Moving to Raleigh from Michigan (Durham, Cary: fit in, best cities, apartment)

[scottyb1983]

I will be graduating about a year from now with a Master's degree in English, and I am looking at possible cities to start job searching. I am looking to move somewhere warm, and as I saw Raleigh on Forbes best cities list I thought I would consider it.

I do have some questions about the city and some qualms. Forgive my stereotypes as I am ignorant of the area and can only base my questions on perceived notions I have of the southern states (though my mother's family comes from Tennessee and I have been there quite a few times).

Where are the best areas of the city for single twenty-somethings to live/work?

Is there a strong southern-twang among locals, or will I be able to easily discern what people are saying?

Considering the current economic conditions, is Raleigh a good choice for a newcomer to the job scene?

Is it warm year-round, or will I see snow? Warm to me is anything above 68 F.

For qualms, I am fairly liberal and I am a strong atheist (I am very anti-religion). I am concerned about the religious standards in the area.

I am looking for somewhere that I don't have to listen to anyone mention morality or God in conversation. (I have read a couple posts here where people kept saying how "moral" everyone was and quoting scripture.)

Would I be able to fit in in any areas of the city?

I like to go to bookstores, coffee joints, nightclubs, cinemas, ethnic restaurants, and malls during my out-of-house time. Are there sufficient establishments in the area for these activities?

Also, I must be in close proximity with a swimming location in the summer. Are there any clean beach areas around the city (withing 30 minutes)?

Thanks.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by scottyb1983

I will be graduating about a year from now with a Master's degree in English, and I am looking at possible cities to start job searching. I am looking to move somewhere warm, and as I saw Raleigh on Forbes best cities list I thought I would consider it.

I do have some questions about the city and some qualms. Forgive my stereotypes as I am ignorant of the area and can only base my questions on perceived notions I have of the southern states (though my mother's family comes from Tennessee and I have been there quite a few times).

Where are the best areas of the city for single twenty-somethings to live/work?

Is there a strong southern-twang among locals, or will I be able to easily discern what people are saying?

Considering the current economic conditions, is Raleigh a good choice for a newcomer to the job scene?

Is it warm year-round, or will I see snow? Warm to me is anything above 68 F.

For qualms, I am fairly liberal and I am a strong atheist (I am very anti-religion). I am concerned about the religious standards in the area.

I am looking for somewhere that I don't have to listen to anyone mention morality or God in conversation. (I have read a couple posts here where people kept saying how "moral" everyone was and quoting scripture.)

Would I be able to fit in in any areas of the city?

I like to go to bookstores, coffee joints, nightclubs, cinemas, ethnic restaurants, and malls during my out-of-house time. Are there sufficient establishments in the area for these activities?

Also, I must be in close proximity with a swimming location in the summer. Are there any clean beach areas around the city (withing 30 minutes)?

Thanks.

I personally think Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, etc, are great small cities for all ages. That is a subjective judgement. Forbes judgement is based on compilation of statistics. It may be dated. YMMV.

Many people who relocate here are quite capable of understanding the locals' speech. They succeed via Mastery of English.

What sort of work would you seek? Entry-level retail is a little soft right now. CareerBuilder has a front page article in the N&O Employment section today with a few thoughts for English majors. Legal internship, etc.
While I think your training is less marketable than many skills, I would rather be unemployed in Raleigh than a lot of cities I have visited. OTOH, if you are hungry, you are hungry wherever you are.

We have a temperate climate. Temperatures are well below 68 on average in the winter. We just had a 6" snowfall this week, which was the most in several years. The snow is gone. Yesterday was a balmy 57 degrees in Cary.

We have a mixture of tolerant, semi-tolerant, and intolerant, liberal and conservative and even some open-minded folks. I think all you have to do is routinely and proudly display your apparent exhuberant prejudice and intolerance of others, and you will find that most people will not bother you. You can probably locate a circle of like-minded acquaintances. Please, warn us if you do, thank you.

We have malls, coffee, movies, books, restaurants, and various other accoutrements which allow for a comfortable and pleasurable life.

Beaches within 30 minutes are certainly available on fresh water lakes. The Atlantic Ocean beaches are 2-2 1/2 hours.

