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Well, this is my last statement on the topic. As the topic title says, this was "my impression", and my impression- which was wholly initial is that the area is overly developed with cookie-cutter housing developments. Perhaps you who might have come down from MA, NY, NJ, and so on think its absolutely wonderful. But I didn't care for what I saw nor do I think the way its developing will make for a very good future in regards to traffic, cost of living, and cultural preservation.There seems to be wreckless community planning with every square inch being taken over by land developers. This was my opinion and I'm in no way trying to say that I am right. Its all about personal preference.
In any regards, I'm not making a decision anytime soon. Probably not for a few more years until the economy calms down and I've saved up more cash. I might wind up there or somewhere else. Who knows. Perhaps by then Topeka, Kansas will be the new "hot" place to live. Anyhow, regards and have a good evening.
I am from a small town in Virginia that sounds a lot like what you described your hometown to be. When my fiancee and I decided to move from such an area, we definitely wanted something different, kind of like Baby Bear in Goldlilocks: not too big, not too small, just right. We found that in Raleigh.
But that is not what you want. I suggest doing more research about this area. Some people have said Wake Forest or Fuquay-Varina. I also suggest Johnston County. Take your time. Don't assume all of this area is like Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill.
In the end, I do have a few questions:
it seems like you knew there were many Northeners who migrated to this area, why would you even consider Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill? Did you not do your research before spending the time and energy looking at this area?
You say you have looked at Austin. You do realize that Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird," right? It's another of those "hot" cities that you seem to abhor.
I'm intrigued Silverbox--how many places have you lived? You are quite busy moving around-perhaps no place suits you. I am a northerner-Long Island to be exact- and yes I did move here for a better way. But no I'm not craving something huge, just not $12,000 in taxes on a small,small house and only going up every year, I'm hoping to find a place my kids will be able to just basically afford to live someday. I agree with eloyfan completely. I too purchased a nice home, pocketed some extra cash and got about 1000 more square feet of home. I do not walk around discussing it, but you cannot compare the cost of living up north to down here and anyone who tries to tell you differently did not live up there. I like the nice neighborhoods and friendly people. I also agree with post that these houses are occupied by people just trying to enjoy life and raise their kids.
"up north"...meaning Long Island, New Jersey and Boston.
Cost of living is now higher in Raleigh-Durham than in many areas of the interior Northeast (Upstate NY, Pennsylvania, interior New England). Mostly because people from the BosWash corridor, S. Florida, and California are so intrigued by the cheapness and have thus driven up the cost of living. The OP makes some harsh generalizations in his posts but he does have a valid point in that sentiment. People moving from expensive crowded areas thinking they are escaping those conditions are really just bringing it along with them.
Mostly LI, Boston, NJ, NYC. Obviously you have pockets in any area that are not that expensive, although with the exception of upstate NY, and not even all parts, NY is expensive. Perhaps he has valid points, but it will take quite awhile to push the costs up as high as they are in other parts of the country. Also, contrary to what NCers think, there are other parts of the country where people are relocating to. NC is not mecca after all. It offers a nice quality of life, good weather and lots of other plusses. THe growth also is what keeps areas moving along. Every time you read a post about people relocating here it is the same mantra- don't come without a job, don't come expecting this or that, etc. sometimes it sounds like sour grapes or anger at people relocating.
I haven't read this entire thread, but I wanted to toss in my two cents.
My family and I here in southeastern IN have fought like heck not to move. We love our little farm. But it always comes back to the fact that the poor area of Ripley County that we live in just depresses us so badly we can hardly stand to remain here. We love quiet, country life, and we'd like milder winters. We've done a lot of researching, trying to decide where the best place to combine all the things we are looking for might be. We kept coming back to NC. We are looking for jobs that pay at least what we presently make in nursing and IT, a country environment, less bitter winters, and towns that are actually doing something. You ought to live in Milan, IN, where they have hung onto their "We won the state basketball championship in 1954 with our little, bitty team (please see the movie Hoosiers, nice movie, but CRIMINY you ought to have to live it all the time!)" until we are all sick of it. Nothing is done with the town, it's running down, dirty, businesses failing right and left and no interest in doing anything but touting that same ancient story about a basketball game. The community is uninteresting, nowhere to shop, no town events worth attending, no nice restaurants, and it's falling apart. We're embarrassed to tell people we're from here.
