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Old 07-12-2006, 06:42 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,660 times
Reputation: 12

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Translated, that means every yr more people move TO NC than away from NC. Lots of reasons, including jobs, housing, mtns, beach, good new opportunities. Google it if you don't believe, and see all the natnl mags that show numberous places in NC are "best place to live...best place for singles...best place for new businesses...etc"

Sorry some have not had positive experiences, but the numbers consistently show NC is among the very best places to live in the US.
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Old 07-12-2006, 06:54 PM
 
Location: The Miami Of Canada
1,043 posts, read 3,709,147 times
Reputation: 290
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miker2069
Oh I see...Hmmm, I see. Before I offer my further opinion (and I've got a million). What stuff do you do now that you'd like to continue to do? I remember when I first moved to Boston from Miami back in 1992, there was a huge influx of singles (recent college grads) in the Boston area, particularly high-tech. It was truly a good time to be in high tech as we rode it all the way up for the 1990s (and then down in 2000). We were all 20 somethings, for many "our first real job", but I remember enjoying building my network of friends and new people, going to jazz clubs, dance clubs (not that many though as Boston was horrible for that), parties, and just picnics, and ski trips. Before anyone thinks I lived up this great single life, I was married 2 years later- LOL. But still did a lot of that stuff with my wife.

I tend to think cities like Boston, NY, Chicago are great if you are (sort of) starting out- you can see a lot, experience a lot, and (hopefully) grow from it all. Now being in my 30s with a family, I tend to want that place out in the country...where I hear absolutely nothing but the rustling wind and a birds fighting over some straw-LOL).
Oh, I understand. Maybe someday I'll want to live out in the quiet countryside too, but for now..I prefer more concrete and a few tall buildings.

As I mentioned in my other post to mdswines, I would be most comfortable knowing that there are things to do and places to go where I'm currently living rather than feeling that I have to travel far for them. I like all types of museums, coffee shops with internet access (prefer the independent ones over the chains), interesting restaurants, bookstores and upscale bars too. That's about the extent of what I hope to be able to visit by myself or with friends/dates wherever I end up in NC.

Am I asking for too much?
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Old 07-12-2006, 07:02 PM
 
Location: The Miami Of Canada
1,043 posts, read 3,709,147 times
Reputation: 290
Quote:
Originally Posted by ONS63
Translated, that means every yr more people move TO NC than away from NC. Lots of reasons, including jobs, housing, mtns, beach, good new opportunities. Google it if you don't believe, and see all the natnl mags that show numberous places in NC are "best place to live...best place for singles...best place for new businesses...etc"

Sorry some have not had positive experiences, but the numbers consistently show NC is among the very best places to live in the US.
I did Google NC and what you posted is one of the things that came up in my searches many times. Seeing this info over and over made me feel that I was making the right decision looking into NC (how can all these people be wrong?).
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Old 07-12-2006, 08:07 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn New York
954 posts, read 4,367,286 times
Reputation: 395
ITChick
Sounds like around Charlotte should be high priority for you to check out. I suggest making several trips and trying to do things like a real North Carolinian. Drive in the rush hour traffic. Go some of the small towns outlying and interact with the locals. Visit a church (if you go or think you might want to) and see what that is like. Try the local foods, and try some of your Chicago favorites and see if you can do without. Hit the clubs and see if you get get into the local vibe. Then, when you move, don't buy for a year. Give yourself a chance to exit without having to say if you can't take it.
PS-Don't do all your visiting in January or April. Go in July or August and take in the summer heat and humidity. Just so you know. I know folks who kept visiting Florida every year in the winter or spring and then moved only to find out the summer was just awful. Then they were kind of stuck.
Just be wise and try to make the best decision for you. No one can decide what is best for you, that is for sure.
Good luck
PPS-PM me after you make a decision. I confess that I am curious what you will decide.
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Old 07-12-2006, 08:56 PM
 
138 posts, read 783,959 times
Reputation: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by ITChick
Thanks, it was all very useful. The lower cost of living and warmer climate are what attracted me to NC.

Just stating for the record: I am not in favor of changing things like "back home" so taxes can be raised. Far from it! Just had to put that out here!

I'm not one to go out every night (can't do that because I have a mortgage!). I want to feel that if the need arises to have a really fun weekend, I'd want that to be near where I live, rather than have to drive to another state for it.

I really think Charlotte will be your best bet, but I'm sure you could find fun in any of the major NC cities.

I'm curious about Chicago though .... Are the winters as bad as they say? What about the wind? Have you been to NYC? If so, how does it compare?

