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Do any of you regret your move to Raleigh (Wake County) in any way? I have done tons of research on Wake county schools, and most seem to be overcrowded and underperforming ( at least when compared to Northern schools). From your first hand experiences , am I wrong? Also, are you really much better off financially? Yes, homes and taxes are cheaper, but salaries are much lower and the cost of insurance, groceries, gas, heating oil, new cars, etc. are pretty much the same. If you could turn back time, would you move there again? Thanks.
Do any of you regret your move to Raleigh (Wake County) in any way? I have done tons of research on Wake county schools, and most seem to be overcrowded and underperforming ( at least when compared to Northern schools). From your first hand experiences , am I wrong? Also, are you really much better off financially? Yes, homes and taxes are cheaper, but salaries are much lower and the cost of insurance, groceries, gas, heating oil, new cars, etc. are pretty much the same. If you could turn back time, would you move there again? Thanks.
Keystone Stater here.
If I could turn back time, I would be here for 20 years instead of only 10.
It isn't all about the money, and the money is all right.
The real estate prices and taxes are much lower. Groceries are about the same. I am using 1000 dollars a year less in car insurance over 1500 a year less in gas and electric. My mortgage is well very small south of 50K less than 350 a month.
Nope done with the NJ thing. Been there done that. Oh the schools, they are just as good as the NJ suburban schools. Period. I teach down here. I taught up in NJ for almost 30 years. Its very good down here.
In keeping with the theme, I am originally from the Garden State. Although I did not specifically target Raleigh (I just kind of ended up here through dumb luck) I am very happy here. I still love NJ, but NC is my home now and I love it here. Great people (both native and transplants alike), great culture, excellent opportunities.
BTW, as far as "but salaries are much lower". This is a generalization I hear often but don't agree with 100% of the time. It really depends on your field of work. Some people make less, some the same, and some may even make more. But like the previous post said, it ain't all about the money.
The best thing to do is come for a visit and see if this place is for you. Good luck!
Go to the NY, NJ and MA boards. You'll find plenty.
True. The transplants here are more positive. The NY board has the people who say, "I moved from home to ________ and I want to come home, I miss eating _________ and there is no __________, which I cannot live without."
I really like Raleigh a lot, and if I can find a job, then won't regret my move here. It is a big adjustment though, depending on where you come from. Downtown Raleigh is a snooze, but if you like suburban living you'll like it here. It is clean, green, and very pretty.
As for being better off financially? Nope! Home prices and property taxes here are the same as in NJ five years ago, yet salaries are lower. This means that while my major expenses will be equal to what I paid in NJ, I'll probably have to manage it on a lesser salary - as much as 40% less! This realization has been my biggest disappointment with the area.
Five years ago I bought an 1,100 sq. ft. condo in Jersey City for $285K. It was a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with a great view of the park across the street. If I want to maintain my standard of living by buying a condo in downtown Raleigh, that same $285K will get me 750 sq. ft., one bedroom, one bath, and not much of a view. Monthly maintenance fees are the same, and in some cases higher, and since my property tax in NJ was below the norm, it would not change here either. So basically, I would end up with 40% less space on a 40% lower salary with the same mortgage and expenses.
As for being better off financially? Nope! Home prices and property taxes here are the same as in NJ five years ago, yet salaries are lower.
You could work in politics with your ability to spin information. Comparing the NJ market five years ago to Raleigh today is, well, just unbelievable. It's not even apples and oranges. Five years ago a four bedroom 2.5 bathroom house in a decent NJ suburb convenient to Manhattan on 1/3 of an acre ran about $400k plus. That house would've been at least thirty years old with property taxes somewhere near $8k per year. It would also need updating.
I know this because I was shopping for just such a house five years ago.
If you're looking for a time/space continuum analysis you'd need to drop back at least ten years to find a price-point match between the two but the property taxes and homeowners would still add at least another $6k per year onto the difference.
As for the primary topic of this thread, I've directly communicated with nearly a dozen transplanted New Yorker's and each of them regret not having made the move earlier in life. The key appears to be in not living your life in constant comparison between where you're from and where you are.
You could work in politics with your ability to spin information. Comparing the NJ market five years ago to Raleigh today is, well, just unbelievable.
Excuse me. A question was asked, and as a transplant, I answered honestly.
Comparing the NJ market five years ago to Raleigh today absolutely is applicable if you are talking about mortgages and monthly expenses.
My point, which you totally missed, is that my major expenses (mortgage and property taxes) will be exactly the same with 40% less space and salary. My NJ mortgage was off a $285K price. If I want to maintain the same monthly mortgage I would again spend $285K, but get much less for it, or else move further away from where I want to live, which is downtown.
The cost of living difference between NY/NJ and Raleigh is way over rated, and not nearly as dramatic as all the Raleigh propaganda would have you believe. Thats all I wanted to say. My experience was only meant to illustrate that point. Perhaps then people thinking about relocating here will be better informed. No place is perfect, and Raleigh is no different.
At best, I will be the same or worse off financially than in NJ. Certainly NOT better off. There are other benefits to living here, but finances are not one of them.
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My eyes must be deceving me...
