You guys are on the top 10 list to move to! (Charlotte: transplants, sales)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Basically, I understand people like me are increasing the house sales prices and there are too many of us coming to Raleigh. But I live in Haymarket, VA and commute to east of Fairfax, VA, which is only like 10 miles but it is an absolute slogging trek in the morning and afternoon. Many times, I leave work at 5.30pm which I think is a normal time to leave work, and don't get home until AFTER 8pm with random accidents and fender benders! Having 2 little ones, this is UNACCEPTABLE! My wife leaves my dinner in the oven every night because I get home so late.
Now I understand that most DC and NOVA jobs are not available anywhere else in the country, but my particular one is ready to go in the Triangle area with only a slight decrease in the salary. I'm thinking about just screwing this DC/NOVA area and coming to NC, either Raleigh or Charlotte. The main allure of DC was that I went to undergrad here, my parents got good jobs here, and this area is so nice and diverse in terms of race, culture, pretty much everything. Sure, racism is everywhere but it's not that big of a deal.
Just to clarify, I am "white" but have Native American roots. So I slightly take offense to these Richard Spencer types to establish a white state - sure that's your idea but this is not your country entirely - it's a country that belongs to many different people. An advantage of DC is that everyone feels welcome here and I think that is great. I travelled to RDU one time and Morrisville and noticed at the stores that many people were "brown" and Indian. My friend who was traveling with me said this was "weird" and that there were too many Muslims here. I had to educate him and explain that most Indians are Hindu and that you can't just judge people based on the brown skin - this is what I have the most trouble with. And this is an issue because they are already considering other issues due to "looking" like a particular religion. I said many "brown" people can be Christian also. I really hate this ridiculous narrow minded assumption of peoples' skin color.
Now I do have relatives in Raleigh who tell me all the info. But I don't think Raleigh will become NOVA - even though you guys have so many people moving there. My cousin takes 540 to "travel around" to avoid the 40 traffic.
My main reason for posting is that I realize many NC people don't like these out of state people moving here like me, especially all these NJ and NY people who are trying to avoid ridiculous property taxes. But I don't really see any other option other than moving away from this ridiculous cost of living DC!
The triangle has people from northeast and Midwest. They won't get mad since you're not southern.
It depends what you're looking for. If you want the vibrancy, history and activities of DC, you won't find it here. If you want to go to work, and have the dull suburban lifestyle you will find it.
The Triangle/Raleigh is known as being a great place to raise a family. It doesn't have the bright lights/big city appeal of NYC or DC or really even Atlanta, but it's very appealing to folks who want the suburban lifestyle so seems like it might be a good fit for you. There are things to do here, but not on the scale of DC. It's just a little more laid back, which sounds like what you're after.
My main reason for posting is that I realize many NC people don't like these out of state people moving here like me, especially all these NJ and NY people who are trying to avoid ridiculous property taxes. But I don't really see any other option other than moving away from this ridiculous cost of living DC!
If you don't act like a pioneer blazing the trail or a refugee coming from a situation of desperation...you don't have to worry about being "that" transplant.
I've lived in NC for the better part of 25 years, but as someone who grew up in Annandale, and spends a couple months of each year living in Reston (commutuing daily to Gaithersburg) due to aging parents, I can sympathize. I say pull the trigger and make the move. You won't regret it. You might take a slight hit in salary, but you'll more than make up for it in a lower COL and vastly increased quality of life. The time you'll regain with your family alone will make it worthwhile. There's really not much in NOVA that you can't get here (except for maybe Wegmans and CAVA, but Wegman's is coming soon and I'm hoping CAVA will follow! LOL), and you'll find it comical what people call "traffic" down here.
I've lived in NC for the better part of 25 years, but as someone who grew up in Annandale, and spends a couple months of each year living in Reston (commutuing daily to Gaithersburg) due to aging parents, I can sympathize. I say pull the trigger and make the move. You won't regret it. You might take a slight hit in salary, but you'll more than make up for it in a lower COL and vastly increased quality of life. The time you'll regain with your family alone will make it worthwhile. There's really not much in NOVA that you can't get here (except for maybe Wegmans and CAVA, but Wegman's is coming soon and I'm hoping CAVA will follow! LOL), and you'll find it comical what people call "traffic" down here.
Mostly, we mean “traffic for here.”
The majority of locals who complain about traffic remember there being far less of it. Because there was.
Since we do tend to travel to various places around the US (and the rest of the world), there’s a general awareness that traffic is worse in other places.
That doesn’t mean increased traffic here compared to what used to be the norm is enjoyable.
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