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I went to Raleigh and didnt like it. A bunch of square, modern brick buildings surrounded by miles of urban sprawl and shopping strips. I figured Charlotte would be the same, considering it is a modern boom town. The triad seemed to have a lot more history and charm.
The Triad is like the Memphis of North Carolina. There's few new buildings in the downtown core, giving the indication there's a lot of history and charm. While I'm not saying there isn't any, there definitely isn't a significant amount. Out of the three largest metropolitan areas in the state, the Triad is the smallest and lacks many of the things the other two do. From my personal experience, there isn't anything that'd keep me in the Triad overnight.
Charlotte is larger than Raleigh and is going to offer more.
You also need to take into consideration, both Charlotte and Raleigh are two of the fastest growing cities in the country, so sprawl is going to be expected.
I'd visited or heard great things about Chapel Hill, Jacksonville, and other areas, but more recently learned a little more about Charlotte. Someone I work with, this amazing woman, has spent most of her life in my home town, except for a few recent years in Charlotte. She had to move back to MI for a family emergency but says she literally dreams of the day when she can return to Charlotte. She said it is an amazing, beautiful place. People don't just live there, they are really ALIVE. They seem to enjoy life so much more than people do up here. The entire vibe is just so much more positive." Due to this, Charlotte was our initial focus for NC.
Might sound like a silly head-in-the-clouds answer, but it is truly how she feels. And, respecting her as a person and knowing what perspective she is looking at this with, it was an extremely encouraging conversation. Every place has problems and there will always be people out there looking to smash your dreams for petty or legitimate reasons.
I don't think anyone gets on here expecting to follow suite entirely with any experience someone relays to them. However, everyone preaches to be realistic and to do their homework, yet by doing this and asking the questions, posters are ridiculed. It seems like every state you consider moving to, people are more willing to discourage you rather than offer honest answers to the questions you ask. If something seems broad, ask for clarification or DON'T ANSWER. If you don't like the question, DON'T ANSWER. No one is forcing anyone to respond to posts on this website, so getting frustrated because someone asked a similar question to one you have answered multiple times is ridiculous. Just don't answer it and move on to the next post.
I thank the past few posters (and a few before that) who actually offered info without insult or assumptions. That's why people continue to come to this site and ask these questions and have this play a role in their overall research.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upandup
I'd visited or heard great things about Chapel Hill, Jacksonville, and other areas, but more recently learned a little more about Charlotte. Someone I work with, this amazing woman, has spent most of her life in my home town, except for a few recent years in Charlotte. She had to move back to MI for a family emergency but says she literally dreams of the day when she can return to Charlotte. She said it is an amazing, beautiful place. People don't just live there, they are really ALIVE. They seem to enjoy life so much more than people do up here. The entire vibe is just so much more positive." Due to this, Charlotte was our initial focus for NC.
Might sound like a silly head-in-the-clouds answer, but it is truly how she feels. And, respecting her as a person and knowing what perspective she is looking at this with, it was an extremely encouraging conversation. Every place has problems and there will always be people out there looking to smash your dreams for petty or legitimate reasons.
I don't think anyone gets on here expecting to follow suite entirely with any experience someone relays to them. However, everyone preaches to be realistic and to do their homework, yet by doing this and asking the questions, posters are ridiculed. It seems like every state you consider moving to, people are more willing to discourage you rather than offer honest answers to the questions you ask. If something seems broad, ask for clarification or DON'T ANSWER. If you don't like the question, DON'T ANSWER. No one is forcing anyone to respond to posts on this website, so getting frustrated because someone asked a similar question to one you have answered multiple times is ridiculous. Just don't answer it and move on to the next post.
I thank the past few posters (and a few before that) who actually offered info without insult or assumptions. That's why people continue to come to this site and ask these questions and have this play a role in their overall research.
Honestly, go to the subforums & use the search the forum feature & search for medical, hospital, etc. you'll find loads of threads. The job situation is better than Michigan in NC but it isn't good. The commutes might be within 30 minutes but probably won't be.
Just to give you an idea of the situation, we had a thread on the Charlotte board where the husband had a job in uptown Charlotte & the wife had a job in Greenville, SC. She wanted help with finding a house in South Charlotte & didn't like it at all when we tried to get her focused on a town that would give her a 60 mile commute & her husband would have a 30 mile commute to the city boundaries.
In this economy juggling 2 jobs isn't going to be pretty, more often than not. It hurts nothing to try. You might get lucky. If you decide to wait until a later time, Grand Rapids is a fine town. I lived there for 8 years of my childhood.
