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I know you are from NY, but I can relate what my experience is coming from NJ so it should be close to accurate for you.
The summers here are more tolerable than the summers in NJ, but longer. The humidity here is not as stifling as it is in NJ. If you can handle the summer there you should be able to handle it here.
There has not been any difference in the bug situation with the exception of outdoor wood roaches showing up once in a while. I never had one inside the house or I would be screaming my little lungs out.
It took me a long time to find really really good pizza. There is pretty good pizza everywhere, but the best I found was at Homegrown Pizza after my friend Beth told me about. Thanks Beth.
New York is in the house! Sorry.... I had to get that out LOL LOL!!
Now on a serious note, I am also from NY, have been here for a year and will offer you my perspective.
1. Yes it is hazy hot and humid in NY in the summer but it isn't everyday (lasts for a few days at a time). This past summer in raleigh it was 90 + degrees day after day after day. It seemed like it was 90+ the whole summer. It was miserable for me.
2. Those darn palmetto bugs. They look like NYC waterbugs. I encountered these my first week here. I thought i left all that mess in NYC... oh well. Just get good bug spray,buy combat and you should be fine. I didn't deal with mosquitos but those flies are relentless. It is as if they wait outside your door and as soon as you open it, in come those unwelcome pests- everyday I was killing flies.
3. I am with you 100% on the bagels and pizza-those are staples for some in NYC and I especially miss having my bagels. Bagels to myself are like biscuits to those in the south. I haven't been to the places down here that sell NY style bagels eg Bruegger's and NY Bagel,but I hear you will get a NY attitude along with the bagel. Maybe that is a good place to check out if you are feeling homesick .
The food down here is good but there is a lack of ethnic cuisine here. I would love to eat Indian, Thai, West Indian (besides Jamaican), Dominican food but there are few choices if any here, but there are plenty of chain restaurants. The chinese food is good but not as good. Sesame chicken and General tsos tastes the same, the only difference is the sesame seeds- maybe I need to try diffrent chinese resturants.
4. Southern Hospitalilty- the people here are diffrent from up north. In NY what you see is what you get. Here, people say hello and smile the warmest smile but that is where it ends. people keep to themselves and don't really take to making new friends. It might be tricky meeting new friends here- just putting that out there. It was hard for me especially since I don't have family here and I am single but it is starting to get easier albeit slowly.
research, research, research before you move here because a better house doesn't always mean a better life. there are so many other factors to consider.
Hi, I'm a fellow NY'er but maybe not in your mind. I'm from WNY and detoured to Florida then Ohio for past 20 years. Nevertheless, I still miss the food from NY. We moved here in Jan 2010 from OH.
1. how bad are the summers.
Last Summer was pretty hot - high 90's earlier in the year than normal, but this was the hottest Summer on record according to the locals. However, where in the North doesn't it hit the 90's in the midst of Summer. The hot weather just goes deeper into the year than up there. I forced myself to work outside in it and put a 30" industrial fan in the garage so I would be able to "putter around" on weekends. I didn't want to surrender to it, so it wasn't too bad.
2. The bugs...
We were lucky I guess and haven't had any mosquito or palmetto bug issues. I'll probably either hire an exterminator or do it myself this year to make sure things stay that way.
3. ...any decent places for bagels, pizza and take out chinese?
We're pizza snobs and have tried lots of different places. There's a place in No. Raleigh that supposedly is NYC pizza on the mark..called "Fuhgettaboutit" (sp). It was good, slices were 'foldable' and the place was packed. I prefer more of a Buffalo pizza - Bocce Club or Abbott Pizza a little thicker with crispy pepperoni on top. Still haven't found my favorite pizza yet. And still looking for a chicken wing worthy of being called a chicken wing. I stumbled on a NY deli this weekend that I plan to try soon- bills itself as authentic NY deli - we'll see. It's in the Kroger plaza in Wake Forest.
Chinese is tough for me - the quality is so inconsistent place to place. Still looking for our go to place.
One other thing I'd say, depending on your neighborhood, there's definitely more driving down here.