We are not looking for perfection, we're looking for people who are doing something with their town, keeping it nice-looking and bringing in unique little businesses, having town get-togethers and some community involvement. So in that way, I think our motivations for moving are a bit different than they are for some people.
It's true, an area is going to change when more and more people move in, but it's also true that they bring the money and new ideas to help feed the area. I've had enough of a town that has no money and shot down any original ideas anyone ever had. It seems to me that it's somewhat up to local government to help maintain the character of a town. They need to have a vision of what they want it to be and stick to it. You know, help to preserve the uniqueness.
When and if my family moves to NC...perhaps Sanford or someplace like that, we're going to be looking to become part of what that area is, not trying to recreate where we came from. 'Cause where we came from isn't anything worth recreating!
Hope to be a great contribution to the NC atmosphere one day...
...The OP is dead on and definitely has seen the effect of a bunch of overpaid status seekers lured to a nice area by greedy developers and politicians.
If they only stayed where they were and fought the high taxes, the Triangle might have stayed a great lower/middle income community.
When your governments lured the companies to the southeast with tax abatements & all, many northerners certainly were lured here. You can't fight the high taxes if you do not have a job.
Your local governments wanted to build up the Triangle.
Without a local guide to help you find the good neighborhoods, you are really making a blanket statement with very little experience in the area. I'm not sure what your goal was with this post but I can say that I know of nice neighborhoods where the houses do not all look the same, have nicely wooded yards and are not half a million dollars. Though I am a native of Raleigh and tend to see charm it has had for decades, not just the new yuppie sections. Hire a realtor in potential cities and utilize an expert.. realtors are only exclusive to their local area.
This review sounds remarkably like something a person would come up with if their primary exposure to the Triangle area was through...reading city-data message boards.
I moved to North Carolina because I fell in love with it after driving ALL the way from Michigan to rescue a cat that was going to be left in the winter in the mountains (true story....... see, I just might contribute to society... I am a nice person...).
Anyways, I didn't like Michigan winters, although I did like many things about Michigan, and could have very easily moved back to my hometown of Phoenix, but as someone else said, it just felt like home. I waited until I finished school (older student) and had a job before I came. I too, took a pay cut to come here, a decrease in health insurance, and really not much change in housing or utilities costs.
I do understand people who were born and raised here, feeling as if we "invaded", but I don't understand people who feel that way after they themselves have "invaded" as well.... Do we close the border after they enter? Why not before, after all, they helped contribute to the perceived decline.
I hope North Carolina doesn't lose all the wonderful qualities I feel it has, I came here because I loved it and wanted to live in "the best place in the world" for me... I don't want to change it, I came here to be.... a North Carolinian....
"up north"...meaning Long Island, New Jersey and Boston.
Cost of living is now higher in Raleigh-Durham than in many areas of the interior Northeast (Upstate NY, Pennsylvania, interior New England). Mostly because people from the BosWash corridor, S. Florida, and California are so intrigued by the cheapness and have thus driven up the cost of living. The OP makes some harsh generalizations in his posts but he does have a valid point in that sentiment. People moving from expensive crowded areas thinking they are escaping those conditions are really just bringing it along with them.
Any place you find in Upstate NY, Pennsylvania or New England that is cheaper then Raleigh, has absolutely no jobs whatsoever. My uncle lives in a small backwoods town in upstate New York. Sure, houses can be had for 25k, but the biggest source of income in the town is TANF.
You can also live in places like Buffalo, or Syracuse, which have colossal unemployment rates, and decaying inner cities and huge crime rates, but they have cheap houses!
The point is, they arent cheaper because they are diamonds in the rough like Raleigh once was, they are cheaper because nobody wants to live there.
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Reasons for moving
