Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I need some input from people who have relocated to NC. My family & I will be moving this summer. We have narrowed the search to Charlotte, Raleigh & Wilmington. We love all 3 places for different reasons and we are having a tough time deciding where to go. We have 2 school aged children and our main concern is moving to a place where we can easily meet people/other families. Any input would be appreciated especially if you have relocated with kids. Likes/dislikes, etc
We can give you what we think but at the end of the day it comes down to what you want. Do you have any spefics like:
Are you rent or buying?
Do you want land or a smaller lot?
Do you want rural, suburb or city?
Public or Private school?
How far do you want to commute to work?
Are you into outdoor activities?
Are you 2 a younger couple?
What kind of amenities do you want?
Do you want to be close to the coast or mountains?
All these are important questions we need to know before we can really help. As for what we can say we acan give you a generalization.
I don't really know much about Charlotte cause I very rarely go there but I can talk on the other 2.
Wilmington is an historic area. It's near the coast and overall has the cheapest housing market (excluding being in downtown or on the beach of course). While it is a nice city it's will have the least overall to do. Restaurants consist of mostly chains, however there are a good amount of stand alone restaurants. It has 2 malls, the older and indoor mall is called Independence mall and the newer outlet mall is called Mayfire. Schools are served by New Hanover County and from what I heard the southern Wilmington Area has the best overall schools. Me personalty as far as Wilmington I think it a good city, but I'm not the biggest fan because while historic town are good to look at, I can't myself living in one. If you want to live in areas near Wilmington look at Hampsted, Burnswick County, and Castle Haynes
Raleigh is more of the progressive area of NC. The RTP is the ultimate driver in that entire area. Housing is a little more expensive overall (really expensive if you are trying to live in Apex, Cary or Morrisville) but compare to must other places in the county it's pretty good. Plenty to do and see, it's got historic charm up brought up in today's world. Plenty of shopping and restaurants in this area (my personal favroite is Bull City Burgers in Durham).
We have 2 school aged children and our main concern is moving to a place where we can easily meet people/other families.
There are many people who have successfully moved to the Wilmington area with kids. You willl find them if you search the forums. We are here as retirees. Sometimes people say that Wilmington is great for students and retirees. It will be harder to find a well-paying job as someone in their prime-earning years.
If I were to chose where to live while the family is young, I would pick the Triangle. It has the best schools in the state and plenty of local colleges for them when they get older. There are numberous kid-oriented developments in Cary and Raleigh where the kids can have swim-teams, and many other sports. The developments seem to be very social and friendly to transplants.
Depending on what the primary wage-earner does, the Triangle probably has the best pool of job opportunities. I honestly don't know Charlotte, but transplants are also flocking there in large numbers.
My 2 cents is move to the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). Schools are better in Chapel Hill as a rule, but Wake has some good schools. Lots more to do than go to the beach in the Triangle.
You can easily meet people/make friends anywhere. The important considerations are: Will you need to find a job? Whats your housing budget? Do you value being on the coast? Small city (Wilmington) or big city (Charlotte)? How important is the presence of things like museums, sporting events, etc.?
Wilmington...restaurants consist of mostly chains, however there are a good amount of stand alone restaurants.
I don't believe Wilmington has a higher percentage of chain restaurants than anywhere else in NC, and in any event, the city has many, many, many quality non-chain places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. ENC
It has 2 malls, the older and indoor mall is called Independence mall and the newer outlet mall is called Mayfire.
Mayfaire is not an outlet mall. Its not even a mall, which by definition is an enclosed, indoor shopping center.
You can easily meet people/make friends anywhere. The important considerations are: Will you need to find a job? Whats your housing budget? Do you value being on the coast? Small city (Wilmington) or big city (Charlotte)? How important is the presence of things like museums, sporting events, etc.?
This. All of the above. I'm sure your kids can make friends in any of the three choices but the job market is pretty different and I find the flavors of the cities to be pretty different.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
