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another midwesterner here, most recently from central IL. Moved here in 98 and although I really like it here I miss many of things everybody else mentioned. Chicago style pizza is the biggest thing I miss. Everything here is NY style, which stinks in my opinion. Bland sauce and tons o' grease. :-( I also miss Canfield's 50/50, White Castle, and fresh polish sausage.
Interesting comment from studat4 about the friendliness of people here. I hadn't really thought of that before, but I do think it's true. People here are polite and friendly, but it does sometimes feel more like it's out of social obligation rather than because they really want to get to know you. They take great pride in being 'proper' down here--you always address people as sir or ma'am and say yes ma'am or no sir instead of "no thank you" or "yes please".
I miss the history back in the midwest, particularly the immigrant history. People here are 'southern'. They aren't polish, german, irish, etc. They are 'southern'. Of course there are plenty of recent immigrants from all over the world so that is changing some. But I miss having the different ethnic enclaves like we do back in the midwest.
Also like studat4 said, don't assume that roads make sense here. In IL the roads are set up on a grid system but here they wind around so much that you can't assume one road will meet another like you can back home.
The negatives are really rather minor and the positives of living here greatly outweigh the negatives. I love having the beach and the mountains nearby. Love all the hills and trees, especially the fact that we have many evergreens. Winter is never bleak here like it is in the midwest. The sky is a beautiful blue most days. Thunderstorms are different here than the midwest--no funky cloud formations. No tornado sirens here which is still kind of weird to me. We have a weather radio instead so we know about approaching bad weather and the TV and radio stations are better about breaking in to announce things than they are back in the midwest.
I love gardening year round and although it is brutally hot and humid here I'm actually getting used to it now. I still don't like it, but I'm, getting used to it. ;-) We visit family in Michigan in the summer and it seems cold to me now. Never thought I'd say that!
Overall, NC is great and the people are nice. Lots of transplants in the triangle area so it's very easy to fit in somewhere. I've found the newer neighborhoods to be great places to make new friends. Most people are transplants and we are all looking for friends and wanting to build relationships. Since most of my neighbors don't have family down here we do a lot of holiday things together and if you're alone for a holiday it seems there's always somebody who will invite you to join them for dinner.
That's a bummer to hear. I was hoping for some good deep dish.
Unfortunately, Rosati's will disappoint if you want authentic Chicago deep dish. You can order from Gino's East, Giordano's or Lou Malnati's and have it delivered.
I think Rosati's is not really that bad, considering there are no other alternatives that even come close to Chicago pizza here in the Triangle. For those who have tried it & don't like it, they don't like it, but for those who haven't - it might be worth a try. I've had it and if there was nothing else here that even came close to Chicago style (which there isn't) and I thought I'd never get back to Chicago again, I'd absolutely have it.
I more of a tradtionalist insofar as Chicago pizza, which is thin crust cut in squares with so much stuff packed on it it's quite a handful. I never really got into deep dish when it became popular in the 70's, but to each his own... I consider it to be more for tourists, north siders & north suburbans, and generations younger than myself.
I see a lot of posts from people who have moved to the Triangle area from NY, NJ and FL. I'm wondering if there are any Midwesterners around and what their impressions of the area have been as compared to the Midwest. I am a born and raised Chicagoan ( yes, Southside - Go White Sox !!) currently living in CA and preparing for a move to NC within the next 6 months. Looking forward to getting out of CA for sure !
Lived in Quincy and Omaha for over 30 of my years on the planet and found this area very warm, friendly and diverse. I've been to Chicago many times and have a son that lives there, Chicago is a great place to visit and if you like the cold weather and large "melting pot" then that's the place to be. Since you may be moving to the "Triangle" area you will find another "Melting pot" here as well, lots of "Yankees" as my wife says, she's a native of Zebulon and yeah, she's got the southern draw, which I find charming among other things about her. The cost of living is comparable to Chicago area, many things cheaper, some things more costly, and no huge Great Lake around ya like Lake Michigan, but many nice lakes around if you like recreation, plenty of food restaurants to eat (recommend if you have the money to try the Angus Barn, if you like BBQ, try Knightdale Seafood & BBQ, even McCalls or Carolina BBQ, all very good places, if you want Chicago style pizza, there have been a few that have tried out here, Old Chicago and Uno Pizzeria, but nothing like Edwardos, John's (Southside Chitown), Malnatis, Gino's East, for Italian food I've only tried Casa Carbone on Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh, Carabbas is much better imho compared to Olive Garden. Overall you should like this area, many areas to choose from to rent or to buy a home at, the area's still growing and it's great to see "growth" and progress.
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