We purposefully moved "out" farther than our last place, but it seems like things are much more spread out. Cary supposedly is more dense, but Wake Forest nears Falls Lake where we are requires more driving than I'm used to. Good Luck.
mdsidoti: chicken wings is another thing I fear I'll miss...
how is Wake Forest? I'm not 100% on where we want to move. Want to check out Wake Forest.
Also want to check out Johnston County...like Clayton and Willow Springs. anyone have any thoughts on those areas? I know they are a bit more "country" but seem to be close enough to Raleigh to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds so to speak.
Really trying to plan a trip down to do some hands on investigating on these areas
Though another part of me wants to move more within Raleigh, so my husband has a shorter commute and we are closer to ammenities. Two totally different living experiances I would imagine. So need ot weigh the pros and cons of these two life styles as well
I do know that where ever we would end up I would want to rent to start. Would hate to buy and then not like the neighboorhood/schools/whatever and be stuck trying ot sell the house.
SaucyAussie: I'm in Elmont and in North Valley Stream SD...so I'm in a good solid SD (regardless of what people think of Elmont and VS...not all of it is bad) but in no way would I consider it elite.
So I think I will be ok with the schools
]1. how bad are the summers really as apposed to long island..we can get some good 90+ weather and horrid humidity here...is the summer there like a prolonged heat wave up here? I was down there twice in Aug a few years back and I dont remeber it being too unabearable.
*****This is all fairly personal, but this past summer, when we moved, was one of the hottest on record. And I honestly did not find it worse than Long Island. People down here talk about humidity - they talk about it on the news like the apocolypse - trust me there isn't one day this past summer that came close to what I left behind. It is HOT and the sun is much stronger. The humidity not so much.
2. The bugs...ok those big roach things I've been reading about have been freakin me out a little. Other than that, how bad do the mosqittos etc get in the summer, once again as compared to NY...is it that much worse? I mean I cant go into my backyard in the summer here without spraying myself or I become a mosquitto buffett.
*****Mosquitoes are about the same - if you have problems in NY you'll have the same here. I'm getting an exterminator this year for the bugs...my sister has one and says she never sees a bug.
3. Now this is the one thing that I fear I may miss more than anything, but I'm hoping the transpalnt community has brought with them...any decent places for bagels, pizza and take out chinese? Not trying ot put anyone down...I mean after growing up in Queens it took me a long time to find a decent pizza place even on long island...i'm a little stuck up regarding NY pizza and bagels lol.
*****Oh God, this is the NY thing I can't stand above all else. The pizza and bagels aren't really that much better in NY anymore. You'll find plenty of good pizza. I've only went to one place and said to DH "This is upstate NY pizza" - LOL. Bagels and Chinese - I can give you some places if you get here. No offense but in the scheme of things this is a silly thing to worry about. And yes, if you had trouble finding good pizza and bagels on LI, you can expect to have the same trouble here if only because of the pre-conceived notion you may be carrying.
Bottom line - every place has good and bad. Only you can tell which way the scales are going to tip for you. For us they've tipped "good". THings are going to be different, it's your perception that decides whether different is "GOOD" or "BAD".
Been here 1 year and agree with the above except the pizza and bagels stink. Sure you can find some decent places but nowhere near what you will find in the Tri-state area
Been here 1 year and agree with the above except the pizza and bagels stink. Sure you can find some decent places but nowhere near what you will find in the Tri-state area
I think I might have to make sure I buy a bunch and freeze it and bring it with me then
seriously, overall it is very nice and we are happy we made the move. Little by little we have uncovered good restaurants. The humidity is nowhere near as bad here but he sun is hotter....hey 95 degrees is hot no matter where you are. Good luck with the move
love it here... found good bagels and good pizza. people are friendlier and since there are so many transplants, they seem very open to making friends... someone said long island is more beautiful in one of the earlier posts- i was from rockville centre and i can tell you nothing on the south shore can touch the newness, cleanliness and nature that is here. you will miss the ease of getting to the ocean (i lived in longbeach for awhile, so that i miss) but access to the beautiful community pools without having to join a country club is huge- good place to meet people as well...in my mind the toughest thing to leave behind are people, but if you are in a stage of your life where it might be easier (that's how it was for me) then it sounds like the time to do it!! good luck either way!!
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