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Observations about North Carolina/Raleigh, low home prices, low cost of living, friendly polite residents, central location to beaches, mountains, slow paced
I'm sorry, but if she was drunk driving, she was being treated like a criminal because she IS ONE. Good for the cop who busted her! ANd it wasn't a "southern cop" thing, they are pretty hard on anyone who drinks and drives. They do not "turn on the charm" for drunk drivers no matter where you come from.
I'm sorry, but if she was drunk driving, she was being treated like a criminal because she IS ONE. Good for the cop who busted her! ANd it wasn't a "southern cop" thing, they are pretty hard on anyone who drinks and drives. They do not "turn on the charm" for drunk drivers no matter where you come from.
We longterm Raleigh residents do feel hurt when the yuppies run here and drive prices up by paying rents/mortgages like they had up North or in CA.
It makes it very hard for our kids to find a place to live when so many areas are "gentrifying".
I prefer the numerous illegals in my area near New Hope Church Rd to yuppies. The aliens stay to themselves and don't drive up my rent.
Perhaps that's some of the resident backlash, not to mention tax increases, overcrowded schools, and road bottlenecks.
Hey, you screw up someone's life, why should they feel great about your coming here.
Just my 2 cents, but I think you have it a little backwards - Raleigh ranks 3rd in the nation for having a college educated population, and these people will earn over $2 million in their lifetimes. Their spending BOOSTS the economy. Look what is happening now with the economy when you cannot (or do not) buy goods, homes, etc.
And the aliens may not drive up the rent, but this is due to the majority of them living in poverty. Not something that anyone should be admiring.
Stop slamming the poor guy who went to college, got a good job, and is raising his family by living in a great city.
And by the way, "gentrification" means to improve a neighborhood by renovation so as to make it conform to middle-class aspirations.
Just an FYI... the folks who admitted their innermost feelings (of really not liking us "yankees" and secretly wishing we would all go back to NY) to me really are decent people. Very well educated too - as I said - this group included medical doctors, nurses and other health care folks. They aren't vile, cruel or ignorant. They just want things back the way they were. Badly. And they were pretty open about that.
Is that unrealistic? A tad rude? Biased? Or is that simply a predictable result of having lived in this area for generations with a strong set of cultural values and traditions - which are now mucked up beyond all reasonable belief?
Depends upon whose eyes you are looking through, I guess.
And I will say that had my brother pulled someone over for DWI up in Wisconsin - well, he isn't shy with the cuffs. And he isn't there to make friends. And as someone who has too often cleaned up the results of driver and others - I understand why he acts that way. Go to enough DWI scenes and seeing people drink and drive only gets more upsetting. And I'm not saying that judgementally against the friend in the story - lots of great people make mistakes. But that mistake doesn't really warrant hospitality from any cop, in my experience.
I didn't mean to start any arguments over who has met a rude Southerner (there are plenty) and who knows polite NYers (there are plenty) - isn't that obviously quite ridiculous to even consider? I just know there are some kind, polite people who have been treated shabbily by NC natives for being transplants - sans "trigger." And vice versa.
I think that is a very myopic way of looking at this issue, not to mention very negative and unproductive. I just moved here and I am not a yuppie, not rich, not out to screw up anyone's life, and I am not paying in rent or mortgage anything like I was paying up in NY. I would also hope that the people in my area would not keep to themselves.
We relocated to the area from MA. My observations after 3 months are:
Groceries - General merchandise is cheaper than in MA. Meat and produce are more expensive. I love couponing and bargain hunting, I save 50-75% per week on my grocery bill per week by matching up coupons/sales. Ive found that Im getting the best deals at Kroger and Lowe's Foods. I have a chest freezer, so stock up on meat when on sale. Kroger had the Tyson boneless breasts for $1.79 per pound on sale. Their regular price for 75% lean freshly ground beef is $1.67 per pound for the bulk packs. SuperTarget has fresh produce at good prices.
Housing - Cheaper than in MA but still expensive compared to the rest of NC/USA. As comparison, we had an 1750 sq foot colonial on 2 acres about 70 miles from Boston. My Dh drove 45 miles to work each way. Nothing was in walking distance, it was 6 miles to the nearest grocery store. Here we have a 2550 sq feet home on 1/4 acre, my husband is less than 10 miles from work and its 1 mile to the closest grocery store (although I dont like Foodlion). Our monthy mortgage payment is pretty much the same.
