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so as you will see from my other posts we are considering the move. thank you all for your responses. many of them said not to move just for money reasons but for other reasons as well. this i do agree with. weather being a huge aspect for us...but i would stay in the cold despite my feelings of it to be with famiy if money werent a factor. but one of the reasons i put pa out is bc of the cold and job reasons.
money reasons was our moving motivator...look for better financial well being. i feel that if we have that we will be a better family unit. I decided what life i would like to live and just feel that if we stay in Nj we will not be able to achieve that.
I have researched numerous cities and towns in MD, NJ, DE, PA, VA and NC. NC and PA our final choice based on the information I have gathered. (schools, town and community, crime, cost of living, weather, etc)
but thats all written material.
so can you tell me the big differences you've found? what are the main differences in nj and nc. i just want to see that we are on the right track and would be happy.
we would rent for a year no matter where we go to save and make sure we are where we want to be.
so as you will see from my other posts we are considering the move. thank you all for your responses. many of them said not to move just for money reasons but for other reasons as well. this i do agree with. weather being a huge aspect for us...but i would stay in the cold despite my feelings of it to be with famiy if money werent a factor. but one of the reasons i put pa out is bc of the cold and job reasons.
money reasons was our moving motivator...look for better financial well being. i feel that if we have that we will be a better family unit. I decided what life i would like to live and just feel that if we stay in Nj we will not be able to achieve that.
I have researched numerous cities and towns in MD, NJ, DE, PA, VA and NC. NC and PA our final choice based on the information I have gathered. (schools, town and community, crime, cost of living, weather, etc)
but thats all written material.
so can you tell me the big differences you've found? what are the main differences in nj and nc. i just want to see that we are on the right track and would be happy.
we would rent for a year no matter where we go to save and make sure we are where we want to be.
thanks
What part of NJ are you comparing NC to? NJ varies from shore communties, rural areas with crops and horse farms, to more urban areas like Hoboken.
Some goes for North Carolina. Living in Raleigh is much different then say living in Wilmington or Boone.
Are you trying to compare a suburban area of NJ to the suburban area of NC?
well we live in marlton. which is pretty busy, not a lot of land, lots of shopping centers, overpopulated, etc. We are pretty much between the two types of areas. on one side of us is busy cherry hill and the other closer side is the "sticks" varying from farms to the pine barrons . shamong, tabernacle etc.
we like having access to shopping areas but we dont necessarily like all the hussle and bussle and heavy trafic and feel the need to be in the center of it. we dont mind a little drive to main shopping centers etc. we would like to have access to a "main street" sort of area though, that has parades, town events, small community type of feel etc. we often enjoy that in medford which also borders us. so we would like a little town that has those sort of things. we would be happy living "in town" or right outside.
in nc the areas we were looking at is wake forest, apex, holly springs, and youngsville.
also, one thing we want is a yard. we have 3 kids and 2 dogs. so a nice size yard would be nice, we have about .25 of land (prob less) and we have 5 nboring fences. we thought we bought such a great yard but then we go to my sis in laws who has an acre and we find that appealing but we dont even need that much.
with all this being said we are pretty open. but like i said when looking we were looking for a little town type feel. i dont know if this contradicts eachother though.
oh another thing is..i would like some activities for the kids. recreational sports, dance class or something. that is something i would like to have.
did you ever see funny farm...dh has said that he wouldnt mind that sort of thing. when he watches the movie he always comments about how great that would be. different but great in the end.
but my dh needs to play sports. i did a search and saw that they do have some men softball leagues?? this is huge for him and something i dont want to take away. he enjoys playing sports so hopefully there are adult leagues as well.
me i am very open in that i just want to be home with my kids, join the pta, do crafts etc??
Some info for you to compare your present town with Raleigh Moderator cut: url removed . Moderator cut: url removed Cost of living here is 3.9 less the marlton,,, unemployement rate here is higher then marlton. present job growth less then Marlton. Sales tax is higher here 7%. verse marlton 6% ...Income tax lower here by .76%... Home prices well it all depends on location some areas are just as high as Marlton some not. seems like not a huge difference looking at these numbers... If you dont like crowds and lots of growth keep in mind they predict lots of people in this area in the near future while Marlton is holding a steady population. As far as weather we used to have a snow event several times a year but it has warmed up in recent winters and its hot in the summer spring and fall. Do lots of research before you move if its for money reasons. I have met lots of folks very distressed by what they expected and what they got. Raleigh is like a light in the dark attracting lots of moths and some are getting burned. Lots of competion for jobs and development is out of control. Good luck just make your move with eyes wide open and try to picture it down the road with high migration and all its issues.
Last edited by autumngal; 03-19-2008 at 03:57 PM..
Reason: no competitive sites allowed
From what I've seen of NJ, and what I know of NC after living there for 13 years. Once you get out of the more urban and older areas of northeastern NJ; NJ and the triangle area of NC seem very smilar. Mostly suburban, middle-upper middle class subdivisions; a lot of shopping centers and stripmalls. NJ is closer to major ciites like NY and Philadlephia, but also a more expensive (depending on who you ask. haha)
Knowing the area of NJ you are in, you are pretty far removed from NYC, and somewhat far removed from Philly, although closer. I think you will lose less of what you have on a daily basis than someone from say Bergen County.
You will still live in the same proximity from "city" type acitivites - museums, arts, etc. as you do now just on a smaller scale. I think personally from my visits that there is more to do with children in NC then NJ. Shopping and neighborhoods will be very similar. There are a lot less non-chain type restaurants not there aren't any, but they are certainly fewer. Taxes are obviously a lot less than NJ. Weather is a lot better. Schools are a matter of opinion, but from my research they are equal or better.
So, while some things may be different, I don't think your day to day will be affected by much more than weather & taxes, but for a lot of people, those are two VERY major things to be different!
Youngsville would be a good fit for you, it's a small up and coming town, not far from Raleigh with plenty of shopping/restaurants in nearby Wake Forest. That being said I'm from New England and can't wait to move back despite the cold weather. I've been here 3 years now only because I haven't sold my house yet. There are so many things I miss like being able to hop on a train to NYC or spend a day in Boston. Biggest mistake I made was not renting first now it seems I'm stuck here.
First, be aware that unemployment is rising here even in the tech fields. If you have to work, you need a secure job. Also, many fields pay a lot less here than in NJ.
Our taxes are not that low except for real estate. That too may change to pay for the infrastructure demands imposed by growth not supported by up front impact fees.
Public transportation is near zero. Kids need to drive or be taken everywhere.
We once lived in Edison Township as well as Manhattan and came here from New Orleans in 1989. We've rented apartments since then since good rentals aren't too scarce or overpriced.
We love Raleigh but it's not for everyone. Don't come here just because you can buy a cheaper home. That's not everything.
Good luck.
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