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My SO recently moved to Raleigh from NYC. The one comment he makes repeatedly is regarding the lack of diners. Diners must be a big thing up north! :-)
We moved here in Feb 14' as well. We moved here from Florida and UK. Me being in FL 20 years, UK for 5 then my husband and son born in UK.
We find it to be a great compromise as far as weather goes. Florida was too hot for me and my husband was sick of the grey rainy days.
My five year old son complains that there are not enough golf courses here. he was spoiled in FL, he had a very nice range within two miles of the house and many other ranges to choose from if he got bored there.
Everyone here is a lot more friendly than in Florida. The roads are still confusing a bit, only because I am used to a flat grid system.
Overall, we like it here. I wouldnt say I am in love with the area only because I spent five years in the UK and I do miss being able to walk everywhere. There was a sense of community because the schools, shops and pubs were all within walking distance.
It is beautiful here in the Spring and Autumn which beats Floridas lack of seasons.
We are renting for another year because this year flew by and we still dont know exactly where in this area we want to be.
We love the parks here and it seems very family friendly.
Citydata has been very helpful throughout our move and relocation.
Citydata Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary is so much better than the Florida one.
LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thr3stripe
We moved down here from Pittsburgh in February of 2014. We're 50-ish, had never lived anywhere other than Western PA, but have spent time in nearly every major American city over the years. We had visited Raleigh numerous times, so we were pretty familiar with the area. That said, we thought folks here might be interested in some of our observations over the past year (especially vs what we had expected). Overall, we're really enjoying it here, but like any area, it has it's quirks.
- The people: As friendly as I expected - maybe even friendlier. Kind of a midwestern friendliness, moreso than southern. Transplants are welcoming - even those from the NY/Boston/Phila corridor. Overall, people are perhaps a bit slower paced (retail checkouts, sidewalk walking, etc.) than I had envisioned. Not a bad thing though.
- Dialect/accents: I probably had expected more southern accents. It's probably more of a function of where we live (N. Raleigh - above I540), but we just don't hear many folks talking with a pronounced twang of any kind. I have noticed many more southern accents in the southern parts of Wake County (Clayton, Garner) however. Just an observation... neither good nor bad.
- Golf courses: I expected a whole lot more courses - both public and private. Geez, it's North Carolina and one can play nearly year-round. While I didn't expect the concentration of the Pinehurst area, for the relative newness and affluence of N. Raleigh, it's pretty surprising that there just aren't all that many courses (or even driving ranges, for that matter).
- Infrastructure: Roads here are first rate, and the government planning efforts look to have been done very well. Attention to detail for sidewalks and such for major thoroughfares (Six Forks, Creedmoor, Falls of the Neuse, Strickland, Lynn, etc.) is impressive. Upkeep is great too. The two-lane turns onto interstates is really well thought out and efficient. Really a refreshing change from up north.
- Housing developments and building quality: Really impressive all the way around. Nice attention to detail, great landscaping, and thoughtful planning, architecture and construction.
- Weather: How can one not love the climate here? Absolutely love it.
- Outdoors: Access to Lakes and state parks is first rate. Love the greenways in the area. With beaches available only 2 - 3 hours away, it's outstanding. Folks seem to be more active here - lots of runners and cyclists, boaters and hikers. We really enjoy this.
- Sense of community: This is probably the thing that's hardest to get used to. Maybe it's just N. Raleigh, but there just aren't many townships, boroughs or entities that have an identity of their own and give a sense of community. I realize that there's Clayton and Holly Springs and Wake Forest and Garner, but even Cary seems like one big sprawl. Folks ask me where I live... I say North Raleigh. For the most part, N. Raleigh is a huge geographical area that stretches from Rte 70 to Capitol Blvd west to east, and I440 all the way up to Rte 98, south to north. One's community seems to be only pretty much the housing development they live in. None of this is particularly bad, or a complaint... It's just different from the suburbs of most major cities.
