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You know how people won't drive 20 mins across town to 'hang out' or 'meet for drinks' or 'whatever' in CA b/c that 20 min drive is fighting insane traffic and everyone is really 'busy' here in CA? lol
Well, imagine the opposite. People will drive 40 mins and think nothing of it... why? b/c they're not driving in crazy, insane, bumper-to-bumper traffic (and getting stressed out)!
People are a little more laid back in NC... We're trying to get our friend to relocate to the area, too...he's a 38yo single male. We KNOW he would find a nice woman in NC and not someone who is concerned with what kind of car he drives.... which he encounters A LOT in SoCal.
So, yes, I think you would do just fine here... you may be a little old to date the average 18-21yo college student, but hey I'm sure there are some older students as well... And tons and tons of young professionals.
Really, it's all what you make of it. Do you know anyone out here? Friends, family? You may be miserable if you don't have ANYONE at all... ykwim?
Wow, I'm so jealous I'm still stuck in Long Beach for the moment and can't wait to get to the Triangle to check it out!
Every response and all your input has been so valuable to me and I can't thank you all enough for sharing your perspectives with me.
It really sounds like a great match for our family, but sadly I don't think we'll have family or our current friends follow us to NC, they all LOVE LOVE SoCal, I don't know why they want to put up with all the torture. Sure its beautiful and the weather for the most part is glorious, but the US is huge and has so much more to offer. I'm looking forward to green and blooming everything, four seasons, my dream home for half the price of our current home, being able to travel to all the East coast destinations on weekends and time off (everything is so much closer), slower pace, nicer people, and for my kiddos the much better schools, even though we're leaning towards private schools. I have a much longer list of the "PRO's" for our move out of Cali, but you get the gist of it. Basically, we want a better quality of life with the added benefit of lower cost of living, so we can travel more often.
I wish you luck to the original poster in making your move. Although I am not from California, we left sunny Florida (which is very humid) for NC. We currently live in Cary . It is very nice here, people are pleasant, and the schools seem to be of good quality. It is never easy to make a move, I miss my family, but have no regrets with the move. One thing that I wanted to comment on is that this area is diverse. Depending on where you live, you will encounter more or less diversity. I agree with you that looking at billboards written in other languages can become irritating, the same is true for South Florida. Word of caution, I do not think you meant that way , but it seemed you connected "illegals" with Spanish and this cannot be more misleading...not all Hispanics are illegals and I find that at times this is interpreted wrong..you probably did not meant it that way. Honestly, unless you ask, it is not always easy to know if someone is legal or not in this country. I do however, agree with you that when you have a large population of undocumented persons, it creates a burden on that community in terms of healthcare, education, crime and so many other things. Good luck with your decision. By the way , I have encountered this to be true in Cary, but as you know this is a large problem in this country as a whole...
I wish you luck to the original poster in making your move. Although I am not from California, we left sunny Florida (which is very humid) for NC. We currently live in Cary . It is very nice here, people are pleasant, and the schools seem to be of good quality. It is never easy to make a move, I miss my family, but have no regrets with the move. One thing that I wanted to comment on is that this area is diverse. Depending on where you live, you will encounter more or less diversity. I agree with you that looking at billboards written in other languages can become irritating, the same is true for South Florida. Word of caution, I do not think you meant that way , but it seemed you connected "illegals" with Spanish and this cannot be more misleading...not all Hispanics are illegals and I find that at times this is interpreted wrong..you probably did not meant it that way. Honestly, unless you ask, it is not always easy to know if someone is legal or not in this country. I do however, agree with you that when you have a large population of undocumented persons, it creates a burden on that community in terms of healthcare, education, crime and so many other things. Good luck with your decision. By the way , I have encountered this to be true in Cary, but as you know this is a large problem in this country as a whole...
I'm the OP and I didn't mean to offend anyone with my rant on "illegals", but I was not referring to just hispanic people. I'm sure the Triangle is very diverse and I welcome that. In SoCal, we have so many ethnicities that have literally made California unique as a dynamic "melting pot" where all these cultures can co-exist and be appreciated by everyone. My family immigrated legally from Romania, almost 40 years ago and I'm a first generation American. The difference is that my family came here legally, embraced the language and culture (while keeping their own cultural identity and traditions), and as legal citizens paid their dues. I know this problem is not unique to only California, but California has changed so much, even in the past 10-15 years. Our school system is ranked 49th out of 50 states and being the 5th ( I think its now 8th) largest economy in the world, that is frankly pathetic. My youngest son is a special needs child and when it comes to getting therapy or doctors appointments, even with our fabulous PPO, we have to wait for weeks to get an appointment or have therapy cut down because there are just too many children to treat and not enough people and resources. I also work with special needs children and many of the families I work with are thankfully served regardless of their legal status, but many of them are not legal. Unfortunately for California, the social and economic problems its facing are only going to get worse and I've decided that the US is a large and beautiful country and there are other great places to raise my family. I can't wait to get to NC. Our main reason for moving is for a lower cost of living, in SoCal if your earning six figures, you can still live paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking forward to a NEW and much larger home where I won't feel like a slave to my mortgage. The "illegal" issue is just a minor contributing factor to our desire to relocate the family, we're more interested in schools, green scenery, and overall better quality of life.
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but hey I'm sure there are some older students as well... And tons and tons of young professionals.
Our main reason for moving is for a lower cost of living, in SoCal if your earning six figures, you can still live paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking forward to a NEW and much larger home where I won't feel like a slave to my mortgage. The "illegal" issue is just a minor contributing factor to our desire to relocate the family, we're more interested in schools, green scenery, and overall better quality of life.
