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Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary The Triangle Area
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Old 03-28-2018, 11:36 AM
 
Location: Chapelboro
12,799 posts, read 16,272,406 times
Reputation: 11225

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And I addressed that in an earlier post, #28. Chapel Hill is not rural. It's not even "small town" anymore, but it used to be. If you don't want urban sprawl why on earth would you be in Cary? It's the epitome of suburbia.

I feel like I don't have a good handle on what Shadesofkray wants, that's why I asked for clarification. I'm not trying to convince anybody that this is the place for them, but it sounds like Shadesofkray is almost wanting to be talked into staying, or maybe it's talked into leaving. I can't tell.

If you want to give it another go here, Shadesofkray, please come back and give us more info on the types of things you like to do, what sorts of things you like in a neighborhood, and maybe we can help you find those sorts of things in our area too. All we've got to go on right now is you like downtown Cary and the fountain and you took some road trips that you liked. Did I miss another post with more specifics?
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Old 03-28-2018, 12:48 PM
 
13,811 posts, read 27,381,906 times
Reputation: 14244
The only thing this area has going for it over the PNW is the cost of living. Cheap homes. That's it!

PNW has better scenery, no income tax, better jobs, and a better climate.
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Old 03-28-2018, 01:13 PM
 
806 posts, read 601,364 times
Reputation: 692
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup View Post
The only thing this area has going for it over the PNW is the cost of living. Cheap homes. That's it!

PNW has better scenery, no income tax, better jobs, and a better climate.
So true. She should move back. If anyone from Amazon is fishing around on this thread, don't move your people here. It sucks. The weather is unbearable.
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Old 03-28-2018, 01:22 PM
 
Location: Cary...."Heritage Neighborhood"
811 posts, read 827,918 times
Reputation: 1289
I know everything is relative….but……Chapel Hill “rural”? Triangle area “brown”? Lack of outdoor recreation and activities, fit for a family I’m assuming, and you live in Central Cary (home to a recent national gold medal award winning parks and rec dept. beating out places like Beaverton, OR and Bellevue, WA)?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Ja4FQILTs

Cary’s Parks Department Wins Top National Award – CaryCitizen


Things that make you go Hmmmmm???? To be honest, when you said you were sick of the brown, sprawl, and lack of recreation and activities, I was 90% sure you had landed in a clear-cut brand new treeless subdivision out in Wake Forest, Holly Springs, Fuquay, Clayton or Garner that is still “developing” its parks and rec. Sounds like your mind is pretty much made up then. Add to this you prefer grey drizzly weather and “HATE with a passion hot weather (anything over 80)” and the decision seems easy…..you should probably move back to Seattle.

Final test....maybe(?).

Today is an absolutely beautiful quintessential central NC spring day with those Carolina Blue skies…. you can just see, smell and feel “it”. You live in Central Cary, one of the most diverse, liberal, and progressive parts of the Triangle -outside of Chapel Hill and Durham. After work, take the family on a stroll somewhere along the 72 miles of green way that is likely right out your front door and connects to a plethora of parks (Bond, North Cary, Godbold list goes on and on). If not that, within 3-4 miles you have Umstead State Park or Crabtree County Park with miles and miles of single track hiking trails (access to both at the new Old Reedy Creek Rd trailhead). Or, about 6 miles away, you have the NC Museum of Art with a fantastic newly renovated outdoor exhibit and recreational area that I guarantee is going to be filled with families “enjoying the moment”. After this, go to Bosphorus or Pizzeria Faulisi for dinner and then walk to Fresh for an ice cream and then maybe “quick stop” at Pharmacy or Bond Brothers for a beer (you will not be the only family there). Finally, take pleasure that doing this doesn't "break the bank" -as it might in Seattle area.

After that, if you still want this https://www.bing.com/search?q=seattl...%21v3H&PC=SSJS then you should move..... absolutely no regrets.
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Old 03-28-2018, 02:32 PM
 
Location: River's Edge Inn, Todd NC, and Lorgues France
1,734 posts, read 2,563,001 times
Reputation: 2769
Quote:
Originally Posted by ncrunner77 View Post
I know everything is relative….but……Chapel Hill “rural”? Triangle area “brown”? Lack of outdoor recreation and activities, fit for a family I’m assuming, and you live in Central Cary (home to a recent national gold medal award winning parks and rec dept. beating out places like Beaverton, OR and Bellevue, WA)?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Ja4FQILTs

Cary’s Parks Department Wins Top National Award – CaryCitizen


Things that make you go Hmmmmm???? To be honest, when you said you were sick of the brown, sprawl, and lack of recreation and activities, I was 90% sure you had landed in a clear-cut brand new treeless subdivision out in Wake Forest, Holly Springs, Fuquay, Clayton or Garner that is still “developing” its parks and rec. Sounds like your mind is pretty much made up then. Add to this you prefer grey drizzly weather and “HATE with a passion hot weather (anything over 80)” and the decision seems easy…..you should probably move back to Seattle.

