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My husband and I are thinking about relocating from D.C. to Raleigh. I'm curious for those of you who have done this how that's worked out. How does the cost of living compare? I know housing is less, but what about other things -- utilities, food, entertainment, clothing, etc. How does the traffic compare? And what about the general pace of life at your job, etc.? How easy is it to meet new people? I have 1 good friend down there, but that's it -- no family. Thanks for any insight you might have!
We moved here from MA and love it. Housing is much less. We gained 1,400 sf in our new house for $200k less. We feel food prices are much higher here and the selections are not as good. Clothing is the same price but there is tax here which there wasn't in MA. Utilities are about the same or even more. Homeowners Insurance and Car Insurance is much less. I feel everything is about equal. The cost of living is a little cheaper when all said and done but the homes don't appreciate as much so we haven't built up as much equity as any of our MA homes did and our neighborhood here has pretty high appreciation rates for the Triangle. So that is my basis that things have been about the same.
But the weather is great. My children love being outside and having more outdoor activities to do. They love being able to walk to school with their friends. We love the much bigger neighborhoods with lots of amenities that we didn't have up North. The lakes, walking trails, playground, pool and the country club. Traffic is nothing compared to the commute in Boston. There are areas of traffic here near RTP but I find that it is easier than in Boston. People are much friendlier. When we travel, the airport is much easier to get in and out of. As far as work is concerned, we find that people are much less laid back and not as stressed out. When you go anywhere for entertainment and park you don't get ripped off for parking and you don't have to walk for miles. Downtown Raleigh doesn't have much of a city draw as things are more spead out but they are working on that.
I suggest that you come here and visit a few times. Spend some time and explore what there is here. You will know if it is a place that seems right for you. We like it here and won't go back North except to visit family and friends a couple times a year.
We moved here from Alexandria a few months ago, and so far we're loving it. As you already know, housing is FAR less down here.
As for utilities, you should be able to look up the rates online and see how they compare to your current rates. I'm actually not sure how our rates compare to our old ones, but because we were able to buy a new house down here, we got one that is very energy efficient. So even though our house is twice the size of our Alexandria house, our utilities are about the same (except water - this is the first time we've had to water a decent-sized lawn, so obviously that's going to cost more).
Food we've found to be more affordable here. A lot of people on here have said they don't find any difference in groceries, but we've found our grocery bills to be lower. Maybe we were just shopping at expensive stores in VA! Also, going out to eat has been more affordable.
Sales tax is higher in NC (7%), so goods like clothes, etc can be slightly more expensive.
Now for the best part - traffic. It's nothing here compared to DC. We're actually back in DC this week for work, and it just reminded us of the huge difference. It's one of the best parts about living in NC
We work from home (we kept our DC jobs when we moved), so I can't say much about the pace of life in the workplace. But outside the office, it's much more laid back. I'd bet that it's pretty laid back at work too though. We go out to lunch and see tons of people from RTP on their lunch break. Shorts and sandals are a common sight in these groups.
Overall, we've found the people to be extremely friendly. There are also lots of groups you can get involved in to meet people with similar interests. I know a lot of people on this forum recommend some of the meetup groups (meetup.com)
Sorry, no kids yet, so no idea on daycare costs...
Hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you for the helpful info. That's great that you were both able to keep your jobs! I would love it if my husband and I could both do that -- we're attorneys, so in theory it would work, it would just be a matter of convincing our firms to let us do it. If you don't mind my asking, how were you able to convince your employers???
I had almost exactly the same experience you did - small world!
mmemk, I brought my job from DC with me and I work from home. This was actually suggested by my boss (I had requested to work in a smaller office here in Raleigh) but my company offered the home office option instead.
Ok ctribucher, now this is getting eerie, that's what happened to me too!
I approached my company and told them I was planning on moving, and they were the ones who asked me if I would telecommute. In my mind, I had already worked out a plan for how I'd approach my boss to ask for this (or at least working out of one of our offices down here), and all the arguments that I was going to make for my case. In the end all I needed to do was say "yes."
My husband worked it a bit differently (we weren't going to move if neither of us had a job first). He had been making it known to his company that he wasn't too happy living in the DC area. Luckily, his company loves him, and didn't want to lose him. And they already had a few employees move out of the area and stay with the company, so there was some precedence for it. The only trade off for him is that they tend to use the out of town employees more when they need someone to travel. But so far it hasn't been bad at all.
My family is in the DC area in Maryland. I came down here to go to college many years ago and never went back to the DC area. I love the lack of traffic compared to DC, the beauty of the area and the friendliness of the people.
My sister bought a home 2 yrs ago for around $600,000 in Gaithersburg - good square footage but a box compared to here. She came to visit me, we looked at homes and she was floored at what you get for $600,000 here. The homes here have more molding, granite in the kitchen, tile and hardwood flooring, etc.
The gas for cars is cheaper. Food generally speaking is cheaper although there is a food tax. The stress level is better.
I miss the DC area, love to visit but would never go back!
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Also, day care costs?
Also, going out to eat has been more affordable.