Thanks.
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Old 07-12-2006, 09:04 PM
 
2,290 posts, read 2,453,734 times
Reputation: 317
Quote:
Originally Posted by ITChick
I did Google NC and what you posted is one of the things that came up in my searches many times. Seeing this info over and over made me feel that I was making the right decision looking into NC (how can all these people be wrong?).
Remember chick check out Lake Norman. It really nice and a short drive downtown.
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Old 07-12-2006, 09:06 PM
 
2,290 posts, read 2,453,734 times
Reputation: 317
Quote:
Originally Posted by ONS63
Translated, that means every yr more people move TO NC than away from NC. Lots of reasons, including jobs, housing, mtns, beach, good new opportunities. Google it if you don't believe, and see all the natnl mags that show numberous places in NC are "best place to live...best place for singles...best place for new businesses...etc"

Sorry some have not had positive experiences, but the numbers consistently show NC is among the very best places to live in the US.
Sounds good to me and to top it off it's beautiful and it has mild winters. Nice to have season changes without freezing your butt off.
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Old 07-12-2006, 09:50 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn New York
954 posts, read 4,367,286 times
Reputation: 395
Default Best Place Ratings

Of course those ratings also suggest some places that would be considered dismissed on the basis of weather on most of these posts - for instance, New Hampshire consistantly rates high, Ann Arbor also usually rates high as well as Madison Wisconsin. None of those have the mild winters that seem to be the mantra we hear about so often.
Examples - Note all the Non-Sunbelt winners.
From American Business City Journals - Used 20 Statistical Indicators
Los Alamos, N.M.
2. Olmsted, Minn.
3. Pitkin, Colo.
4. Douglas, Colo.
5. Loudoun, Va.
6. Washington, Minn.
7. Johnson, Kan.
8. Hamilton, Ind.
9. Howard, Md.
10. Fairfax, Va.
11. Juneau, Alaska
12. Nantucket, Mass.
13. Wake, N.C.
14. Dakota, Minn.
15. Summit, Utah
16. DuPage, Ill.
17. Chesterfield, Va.
18. Fayette, Ga.
19. Hennepin, Minn.
20. Stafford, Va.

Money Magazine Top 10
MONEY magazine and CNN/Money spent months looking for Great American Towns -- where you would want to raise your children and celebrate life's milestones. Starting with more than 1,300 cities, we settled on 10 winners. (more)
No. 1: Moorestown, NJ
2. Bainbridge Isl., WA 5. Louisville, CO 8. Peachtree City, GA
3. Naperville, IL 6. Barrington, RI 9. Chatham, NJ
4. Vienna, VA 7. Middleton, WI 10. Mill Valley, CA

One mans tea is another mans poison.
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Old 07-13-2006, 02:09 PM
 
Location: The Miami Of Canada
1,043 posts, read 3,709,147 times
Reputation: 290
Quote:
Originally Posted by mhogan10010
ITChick
Sounds like around Charlotte should be high priority for you to check out. I suggest making several trips and trying to do things like a real North Carolinian. Drive in the rush hour traffic. Go some of the small towns outlying and interact with the locals. Visit a church (if you go or think you might want to) and see what that is like. Try the local foods, and try some of your Chicago favorites and see if you can do without. Hit the clubs and see if you get get into the local vibe. Then, when you move, don't buy for a year. Give yourself a chance to exit without having to say if you can't take it.
PS-Don't do all your visiting in January or April. Go in July or August and take in the summer heat and humidity. Just so you know. I know folks who kept visiting Florida every year in the winter or spring and then moved only to find out the summer was just awful. Then they were kind of stuck.
Just be wise and try to make the best decision for you. No one can decide what is best for you, that is for sure.
Good luck
PPS-PM me after you make a decision. I confess that I am curious what you will decide.
I hope to be able to visit in August (I agree, I should go when the weather is at it's most uncomfortable. I did that with Phoenix and after five trips I did decide that the weather was more than I could handle there).

I will probably try to stay within the Charlotte city limits and I agree with your point on traveling like a local, not a tourist. It does help to get an idea of what it would be like to live there. I will visit Raleigh, but not concentrate on seeing as much as I would in and around Charlotte.

Chicago is best known for it's deep dish and stuffed pizzas. I'm not a big pizza eater so I probably won't miss the food at all.

I will report back here and PM you in August to let you know how it went.
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Old 07-13-2006, 02:19 PM
 
Location: The Miami Of Canada
1,043 posts, read 3,709,147 times
Reputation: 290
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdswines
I really think Charlotte will be your best bet, but I'm sure you could find fun in any of the major NC cities.

I'm curious about Chicago though .... Are the winters as bad as they say? What about the wind? Have you been to NYC? If so, how does it compare?

Thanks.
I am getting a lot of push for Charlotte based on what I posted previously.
I am starting to get anxious to get going and visit NC already!

Chicago does have very bad winters. They start around the end of October and last all the way to May. Some days are warmer than others. Some days have rain as well. But from December to March, you can have below zero temps (or feels like below zero with wind chill factor). The wind can be brutal if you have to walk and are not surrounded by very tall buildings to shield it (think of walking through a Target parking lot from your car to their front doors). It's like being slapped in the face over and over.

NYC based on my experiences and watching the weather maps daily seems to always be about 10 degrees warmer. My close friends from NYC tell me that they never experienced really cold weather until they lived in Chicago in the winter.
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