Final test....maybe(?).

Today is an absolutely beautiful quintessential central NC spring day with those Carolina Blue skies…. you can just see, smell and feel “it”. You live in Central Cary, one of the most diverse, liberal, and progressive parts of the Triangle -outside of Chapel Hill and Durham. After work, take the family on a stroll somewhere along the 72 miles of green way that is likely right out your front door and connects to a plethora of parks (Bond, North Cary, Godbold list goes on and on). If not that, within 3-4 miles you have Umstead State Park or Crabtree County Park with miles and miles of single track hiking trails (access to both at the new Old Reedy Creek Rd trailhead). Or, about 6 miles away, you have the NC Museum of Art with a fantastic newly renovated outdoor exhibit and recreational area that I guarantee is going to be filled with families “enjoying the moment”. After this, go to Bosphorus or Pizzeria Faulisi for dinner and then walk to Fresh for an ice cream and then maybe “quick stop” at Pharmacy or Bond Brothers for a beer (you will not be the only family there). Finally, take pleasure that doing this doesn't "break the bank" -as it might in Seattle area.

After that, if you still want this https://www.bing.com/search?q=seattl...%21v3H&PC=SSJS then you should move..... absolutely no regrets.
Nice try, but that isn't going to change her mind.
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Old 03-28-2018, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
10,728 posts, read 22,774,307 times
Reputation: 12325
The common theme of people expressing unhappiness with living here seems to be "moved here for lower cost of living" (with little other consideration).

We try and try to advise people to visit, check out the area, imagine living here, come at the height of summer when you can gauge your reaction to the brutal July heat, drive around and check the traffic, sprawl, and your commute. But so many seem to nod and then the next time we here from them it's "We arrive Friday! Cost of living was too much to pass up!" and often they barely even spent time here let alone considering longterm factors.

I know it's hard to move across country. I know it's hard to find a job across the country and time your moving and house-hunting with that; I for one would never do that and admire anyone so gutsy.

But, it sounds like the things you aren't happy with here are never going to change, and as for "easier"? Well, this metro is a Bull's Eye for in-migration so Sprawl? Only going to get (much much) worse. Traffic? See Sprawl. Cost of living? Goes up as area is more desirable and people flee other areas, and are accustomed to paying more, so prices can rise while still feeling "cheap" to the newcomers (and screw the ones already here, right?)

I'm not knocking "easy". My own life is pretty "easy", I often think "boring", but it's because I don't have a high stress tolerance. But, I've never lived anywhere else so I don't have wanderlust or old memories calling me.

I can't really detect a question in your post--none of us can tell you what YOUR gut feeling is. Sounds like you've already decided to move back, and are maybe hoping to make it work, so want someone to talk you into it? I don't know that a bunch of strangers on the Internet can really do that without knowing all of your feelings and what you miss. Many have adapted and eventually feel like this place is "Home". They visit where they came from and can't believe they lived there for so long. Maybe a trip back with all of this in mind will give you a comparison basis, as you look at everything, good and bad, through the eyes of "is this better or worse than where we are now/?"

But, we really cant answer that for you--good luck.
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Old 03-28-2018, 09:51 PM
 
1,545 posts, read 1,866,759 times
Reputation: 1849
Quote:
Originally Posted by ucctgg View Post
To me, those photos are much prettier than the actual places.
That's not the point, nobody has to like any where and if the OP wants to move back then they should, but at the same time reading their post it sounds like they really haven't explored the area. Honestly I noticed lots of people don't(I've been here for like 3 years and some change but have friends that been here all their lives and when I tell them about xyz place they have never been there or heard of it).

