I live in NC. I visited the Rochester area last week. I wish I lived there -- at least between June and October.
It's been raining here in NC every day all summer, and summers are hot and humid. When I visited Rochester, I could BREATHE. I liked sleeping in a room where the windows were open (with screens), and no air-conditioning was necessary. The hottest part of the day was still comfortable to me. (And of course, people from Texas will say, "You don't know what hot is!" and they may be right, but I'm not ever going to live in Texas.)
In just a few (four) days last week, I went to Rochester, then the Thousand Islands (Alexandria Bay/Clayton), (
then lost, and finding myself BETWEEN the U.S. border station AND the Canada border station...with no passport!), then Canandaigua and then half-hour south of Canandaigua (Branchport), and then I drove to Cheektowaga near Buffalo and back to Rochester.
Between Canandaigua and Cheektowaga, I became lost -- the GPS lost its signal, but it didn't matter because she'd been sending me in the wrong direction anyway. The Google maps were all wrong, too. There were no humans around to ask. The two businesses I passed were closed, even though their signs said they were open during those hours.
I didn't mind being lost at all. Fortunately, my cell phone worked, otherwise I'd still be there.
The beauty of the Finger Lakes area is STUNNING. I love, love, love it. The Canandaigua area has boomed a bit (and is still beautiful), but the Naples and surrounding area is still so untouched. I'm amazed that it has not been discovered by more people.
During this trip, as I drove all over the state,
I realized that all the beauty and charm that so many attribute to North Carolina really does not exist -- yet it DOES exist in New York State -- in its lakes, mountains, small towns, and people.
So often, NY state is lumped in with NYC/NJ, but as you know, they are like different hemispheres.
One thing I like about NY state is that there are far more opportunities there for lakefront living. In the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, there are lakes, but many are often government-owned, some are man-made, and there is no building allowed on them -- no homes, no cottages, no restaurants. The water is murkier, too.
But taxes are so high in NY state. I pay $1,450 here a year. I looked online at a nice house on Lake Ontario in Rochester, with a price of maybe $50K more than mine, and the taxes were $6,450 a year. Egads. If I moved up there for half a year, I would try to rent.
Springtime, which begins in March (what a concept!) in the Raleigh area, are glorious here. But summers are brutally hot (for those used to northern summers). I don't go outside very much in the summers here.
New York summers, on the other hand, are glorious. I never wanted to go inside. I miss the summers terribly. I would like to be able to work remotely and spend June through October in the Finger Lakes area, and the rest of the time in Raleigh. I'm working on it.
Falls in Raleigh are like "Indian summers," and seem to go on and on, which is good. Novembers are not gloomy as they are in Rochester.
As far as the difference between SC and NC, I haven't lived in SC. But when I visited SC a few years ago, I was struck by these these things:
- Miles and miles and miles and miles of trailer homes. Nothing wrong with trailer homes. It just wasn't as scenic as the Finger Lakes or NC.
- At a Walmart, I saw
many trucks and cars with Confederate flags. Apparently, they do not care about the flag's interpretation by some as a racist symbol.
- There are different parts of SC that are very different: Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and rural areas. Personally, I'd prefer not to live in a non-scenic rural area (with few lakes and too many Confederate flags), and I don't want to live in a really tourist-y area.
But I'm sure there are many people who are very happy living in South Carolina. And if I ever found the right place, I probably would be, too.
You just have to identify your own needs and investigate both states for yourself.
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