Utilities - Cable is a bit more $. We have VOIP, so I dont know about phone service. Electric rates are lower than in MA. We heat our home with natural gas, which I find a tad expensive. Compared to the $3.30 per gallon of heating oil, we definately save $ though.
Insurance - Same health insurance plan as in MA is $30 cheaper per month. Car insurance is $700 cheaper than in MA with the same coverage. Homeowners insurance is about the same.
Taxes - Higher Income Tax. Higher sales tax. Paying sales tax on food and clothing. In MA food (excl prepared like restaurant), clothing and diapers are tax free. Based on the new assessments and expected lower tax rate to make taxes revenue neutral, property taxes are about $500 cheaper (assessed value on old and new home withing $5K of each other).
Childcare - Im a stay at home mom but from what Ive seen tuition/day care rates are very expensive. I enrolled my son in a church based preschool and the tuition is about 1/3 more. I find the cost of the so called top notch private preschools in the area exorbant and about double that of MA (well our area at least).
People - I love the people and the diversity of the area. We are white and the town that we lived in was 99% white (this was not a factor when we chose to buy there ) I like to learn about different cultures. I love the fact that ppl are chatty and so friendly. I dont mind at all when someone strikes up a conversation in the store etc. Do that in MA and ppl often look at you if you have 4 eyes or something. I never fit in in MA in that regard (Im an immigrant US Citizen ) Im sorry to hear that some ppl are being subjected to prejudice. I cant really comment on that as its thankfully not something I have experienced.
Weather - WOW. Pretty much on any given day in the last month it was MUCH warmer than in MA. Why didnt we move down sooner?! SNow is pretty but I wont miss it. Now I know summer down here is HOT! We came down for a site visit (my dh was relocated by his employer) last summer. We viewed houses to get an idea of what we'll get for our $. Three o clock that Friday afternoon, after viewing about 15 houses it was 102 degrees, phew! I found it to be a different (in a good way) kind of heat than in MA.
So far we are really happy here and glad we made the move. Thanks to the "native" NC' ers (if youve been here 5 yrs or more, youre native!) who's been so welcoming
Ps - I forgot to comment on driving habits ... Its debateable who the culprits are but I find tailgating and lack of signaling by NC drivers a major pita. The lack of signaling was even very apparent during our week long site visit.
As someone who moved here 6 weeks ago, here are some observations that someone who is looking to move here might appreciate. The housing prices and real estate taxes are the only thing that is less expensive than where I moved from (NY). There is a serious water shortage that you probably should take into consideration. God knows the town forefathers never prepared for this serious a situation. The state of NC is probably one of the top 5 places to live if you like respectful, polite, friendly, charming and helpful people. From the clerk at the supermarket to the person you pass on your walking trail to the person next to you in church. I have applied and interviewed for quite a few jobs for which I am well qualified, however, they have been in no hurry to get back to me. They move a bit slower on things in these parts, which is nice when it comes to certain things, but not my livelihood. Some people drive a little insane here. No directionals, lots of tailgating. There are a lot of traffic accidents for this reason. The state of NC (which I have seen quite a bit of) is one of the most beautiful places in this country. Raleigh is a great location because it is centrally located to all that NC has to offer. Beaches (2 hrs), mountains (4 hrs). So much to see and do. Hope this has been helpful. Oh, one more thing, from what I have observed, this area is extremely diverse, and everyone seems to be treated with equality. If you are a prejudice person , you won't like it here. All IMO.
I just relocated a little over 2 months ago and would ditto all your well written post says.
Most of us only use the term "Yankee" to poke fun at transplants, its not like we're seriously downplaying you just for being from the North.
Generally its takes 15-20 years to truly feel accepted. It takes that long for most outsiders to "let go" of their former lives and accept our ways.
There is one mentality coming out of the North that most Southerners detest, and thats the "better them than us" attitude when yet another Southerner gets bumped out of their job in favor of a Northerner.
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) Im sorry to hear that some ppl are being subjected to prejudice. I cant really comment on that as its thankfully not something I have experienced. 
Ditto
