White Collar Folks moving or moved to Raleigh, NC (Cary: fit in, transplants)

[DesiiLiciouss]

Originally Posted by connie

Are people like this actually grouped together into neighborhoods?? Cuz that would be great ...

I'm just kidding ... not trying to ridicule the question or anything. Believe me, we are looking for exactly the same thing, though in the Charlotte area.

LOL .. I'll quote a friend of mine. I don't know where he got this from however i will quote him.

There will always be haters.
Hater guys marry hater women.
They have hater kids!

So, to piggyback on his quote, maybe they have mutual friends? )

[denny]

My wife & I are nearing retirement & live in suburban NYC. In July, we took a 5-day trip to Cary, N.C. to scope it out as a possible retirement location. Our impressions: (1) the Beltway around the entire area is impossible to navigate if you are unfamiliar with it (the locals admit this). They are now going to expand it to reach into Apex & Holly Springs; (2) Cary, Apex & Holly Springs seemed to us to be a mish-mash of subdivisions, shopping malls (one on every corner it seemed) and horrendous traffic congestion. There is no central business district to tie any of these places together (although Holly Springs has a small one); 3) they are constantly widening the roads in anticipation of MORE traffic (US 1, which ran just behind out hotel, was bumper-to-bumper from 7:45 A.M. to 9:00 A.M.

One thing should be understood: most of the residents in this area are employed in the Research Triangle, which is midway between Raleigh & Durham. I believe that's why traffic is what it is.

I hope this helps.

denny

[scottinmass]

Originally Posted by denny

My wife & I are nearing retirement & live in suburban NYC. In July, we took a 5-day trip to Cary, N.C. to scope it out as a possible retirement location. Our impressions: (1) the Beltway around the entire area is impossible to navigate if you are unfamiliar with it (the locals admit this). They are now going to expand it to reach into Apex & Holly Springs; (2) Cary, Apex & Holly Springs seemed to us to be a mish-mash of subdivisions, shopping malls (one on every corner it seemed) and horrendous traffic congestion. There is no central business district to tie any of these places together (although Holly Springs has a small one); 3) they are constantly widening the roads in anticipation of MORE traffic (US 1, which ran just behind out hotel, was bumper-to-bumper from 7:45 A.M. to 9:00 A.M.

One thing should be understood: most of the residents in this area are employed in the Research Triangle, which is midway between Raleigh & Durham. I believe that's why traffic is what it is.

I hope this helps.

denny

So does that mean your not moving there?

[VickiR]

Here is something for you guys to laugh about...I have clients coming in from Poughkepsie (did I spell that right?). They want an acre of land so they do not have to see their neighbors. Its not that they aren't friendly but just like more privacy. The other day...took them out to see a house in a very small neighborhood but lots were over an acre (Johnston County). We pulled in the driveway and a bunch of neighbors waved. Which is exactly what she doesn't want! We came back outside...neighbors came over to say "hi". We left...they waved again. D*** those friendly people!!! Vicki

[scottinmass]

I did the same thing while my next door neighbor had and open house last month. If I talked to the potential buyers and I liked them, I would talk up the neighborhood. No sabotaging, though,would like to see some friendlier neighbors.

[thisguy]

Originally Posted by denny

; (2) Cary, Apex & Holly Springs seemed to us to be a mish-mash of subdivisions, shopping malls (one on every corner it seemed) and horrendous traffic congestion. There is no central business district to tie any of these places together (although Holly Springs has a small one);
denny

Denny, that is too bad

Raleigh has a chance since its still in relatively early growth to really plan out their city in a "world class" way, with a good mix of suburbs and urban and light trail and all the things that would make the city even more attractive. Think Portland - they have relatively strict building requirements and much of their building is UP instead of OUT. But they have a ton of green space, bike paths, public transportation, lots of enclaves/mini neighborhoods with distinct character within the city with shopping accessible even by walking etc. Too bad the weather was not better. But it is still experiencing tremendous growth in population and jobs because (many) people really want those things instead of mile upon mile of cookie cutter suburbs.

It sounds like Raleigh is like most other cities and the city council or planning commission is just content to let things expand farther and farther away from city center into suburbia after suburbia "towns". This is how Detroit is and everyone moans that none of these suburban towns have any character or downtowns or 'destinations'. You just drive and drive and you cannot tell when one city ends and the next begins - its just all the same. People actually (those with money) are now going back to the inner suburbs originally built in 30s and 40s, buying properties, destroying the house, rebuilding new (not in cookie cutter style), just to be in the few towns in our suburbia jungle that have mini downtowns, cafes, people walking around (not in cars 24/7), parks, bike riding, small shops etc. Outter suburba is just a concrete jungle. Sounds like Raleigh is just going to be a mini Atlanta in terms of the sprawl and long commute towns - when it could be so much more. Again, suburbs are not evil and lots of people like them (for whatever reason) but a "great city" has a good mix of the urban and suburbs.... and to just to have suburb/town one after the other after the other with strip mall after strip mall, and one day Apex will be the new Cary and then there will be a town west of Cary (or southwest) and that will be the new Cary, and then 5 years after that there will be another new Cary farther out west or southwest and so it goes until you reach south carolina... and then you will have the 1 hour communutes into Raleigh.

It just seems no one in these cities or our politicians have any foresight and look out 20 years, basically they look out to the end of their term. I read that the Raleigh light trail system has been in the works for over a decade, they bought 96% of the land, and now their plan was not even approved by the government and they don't have other sources of funding and are now considering going back to the drawing board.

It is too bad really, because with all the universities and jobs coming there, they could really make it very world class in terms of planning the growth, but seem just content to let the suburb sprawl take over like in 90% of the other cities in US. Guess money talks... must be the water in Portland that made them think visionary a bit.

