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This afternoon, I returned to South Florida after having spent five days in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. I don't quite understand why so many Floridians have been relocating to North Carolina in the past several years and why so many more are considering a move to North Carolina in the future. Although I thought that The Triangle was beautiful and somewhat charming, I do not think that I'm ready to pack up and relocate there. The general infrastructure of The Triangle area, especially the roads, are quite impressive and very noteworthy. However, this is also true of many, if not all, metropolitan areas of Florida. The scenery and the homes were pretty and attractive and the residents seemed much more pleasant, laid-back, and polite than the average Floridian. But, in my opinion, that was it.
I was quick to pick up on the shortcomings on the Raleigh-Durham area during my five-day trip:
1. Traffic: The traffic in the The Triangle area seemed to be just as bad, if not worse, than the traffic in South Florida.
2. Convenience: Having grown up in Rhode Island and now living in South Florida, I am very spoiled by having 'everything' at my fingertips. Supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, doctors' offices, post offices, bars, nightclubs, shopping malls, beaches, etc. have never been far away from where I live; they have always been close by to my home. I quickly discovered that the everyday conveniences I have come to take for granted, based on the places I have lived, are quite spread out in the Raleigh-Durham area...and the traffic issue doesn't make this any more bearable.
3. People: Although the residents of The Triangle were generally more pleasant than the residents of South Florida, and most of Florida, for that matter; I was not overly impressed. I arrived in North Carolina thinking that every person I encountered was going to be dripping with Southern hospitality. Man, I was wrong! LOL. There seemed to be just as many unfriendly and impolite people in this area as there were in South Florida. I attributed this to the fact that there are a lot of transplants living and working in The Triangle, as well as a host of business travelers, from other parts of the country and the world. The people I encountered during my trip did not impress me at all. I think this was my biggest disappointment. I did not realize this area was overrun by a huge influx of people from elsewhere.
4. Weather: It was cold in The Triangle this past weekend, given the fact that this past weekend was the first weekend in October. A few days this past weekend, the mercury barely hit 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The evenings and mornings were chilly, as the low temperatures were in the mid-to-low 40's. I know that this area was experiencing an unusual cold front for this time of year, but it goes to show you that this type of weather can occur in this region during this time of the year. In my opinion, that sucks because I love warm weather and hate cold weather.
5. Taxes: Although a person, regardless of their state of residence, may be able to buy more home for the money in North Carolina than in Florida; the property taxes in metropolitan counties of North Carolina are about the same as the metropolitan counties of Florida. Also, the jobs in North Carolina do not pay much better than the jobs in Florida. Salaries for the same type of job are largely equivalent in both states with North Carolina most likely coming out on top, but not by much.
6. Disasters: I know that almost all of the State of Florida lies in Hurricane Alley; but North Carolina is also very susceptible to hurricanes, as well as violent tornadoes and earthquakes. The earthquake that occurred in Mineral, VA in August was felt across most of North Carolina. The deadly tornado outbreak that occurred in April devastated many parts of the state in more ways than one. According to the evening news, some parts of North Carolina were still recovering from Hurricane Irene, which made landfall in the state in late August. To my knowledge, South Florida has neither experienced an earthquake nor a violent tornado in living memory. And, persistent freezing temperatures, ice storms, and blizzards do not occur in South Florida, as they can occur in North Carolina.
In conclusion, I was not as impressed with the Raleigh-Durham area as I thought I would be. The people were not loud and obnoxious, but they did not seem to be overly hospitable and friendly. The weather was very cold, given the time of year, and the beach was very far away. Crime seemed about the same, maybe slightly less, and the drivers were remarkably aggressive. If I were to move to North Carolina, I think that I would become bored very quickly because there doesn't seem to much going on or much to do up there. There just doesn't seem to be as much substance to The Triangle as there is in South Florida, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, etc. Can someone please explain to me why people are emigrating Florida in droves for North Carolina?! I don't quite understand why!
Last edited by WhatUpFLA; 10-04-2011 at 05:35 PM..
This afternoon, I returned to South Florida after having spent five days in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. I don't quite understand why so many Floridians have been relocating to North Carolina in the past several years and why so many more are considering a move to North Carolina in the future. Although I thought that The Triangle was beautiful and somewhat charming, I do not think that I'm ready to pack up and relocate there. The general infrastructure of The Triangle area, especially the roads, are quite impressive and very noteworthy. However, this is also true of many, if not all, metropolitan areas of Florida. The scenery and the homes were pretty and attractive and the residents seemed much more pleasant, laid-back, and polite than the average Floridian. But, in my opinion, that was it.
