Any Bay Area transplants there? (Raleigh, Durham: apartment, rent, condo)

[markfromCA]

Thinking about leaving the Bay Area of California. I can't take the grind anymore. Anyone make the jump? Are you happy you did?

[SFspiderman]

Absolutely thrilled...moved here about six months ago from the Bay Area. The pace of life, the cost of living, the traffic, etc. are an immense improvement over our time in the Bay Area.

Jobs here are tight (as they are just about everywhere), so make sure you've got a plan to get here if that's what you ultimately decide.

[dlj02000]

We just moved from San Francisco to Durham last month, as I finished my PhD and have started a new position at Duke. Not sure my experience will be all that relevant to you, as it appears that you're located in the suburban Bay Area vs. the city.

We like it here okay, but definitely miss living in the heart of a big city. We live in "central" or "urban" Durham, and it's nice, but to call it "urban" as many do seems a little crazy to me. I suppose it might seem that way when compared to the endless tract housing developments in outlying areas, but even in central Durham, we have to drive more than we'd like. We do love our neighborhood, and being able to walk to things like the Durham Farmers Market is really great.

One of the biggest positives, of course, is the cost of housing. Our mortgage payment on a 4-bedroom house here is half of what our rent was for a 1-bedroom apartment in SF, making life with an infant quite a bit easier. Also, for a town of its size, Durham certainly has good options as far as restaurants and bars. And the central neighborhoods are full of beautiful old houses, which we love.

I'd have to say that the transition would likely be pretty easy for someone moving to this area from the suburban Bay Area. In the East Bay, you're paying a huge premium to live near San Francisco, with virtually none of the benefits of actually living in the city. Suburbs are suburbs -- driving is a necessity, the chain stores are all the same -- why not move to the triangle, where housing is so much cheaper?

[SFspiderman]

LOL...sounds like dlj02000 and I have similar perspectives. I just finished my PhD in SF as well and second everything he said.

[trmiv]

We moved here two years ago from Fremont, and we like it here. The cost of housing thing was a biggie. We were paying about $500 more a month for our one bedroom apartment in Fremont than we are for the 3 bedroom with big bonus room house here in Raleigh. We never would have been able to buy something remotely similar in the Bay Area.

There are some things I miss, mainly having to do with friends and food (Jamba Juice, Round Table Pizza, Popeyes and Togos are the things I miss most foodwise), but other than that, it's not really that much different. We do drive more here than we did in the Bay Area. We had a Safeway about a block from our apartment in Fremont. Here we have to drive about 6 miles to Harris Teeter (granted we pass a Lowe's that's really close to our house as well as a Food Lion but Lowe's has a horrible meat section and I wouldn't shop at Food Lion if you paid me).

Overall we're glad we moved. Of course my retired parents moved here as well and bought a house, and so did my wife's mother, so that has made the transition much easier for us.

[D_Boo]

Originally Posted by trmiv

There are some things I miss, mainly having to do with friends and food (Jamba Juice, Round Table Pizza, Popeyes and Togos are the things I miss most foodwise),

I grew up in Palo Alto and haven't thought about Togos for a LONG time. I too miss Round Table and Jamba... * sigh *

It's not CA, but it's a great place to live and work, especially if you have a family. I've found that people in general have a more balanced life--I moved here from LA and both in LA and the Bay Area, people would work 10+ hour days (sometime due to commute time), whereas here most people call 5-6pm quittin' time!

[Nomad99]

Well, we've lived here for more than 5 years and would move on if we could sell our N. Raleigh house. I lived in CA for over 12 years, but only 2 or so in the Bay Area (City, Palo Alto & Santa Clara). Left Santa Clara right after Loma Prieta 'quake in 1989 (condo unit condemned) and moved back East to Ohio, then Chicago, then Twin Cities. Anyway, have lived in 3 countries, 10 states and dozens of areas in my life (not to mention my wife's before we married 13 yrs ago)... and the Triangle is by far the least rewarding living experience for either of us. It is relatively inexpensive to live here... but so are the wages (which benefits us as I work virtually globally btw :-)... seems that the old adage that, 'you get what you pay for' holds true once again! I'm glad I left the Bay Area due to the cost-of-living... but I would seriously consider other places were I you... unless you land a GREAT local job or are a hard-core fundamentalist Baptist :-).

[calif2nc]

We moved here 6 years ago from Fremont (my home town). There are some really great things around here (we could afford a house--less for my 3bd townhome 1400 sqft than for my 2bd apt 800 sqft) and some I don't like. We really moved here for the cost of living. My brother had moved here a couple years before, and my mom a couple years after. We both work in biotech and thought there'd be a ton of jobs based on websites. Not so much, and the type of jobs are VERY different than we were used to in CA. The commute is nothing like in the bay area, which is nice. Of course, cost of housing and gas is cheaper. I find that all other "cost of living" stuff is very similar. The salaries we make are not much different from the bay area. I really hate the weather-it is hot and HUMID during the summer, which feels very oppresive, and it gets COLD in the winter. I really miss the 65-85 year round. And don't get me started on the bugs. I grew up without much religion, and it is everywhere here-car commercials, people you meet will ask what church you go to...but I feel ok here. My husband was raised Jewish and really hates the church thing. I feel that the schools in Wake county are pretty good (I am only looking at elementary schools though). There are tons of little lakes and parks to take kids to, and people are very outdoorsie here. I also notice tons of hunters (unless you are in an area of lots of transplants-like Cary, and probably Chapel Hill which I've heard is most like the bay area). There are a lot of educated people here, but there are lots of uneducated "hicks". There also doesn't seem to be as much cultural diversity right where I am, but they do have a lot of weekend cultural festivals.

I just recommend that you come visit for a good visit (more than a few days) and really do your homework on jobs and the industry you work in. I would also rent for a while to figure out where you'd want to buy a house. And definately come visit in the summer because the weather is NOTHING like the bay area.

For the most part I'm happy here. If I could just get the rest of my family and most of my husbands family to move here I'd be much happier. If I could afford to move back, not be stuck in traffic all the time, and there were better schools where I could afford to live, I think we'd move back. Since that's not going to happen, we have found this to be a pretty nice place. Keep in mind that if you are leaving family that you'd like to see occasionally, there are no direct flights between RDU and any of the bay area air ports.

[DanielleNC]

Originally Posted by trmiv

There are some things I miss, mainly having to do with friends and food (Jamba Juice, Round Table Pizza, Popeyes and Togos are the things I miss most foodwise

Maybe not very convenient, but if you are ever in the area there is a Jamba Juice at UNC and a Popeyes in Whitsett, near Burlington. Although Bojangles is much better and can be found everywhere.

[Lori1961]

We moved here a year ago from the SF Bay Area (about 30 miles east of SF). We were so sick of the high cost of living there. We settled in NE Raleigh and LOVE it here. Slower pace of living here, very green, friendlier people. It does take a fair amount of adjustment but its great. We have had absoloutely no regrets. I do miss a few things...yes Togos, Jamba and Round Table...my hubby was a manager at a Round Table for a couple of years...definitely miss their pizza. And we have not been able to find decent chinese food out here! We are on a quest...lol.