[thisguy]

Originally Posted by VickiR

Here is something for you guys to laugh about...I have clients coming in from Poughkepsie (did I spell that right?). They want an acre of land so they do not have to see their neighbors. Its not that they aren't friendly but just like more privacy. The other day...took them out to see a house in a very small neighborhood but lots were over an acre (Johnston County). We pulled in the driveway and a bunch of neighbors waved. Which is exactly what she doesn't want! We came back outside...neighbors came over to say "hi". We left...they waved again. D*** those friendly people!!! Vicki

That is what is getting to me reading these boards... and I can see why the natives get peeved at us northerners.

"Can't wait to go down there and get into a much friendlier culture.... but I don't want anyone actually waving hello at me!"

"Can't wait to go down there and enjoy a slower lifestyle... but those **** people made me wait 4 minutes at the check out line? We would never stand for that here in "insert town here" (I won't mention a specific town or region, because I see people from that area reduce my reputation when I mention Long Island) :P

"It is going to be so great to have green space, and a nice big house.... but why the heck is there not a Trader Joe's within 2 miles? What kind of place doesn't have one? These people live like animals! Whole Foods? Coach? Polo? Where are all of the necessary stores."

And so on and so forth.
Can't have it both ways, but you can sniff a lot of that on some of these message boards from the comments... I think this is why the LI's etc tend to congregrate in their own areas so they can eventually have all their conveniences, not wave at each other, and life the NYC lifestyle in a milder climate, with bigger houses, and lower taxes. That seems to be the vision for 10 years out from now.

Feel free to reduce reputation at will I expect to be at -10 soon enough haha

[NYer]

Originally Posted by thisguy

That is what is getting to me reading these boards... and I can see why the natives get peeved at us northerners.

"Can't wait to go down there and get into a much friendlier culture.... but I don't want anyone actually waving hello at me!"

"Can't wait to go down there and enjoy a slower lifestyle... but those **** people made me wait 4 minutes at the check out line? We would never stand for that here in "insert town here" (I won't mention a specific town or region, because I see people from that area reduce my reputation when I mention Long Island) :P

"It is going to be so great to have green space, and a nice big house.... but why the heck is there not a Trader Joe's within 2 miles? What kind of place doesn't have one? These people live like animals! Whole Foods? Coach? Polo? Where are all of the necessary stores."

And so on and so forth.
Can't have it both ways, but you can sniff a lot of that on some of these message boards from the comments... I think this is why the LI's etc tend to congregrate in their own areas so they can eventually have all their conveniences, not wave at each other, and life the NYC lifestyle in a milder climate, with bigger houses, and lower taxes. That seems to be the vision for 10 years out from now.

Feel free to reduce reputation at will I expect to be at -10 soon enough haha

I think you are overstating your case. I don't know why you pick on Long Island to the exclusion of other places, especially when you reference west coast chains such as Trader Joes which are actually more prevalent in New England than on LI.

These awful stereotypical rude people (who are not all LIers) are probably not reading this board. the people here are more outward- looking, they are curious about what is already in
NC, not about changing it.

Maybe you are right in your assessment of Cary. We drove through it ans I wa turned off. But hey, if a certain type of person goes there & fits right in, so be it. Blame the developers who build the houses they like, & the coporations that hire them, & the stores that move in to cater to them. But you are painting millions of people with a pretty broad brush.

I am happy to say that our reception in Wake Forest has been warm, but when I read this board I have nagging doubts about the sincerity of the people.
I originally came on this board to get infor before we moved. Now that we are here, in addition to bouncing a few questions off of everyone, I am trying to "give back" a bit to those contemplating the move or who are in the midst of it. However, at some point I will stop coming here b/c I am tired of being bashed b/c of where I am from rather than who I am.

[thisguy]

<<<However, at some point I will stop coming here b/c I am tired of being bashed b/c of where I am from rather than who I am.

Well now you can say you are "from" Wake Forest, and "should", no?

Actually you are correct about the ones coming from "up north" who are posting here versus the general population. Also from my experiences in life, no matter what region the people lower on the income scale tend to not have these sort of attitudes. I just love the ones like I read a few days ago, about how she needed a 3600 sq foot house for 2 kids and her and hubby ... someone else mentioned her 2000 sq foot house for sale in NC and got a reply of (paraphrasing) "I realize that is a good house for some but just won't work for us". (insert eyeroll here!)

So yes I am generalizing, and unfortunately all my exposure to LI's has been to the upper crust type during my college years when they 'invaded' our campus, and brought all their charm(s), and stayed together in packs and didn't integrate, looked down on you if you didn't speak with their accent because you weren't one of them, had their own frats/sororities which excluded anyone not from the area, and wanted everything there just like they had back home even though they lived 1500 miles away at the time. So I read a lot of the same things here, 15 years later, and makes me cringe. And yes not everyone is like that, and probably the general reader here is more open minded than ones who are not. But if you read beneath the words and between the lines you can see some of bubbling under the surface in some of the comments. I am all for progress but trying to transplant an area from back home into a new area just so you have everything you had back home... not sure if that is the way to go.

Someone on another thread had a great comment today ... (she was from LI I think or NJ) re: we have to be careful because by bringing all the things we are trying to escape from to NC we are just going to turn NC into the place we were trying to escape from. So anyhow I just hope it doesnt turn into a snooty place because part of the 'charm' of NC at least from up here, is nice warm people who are down to earth. Hopefully the area can retain that, and that character wont change much as progress and inevitable development happens.

[scottinmass]

Being a "M*******'", I feel left out of that long Island stereotype..