I was quick to pick up on the shortcomings on the Raleigh-Durham area during my five-day trip:
1. Traffic: The traffic in the The Triangle area seemed to be just as bad, if not worse, than the traffic in South Florida.
2. Convenience: Having grown up in Rhode Island and now living in South Florida, I am very spoiled by having 'everything' at my fingertips. Supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, doctors' offices, post offices, bars, nightclubs, shopping malls, beaches, etc. have never been far away from where I live; they have always been close by to my home. I quickly discovered that the everyday conveniences I have come to take for granted, based on the places I have lived, are quite spread out in the Raleigh-Durham area...and the traffic issue doesn't make this any more bearable.
3. People: Although the residents of The Triangle were generally more pleasant than the residents of South Florida, and most of Florida, for that matter; I was not overly impressed. I arrived in North Carolina thinking that every person I encountered was going to be dripping with Southern hospitality. Man, I was wrong! LOL. There seemed to be just as many unfriendly and impolite people in this area as there were in South Florida. I attributed this to the fact that there are a lot of transplants living and working in The Triangle, as well as a host of business travelers, from other parts of the country and the world. The people I encountered during my trip did not impress me at all. I think this was my biggest disappointment. I did not realize this area was overrun by a huge influx of people from elsewhere.
4. Weather: It was cold in The Triangle this past weekend, given the fact that this past weekend was the first weekend in October. A few days this past weekend, the mercury barely hit 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The evenings and mornings were chilly, as the low temperatures were in the mid-to-low 40's. I know that this area was experiencing an unusual cold front for this time of year, but it goes to show you that this type of weather can occur in this region during this time of the year. In my opinion, that sucks because I love warm weather and hate cold weather.
5. Taxes: Although a person, regardless of their state of residence, may be able to buy more home for the money in North Carolina than in Florida; the property taxes in metropolitan counties of North Carolina are about the same as the metropolitan counties of Florida. Also, the jobs in North Carolina do not pay much better than the jobs in Florida. Salaries for the same type of job are largely equivalent in both states with North Carolina most likely coming out on top, but not by much.
6. Disasters: I know that almost all of the State of Florida lies in Hurricane Alley; but North Carolina is also very susceptible to hurricanes, as well as violent tornadoes and earthquakes. The earthquake that occurred in Mineral, VA in August was felt across most of North Carolina. The deadly tornado outbreak that occurred in April devastated many parts of the state in more ways than one. According to the evening news, some parts of North Carolina were still recovering from Hurricane Irene, which made landfall in the state in late August. To my knowledge, South Florida has neither experienced an earthquake nor a violent tornado in living memory. And, persistent freezing temperatures, ice storms, and blizzards do not occur in South Florida, as they can occur in North Carolina.
In conclusion, I was not as impressed with the Raleigh-Durham area as I thought I would be. The people were not loud and obnoxious, but they did not seem to be overly hospitable and friendly. The weather was very cold, given the time of year, and the beach was very far away. Crime seemed about the same, maybe slightly less, and the drivers were remarkably aggressive. If I were to move to North Carolina, I think that I would become bored very quickly because there doesn't seem to much going on or much to do up there. There just doesn't seem to be as much substance to The Triangle as there is in South Florida, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, etc. Can someone please explain to me why people are emigrating Florida in droves for North Carolina?! I don't quite understand why!
Who said Florida people are moving there? May have been true a few years ago as people cashed in of the property values in Florida and went where their money would buy a lot more. Not now though.
Maybe it's because the folks that leave are lacking intellectual stimulation in Floriduh and the Raleigh-Durham area for one is always ranked as one of the most educated areas in the U.S. Don't see too many Florida cities on those lists, if any.
Have heard of them relocating to the Murphy and Asheville areas, not so much the triangle areas. Could be that they want to see a more distinct change of the seasons, lower crime(even if it's just a little lower), friendlier people, lower unemployment, less foreclosures, variety in terrain, or a better atmosphere in general.
Not sure there's still a mass movement to the Carolinas. That happened a lot during the boom, as people cashed out here and moved there.
Some people need a change of scenery. If they're looking for lower unemployment, lower taxes or less crime, they might be shocked once they get to North Carolina to find that it's just another place to live. A greater overall tax burden, an unemployment rate of 10.4% compared to Florida's 10.7%....Charlotte, NC has a crime rate higher than Fort Lauderdale, etc. etc.... the states are different and not really comparable in lifestyle. That's the beauty of the United States -- something for everyone. The "southern hospitality" BS can be found in North Florida if that's what you're searching for (superficial niceities and bible belt cliqueishness is NOT for everyone! Give me a "know where you stand" NY transplant attitude ANY DAY of the week!)
