Moving to NC to start a family (Charlotte, Raleigh: transplants, to rent)
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Hi.
My wife and I are currently living in Philadelphia, but we have each lived in quite a few other places aswell. We already have a son of 3, and we know we want to move. The question is; where to? We were thinking of moving to either North Carolina, California or even moving back to England. Varied, I know. Any information about family life etc. in NC is greatly appreciated. I have quite a senior job at my company and they have offices in California and North Carolina, they have said I could take a job at any and that I could work from home most days. Despite this, we would need to be in easy reach of either Charlotte or Raleigh.
Thank you all so much
I have quite a senior job at my company and they have offices in California and North Carolina,
they have said I could take a job at any and that I could work from home most days.
...we would need to be in easy reach of either Charlotte or Raleigh.
This is not an awful thing.
Plan to rent for the first year or so before you buy.
As to which....
Take at least one week off from work (not a minute less).
Get on a plane and fly into Raleigh.
Make some advance introduction/ contacts at the job if you can.
Poke around. Take 3 or 4 days to meet people and see what is what.
Have lunch and dinner at the nearby watering holes.
Meet the people. Both at the job and around town.
Poke around outside of Raleigh too.
Look at some of the suburban areas and the farther out rural towns.
Rent a road car. See more of North Carolina.
Make the 300+ mile run out to the mountains.
Stop in at Winston and Blowing Rock along the way.
Do some of that trip on the Parkway.
Allow a full day or better yet an overnight to get to Asheville.
Don't make too many hard plans. Get motel rooms by the night.
Then drive down to Charlotte.
Use your last couple of days to repeat what you did in/around Raleigh.
Fly home from CLT and think about it all.
I've lived in NC and now CA. I might be in a better position to advise you if you posted what you hope to achieve by moving to NC or CA and what your priorities are. Is it a better cost of living or safety/less crime, or traffic? These are two different states with very different pros and cons. Also where would you be living if you moved to CA?
I think alot of people would love to be in a senior level position that can work from anywhere!
MrRational, that's definitely a good idea. I'll try to get a holiday off soon and we'll do just that! We've only ever been to the coast so will definitely check out what it's like! Why should I plan to rent, though?
RoaminRebel; If we moved to CA it would again be to one of the cities (SF, LA, SD). I'm more inclined towards San Diego since we have family there and I absolutely love the place and know it pretty well, but LA seems to have the biggest office and the best job prospects. Plus, it's only two hours away by car.
In a state, we're looking for; good weather, good quality of life, relatively low cost of living, a good place for children to grow up and a nice house preferably with a big garden and pool, in a nice setting with good links to the city but also a bit of a small town feel. It would need to be close to a big airport. My job sometimes requires me to work abroad and, besides, we have lots of family all over the world.
It would need to be close to a big airport. My job sometimes requires me to work abroad and, besides, we have lots of family all over the world.
Charlotte has the best connections to fly overseas. However, you might check RDU to see what connections you would have to make to get to your likely destionations.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yabadabadooo
Thanks for your replies
MrRational, that's definitely a good idea. I'll try to get a holiday off soon and we'll do just that! We've only ever been to the coast so will definitely check out what it's like! Why should I plan to rent, though?
RoaminRebel; If we moved to CA it would again be to one of the cities (SF, LA, SD). I'm more inclined towards San Diego since we have family there and I absolutely love the place and know it pretty well, but LA seems to have the biggest office and the best job prospects. Plus, it's only two hours away by car.
In a state, we're looking for; good weather, good quality of life, relatively low cost of living, a good place for children to grow up and a nice house preferably with a big garden and pool, in a nice setting with good links to the city but also a bit of a small town feel. It would need to be close to a big airport. My job sometimes requires me to work abroad and, besides, we have lots of family all over the world.
Cheers
I'm confused. Your question is rather broad. You don't say what you want to get away from.
I spent most of my life in the South Jersey suburbs of Philly. Have you looked in the suburbs? Are you aware that there are some very good schools in the public system in Philadelphia as well as the very bad? There are some excellent public schools in the suburbs.
NC is going to be a cheaper cost of living than California, but you have family there.
MrRational, that's definitely a good idea. I'll try to get a holiday off soon and we'll do just that! We've only ever been to the coast so will definitely check out what it's like! Why should I plan to rent, though?
RoaminRebel; If we moved to CA it would again be to one of the cities (SF, LA, SD). I'm more inclined towards San Diego since we have family there and I absolutely love the place and know it pretty well, but LA seems to have the biggest office and the best job prospects. Plus, it's only two hours away by car.
In a state, we're looking for; good weather, good quality of life, relatively low cost of living, a good place for children to grow up and a nice house preferably with a big garden and pool, in a nice setting with good links to the city but also a bit of a small town feel. It would need to be close to a big airport. My job sometimes requires me to work abroad and, besides, we have lots of family all over the world.
Cheers
".... I'm more inclined towards San Diego since we have family there and I absolutely love the place and know it pretty well, but LA seems to have the biggest office and the best job prospects. "
No-brainer and then when you travel abroad, your SO will be near to people s/he knows. My Daughter and SIL just did something like this and hopefully, will bring them back East. RTP is ok, but I'd go with job prospects for now.
I'm confused. Your question is rather broad. You don't say what you want to get away from.
I spent most of my life in the South Jersey suburbs of Philly. Have you looked in the suburbs? Are you aware that there are some very good schools in the public system in Philadelphia as well as the very bad? There are some excellent public schools in the suburbs.
NC is going to be a cheaper cost of living than California, but you have family there.
We don't want to get away from anything, but we don't think Philadelphia is really the best place to raise our family. A combination of weather, living expenses and our not-really-knowing-anyone there made us think about moving. It was a question of which state. We considered all of them, and judged the Midwest and Southeast too out of the way, or too politically different to our views. Weather's important, and my firm has no offices in a lot of the states. We love the way of life in NC. A few other factors nailed it down to those two states. Were still open to any other suggestions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mm_mary73
".... I'm more inclined towards San Diego since we have family there and I absolutely love the place and know it pretty well, but LA seems to have the biggest office and the best job prospects. "
No-brainer and then when you travel abroad, your SO will be near to people s/he knows. My Daughter and SIL just did something like this and hopefully, will bring them back East. RTP is ok, but I'd go with job prospects for now.
Hmm. I suppose..
That's given me a lot to think about. I suppose I will. The offices in NC are small, and we have no family or friends in a probably 300 mile radius. We will discuss it. It is still a possibility we will return to the UK.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yabadabadooo
We don't want to get away from anything, but we don't think Philadelphia is really the best place to raise our family. A combination of weather, living expenses and our not-really-knowing-anyone there made us think about moving. It was a question of which state. We considered all of them, and judged the Midwest and Southeast too out of the way, or too politically different to our views. Weather's important, and my firm has no offices in a lot of the states. We love the way of life in NC. A few other factors nailed it down to those two states. Were still open to any other suggestions.
Have you looked into Society Hill & Chestnut Hill? Haddonfield? PA suburbs?
Weather-wise there isn't a great difference, in my opinion. Nor'easters headed for Philadelphia pass through NC.
Based on your posts, California seems like the no-brainer, but it is not cheap. Philadelphia & NC are both cheaper than Southern California.
All transplants should rent for a while; wherever they may go.
Get settled into the job, make a few friends, be sure of most things...
then look around in unhurried peace for the property/area that will really suit.
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