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I don't currently live in the triangle but have been to North Carolina many times. Regarding the news, the media is much more negative and competitive up in the northeast. The Boston news channels are constantly competing against each other very aggressively and the local news is all the time. It really is overkill. One network starts at 4:30, so then another network moves to 4:00. Almost everything on is "the sky is falling" type of news.
That was one of the first things to strike me when I sat down my first night in NC and watched the news. They have a lot more "nice" stories on. Things like stories on art, development and helping the needy. I was not used to that, coming from MA myself. I was very happy to see some good news, instead of just all the bad things that happen.
Thank you for your original post! I I have been looking to relocate but wasn't sure where and my friends told me the Triangle area would be a good fit for me. Your post has only reinforced what everyone's been telling me. I currently live in Hampton Roads, VA and one day just got in my car and drove down to Raleigh. I LOVED it. I spent hours just walking around and now I'm focused on moving. Now all I need is a getting a job there!
I will preface this with the fact that I have been here basically my whole life and am not overly familiar with what it is like to live in other areas.
What this area gives me is a feeling of being content. It may not be a tropical paradise, or have the extensive national history of a northern city like Boston, NY or Philly but it has everything I need on a daily basis for my family.
You can take a 5 hour drive and run almost the entire gambit of natural beauty from the coast, through the sounds and swamps, across the piedmont fields, rivers and forests and up into the oldest mountain range in the country with breathtaking views around every corner.
Our traffic situation may not be ideal, but from what I gather it pales in comparison to other large cities. I wish the vast majority of large employers were not tucked away in one area of the triangle. I would be an advocate of an RTP 2.0 and even 3.0 scattered around to say Clayton/Garner and maybe between Wake Forest/Knightdale so we can have some suburban sprawl with the families having more options for living closer to their jobs. I am not really a big fan of population density, but then again I also love my space and some sense of privacy so it is just a personal opinion.
As I am typing this I am watching birds flying in and out of my feeders, and 4 deer are standing 10' from my window overlooking 100's of acres of preserved forest....and I live in a Holly Springs suburb! To contrast that, I can drive about 1 mile and buy anything I need!!
My only hope is that the immense influx of people leave the ways that led to the downturn of their areas (like the higher taxes/relative housing costs) where they came from and embrace the way of life we have been enjoying here so it can continue to be a desirable and affordable place to live.
I just don't get the paradise thing. There are good people everywhere. If you don't like where you live in the state you're in, you probably just need to change neighborhoods, not states.
NC is fine. I moved here for my husband's job. I like it and don't need to move, but it's no better than anywhere else I've lived. I can't see what the huge appeal is, other than the weather which I admit is really nice. Restaurants, nice people, etc...these can be found in every state.
Not to knock NC...I just don't get why people find it so fabulous.
I agree 100%. I lived in the Triangle for over 12 years and it is indeed a fine place to live. It's just, IMO, overrated. It's nice, but not so incredibly special and superior to everywhere else like so many people who are recent or near future transplants make it out to be. With the exception of the climate; you can find pretty much everything th the original poster mentioned in just about every state in the union. I'd also definitely argue that while in many cases the newer shiny houses in NC look "prettier" than those in areas of the Northeast; that's about it. They are newer, and look fancier and perhaps more appealing; but not necessarily better construciton. Quite the opposite in many cases acutally.
As for the final question frogandtoaD; I think it has a lot to do with the fact that forbes, money, and many of these "fne living" type of magazines make the triangle (especially Cary) out to be just this absoltuely spectacular place by rating it highly on all of their "livabilty" lists.
makes all the difference in the world. If you come into this area happy to be here and looking for the good, it will be so much better on you (and all the rest of us). I guess it helps that so many folks did CHOOSE this area, whether it was because of some article or not. Witness in this thread and others that spouses who had to follow their partners here are often the ones who like it the least. I have noticed that many people who move here begin to relax and really start to enjoy life when they get here. The attitude rubs off and feeds that of others and so on and so on...
Compare it to going to a party or other happy occasion. Most people have fun, but there's usually someone there who doesn't have a good time.
I have lived in several states and overseas in both big cities and very small towns. This area does have a lot of the same things that can be found elsewhere, but it has a little of what so many other have put together in one spot.
