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My husband and I recently moved to Raleigh from Austin (new job for my husband). I'm in my mid 50s. Didn't know anyone in the area. Today I'm taking a walk with a woman who I first met at Trader Joe's and then, coincidentally, ran into her at the mall. I met another woman at the state fair while she was working at the garden area and she informed me of the Raleigh Garden Club. I have been attending the meetings ever since and have even signed up to volunteer at the Arboretum. My point being one just has to get outside of their box/comfort zone. Make a list of your interests/hobbies and find like minded organizations/people. I grew up in metropolitan NY and yes there's a lot to do around there. I've lived in the Caribbean on an island that only had about 18K people (it's much more populated now) and had a great time. Then to Austin where I was raising a teenager. Austin has the reputation of being a really cool place to live but I was busy raising the kid and working and didn't participate in the live music scene. Now I'm in Raleigh....will I live here for the rest of my life...who knows..but I will do my best to get what I can out of it.
by the by...there is a large amount of garbage along the highways...what is that all about?
I'm with you... a person can't sit around all day and expect others to entertain them! Instead of sitting around, feeling sorry for yourself, you did something about it. It is all in your ATTITUDE.
And...if you can't make it work...move back HOME. Of course, it isn't easy. Of course it is costly. But...if you want it badly enough, you can do it. You moved HERE, you can move BACK HOME.
As for the trash...you may have opened up a can of worms there. Years ago, Raleigh won awards for the highways...cleanliness and wildflowers growing. Today...I see more trash on the side of the road than I have ever seen. It disgusts me.
I know some will say it is all the people that relocated here. I don't agree. I think people are getting lazier and it is easier to throw trash out of a window than to find a trash can. Disgusting.
We moved here about four years back as the area seemed pretty good and my husband has been to school here. The triangle area has most things that big cities do, but with less crowds and small town feel. But other than that, there isn't much to do around RTP. There are only so many times we can visit the mountains or the shore. We made great friends over here and we meet every single weekend, but as a group too, we don't have much to do. There aren't as many places open late night on weekends except couple around the campus (which is bit far).
One of the other reasons we had for moving here was all the "jobs" in the tech field in RTP but after being here, dealing with the economy and looking at the different companies, I feel the jobs here are not exactly high tech software types. Of course you do have many in telecommunications, biotech etc, but diversity is not present.
So though the place is nice and fulfils a lot of requirements for most people, we were bit disappointed. We are hoping to be able to move to the west coast - being young, I hope we can take the risk.
We moved here about four years back as the area seemed pretty good and my husband has been to school here. The triangle area has most things that big cities do, but with less crowds and small town feel. But other than that, there isn't much to do around RTP. There are only so many times we can visit the mountains or the shore. We made great friends over here and we meet every single weekend, but as a group too, we don't have much to do. There aren't as many places open late night on weekends except couple around the campus (which is bit far).
One of the other reasons we had for moving here was all the "jobs" in the tech field in RTP but after being here, dealing with the economy and looking at the different companies, I feel the jobs here are not exactly high tech software types. Of course you do have many in telecommunications, biotech etc, but diversity is not present.
So though the place is nice and fulfils a lot of requirements for most people, we were bit disappointed. We are hoping to be able to move to the west coast - being young, I hope we can take the risk.
I have ALWAYS said that this area is best for RAISING A FAMILY! I think it is funny when we make the list for the best place for singles!
Do what you can, while you are young. It is so much easier to move before you have children and before they are in school.
I have no regrets about moving here. We love it and have made many great friends.
We moved here from the Boston area, and while we loved Boston/Cambridge, we couldn't afford to buy a home there, or really even afford the rent on an apartment that was larger than a closet, so we lived about 30 minutes outside the city. That made it a huge hassle to actually enjoy the things that the city had to offer--fight with traffic and parking and the T. we got to the city as much as we could to listen to bands, go to theatre, museums, etc., but sometimes it seemed more trouble than it was worth.
and the traffic. oh, the traffic. It would take my husband 50 minutes on a good day to get to work. and if it snowed, he could spend 3 or more hours a day commuting.
There was nothing really distinctive about the suburb we lived in--chain restaurants, chain stores. There's nothing lively about a suburb, no matter what city it is tethered to.
