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Thanks so much for all the great information on the board. I have read the threads on weather and was wondering if anyone could give me a good weather comparison between Raleigh and Austin. I have lived in Austin since undergrad and love the weather. I love the hot summers and the fact that it can be 90 degrees on Valentine's Day. I have been watching the weather in Raleigh and it seems to be around 10 degrees cooler. I am assuming that the humidity is high so it feels hotter when the sun is shining. Is that true?
Also, I know you are in the midst of a drought right now but I read somewhere that it usually rains 181 days out of the year. Is the rain a soft drizzle like Seattle, afternoon showers like Hawaii or a few days of rain at a time with sunny days in between?
Lastly, how many freezing days do you get? Austin usually gets a few scares every year and it only snows every 5-7 years. Thus, we do not know how to drive in the rare icy weather. To tell the truth, most Austinites don't even know how to drive in the rain. Are your schools cancelled for icy/snow days or does everyone treat it like a normal day? If we move I will be driving my daughter at leat 10 miles to school everyday and would like to know what to expect.
Yes. It will be hot. Not as hot as Austin. . . .about 5-10 degrees cooler on average.
Yes. It will be sticky. Not as bad as Houston though
The rain here is usually fairly well behaved. I've lived here for nearly 2 years and haven't seen any TX style thunderstorms (e.g., hail, wind, heavy rain). But. . . . there is the possibility of a hurricane every few years, but not nearly as often as the threat of tornadoes in TX.
I moved here from DFW, after living there for 20 years.
I used to know someone who lived in Austin and we compared notes about the temps. If I remember correctly, it was much hotter there for a longer time into the summer's end, and the temperatures are more extreme there as far as heat goes.
Over the last decade, the amount of snow here has decreased each winter. We used to have a beautiful winter wonderland (and with all these trees, it's incredible to see) at least once or twice a year. Then it seemed we had ice storms for a couple of years instead of snow. Now we have zip. It hasn't snowed here for four years.
A little disappointing for those of us who like to see the beauty of it a couple of times during the winter season.
Putting weather aside, I also know someone who moved here from Austin and she claims she loved Austin more than Chapel Hill and didn't really want to move from Austin. I've never been there but personally I think NC and the Raleigh area would rate higher in my book, from what I do know.
In which part of the Triangle hasn't there been snow this past winter? We had snow, admittedly not very much, on the ground for about 3 days where I live in Carrboro.
Putting weather aside, I also know someone who moved here from Austin and she claims she loved Austin more than Chapel Hill and didn't really want to move from Austin. I've never been there but personally I think NC and the Raleigh area would rate higher in my book, from what I do know.
Best wishes,
toodie
Thanks to everyone's comments about the weather. It sounds like I will feel right at home. I wish there were more houses with swimming pools though and I know my daughter will be disappointed if she doesn't get to see snow our first winter. I LOVE Austin and don't really want to move but my husband's career is most likely bringing us to your area. I do plan on LOVING the triangle too! Just have to trade in our burnt orange for various shades of blue!
IN NW Raleigh where I live...last year we had 2 snow storms with about 1 inch total with a couple of dustings, and this past winter we had 1 snow storm of about a ½ inch with a couple of dustings. I'm not saying we get much at all, but we have gotton snow the 2 winters I've lived here.
The peak of summer, no difference really. Hot is hot. They're about even on humidity.
In the peak of winter, Raleigh is more "wintry." It snows at least once most years, ices at least once most years and people don't do any better in it than they do in Austin.
The Raleigh area is in a drought and the Austin area is teetering close to one.
Austin is sort of like a really, really big Chapel Hill. All that said, get outside the strip mall clutter and into the open and you'll see some sights that are not unlike Central Texas
Except that the real estate prices in Chapel Hill are probably double that of Austin.
We have actually found the real estate to be about the same or even a little lower. We live in a historic home and the homes in the "good" historic districts that this board has mentioned in Chapel Hill seem to be about the same price range. At least that is what we have found online and driving down the roads in google maps. It costs a lot to live near downtown Austin in a decent house. I am sure it is the same there so we are going to look a little further out and find a house with some closet space. The new houses on the outskirts in our price range with a nice size lot there are a lot bigger than Austin. I am glad to hear that CH is like a mini-Austin and that I won't have to drive in the snow very often. Thanks for all the info!
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Are your schools cancelled for icy/snow days or does everyone treat it like a normal day? If we move I will be driving my daughter at leat 10 miles to school everyday and would like to know what to expect. 
It costs a lot to live near downtown Austin in a decent house. I am sure it is the same there so we are going to look a little further out and find a house with some closet space. 