One of my favorite things about this area is that we have such a nice mix of ages, single and married, Republicans and Democrats, lifestyles, languages, artists and techies, etc. Keeps it from getting boring!
I agree 100%. I lived in the Triangle for over 12 years and it is indeed a fine place to live. It's just, IMO, overrated. It's nice, but not so incredibly special and superior to everywhere else like so many people who are recent or near future transplants make it out to be. With the exception of the climate; you can find pretty much everything th the original poster mentioned in just about every state in the union. I'd also definitely argue that while in many cases the newer shiny houses in NC look "prettier" than those in areas of the Northeast; that's about it. They are newer, and look fancier and perhaps more appealing; but not necessarily better construciton. Quite the opposite in many cases acutally.
As for the final question frogandtoaD; I think it has a lot to do with the fact that forbes, money, and many of these "fne living" type of magazines make the triangle (especially Cary) out to be just this absoltuely spectacular place by rating it highly on all of their "livabilty" lists.
Well, I can speak from the viewpoint of someone that lived in Massachusetts and moved here. To compare the difference "there" to "here" for me is as follows:
There - nothing around unless I drove 40 minutes. Here - everything I could ever need within 10 minutes.
There - roads falling apart. Not repaved in 30+ years. Pot holes everywhere. No money put into infrastructure. Here - new roads, lots of planning, lots of money in infrastructure.
There - houses not built as well. Basic boxes with doors and windows. Inferior exterior & interior finishing.......laminite countertops, all carpeting, thin shingles, 2.5" trim, very few windows and poor basic designs. Here - structure is built the same (same framing structure), but many added extras....hardwood floors, crown moldings, better shingles, much better trim, granite countertops, much more interesting design.
There - no landscaping is required and very little is ever used. Everything is very bland. Here - landscaping is extensively used and madated in many areas. Much more appealing to the eye.
There - frigid winters and 7 months of dormant plants. Stuck inside the house for 5 months straight. Here - very mild winters, golf year round, always can be outside.
There - real estate taxes twice that of here. Here - cheaper real estate tax rate (and going down again in 2009 for Wake county), lower real estate tax as homes are less expensive.
There - homes very expensive. Here - homes 1/3 to 1/2 the price as there.
There - jobs very hard to find. Had to travel 1 hour to find something decent. Here - good jobs everywhere.
There - heating and electricy very expensive. Here electricity dirt cheap and low heating bills due to warm winters.
These are just a few from where I came from and where I am now. Also, I have seen many different areas of the counrty, not all, and have yet to see any place that compares to this. The closest would be some areas of Florida.
It will be interesting to see the comparision from other parts of the country.
I just don't get the paradise thing. There are good people everywhere. If you don't like where you live in the state you're in, you probably just need to change neighborhoods, not states.
NC is fine. I moved here for my husband's job. I like it and don't need to move, but it's no better than anywhere else I've lived. I can't see what the huge appeal is, other than the weather which I admit is really nice. Restaurants, nice people, etc...these can be found in every state.
Not to knock NC...I just don't get why people find it so fabulous.
Beautifully said! 1000 % right. The main thing to note is that a lot of people are very gullible and (sadly) beleive everything they read. Fortune Magazine, Money Magazine, etc etc are full of BS if you ask me. They must have other reasons when they rate a state/city for being the best in this and that. Either a state/city is losing population and they rate it with the intention of bringing people from elsewhere to occupy the many homes they build every year that stay unoccupied. I currently work for an employer that was listed in Fortune Magazine as being the "best" employer in the east coast and since I am working there, i can tell you that it is the biggest lie in the world. Words cannot explain the types of stupidity and unprofessionalism that go on there so the only way to know is to actually work there, otherwise, images are very deceiving.
OK, I'll let you in on a s-e-c-r-e-t, but only if you'll share it with everybody.
Forbes lies. People here lie. NC stinks. You are best off NOT moving to the Triangle.
There. I feel better getting it off my chest.
So, there must be at leat one thing you like about this area. Please share with us what you like. It may be something that we have not thought of or experienced yet.
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What makes me happy here?
To contrast that, I can drive about 1 mile and buy anything I need!!