[saturnfan]

If you are vehemently anti-religion, Raleigh may not be best for you. We have more churches than a bad apartment has roaches.

[badger77]

As one atheist to another, you will not be happy if you can't stand to hear people talking about God in conversation. This area is one of the most progressive and open metros in the south, but religion is still strong here. I think the Bay Area would be a better match for your needs - mild climate, near the beach, secular populace, "understandable" accents ....

[LLN]

It seems to me that the atheist in the south are the ones that always get involved in "GOD" conversations. I state that after reading post after post from self proclaimed atheists all these conversations about religion.

If you run around, screaming your beliefs, or lack thereof, as you sorta did in your post, you can expect to get some feedback. If you keep your mouth shut, your beliefs to yourself, then you should be fine.

I honestly can't recall ever having religious conversations at work (one exception), or while fishing, or watching ball games or whatever. Of course, I don't have a chip on my shoulder and look for one, either. I work with a very very very very fundamentalist guy now, so I cannot say I have never had one, but one series in 56 years hardly qualifies as an everyday event.

Again, if you want one, you can get one, but they are neither widespread nor invasive. Or maybe zealots just steer clear of me. I am clearly not an atheist by the way!

Good Luck, and Welcome to NC.

lln

[Lisalrenee]

Non-religious, also moved from MI - and while you'll see more churches than you ever imagined, I doubt you'll find yourself roped into religious conversations unless you solicit one.

[wjsluvskaz]

It is one thing to state or explain your beliefs, it is another to be against
(anti) the beliefs of others. You might be told to go to hell, but you would laugh at that

[MI-Roger]

I am ashamed to know we hail from the same State.

[skaternum]

Originally Posted by scottyb1983

I do have some questions about the city and some qualms. Forgive my stereotypes as I am ignorant of the area and can only base my questions on perceived notions I have of the southern states (though my mother's family comes from Tennessee and I have been there quite a few times).

Sounds like that liberal arts education didn't teach you much about research. (Or even the problems with stereotyping.)

Is there a strong southern-twang among locals, or will I be able to easily discern what people are saying?

You have got to be kidding me. First of all, we don't know what YOU can understand. Secondly, can't you use Google to find local TV stations that might have news segment video clips you can watch. You can listen to the locals yourself. But honestly, this whole question just irritates. You might as well ask me if I'm a bumpkin hick. Jeez.

Considering the current economic conditions, is Raleigh a good choice for a newcomer to the job scene?

No.

Is it warm year-round, or will I see snow? Warm to me is anything above 68 F.

Have you ever heard of weather.com or the National Weather Service? Or google???

For qualms, I am fairly liberal and I am a strong atheist (I am very anti-religion). I am concerned about the religious standards in the area.

You really have far too many prejudices and hangups to be happy here.

I am looking for somewhere that I don't have to listen to anyone mention morality or God in conversation. (I have read a couple posts here where people kept saying how "moral" everyone was and quoting scripture.)

Huh?? What a load of crap.

I like to go to bookstores, coffee joints, nightclubs, cinemas, ethnic restaurants, and malls during my out-of-house time. Are there sufficient establishments in the area for these activities?

<sarcasm> No. We're uneducated idiots who listen to country music in our pickup trucks. We don't have none of them moving picture houses. Most of us can't read, so we don't need bookstores.</sarcasm> You do realize we have 3 nationally ranked universities in this area and one of the highest per capita ratios of PhDs?? We're not a bunch of uncultured hicks.

Also, I must be in close proximity with a swimming location in the summer. Are there any clean beach areas around the city (withing 30 minutes)?

Jesus, have you even looked at a MAP of this place??? Oh, sorry. I invoked the name of Jesus. You'll probably blow a gasket.

Seriously, you should do a little more research before you come to a forum that is made up primarily of local residents and unleash a bunch of ridiculous stereotypes on us. It doesn't sit well.

[Francois]

Is there a strong southern-twang among locals, or will I be able to easily discern what people are saying?

I cannot even BEGIN to explain to you how horribly offensive this question is. Please educate yourself before moving here; if you have such a bigoted mindset about Southerners, this is not the place for you.

(and the answer is to your question is No, the accents won't be a problem for you--but your attitude certainly will be).