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Anyone make the move to NC from out of state and regret the move?
Anyone move back to where they moved from or to somewhere else?
Is there anything you miss from where you moved?
Born and raised in NC. Considering a move to another southern state. While there are many things I love about this state, there's a lot of ridiculous things as well.
NC has some pretty corrupt/stupid laws. We have an entire law enforcement agency devoted to making sure alcoholic drinks don't change price during regular business hours and busting under age kids. They particularly prey on college students, damaging futures with tickets. This also doesn't allow NC to have things like happy hour, etc. Not the biggest deal in the world, but it's a $$ thing. The ABC is also ridiculous. NC makes a tremendous amount of money off of excise taxes yet they cannot balance a budget.
Higher education is also extremely corrupt. All of the public universities do extremely well considering they have to battle UNC tooth and nail for funding while the tar heels frivolously spend more than some schools receive. I think they get 5x more per student than the average of the other universities. That said, schools like NC State, ECU, Charlotte and Greensboro have developed some great programs for what they've been given.
There's also a pretty ridiculous divide between the rural and urban centers of NC. Both sides rely on the other but are in a constant battle for funding. Instead of working together they get locked in stalemates over funding, etc.
All in all it's a good state, but if you're sitting on a board of a public university not named UNC you're going to really resent a lot of the corrupt politics that goes on.
Last thing, teachers get paid crap. Like I said earlier, NC's tax revenue is ridiculous compared to what our expenditures should be. There's really no reason for anyone in the public sector to suffer in this state...
Born and raised in NC. Considering a move to another southern state. While there are many things I love about this state, there's a lot of ridiculous things as well.
NC has some pretty corrupt/stupid laws. We have an entire law enforcement agency devoted to making sure alcoholic drinks don't change price during regular business hours and busting under age kids. They particularly prey on college students, damaging futures with tickets. This also doesn't allow NC to have things like happy hour, etc. Not the biggest deal in the world, but it's a $$ thing. The ABC is also ridiculous. NC makes a tremendous amount of money off of excise taxes yet they cannot balance a budget.
Higher education is also extremely corrupt. All of the public universities do extremely well considering they have to battle UNC tooth and nail for funding while the tar heels frivolously spend more than some schools receive. I think they get 5x more per student than the average of the other universities. That said, schools like NC State, ECU, Charlotte and Greensboro have developed some great programs for what they've been given.
There's also a pretty ridiculous divide between the rural and urban centers of NC. Both sides rely on the other but are in a constant battle for funding. Instead of working together they get locked in stalemates over funding, etc.
All in all it's a good state, but if you're sitting on a board of a public university not named UNC you're going to really resent a lot of the corrupt politics that goes on.
Last thing, teachers get paid crap. Like I said earlier, NC's tax revenue is ridiculous compared to what our expenditures should be. There's really no reason for anyone in the public sector to suffer in this state...
UNC, NCSU, ECU together comprise right at 66% of the total UNC System budget. Of the total, ECU is around 10-12%. That leaves 14 institutions and the UNC General Administration with the other 33%. But UNC definitely acts like a pig at feeding time, and the door is always open for them.
Yes and no. I moved to the Raleigh area from Chicago about four years ago. I was injured in the move and have had a myriad of health issues ever since. I saw doctors in Chicago for random things but have never been so sick or in as much pain as I have now. The medical system here is a bit different in that I can't just find a doctor, make an appointment and see that person. I have to sign a release, allow another doctor to review my records and then decided if he/she will see me. As you can imagine, that takes a lot of time and has been difficult to get rejection after rejection. I appreciate that I'm not seeing someone who will end up not being helpful, but it's frustrating all around.
I also learned that my spouse moved us here just for the purpose of dumping me in an unfamiliar place. So, on top of all the medical stuff, I've become a single parent of two young children in a place totally unfamiliar to me. I know that divorce after 20 years would be hard anywhere; however, I had friends and familiarity in Chicago that I don't have here. I still get lost when I can leave the house because my GPS goes "off the grid" all the time here. Chicago has a grid system so anybody that can count or multiply by four can find their way back to something familiar. Learning my way around here has been a challenge, to say the least.
However, with all that said, North Carolina is a beautiful area. The trees and flowers are just amazing here and watching everything change over in the fall is stunning. The pollen is evil though. ;-) The people here are nice, for the most part (except my coo-coo neighbors...see my post in the Raleigh forum) and we're making friends. It seems like it's harder to make friends but, admittedly, most people I meet are in doctor's offices and hospitals. I really, really like the level of diversity and integration here. Yes, racism, sexism and other "isms" exists everywhere but I haven't seen the same level of hatred in this area. The people may not like you but few people are "in your face" obnoxiously rude. In fact, my next door neighbors are the only obnoxiously rude people I've encountered and I'm convinced they might be from a different planet. lol The schools are okay and I'm happy with what my children are learning. I am unhappy with the administration at their school mainly because they do not model any kind of ethical behavior (how can they teach something they don't believe in or live by?). I'm hoping I will move to a different area and find a school with better administration. Fortunately, I have not met any parent that doesn't dislike the current administration so I know it's not just me being too hard about it.
I am "stuck" in NC due to my divorce and that's fine. Obviously, I wouldn't have spent so much time, money and energy moving just to be dumped if I had been privy to those plans beforehand. However, I'm here now and I'm doing all I can to keep my children on stable ground, get better physically and get to know NC better. I'm here anyway so why not make the best of it? There is no point in crying over spilled milk, they say. Clean it up and keep on going!
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