lived for many years. NC seems less preoccupied about the Civil War, Revolutionary history, etc. We also like the greater variety of architectural styles in NC. VA seemed to always be brick traditional styles. I do love the mountains, hills, and cooler climate of VA, though. In NC, you have to head farther west to find comparable topography and climate.
I have lived in Virginia Beach my whole life, and I am just about to relocate to Raleigh.
As far as drivers are concerned my husband thinks they are a little more aggressive in Raleigh, but I am not so sure.
What someone else said is definitely true....The cost of housing here is crazy now. Our 1250 square foot house is on the market for over 220 which does not make any sense, but this is actually comparable to the houses that have been sold in this area. We couldn't even afford our own house if we wanted to buy here now.
The two areas are not too much different climate-wise. I think Virginia Beach may not get quite as hot as Raleigh in the summers...but for the most part when we leave here to visit Raleigh and come back there is almost no change between the two.
Honestly, Virginia Beach is my hometown, so it will always be special to me...but I love Raleigh. I have always wanted to move there. I just think it offers more for families...especially families that are not military. I love the military and appreciate what they do, but it is hard living in a military town when you are not military. When I was growing up, all my friends would move away within two-three years, so it was kind of like I moved all the time even though I didn't. I find it hard to socialize here sometimes because many of the groups are formed around military wives or moms...
So, I think that both areas have charm, but Virginia Beach's housing has really gotten out of control. My husband and I have no chance to upgrade here and find more space for our family because the housing prices are so steep.
I think the people in Raleigh are similar to here. There are a lot of Northern transplants in Raleigh, but there are transplants from all over the U.S. in this area...so there is not too much difference. People are usually friendly in both places.
The good news is that which ever place you move...the drive is very easy. We have made it quite a few times with a baby, and we have always been successful.
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Raleigh or Virginia Beach
