When is NC home? (Charlotte, Raleigh: fit in, transplants, rental)

[dansdrive]

OK transplants, question of the day. Hey its going to be
95 today so this is a good question to ponder in the A/C!

When did NC feel like home to you?

Was it when:

The first time you went somewhere and recognized a neighbor and they knew you?
You bought your first home?
You spent a Christmas holiday here?
Your children started school here?
Your family began to feel happy about where they are living?
You can drive around and not feel lost or confused?
When someone names a place in casual conversation and you know exactly where the place is and how to even get there?
You found a church that reminded you of back home?
You live in a neighborhood and your child has not been reassigned to a new school in more than 2 years now?
You attend the State Fair in Raleigh?
Upon closing on your second home in the triangle within 3 to 5 years?
One of your relatives moved to the area?
When its harder to visit back from where you came from then staying here over a holiday or special occasion back home?
When you found that perfect restaurant that serves food you recognize as from back home?
When that first first /snow storm hits back home and your still in your shorts?
You found this forum and are a regular reader and contributor?

or:
The instant you got here and said this is home?

So, lets not get 'boxed' in with our answers or try to 'triangulate' on the cause and effect of when this was called home and as the late Jake Webb often said, 'Just the facts', would suffice!

[tluv00]

When my wife and I first got taxed on our cars....yeah we knew we were North Carolinians then

In all honesty I would say it was when we first moved into our first house in Dec of 2005. I had been here for a month with work and my wife was up in MD finishing up packing and selling the house and when she came down for good, and we had our first meal in our house (CiCi's pizza for some unknown reason) we knew we were home.

[mbjjbtb]

I'll let you know. We are moving permanently two weeks from today! I hope it will be once we celebrate our first 4th of July.

[j1sb4]

The first time you went somewhere and recognized a neighbor and they knew you?
You bought your first home?
You spent a Christmas holiday here?
Your children started school here?
Your family began to feel happy about where they are living?
You can drive around and not feel lost or confused?
When someone names a place in casual conversation and you know exactly where the place is and how to even get there?
You found a church that reminded you of back home?
You live in a neighborhood and your child has not been reassigned to a new school in more than 2 years now?
You attend the State Fair in Raleigh?
Upon closing on your second home in the triangle within 3 to 5 years?
One of your relatives moved to the area?
When its harder to visit back from where you came from then staying here over a holiday or special occasion back home?
When you found that perfect restaurant that serves food you recognize as from back home?
When that first first /snow storm hits back home and your still in your shorts?
You found this forum and are a regular reader and contributor?

I think you hit it all. We've been here for 12 years this July from WV. We started in Raleigh, then made our way to HS, Cary and now Garner. I was summoned to Grand Jury Duty in 98' so I got to know downtown pretty well. I know it even better now that my kids go to school down there. My two best friends in life are natives and my parents just moved down to ready themselves for retirement. I lost my anonymity when I had children and started to run into the same people over and over again at the park. Now everytime I step out my door I run into someone who knows someone I know.

But I guess the biggest indicator that NC is my home is when I told my husband if anything should happen to me that Montlawn would be alright as my final resting place. A little sad, I know, but you start to think about those things the older you get and the more news you watch.

[cynwldkat]

After about a year here we flew back to CA for my sons wedding. We are originally from CA after being born and raised there--56 years! We stayed in CA for a week. There was nothing there that I missed except, of course my family! When we were flying back into Charlotte and were looking out of the window in the plane I could see the lakes and the beautiful greenry----that's when I said it's good to be home!!

[Fuquay Caniac]

Probably after year two, when my relocation package prorate backcharge (for leaving my company early) became $0.00 and we stayed! It was about that same time that I stopped referring to out trips back to PA (our birthplace) as trips ‘home’.

[newmom5497]

For us I think it was once we went out driving and didnt get lost finding our way home.

It will be 1 year this AUgust and we already consider NC "Home".

[NH2NC]

first time I traveled home to NH and could not wait to come back "home".

[lauren4521]

For us it was instant. I had wanted to move out of NJ for so long since I have family in SC (dh has family in NJ) but it was never a feasible thing for us. Then we found the triangle area and it just fit into what we had already wanted.

So even in our short term rental in Cary when we first got here 2 1/2 years ago we felt "this is home". BTW it was a crappy old apt complex ON a huge pond filled with ducks and huge turtles that loved bread. A constant source of amusement for our boys and their many friends in the complex.

The thing that has always blown us away was the greenery and huge sky. Not sure if others get what I'm saying but there is so much more sky here!

Lauren

[Rhaven]

- When the people who work at Harris Teeter in Apex said hi to me by name
- When I realized I had to go back north for a quick trip and really dreaded it (of course it was in February and snowed 10 inches the day I got in)
- When I was still in a tank top on Thanksgiving and loving it
-When my husband and I finally tapered off giggling each night that we were finally here (took two months... we still go to bed smiling most nights though)
-When we found our favorites: BBQ joint, datenight restaurant, weekend outings
-when my older son was out the door daily to play with the neighborhood kids, and I hung on the porch talking with the neighborhood moms.
And finally:

-when it hit 100+ and I wasnt complaining. I was actually enjoying it! I was grabbing the kids and spending fun filled days at the pool. I can handle this, no problem