As far as "educational attainment," or "stimulation" I would like to point out to the peanut gallery that according to city-data, Florida has a greater percentage of residents that hold a master's degree or higher than North Carolina. North Carolina also has 1% more of the population with a bachelor's degree, and the states are basically identical in terms of those with a doctorate or higher.
Not sure there's still a mass movement to the Carolinas. That happened a lot during the boom, as people cashed out here and moved there.
Some people need a change of scenery. If they're looking for lower unemployment, lower taxes or less crime, they might be shocked once they get to North Carolina to find that it's just another place to live. A greater overall tax burden, an unemployment rate of 10.4% compared to Florida's 10.7%....Charlotte, NC has a crime rate higher than Fort Lauderdale, etc. etc.... the states are different and not really comparable in lifestyle. That's the beauty of the United States -- something for everyone. The "southern hospitality" BS can be found in North Florida if that's what you're searching for (superficial niceities and bible belt cliqueishness is NOT for everyone! Give me a "know where you stand" NY transplant attitude ANY DAY of the week!)
As far as "educational attainment," or "stimulation" I would like to point out to the peanut gallery that according to city-data, Florida has a greater percentage of residents that hold a master's degree or higher than North Carolina. North Carolina also has 1% more of the population with a bachelor's degree, and the states are basically identical in terms of those with a doctorate or higher.
Since the OP was centered around Raleigh-Durham, so was my post. Show me some stats where any city in Florida of comparable size to the Raleigh-Durham area has more educated citizens. While you're at it, explain to us why Raleigh-Durham constantly ends up on the lists of most educated cities while alas, no cities in Florida qualify.
Hint - Masters in Crystal Meth production do not count. And please do look outside of C-D ...
The Raleigh-Durham area is the only area of North Carolina that I've visited thus far. I plan to visit the Outer Banks, Wilmington, Charlotte, and Asheville in due time. The Triangle just happened to be the first region of the state that I visited. However it may seem in my original post, I'm not only inquiring about Floridians relocating to The Triangle; I'm inquiring about Floridians relocating to all regions of North Carolina, as well as South Carolina.
When we were looking to move out of Florida in 2005 I quickly figured out that North Carolina was going to be the next "it" place and ruled it out. I knew that the same people that trampled through Florida were headed that way. No thank you.
In fact, we now see a lot of folks with North Carolina plates heading through our current city, heading for points north to visit and driving much like their Midwestern compatriots.
And yes, North Carolina has a very heavy tax burden. It's 18th in the country as opposed to Florida 31st place.
I do have to disagree about tornadoes, though. I had only lived in Orlando for a little over a year when they were hit with three very destructive tornadoes back in February 1998. They were so bad that Bill Clinton visited the area. I also remember a horrifying tornado hitting somewhere near The Villages a few years back. And that is just off the top of my head. There have been thousands more. As we all know, the earthquake that recently occurred got more action as jokes on twitter than actual destruction. The photo of the day was a lawn chair knocked over and that was done in jest. Hurricanes? I've been through Charley while living in Fort Myers, Florida. North Carolina's hurricane record is fortunately not as bad as Florida's. Blizzards? Meh. They get about as much snow as where I am now. In other words, barely anything, ever. They get a real blizzard about once every 100 years.
Common sense told me that if I am moving some place to get away from the people that surround me then I shouldn't move to the same place they are going. Eventually, if enough of them move there they will do to that area exactly what they did to the place they just left. And in North Carolina they did just that. Some of them didn't even live in Florida first. They skipped that part and went directly to NC.
A lot of my relatives and my parents friends that moved here in the 1940''s when farming in Alabama and Georgia got harder and harder, moved down into Central Fl for the work. the retired children of those people have pretty much moved out , either to NC or Tenn, or back to Alabama and Georgia where the original families came from. There are a few collateral lines that have stayed in the area but, not a lot.
Since the OP was centered around Raleigh-Durham, so was my post. Show me some stats where any city in Florida of comparable size to the Raleigh-Durham area has more educated citizens. While you're at it, explain to us why Raleigh-Durham constantly ends up on the lists of most educated cities while alas, no cities in Florida qualify.
Hint - Masters in Crystal Meth production do not count. And please do look outside of C-D ...
It's funny that you bring up Crystal Meth production since North Carolina is way ahead of Florida in that respect. 234 lab incidents for a state with a population just over 9 million while Florida had 316 lab incidents for over 18 million, those were the numbers for 2010.
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