Pros/Cons to Retiring to Northern Raleigh/Southern Wake Forest Areas of NC (Durham: transplants, real estate)

[TweedleDee]

We are Michiganders who eventually want to retire to one of the Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida. We recently visited the Raleigh and Wake Forest areas and were pretty impressed. However, we want to hear more from those who live or have lived there. We want to make our decision not just based on enjoying mild winters. How would you rate availability of medical and other services, affordability, friendliness and willingness to include Northern transplants, cultural and hobby activities, churches and volunteerism, etc? What about creepy or yucky things to consider such as bugs, snakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc? Are there other southern locales that you would rate as high or higher than the Raleigh/Wake Forest areas? Thanks for any tips you can provide.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by TweedleDee

How would you rate availability of medical and other services, affordability...

Well, the availablity of medical care is excellent. If you like urban life, another highly rated place is Charleston, SC.

If you are interested in golf, look at Pinehurst/Southern Pines. If you are interested in boating, there are many coastal communities. We personally chose Sneads Ferry, NC for its water access. Raleigh is way too urban, crowded and expensive for us, but your choices may be different.

You might also check out the Retirement topic on the General board.

[lovebrentwood]

My report card:

Medical and other services: A+ (You can go to Duke if you want, and there are plenty of excellent hospitals and medical services.)

Affordability: B- (Real estate is most likely higher than Michigan, but real estate taxes are most likely much lower. There is a personal property [car] tax. You don't have to pay high heating bills [although sometimes we do get snow], but you will pay for air conditioning for a good part of the year. You will always want the air conditioning on during the warmer months, from spring to fall. You won't have to worry about boots and snow removal costs.)

Friendliness: A (People are no more or less friendly than what I was used to in western NY, but according to other people, people here are friendlier than other places here.)

Willingness to include Northern transplants: A+ (...assuming you are in the Triangle area and not out in the sticks. Finding natives in the Triangle, in some circles, is sometimes difficult. It may seem to you that most people you meet in the Triangle are from somewhere else.)

Cultural: A (You have your choice of entertainment in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary. We have good museums, too.)

Hobby activities: A+ (check out Meetup.com)

Churches: A+ (Remember, this is considered part of the Bible Belt.)

Volunteerism: A (Again, check out Meetup.com or other listings of volunteer needs in the local paper or online.)

Bugs: C+ (Nowhere near as bad as Florida or some other Southern states; we don't have to spray for them, some people do. If you're near any water, mosquitoes are bad.)

Snakes: B (I've seen one poisonous snake -- a copperhead in the corner of the backyard -- in nearly 2 decades here; just know your snakes and don't bother 'em.)

Hurricanes: B+ (Personally, I've been through only Hurricane Fran in almost 2 decades, and it was like waking up after a bad ice storm because of all the fallen trees and no electricity. The last hurricane before that in the Triangle was Hurricane Hazel[?] in 1954. Hurricane Irene brushed us, so we suffered only through some rain, high winds, and 24/7 hurricane coverage on TV.

Tornadoes: B+ (There was one in April that cut through Raleigh, killing 2 children in a mobile home and destroying the tops of some homes and destroying some businesses, but it was rare. However, hurricanes often spawn tornadoes.)

Also --

I've missed not living near waterways (large and small lakes and rivers). There really is no "cottage" living anywhere around here. People go to the beach -- the coast -- a lot for their water fix.

I've spent much more of my time inside here rather than outside as I did up North. I am not a fan of summers here (they are much better up North), but falls and the early springs are nice, and winters are quite tolerable.

The population here is much more dense than it is in some places up North. (People from NYC and NJ are laughing at this statement, but when you get here, you'll know what I mean.)

The toughest adjustment is getting used to not being near old friends and relatives. Everything else is secondary.

[Grizzmeister]

Originally Posted by TweedleDee

We recently visited the Raleigh and Wake Forest areas and were pretty impressed.

What impressed you? Did you check out the quaint downtown area? Did you visit the local parks? Did you make it a point to talk to people while dinning at a restaurant? Are you happy with the roadways and easy access to Raleigh proper? Does the newness of most of the homes attract you? Are you aware that Raleigh is the gateway to the South with a nice mix of Conservative and Liberal minded people? Did anyone mention that Wake Forest is considered the intellectual hub of the Raleigh area? Ok, I made that last one up.

[leighbhe]

I definitely moved to wake forest because it IS the intellectual hub of Raleigh!!!!!

Seriously, the place is great ( i grew up in the triangle) and it is what you make of it. Loads of volunteer opportunities, many different varieties of housing, visit the beach or the mountains in 3 hours, an hour from the great town of saxapawha (if you locals haven't visited lately, you must go, visit the ballroom, the eddy and cup 22 and you will fall in love!).

People are quite accepting, and the most difficult part will probably getting used to the summers!

Leigh

[TweedleDee]

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far. I especially liked the report card scores of "lovebrentwood" which was very informative. Would love to see if other posters agree with the scores given too.

[WeLuvNC]

I agree with lovebrentwood's assessment except I'd give tornados a B -- lowering a bit.

Yesterday aside when the entire state was under a watch for hours, the N.Raleigh/Wake Forest area seems to get smacked with bad storms much less than the surrounding areas. North of us and South of us get bad weather more than the N. Raleigh/W.F. area. I've heard it called the 'heat affect' but storms seem to hit chapel hill/durham, and divide around Raleigh. Kind of weird.

We do become a bit obsessed with weather here b/c the weather comes from the south (florida) or the west (atlanta) -- and sometimes it is hard for the weatherfolks to figure out which will push the other aside. So the weather people are just never right ... so we all pitch in to offer our opinions! Not like when I lived in NY/CT and the predictions were 95% accurate and relevant.

I moved here to raise kids, not retire and it has suited us just fine for the past 13 yrs.

[twingles]

I agree with lovebrentwood's assessment and she's been here way longer than me anyway. The only thing I do not get is the obsession with the yearly car tax - you don't pay tax when you buy the car! I'd rather pay it year over year on a depreciating value than pay it all up front and have it financed as well. This complaint always leaves me scratching my head.

I'll also say that it seems people who are from pretty far up north have the most trouble with the summers here. The biggest complaints seem to come from New Englanders and upstate NYers....people who may have not even needed A/C in the summer before moving here. We're from Long Island and it's much hotter here but the humidity that everyone complains about - we just don't see it. You might want to visit over the summer.

[Francois]

This is not the week to ask about hurricanes and tornadoes! Seriously though, we do get both, but rarely. Bugs would be the biggest "nuisance" on the list of things you specifically asked about.

[frankpc]

Originally Posted by Francois

This is not the week to ask about hurricanes and tornadoes! Seriously though, we do get both, but rarely. Bugs would be the biggest "nuisance" on the list of things you specifically asked about.

Agree about the bugs - we built a screened porch because we found the deck almost useless for outdoor living. I did see where the dreaded "Stink" bug is on its way too.

I know a few folks from Michigan and most like it here. Biggest lament they have is that our lakes don't measure up. Otherwise they would rate this area pretty well on the metrics you mentioned ...

Frank