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For our family, we are priced out of the west coast and the north east and Virginia. No jobs for my husband in NM.. That leaves the heat in AZ, cold winters in the NE. There really is nowhere else to go for our family that would have tech jobs & a home that we can actually afford. Perhaps Boise or Kansas city might have a job or two, but we need a city with lots of jobs because lay offs are rather common with tech jobs. For another family, there will be plenty of nice places to relocate to. For us, it's really NC or Austin.
As an educator, I forsee more job/career opportunities in education in a state like NC due to the population explosion that has been occurring over the last couple of years. In states that are losing population, it is more challenging for education professionals to find work. Thus, I am open to relocation.
I am certain that everyone considering relocating to NC(or other places) have asked themselves, "Is NC the right place for me?" I can't answer that right now because I need to spend a bit of time down there before making that decision.Last thing I would want to do is move to a place only to find that it was not what I expected it to be.
If I move there(or any other place), I do so with the expectation that it is not going to be like where I came from. I have lived in Chicago for most of my life.However, I feel ready for a change. Somewhere a little slower pace yet with enough cultural and leisure activities to keep my interests.
At least for now, we can still be happy if we live in NC or Austin.
Well, maybe alpacino should preface everything he/she types with "In my opinion..." Or, we could just assume that what alpacino types without citing specific works of reference is his/her own opinion.
Maybe for alpacino, NC really is "the only spot in the US that has jobs, affordable housing and acceptable weather. Except for Austin"
Is it your goal to dissuade people from moving to NC? Or are you just on a crusade to extinguish the idealized pictures of NC that some might have in their head?
We're moving from VA to Lake Norman area because we wanted to live on a lake near a large city and an airport with direct flights to the Caribbean (that may sound like a joke, in fact it's very important). We also wanted mild winters and affordable housing.
But what specifically attracted us to NC is the attitude of the people. Carolinians seem contented with life. Northern Virginia has a lot of power-crazy whiners. You could have a day with perfect weather here and all you'll hear is complaints (or "well it's nice today but tomorrow will be lousy.") When I lived in Asheville, no matter how bad the weather, people were polite and happy, and no matter what the weather was like they tended to think it was another beautiful day in paradise.
We will be moving to Lake Norman from DC area (or Northern VA, take your pick). But, we've only lived in VA for a few years, before that we lived in a Southern California Beach Town for 15 years.
So... given the possibility for prejudice against newcomers, would it be wiser to say we were from VA, DC or California? I know some places hate Californians, although the people I've met in NC so far remind me of the cheerful, laid back attitude of LA.
We will be moving to Lake Norman from DC area (or Northern VA, take your pick). But, we've only lived in VA for a few years, before that we lived in a Southern California Beach Town for 15 years.
So... given the possibility for prejudice against newcomers, would it be wiser to say we were from VA, DC or California? I know some places hate Californians, although the people I've met in NC so far remind me of the cheerful, laid back attitude of LA.
There are so many transplants I dont think you have to worry.
That can be a good thing and a bad thing.
Good thing if youre afraid you wont be accepted by the locals, bad if youre trying to escape the same attitudes of the place you are leaving.
So... given the possibility for prejudice against newcomers, would it be wiser to say we were from VA, DC or California? I know some places hate Californians, although the people I've met in NC so far remind me of the cheerful, laid back attitude of LA.
I'm not being prejudiced, but I wouldn't really care where you said you were coming from, I just know that it's getting too crowded here and we don't need any more people coming in. The invasion is ruining our state. I speak for a great number of NC natives that share the same thoughts on the matter (greedy land developers excluded).
I'm not being prejudiced, but I wouldn't really care where you said you were coming from, I just know that it's getting too crowded here and we don't need any more people coming in. The invasion is ruining our state. I speak for a great number of NC natives that share the same thoughts on the matter (greedy land developers excluded).