Honestly, go to the subforums & use the search the forum feature & search for medical, hospital, etc. you'll find loads of threads. The job situation is better than Michigan in NC but it isn't good. The commutes might be within 30 minutes but probably won't be.
Just to give you an idea of the situation, we had a thread on the Charlotte board where the husband had a job in uptown Charlotte & the wife had a job in Greenville, SC. She wanted help with finding a house in South Charlotte & didn't like it at all when we tried to get her focused on a town that would give her a 60 mile commute & her husband would have a 30 mile commute to the city boundaries.
In this economy juggling 2 jobs isn't going to be pretty, more often than not. It hurts nothing to try. You might get lucky. If you decide to wait until a later time, Grand Rapids is a fine town. I lived there for 8 years of my childhood.
Thanks for the input. Commute times scare me, but that's one of the main reasons I came to this site. Living in MI, we really only know what we see on tv about the horrible commutes people experience elsewhere (my husband probably understands but my 1 mile to work drive as ruined me to commutes!)
We aren't too upset about the prospect of GR as it's the only place we'd want to live in MI and at least it would get us out of Jackson. But, we really feel like we owe it to ourselves and our kids to see what else is out there. I don't want to stay in a place I don't really like simply because I wouldn't take the time to research better options or because I never had the guts to make the move. My parents were quite upset over the idea of us moving but then admitted they were proud of us for doing so because they always had wanted to do the same. I don't want that to be a major regret of ours 30 years from now.
All in all, we are accustomed to a certain lifestye (nothing crazy, but we know who we are) and we will stay here if we can't find a great place for us somewhere else. And yes, lining up two jobs will not be easy! But, we are certainly willing to give it a shot. I don't give up very easily and I don't settle!
to the OP, outside of raleigh, I would probably avoid NC. wilmington doesn't have the job market you are looking for, and charlotte is a faceless city. if you want to live close to the ocean, there are some tradeoffs. you have to be willing to accept a lower wage, and deal with job competition.
here are some cities I suggest you check out
richmond, VA
norfolk/VA beach area
charlottesville, VA
fredericksburg, VA
raleigh, NC
chapel hill, NC
columbia, SC
greenville, SC.
I am a proud virginian, but I can't emphasize greenville, SC enough. great place. good luck in your endeavor.
There is nothing wrong with the Charlotte area. I lived in the NoVa area for 12 years and I don't see any reason to go back (except to visit friends/family). OP - I would take a look in the Kannapolis,Concord,Harrisburg areas and see what kind of jobs you can find. I'm familiar w/ Grand Rapids as I grew up in South Bend and visited Corey Lake in Three Rivers often. There's a mom's group here that you could join to help you find things for the kids. I myself have a 4 and 5 year old.
to the OP, outside of raleigh, I would probably avoid NC. wilmington doesn't have the job market you are looking for, and charlotte is a faceless city. if you want to live close to the ocean, there are some tradeoffs. you have to be willing to accept a lower wage, and deal with job competition.
here are some cities I suggest you check out
richmond, VA
norfolk/VA beach area
charlottesville, VA
fredericksburg, VA
raleigh, NC
chapel hill, NC
columbia, SC
greenville, SC.
I am a proud virginian, but I can't emphasize greenville, SC enough. great place. good luck in your endeavor.
Care to elaborate? Because I bet I could prove you wrong.
Virginia is too dependent on D.C. There's nothing in Virginia on the scale of Charlotte, therefore does not offer as much as Charlotte does.
Your "proud Virginian" mindset doesn't mean boost for unknown reasons with nothing backing it up or bash cities that are above your selected.
Care to elaborate? Because I bet I could prove you wrong.
Virginia is too dependent on D.C. There's nothing in Virginia on the scale of Charlotte, therefore does not offer as much as Charlotte does.
Your "proud Virginian" mindset doesn't mean boost for unknown reasons with nothing backing it up or bash cities that are above your selected.
Why are you in the NC forum anyways?
northern, VA is dependent on DC. you will notice that I didn't mention a single place in NOVA. I have a house in NC, that I rent out after living there for 5 years. charlotte is a generic NOVA without the history or high paying jobs.
northern, VA is dependent on DC. you will notice that I didn't mention a single place in NOVA. I have a house in NC, that I rent out after living there for 5 years. charlotte is a generic NOVA without the history or high paying jobs.
No lol, the entire state.
Charlotte and D.C. aren't alike at all really. They're completely known for different reasons and have different things going for them. I didn't know you renting out a house in NC made you relevant to the state and obligated to bash cities elsewhere in the state.
It's also kind of funny you say there's no high paying jobs in Charlotte because I make a six-figure salary and know many, many people who do the same. Hello, it's a banking capital.
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