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Long story short . . . I grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Seattle where I lived for 13 years (loved it), and then had to move to Buffalo, NY when I accepted a job offer (I'm a professor).
After 7 years here I decided it was not for me; I hate the long frigid winters, the property/sales/income taxes are high, and it's just rather boring. Plus, besides a few good friends, I have no real other connections here (my family and really good friends are elsewhere).
I've secured employment that is 100% mobile and am doing well (and by that I mean I am enjoying what I do and making "OK" money doing it -- less than I did in my full-time professorship job to be sure), and so I have decided to relocate. My *BIG* criteria are milder Winters, affordability, access to outdoor activities (I love to run and hike and play tennis and swim and kayak among other things), and a decent size city with the accompanying amenities (I'd say a population over 300,000 to a million or so), and a good economy.
I've ruled out Denver (been there and love it) and Austin (never been) primarily because, though they look amazing, they are expensive. I've also ruled out a few other spots.
I visited the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC area in October and loved it; it's affordable, there are 4 seasons with short and mild Winters and hot summers (which I also love), a sizable population and amenities, and lots of employment possibilities along with a stable/growing economy (I may eventually look for part-time work).
My good friend has recently come back from Lexington though, and LOVES it, and he thinks I would too. But I have never been there, and wondered how people think it might compare to NC and to my list of criteria?
I seriously just registered on this forum to ask for a comparison between the same two cities, but found this thread on a "search" first. What are the odds?
I am a 28 y.o. male and may have to make a decision between moving from Arlington, VA to Raleigh, NC or Lexington, KY and would love some insight with respect to a comparison between the two cities. I am looking for the same criteria - affordability, mild winters, and warm summer - so I'll just piggy-back onto this thread, I reckon (unless it gets out of control)
Hey there and welcome to the Lexington forum!
Lexington is great, I love it here! You can go here to Money Magazine and get a price comparison chart for comparrisons of various cities.
It can get cold and have snow here, but nothing like you would experience in Buffalo. I have never lived in Arlington, but my husband originally came from the Baltimore, Md. area, and he thinks we get mild winters, with not enough snow, lol.
(He seems quite amused that everyone freaks out if they hear the word "snow" on the weather report and run out and buy milk and bread (and enough groceries to last them for three months) just because we are expected to get a few inches of snow.) The Road crews are great here, and a job getting the main roads cleared.
The Summers are pretty hot at times, but no hotter than you would experience in Virginia.
If you like to run, hike and swim - there are many places here to do that. (Lots of parks, fitness trails, and Pools). You can kayak also, but it may mean a drive out of the city.
Maybe someone will come on here, who has lived in the cities you guys have mentioned. (I think the reason you haven't had many comments so far,is because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.)
Thanks for the welcome -- I have used Cost of Living Calculators in the past -- they can be very helpful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady
Hey there and welcome to the Lexington forum!
Lexington is great, I love it here! You can go here to Money Magazine and get a price comparison chart for comparrisons of various cities.
Thanks for the great feedback . . . it's very helpful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady
It can get cold and have snow here, but nothing like you would experience in Buffalo. I have never lived in Arlington, but my husband originally came from the Baltimore, Md. area, and he thinks we get mild winters, with not enough snow, lol.
(He seems quite amused that everyone freaks out if they hear the word "snow" on the weather report and run out and buy milk and bread (and enough groceries to last them for three months) just because we are expected to get a few inches of snow.) The Road crews are great here, and a job getting the main roads cleared.
The Summers are pretty hot at times, but no hotter than you would experience in Virginia.
If you like to run, hike and swim - there are many places here to do that. (Lots of parks, fitness trails, and Pools). You can kayak also, but it may mean a drive out of the city.
Maybe someone will come on here, who has lived in the cities you guys have mentioned. (I think the reason you haven't had many comments so far,is because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.)
Wow, thank you so much for all of that info, it is very much appreciated! I think that you are right about the low response rate due to the holidays, but I feel like it's also kind of an odd pair of cities to compare. I'm not sure how many people have had a chance to live in both places.
Hopefully we'll get some more feedback but, if not, the information you've provided above certainly helps. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the weekend!
I've not been to Lexington and only visited Raleigh/Durham, and my friend who made the recommendation to me only visited Lexington and has never been to R/D; it seems on the surface that the two areas share a lot of things, like being Southern, likely similar weather, and affordability; though if you look at The Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) overall it certainly is larger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roba2686
Crazee Cat Lady -
Wow, thank you so much for all of that info, it is very much appreciated! I think that you are right about the low response rate due to the holidays, but I feel like it's also kind of an odd pair of cities to compare. I'm not sure how many people have had a chance to live in both places.
Hopefully we'll get some more feedback but, if not, the information you've provided above certainly helps. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the weekend!
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