Our quality of life has improved so much since we've been here. We are homeowners, we have many options for local entertainment, food and drink within 5 minutes of our house. Our city has is vibrant but relaxed. The people here are smart, have similar interests and outlooks, and I am so pleased to be raising my son here. The weather is great. Sure it gets hot during the summer but god I hated new england winters. and plows, and trying to get up hills or stop at the bottom of them in the snow.
We miss things for sure--friends, the red sox, the water, but there are trade-offs in life and we think we've won out.
I have no regrets about moving here. We love it and have made many great friends.
We moved here from the Boston area, and while we loved Boston/Cambridge, we couldn't afford to buy a home there, or really even afford the rent on an apartment that was larger than a closet, so we lived about 30 minutes outside the city. That made it a huge hassle to actually enjoy the things that the city had to offer--fight with traffic and parking and the T. we got to the city as much as we could to listen to bands, go to theatre, museums, etc., but sometimes it seemed more trouble than it was worth.
and the traffic. oh, the traffic. It would take my husband 50 minutes on a good day to get to work. and if it snowed, he could spend 3 or more hours a day commuting.
There was nothing really distinctive about the suburb we lived in--chain restaurants, chain stores. There's nothing lively about a suburb, no matter what city it is tethered to.
Our quality of life has improved so much since we've been here. We are homeowners, we have many options for local entertainment, food and drink within 5 minutes of our house. Our city has is vibrant but relaxed. The people here are smart, have similar interests and outlooks, and I am so pleased to be raising my son here. The weather is great. Sure it gets hot during the summer but god I hated new england winters. and plows, and trying to get up hills or stop at the bottom of them in the snow.
We miss things for sure--friends, the red sox, the water, but there are trade-offs in life and we think we've won out.
Geez, I was reading along, nodding my head in agreement, until, until, you wrote "red sox" .... :-)
I don't, but I will say that when family is far away it makes for a big pain in the butt and expense to see them. It might be just my situation (have a dog, and for several reasons they can't necessarily come see me here, though I wish they would sometime). It's something to think about. It has me tempted to move further north, but I'd really rather not.
Yes, I'm sad to say I do. Nothing against NC I think it's a lovely state but my roots are too deep in Texas to be happy elsewhere. I don't have much family, but my family history in TX dates back to before the war (that would be the Texas war w/Mexico) and I find I miss the places that remind me of the people I love that are gone now.
NC is prettier--although I personally find the Hill Country in spring unbeatable for beauty--and much closer to all the places I've always wanted to visit. I just think for many people TX is really in your blood and you feel lost until you're home.
I will say the sticker shock was a bit much. It's much more expensive for us to live here then in San Antonio and we're paying alot more for a lower quality home. The pines are lovely though and the kids LOVED the snow last week. We're certainly not suffering and I can image alot of worse places to live (okay in all honesty, I would have refused them since we had the choice of moving) I can certainly see the appeal of the area and why so many people would want to live here--I watch House Hunters religiously and am blown away by the NE housing prices. We'll be fine for now but I suspect my grandbabies will be born on TX soil. Seeing how my youngest isn't even in school that gives me plenty of time to go back.
But you know in the time I've been here I still can't adjust to EST.
This isn't really a criticism of the area, since other people disagree, but I do find it rather boring. Or perhaps, mediocre.
I moved here for grad school from the UK, and I stand by my choice.
But I'm under no illusions -- the area is something I'm enduring to go to grad school.
In the Chapel Carrboro area, if you don't like indie music, and aren't really into the local/'green'/'organic' food scene, then there's really not much in it for you. My main complaints are...
1. How you have to drive anywhere to do anything. And how *grimy* the driving experience is. Especially the highways are disgusting, jammed, and full of potholes. Not to mention terrible signage and lighting.
2. There is a lot to do, I suppose. But other than the indie scene, which is world-class (so they tell me), most of it is rather smalltown. As someone mentioned upthread, national tours and events typically do not come through this area. So the art walks are fun and all, but if you want to see some real quality you have to drive four or five hours.
As I said, I don't really blame the place for this. If you want a nice bland friendly place to live (and especially to raise a family), I can see why this would be a good area. But as soon as I'm done with grad school, I'm out of here.
CHWboy
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