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I moved to Durham from Bergen County last fall, and before living in NJ I lived in NYC for several years. There are things that are cheaper here, like real estate and car insurance, and things that are more expensive, like groceries and certain taxes. To me, it all evens out. While I'm not spending less here overall, I do feel like my money goes further here in terms of quality of life than it did in NJ/NYC. So it's good to be interested in more about the area than cheaper real estate, since you might find you aren't saving much more money by living here after all.
I can't comment on schools since I don't have kids. But to answer your other questions, there's plenty to do. Outdoor activities, arts/culture, great food, sports, going on a day trip somewhere.. whatever is up your alley. While you're not near Broadway anymore, all the major touring musicals come through DPAC along with lots of touring bands and comedians coming to the various local theaters, etc. There are malls in various directions. Harris Teeter is kind of like a more expensive Shop & Shop. Kroger is more like Shop Rite, I think, although I never really shopped much at Shop Rite.
You would not find this area to be lacking in medical services.
My office is located in RTP and is very diverse. The Triangle in general is pretty progressive, but there are still a lot of very conservative areas of the state.
My friends and family are all in the northeast, and I miss them. But one good thing about this area is so many of the people come from elsewhere, so it's not like everyone you meet expects everyone else to have the same background.
We moved from Toms River in 2005. I absolutely love it here. My husband is born and raised Toms River and I think it has taken him longer to adjust! I don't find anything other than house prices and taxes cheaper here - daycare, food, gas and clothing were cheaper in NJ.
But it's a great place to live with loads of transplants.
Yup it's only people from the Northeast. The people relocating from the rest of the country don't affect taxes.
LOL, how much have taxes gone up anyway? Wake County did their re-assessment last year and I believe they do that every 8 years...that has nothing to do with transplants.
LOL, how much have taxes gone up anyway? Wake County did their re-assessment last year and I believe they do that every 8 years...that has nothing to do with transplants.
Sure does. Many transplants coming here without proper impact fees are forcing taxes to go up regularly.
I have been thinking about moving to Morrisville, NC on rent in couple of months. I have been to Cary and Morrisville a few times. The reason for my move is the same as most people. Cheaper overall compared to North NJ and in North NJ I can only find houses built in 70s or 80s for around 300-400k with tons of property tax. At least, in Morrisville/Cary I can buy a brand new townhome for 250-300k and pay it off quick.
Any people out there who have left family and friends behinds to move to NC? How was your experience?
Also some other questions below:
School system in Morrisville (pre-school)?
Things to do on weekends?
Are there malls?
Is Harris Teeter like shop rite?
Hospitals?
Racism in NC? I've heard it is on the rise but may be rumors as I haven't witnessed it myself when I was there.
Good pizza spots?
Will I really save money there compared to here? Gas, food, car insurance? etc
Will RTP turn into a Technology hub in the future? How is it progressing?
Cary is known as the "Concentration area for Relocated Yankees" for a reason. You'll meet a ton of folks from up north here! The triangle is one of the fasted growing places in the nation. You'll probably like having 4 seasons, the malls, Harris Teeter, and not freezing your butt off in the winter. The beaches (quite a bit nicer than Jersey's) are 2 hours away and mountains about 3 1/2. Racism is fairly non-existent. You can find that anywhere but your chances will increase out in the rural spots. Pizza might let you down some but there are plenty of spots that bill themselves as "NY style". Try the barbeque when you visit (The Pit) North Carolinians in general, are friendly and willing to help.
I noticed as more North East people(Tri-state) move to NC the prices and the taxes are go up quickly. To the people that relocate from Penn-NY-NJ this is still lower ,but not as much as a bargin it use to be. This is my opinion.
Actually, if you move from certain parts of these states, the overall cost of living may be a wash, if not a little bit lower. This is due to housing costs in Upstate NY, PA outside of the Philadelphia area and parts of southern NJ. Just take a look at median home prices for areas in these parts of these states to understand what I'm referring to.
It is a matter of the Tri State/Bos-Wash corridor versus the Interior parts of the Northeast. The latter can be on par with NC and some other Southern areas in terms of overall COL.
The biggest problem with people moving here is they want the better life and lower costs but then vote the same way they did in their last states and want more government services they were used to and wind up turning into their old state with the same problems. If your going to move to an area then you need to like it based on roughly the way it is for the most part.
The only thing cheaper here is that housing costs and taxes are lower . Everything else is on par with NJ or higher. You'll have to pay property tax on your car and also you will need to get it inspected every single year even if it's bought brand new.
You can actually enjoy some freedom like carrying a firearm as well so that's a big plus. Plenty of craft breweries as well to enjoy.
LOL, how much have taxes gone up anyway? Wake County did their re-assessment last year and I believe they do that every 8 years...that has nothing to do with transplants.
My taxes actually went down very slightly this year - not something I've ever seen elsewhere. Maybe it's because I'm an awful northeastern native, but it continues to amaze me how much you actually get for your taxes here.
Wow, amazing feedback everyone. Thanks. Now I'm more confused than ever before.
Any good luxury apartments in Morrisville? Has to be a quiet neighborhood with no dogs barking or no construction around. I was going to book with The Bristol but they seem to be having construction a building over and someone said it was 18 month long construction. So glad I didn't sign up there.
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