I hate to burst your bubble but it will not change and people are comming no matter what.Get used to it
The tone of this original message seems to be questioning the decision of those of us who wish to relocate to your fine area. I'm not sure if that is because you do not see what we see in your land or maybe you see the value all too well and want to keep it the way it is for yourselves. I know what it is like to have people from the "outside" invade your space. I grew up in the North End (pronounced as Noth End - we save the r's for other words that don't have any) of Boston. For those who have done the Freedom Trail in Boston you visited there if you went to Paul Revere's house or the Old North Church. My grandparents lived in the North End all their life after coming to this country from Italy. When I was growing up there (mid 1950's thru 60's) the area was 99.9% of Italian ancestory. It was like one big family. It was the only place my grandparents and parents knew. Slowly but surely families moved out for greener pastures of the suburbs and conversely those that came for our street feastivals and great restaurants began to move into the area. On top of the "fun" side of the area, it was a short walk to Boston's financial district. At the time it was also fairly cheap, especially for a city. Unfortunately the newcomers were not very well accepted. There was an initial period of turmoil but eventually things settled down. Today the area still has a European/Italian flavor but it is quite different. It is no longer the one big family it once was. Plus the cost of living there has skyrocketed so much that those families who never wanted to leave were often forced to do so for financial reasons. What's my point -regardless of whether I and others wished it never changed, it did. I still relish fond memories of what it was and am happy I had the chance to experience the joy of growing up in such a special place. But times change and we must follow. "The only constant is change" is all too true.
Getting back to the original question, there is much that I see in the various parts of NC I have visited. First and foremost as my pen name implies, my wife and I are growing tired of the cold New England weather. It's not that we mind the cold, but winter is just too long. Nice weather does not truly arrive until end of May and although Fall is beautiful here it's freezing cold again by October. Yes you have cold weather too, but the 4 seasons is a plus, especially considering the seasons are more evenly spread out.
I've read a lot about cost of living and have seen questions about whether it really is much different. Well I think it is. I moved from MA to NH 4 years ago. If I wanted to go back to MA (and I don't) it would be hard because real estate there has consistently increased at a steep rate. It has here in NH as well but not quite as much. We can buy a lot more home in NC than MA or NH.
As the home prices has gone up so have the property taxes. I pay almost 9,0000 on my current home assessed at $547k. We have no state income tax, but once I retire this will save me nothing and my RE tax alone will be over 10K once they raise our tax rate because of the new junior and senior high schools. In NC a comparable home may cost a bit less and I expect to pay a little more than half of my current taxes. Sure I'll have to pay tax on even food in NC but that should amount to about $350/year. Also I pay a budget payment of $360 /month for 10 months to my gas company for heat and hot water. And we keep the heat on 66-68 degrees (downside to the open foyer and high ceilings). I expect my heating bill to be about half in NC - more if we downsize the home a bit.
It's hard to quantify quality of life issues but these are also a factor. I know you have traffic (and fear even more of it as your population expands), but quite honestly it's not so bad compared to the extent of traffic in the northeast. Also the congestion/density of people in the northeast is much worse. I look forward to less people to compete with and a somewhat slower pace of life.
On the down side I'll miss the Red Sox/ Fenway (although it's next to impossible to get tickets), the Patriots and to a lesser extent the Bruins and Celtics. But that can all be solved with a good cable plan. Although with Boston College (my alma mater) now in the ACC, I can see more of them down there. Thanks by the way to NC State for taking Tom O'Brien off our hands (football coach). I think we traded up on that deal.
Sorry for the long post but I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life. We hope to be your neighbors by next summer and hope to enjoy NC for a long time and to contribute back to our new community. Let us never forget how lucky we all are to have won in the lottery of life by virtue of being born in the greatest country in the world where there are so many choices and the freedom to pursue them.
I can agree with you about missing our favorite sports teams. For me it will be the Mets and Jets and of course my new favorite college football team, Rutgers.
But I will be closer to my favorite sport Nascar, and my own form of physical punishment which is Open Track racing at VIR.
I wonder if I'll miss trying to start the snow blower when we get one of those 18-24 inch snowfalls that happens every year or so?
As I type this the wind chill is 8 degrees in NJ and in NC the avg temp is 45 degrees.
Got to go split some more wood for the fireplace, boy do I love NJ.
E
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Better to be from DC or LA?
