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I loved this list! Detailed & perceptive!!! Thanks for posting. I'm planning on moving to the Charlotte area & I really needed to hear all those things!
I am tickled I could help!
I have been through Charotte a couple of times but don't know much about it. It seemed really nice though. I know that I have several friends who are retiring out of the military and that is where they are moving!
Good luck with your move! Hope everything goes well and it is as un-stressful as it can be! LOL ~Jess~ *
AND if I had to pick between NC and SC, I'd pick NC. NCs beaches are not as...commercial as say~ Myrtle Beach. SC is hotter, too. More humid as well! I DO really love what SC has done to their highways. They have wild flowers in bright, beautiful colors all over the sides of the roads. That's just breathtaking. I have stopped to take pictures of it when I was traveling. Very nice. SC has some pretty sections like Historic Charleston, but I was there during Hurricane Hugo back in 89, I didn't like it. I think that SC gets more action on the Hurricane front than NC. That's a big one for me. Nothing like riding out a hurricane in your closet with your 5 month old baby and a sleeping husband that will help change your mind about wanting to live on or directly near the coast! LOL So, that's my vote anyhow! ~Jess~
I live in nearby Virginia. My impressions of North Carolina is that like Virginia it is becoming 1. Over developed (suburban sprawl) 2. Entrenched by northerners (not that there's anything wrong with that 3. Lacking in a "home town" feel 4. Charlotte is just plastic beyond belief.
But- its beauty out weighs most of its downfall. The beaches are gorgeous, and the Smokey Mountains are out of the this world.
Raleigh isn't too bad. Asheville is a great area (minus the liberals) and has a lot to offer.
Fayetteville... Well, its pretty bad. But hey, every state has their sore spots.
But I'd take North Carolina any day over New Jersey or Texas.
I live in nearby Virginia. My impressions of North Carolina is that like Virginia it is becoming 1. Over developed (suburban sprawl) 2. Entrenched by northerners (not that there's anything wrong with that 3. Lacking in a "home town" feel 4. Charlotte is just plastic beyond belief.
But- its beauty out weighs most of its downfall. The beaches are gorgeous, and the Smokey Mountains are out of the this world.
Raleigh isn't too bad. Asheville is a great area (minus the liberals) and has a lot to offer.
Fayetteville... Well, its pretty bad. But hey, every state has their sore spots.
But I'd take North Carolina any day over New Jersey or Texas.
Like Virginia, NC is only overcrowded and getting overdeveloped in a few key places, certainly not in the entire state. There are many places in both states, in more than half of each state, where growth is very slow and life goes on at a slow steady pace. I just don't want people thinking the whole state is bulging at the seams, because it is not
Honestly, i just returned from Charlotte N.C. and i wasnt impressed. That city is BO-RING and its the largest in the state youd think it would be fun. If Charlotte is that lame, i would hate to see what the rest is like. The drive home put me to sleep i would never want to live in NC over NJ no matter how much cheaper the land prices are. Just my opinion no offense to NC residents.
You are certainly not alone.
Sometimes I laugh at the commonly-held belief that the tristate area is emptying out into NC!
As I have posted before, for every one coming there are many more who take a look & say, "no, that is not for me!"
OK. I live on Long Island NY. With 2.5 million people on an island. That without traffic should take from one end to the other take 45 minutes. During rush hour it takes 2 hours or more to get anywhere. Everyone has road rage. Schools suck. Taxes way high. 6,000 a year for a crappy school district. And no community feel. So I guess northerns go there for just some stress change. Even if it's cutting taxes in half with milder weather. I'm sure the more people that moves there the taxes will increases. but I'm sure it won't be 8 to 15 thousand a year for a good school district like here is. I think it seems like a very nice place to settle down. Personally I could not live near a city again. Need the space. I'm interested in Holly springs or Willow Springs.
Taxes way high. 6,000 a year for a crappy school district. And no community feel. So I guess northerns go there for just some stress change. Even if it's cutting taxes in half with milder weather. I'm sure the more people that moves there the taxes will increases. but I'm sure it won't be 8 to 15 thousand a year for a good school district like here is.
Taxes are high enough here for what we get, especially in the western part of the state. Our highways are terrible and the schools are getting too crowded. And if you want a private school education for your children, you will end up paying that $15,000 in tuition instead of taxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikef973
The drive home put me to sleep i would never want to live in NC over NJ no matter how much cheaper the land prices are. Just my opinion no offense to NC residents.
