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We moved to Cary, NC (outside of Raleigh) in 2002 and we love it. I would never move back to LI. IMO where we are in NC is much better than where in LI we were from (Commack).
We moved to Raleigh and came back. Didn't care for the area really. It was one big suburb. Basically urban sprawl, one shopping center, a housing complex, then another shopping center etc. Wish there were more mom and pop shops. There really wasn't much of a downtown. Too many illegal immigrants. Horrible traffic. And after awhile we got really homesick.
I got a better job in NY, and because of the cheaper housing and us living in the city, the cost of living in Rochester FAR cheaper. Our house with taxes cost less per month han alot of the apartments down there. Gas is cheaper down there, but the traffic is better up here so I fill up less.
If I had to do it over again. I would move to Charlotte, much better downtown, more to do.
MY brother is in the south Raleigh area and they like it.Takes a while to adjust to any area,got to give it some time.Will move down myself in a few years.
I moved to Raleigh, NC end of 2006 from Long Island (West Islip & Wading River), I love it here and have no plans to move back to Long Island. I was back to LI for a week in August to visit family & friends, I was happy to see everyone but was anxious to get out of there and come home(NC) It's not the same Long Island that I spent my entire life, even the last couple years leading up to my move, I couldn't wait to leave. I will never say never, you never know what the future holds, but I don't see myself moving back to LI, even though I have family and friends there. I do have to say that when family and friends have visited my home/area here, they were amazed how beautiful the area is. Good Luck with your decision.
Of those two choices, I'd say NC. Much better economic base (either the Triangle or Charlotte), schools are better, good university system. If you're a college graduate (i.e. not in the trades--i wouldn't know about that) I'd say that NC is a better bet.
I was wondering if you would tell us what exactly is different? (I have been considering moving and I really would like to know).
The biggest difference between Long Island and Raleigh is the pace of everything. Life just moves at a slower pace which requires a mental adjustment that takes time but eventually settles in nicely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese9988
We moved to Raleigh and came back. Didn't care for the area really. It was one big suburb. Basically urban sprawl, one shopping center, a housing complex, then another shopping center etc. Wish there were more mom and pop shops. There really wasn't much of a downtown. Too many illegal immigrants. Horrible traffic. And after awhile we got really homesick.
I got a better job in NY, and because of the cheaper housing and us living in the city, the cost of living in Rochester FAR cheaper. Our house with taxes cost less per month han alot of the apartments down there. Gas is cheaper down there, but the traffic is better up here so I fill up less.
If I had to do it over again. I would move to Charlotte, much better downtown, more to do.
Raleigh is not one big suburb; that would be Long Island. And if it's one big suburb how can you follow that by saying it's basically "urban sprawl"? Which is it?
The city itself is not New York but there's a real downtown and there are neat sections within it. We love exploring what Raleigh and Chapel Hill have to offer. As for the comment about illegal immigrants you do realize this thread is filed under Long Island, right? It's no worse here than it was there except for the fact that apartments are plentiful in Raleigh and affordable so it doesn't present the same issues down here.
And I would definitely be able to defend Raleigh versus Rochester in a debate over which city offers more for a family. I'd like to examine your cost-of-living numbers as well because based on your assertion Rochester would cost nearly one-fourth as that of Long Island and I can't make those numbers work in my head.
Well, it's true that LI is one big suburb, but it's not really an accurate comparison to the Triangle because it's merely one suburban area to a major city.
My experience in the Triangle was that it was quite sprawling because there's no single center to it. Raleigh has 380K people in a metro of 1.6 million, and it feels even worse because there are other smaller centers within the Triangle. Durham has 217K, which makes it much closer in size to Raleigh than major suburbs of other cities. In that respect, it was worse than Atlanta or Houston (2 cities I can't stand, Houston being far worse). I've never been to Charlotte, but my understanding is that Charlotte acts as much more of a focal point for its metropolitan area than Raleigh does. Multi-center urban areas tend to generate more sprawl (see the Dallas-Fort Worth area) because there's all that infill area to spread into.
This isn't to say that the Triangle doesn't have a lot to offer--it does. (It may not be high on my "move to" list, but it's far from bottom.) But, like most Sunbelt cities, it is very sprawling. I don't think you can deny that. If you're someone like me who just doesn't like that kind of layout, it's not an appealing place. (to give you an idea of my tastes, I also like Boston and Chicago and spent 4 years in London.)
Long Island is considerably better, from my POV, because even though it's not somewhere you can manage car free very easily, a reduced-car-use lifestyle is possible. My husband and I can manage with 1 car here (as long as he works in Manhattan and we don't move too far east!) That's not something we could do in most Sunbelt cities.
I know a few people who went to the Charlotte area. All love it but 2. And the 2 that do not like it want to come back because they are home sick from their families. Lets face it, most people will never like another place because they do not want to be far from their families. Thats the bottom line.
Not always true. My family left for FL in 1996. I wished them well as I kissed them good bye. They are living a better life down there, aren't getting taxed out the wazoo and live in an area up north which has some similarities to LI. My sister, all of her in-laws, and my grandmother followed.
I miss my family, but I would not want to move anywhere down south to be closer.
(Now if I could only talk my in-laws into moving there, too.)
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How about Western NC (the Asheville area) ? Has anyone from Long Island had experience with this part of North Carolina ?
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It's not the same Long Island that I spent my entire life, even the last couple years leading up to my move, I couldn't wait to leave. 
A few comments for consideration....