I didn't want to drone the OP with every park and trail in the triangle just felt like they probably haven't really been looking, not just for recreation but for entertainment since it sounded like DT Cary is the OPs go to place vs bouncing around and checking the different venues in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

But basically a place is what you make of it, just telling the OP while they here make the best of it by exploring as much as possible
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Old 03-28-2018, 10:34 PM
 
171 posts, read 142,281 times
Reputation: 162
I always wonder if I'm missing out on the good life since I've never lived outside of NC? I'm sure if you've went from Seattle to Holly Springs then you're in a field where you could find other opportunities in Cary or Raleigh. If you live in Cary, and worked in Cary with a 10 minute commute would that make a difference? If it was only a few more minutes out of your way to pick up your kid from school would that make a difference? That's certainly a possibility here. And it could be a nice house, a respectable job and a great elementary school. There's certainly going to be a different pace of life in Cary vs Seattle and if you just want to live with the PNW geography then that's probably where you need to be. I know there are other places I would rather live from a recreation and leisure time standpoint, but I would rather work here and have my son educated here. There will be opportunities for him here. I'm where I am now because it's best for my family. If I put more of a priority on natural beauty I'd be on the coast or in Brevard or Asheville.

If you're set on another locale then it's going to make it difficult for you to embrace something different. I do think there's a lot of charm to NC so I'll leave with a few thoughts. Remember the sunrise over the ocean and sunset over the mountains rather than just the reverse out west. Look for the beauty in the advanced age and biodiversity of the Appalachian mountains rather than the imposing physical scale of the Rockies. Value the seasons, the greening of the spring, a cool breeze on a long hot summer night, the colors of fall and the stark branching of the winter. Appreciate the occasional 76 degree sunny day in February or a cool day in April. Remember that Southern Culture stretches through history, from religion, food, to music, crafts and pride. We claim people from Blackbeard to Billy Graham, but it certainly can't be the ideal home for everyone.
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Old 03-28-2018, 11:22 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
3,211 posts, read 2,232,901 times
Reputation: 2607
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadesofkray View Post
Hi folks - I feel very conflicted with my current situation and would much appreciate some guidance.

My husband and I and our young son moved here in January of last year from the East side of Seattle. We moved for a lower cost of living, we essentially were pushed out financially and my husband took a job offer here.

We both love our jobs but myself not much else. There are things I appreciate, but ultimately there's so much about the Pacific Northwest I miss. The weather (yes, even with the gray sky / drizzle trade off), the abundance of outdoor activities, more seasonal activities, the mountains, the water, the rocky beaches, ferrys, the overall culture....I could go on and on.

As for here I struggle with the landlock feel, the brown, the urban sprawl and the decrease in businesses / activities / services that come from living in such a largely populated area. Also, I HATE with a passion hot weather (anything over 80 really) which is much of the year here.

We have a plan to move back this summer but I'm having nagging doubts. I started off "hating" it here but things got easier 10+ months in, we settled into a routine and I generally realized my dislike is not specific to the area. I'd say this is the most preferable place for us on the east coast, and honestly much of the US. It's just Washington specifically that has so much unique to it that feels like home.

So with getting acclimated, where's the problem? We've paid down debt and have a plan that is a safe bet moving back. Both of us are in fields where work is plentiful there, my husband's advanced his career, and we are now in a position to buy a condo where we couldn't then. We would still not do as well as we can here on our salaries, but we could make it.

So there lies the debate.. I'm finally realizing how much "easier" it is here. Incomes stretching further, $300k gets you a house vs a condo there, less traffic, more plentiful childcare / after school options, a slower paced lifestyle. It feels "safer" financially.

Our son is set to start kindergarten and has a fantastic school lined up. That exists there as well. There are a lot of similar aspects to both places, but ultimately I know I'd love it there, it's just very expensive.

I'm normally not so torn on decisions, but I truly can't make this one with confidence. Any guidance or advice you can offer would mean a lot to me.
The Triangle is a great spot for jobs, future growth, lower cost than Seattle...I say stay put. Seattle, especially eastside has gotten much more expensive since you left....$300K won't get you much of anything worth living in for a family.


I lived in Raleigh when I was younger and now live near Seattle....definitely see the appeal of both but even though I hate humidity and heat combined as Raleigh has, I prefer that climate to Seattle's months of dreary gray. Every winter I want to leave and every summer, I'm ecstatic to stay.
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Old 03-29-2018, 07:21 AM
 
Location: My House
34,937 posts, read 36,163,891 times
Reputation: 26547
Quote:
Originally Posted by C_Lan View Post
Ahh, hwy 55 used to be a beautiful tree lined two lane road. Spring and fall colors were awesome. I agree...no character to it now with all the development.
That was a long time ago. But, yeah... it used to be pretty. True of a lot of areas, really.
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