No offense to NJ residents, but I would never live there no matter how much higher the wages and salaries. Still I think you're right, northerners are coming here mostly because they perceive it to be "cheap".
I hate to be the one to defend NJ, but the state still has rural counties,
farmland, and alot of land in the southern portions of the state protected.
We really have two NJ's, the north( more NY then NJ) and the south..
Unfortunately we get deluged by visitors in the shore area's in the summer.
It makes life unbearable for many locals..The high taxes are the result of
complete state government mismangement, teacher/fire/ police unions.
We seem to be unable to say no to any new school program, building
project or expansion..The lower income seniors get a good deal also here
with many programs...it all adds up to high taxes, so we all want to go
to NC.
Fayetteville... Well, its pretty bad. But hey, every state has their sore spots.~Bnosher~
What?! You don't like Fayett-nam?! LOL
There are some wonderful places inside and around Fayetteville. There really are.
The Post is WONDERFUL! It has won awards for many, many years on being the best of the best on Post life. Granted, only the military people can really understand this, but civilians can come on post too!
We have wonderful museums in Fayetteville~ The Airborne 82nd in the heart of the downtown! The Golden Knights Museum~ on post! Several different ones ON post which are FREE FREE FREE!
The downtown is beautiful with it's bricked roads and many trees, the pavillion in the middle is a great spot to sit and have coffee. The little shops downtown are great~ they are filled with antiques, wonderful food from many places in the world, and coffee shops. There are continual improvements for the downtown area which only make it more attractive to new businesses and customers.
The BEST food (if you dig oriental as I do) can be found at Tung Sing on Bragg Blvd near one of the Ft. Bragg's entrances. You can't find any better ANYWHERE.
There are movies which offer tickets for $2! No matter your age, what time it is playing, or what show you attend. These are not old movies, but ones which were just at the more expensive theater. There are popcorn and cola deals, too. You can get two large cokes and a large popcorn for $5! ANY budget can afford that!
The mall is GREAT! All the stores around it! It is in a great section of town, too. You can find anything from high end name brands to name brand steals all without driving all over town to do it! Down the road from the mall is the busiest SUPER Walmart in the UNITED STATES!!!! It is great!
There are great dining places near the mall too! You don't have to drive all over he**'s green acre to find them. From Shlotski's (sorry! Don't know how to spell that one! LOL) to Red Lobster, Joe's Crab Shack to Olive Garden, and just about ANY steak house you can imagine! There are also fast food joints~ Micky D's with a playground area~ inside and out~ to Chic-Fil-A!!
There is a Lowes, Home Depot, and a Target on the other end of the main strip if you desire to work on a home project. There are countless craft stores, shoe stores, and party marts.
There are pet stores and discount furniture. It is usually busy but not so much that you feel like you are living in your car!
I lived for three years in Indianapolis, there is REAL traffic there. Fayetteville NEVER gave that same impression to me. The only area of Fayetteville that made me nervous was down the Merck~ a road~ but only a section of that was bad and in the day, it was NO big deal.
After watching the news for what? Almost 11 years there, I can tell you that crime DID happen but not NEAR the mark that Durham had! That place! OMG! I think they LIKE to hurt each other. I would NOT move to Durham! Holy cow! SOooooo much there...*shaking my head* I'd never live there. It was terrible.
Fayetteville was and IS not terrible. So~ sorry, VA living person, Unless you have walked a mile in my shoes~ ~ lived life in that city for 10 years~ you don't know what you are talking about. I promise you that...
Fayetteville DOES have bad spots~ but unless you are in a city that is so tiny it is hardly on the map~ there are bad cities there too. Even if you city isn't on the map, I bet you know where NOT to be when the sun goes down.
So...
Nah, Fayetteville is NOT bad. Not so much. No... *shrugs*
Yeah, I took that kind of personally, but I just find it hard to swallow that you want to slam somewhere you have NEVER LIVED IN. Nah.. Try again. ~Jessica~
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Detailed & perceptive!!! Thanks for posting. I'm planning on moving to the Charlotte area & I really needed to hear all those things!
What?! 
~ lived life in that city for 10 years~ you don't know what you are talking about. I promise you that... 
Not so much. No... *shrugs* 