- Schools: This tends to go along with the community comments. It's very different for us to not have the public schools naturally aligned with the communities. I guess that's part and parcel of having a county-based school system. The public HS we map to is over 10 miles away from us. That's maybe understandable for a rural part of the country, but this is a major metropolitan area! It's hard to have a sense of community when the school is that far away. The public schools certainly aren't as bad as what we were led to believe and what the ratings indicate. There are definitely a lot more private school choices than I imagined. There is also a whole lot more home-schooling here than what we were accustomed to, as well.
- Traffic/Drivers: Not much different than I expected. Pretty much the same as everywhere (except for the very largest cities).
Shopping: No issues with the shopping choices here. Southpointe and Crabtree are very nice malls. TTC is not a bad mall either. Cameron Village and the North Hills are really very nice shopping destinations too.
Dining: Many choices at all levels of eating out. It's fun to explore the different areas nearby - Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, downtown Raleigh... Great ethnic choices and quality. Only head-scratcher is: where are all the diners? Really surprised that they're so few and far between.
Waterparks: The area could really use one.
Local parks and sports facilities: Raleigh Parks does a nice job and has some great facilities. Well designed and maintained. Getting access to fields and such can be difficult however. It's clear that there's more demand than supply for soccer/lacrosse fields, baseball fields, etc.. There do seem to be a good many private and public facilities for tennis.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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I'm amused by the whole diner debate. There were a couple here that closed down. I don't exactly understand the difference between a diner and small family owned restaurants in the area. Is the difference the food offered,prices,or the hours of business. In my mind a diner is something like a your house,Gateway,Watkins Grille. What I've heard called "a greasy spoon". What am I missing?
My SO recently moved to Raleigh from NYC. The one comment he makes repeatedly is regarding the lack of diners. Diners must be a big thing up north! :-)
They are common up in NYC and not all good, but ask him where he found good BBQ in NYC?
OP - I enjoyed your observations, glad you seem to like the area.
Great post - I love seeing positive reviews from other transplants.
We have been here almost a year and a half now and absolutely love it. We have a toddler and are expecting #2 any day now but have found it to be such a family-friendly and welcoming place. We are also in North Raleigh but coming from the California Bay Area where everyone is so busy and on the go, I do feel more of a sense of community here. Part of it is our neighborhood... it's very kid friendly and all of our neighbors have been very welcoming. But another part has been finding mother's support groups which we were lucky to fall into right away. That's how we met the majority of our friends at this point and my husband is also happy to hang out with the other families we've met this way. I've found a good mix of transplants and locals from all of these associations (as well as through work, of course) and regardless, all have been welcoming.
One thing I thought we were going to miss out on was diversity of food. I've been happy to see that there have been delicious options all across the board for this. I love Peruvian food and Mami Nora's totally fulfills that craving. I haven't tried the Ethiopian restaurants but it was a pleasant surprise to see that there were a couple of options locally as we used to go out for Ethiopian pretty regularly in California. So things like that have been a pleasant 'bonus' that I thought we were leaving behind in California.
Oh and I prefer shredded potatoes to diced and have found plenty of breakfast establishments to provide that option.
Location: River's Edge Inn, Todd NC, and Lorgues France
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thr3stripe
OP here again. One thing I forgot too. Post Offices! Why are there so few? Hell, I gotta drive 8-9 miles to Brier Creek to go to the back of a Hallmark store to mail a letter!
When I lived in 27519 a few years ago, I had to take a twenty minute drive to a Post Office at RDU.
I now live in Todd, a village of < 1000. We have three tiny post offices each less than five miles away.
Of course they are on "mountain time" and are closed for two hours at lunch time.
- Golf courses: I expected a whole lot more courses - both public and private. Geez, it's North Carolina and one can play nearly year-round. While I didn't expect the concentration of the Pinehurst area, for the relative newness and affluence of N. Raleigh, it's pretty surprising that there just aren't all that many courses (or even driving ranges, for that matter).
Yes, I had the same expectation. What the heck, this is the birthplace of American golf!
My SO recently moved to Raleigh from NYC. The one comment he makes repeatedly is regarding the lack of diners. Diners must be a big thing up north! :-)
Golf courses are a very expensive use of very valuable land for a sport that is declining in popularity.
Well, most make money and contribute to the economy, help people appreciate the countryside, prevent the expansion of the concrete jungle and preserve great areas for a wide variety of wildlife.
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