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Hi everyone, as my wife and I are undecided in where we are moving, but we do know we do not want to stay here in Las Vegas and raise our little ones in Sin city, I have a question.
Every place has its negatives, there is no perfect place, and on these chat boards people sometimes argue how good or bad Raleigh metro is, my question is where are you originally from? And in your own opinion what are the negatives about the Raleigh metro area? I heard stories like Raleigh metro has an incredible amount of " Illegal Immigrants" who are overcrowding the schools, to the crime on the rise there, gangs, overcrowded Emergency rooms , crazy traffic and people not being polite to northerners.But I also read and heard that Raleigh is a great place to live due to low taxes, affordable homes, low crime, nice people and so on.
Please give me your opinion- What are the negatives? Because every place has some.
I heard stories like Raleigh metro has an incredible amount of " Illegal Immigrants" who are overcrowding the schools, to the crime on the rise there, gangs, overcrowded Emergency rooms , crazy traffic and people not being polite to northerners. But I also read and heard that Raleigh is a great place to live due to low taxes, affordable homes, low crime, nice people and so on.
2. I've lived all over the country so I can say this: Southerners and northerners sometimes cross social cues and misunderstand each other. This kind of things happens in all regions of the country.
3. Homes are affordable if you're moving here from CA. They're not as affordable if you're moving here from GA. I think housing is higher than it should be.
4. Crime is bad in certain areas such as Durham and some parts both south and east of Raleigh. The gang problem is particularly bad in downtown Durham with some shootings. I've read gangs have taken root in Raleigh, but I seldom hear about them on the news.
Since you referred to Las Vegas as "Sin City" I can only assume that morals are important to you (as they are to me). If that's the case, then the Triangle area is excellent in that regard.
We once lived in one of the many "Sin Cities" of Florida and we moved for the sake of our children too. Raleigh is a good area for rearing children compared with some other places. A big "adult" entertainment business attempted to open up on a major thoroughfare, but community efforts to block it prevailed. There are a few small sleezys tucked away on backstreets mostly. It's remarkable how sleezy things are always labeled "adult" as though only the mature would appreciate them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The public schools are exploding in population and fiscal waste. They're getting 7,000 new students per year. Homeschooling seems to make good sense given those figures. I hear there are around 3500 families in Wake County doing this so socializing opportunities are numerous.
For your information 2,000 of those 7,000 new students each year are undocumented so that tells you something about the rates of illegal immigration here.
I personally find no problem with strip clubs or any other type of adult entertainment. Cary has a topless club discreetly located right in the center of town, and the property values in Cary are some of the best in the Triangle. I agree that obnoxious huge neon signs advertising strip clubs (something that is common in some parts of South Florida) are a negative thing, but I would feel the same way about a gigantic neon sign advertising a burger joint or a hotel.
Remember that strip clubs are privately owned establishments that cater to adults and that no one is forcing you to visit one. This is a free country and the simple fact that a strip club is present in your community shouldn't be a reason to move. Your child will not be scarred for life by the presence of an adult entertainment establishment. I personally am more offended by the presence of intolerant southern baptist churches in my area. Also, for the record, there are plenty of highly successful, highly intelligent men and women who enjoy "adult entertainment" -- something that humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years.
Hi everyone, as my wife and I are undecided in where we are moving, but we do know we do not want to stay here in Las Vegas and raise our little ones in Sin city, I have a question.
Every place has its negatives, there is no perfect place, and on these chat boards people sometimes argue how good or bad Raleigh metro is, my question is where are you originally from? And in your own opinion what are the negatives about the Raleigh metro area? I heard stories like Raleigh metro has an incredible amount of " Illegal Immigrants" who are overcrowding the schools, to the crime on the rise there, gangs, overcrowded Emergency rooms , crazy traffic and people not being polite to northerners.But I also read and heard that Raleigh is a great place to live due to low taxes, affordable homes, low crime, nice people and so on.
Please give me your opinion- What are the negatives? Because every place has some.
Thanks -- T
In comparison to the other places I've lived, Raleigh has, generally, fewer negatives than pretty much anywhere. I feel like most of the negatives are more prospective/future issues depending on how Raleigh/Durham handles growth. From *today's* perspective... taxes are low, commutes are pretty short, the job picture is good with good pay. Public schools are good (world-class in Wake and Chapel Hill-Carrboro), and great universities.
Generally speaking: crime here is extremely low in a comparative sense to other metros its south and in this area. Even Durham, which has the "crime rep" for the area, only really has a gang/drug/violent crime area in a concentrated area east of downtown. (Certainly, the fact that a developer is building $300k-$1m condos on the west side of downtown Durham says something about crime.
I was very sick last year and had to be treated at an E.R., and it was certainly crowded. I was also sick enough that they hurried me in to get seen (I'll spare everyone the details!), and IMHO, crowded E.R.'s are more to bigger national issues we have with health insurance than anything else. Plus, between Duke University's hospital system (I believe #5 in the US in the rankings), UNC's great teaching hospital, and a very good hospital system in Wake, health care options here are plentiful.
Sorry I can't really think of any "negs." Maybe if we could, there'd be fewer transplants like me here!
Being from Florida, I'll say the extreme lack of sports coverage of anything except the ACC is a hardship we must endure. I'm not asking for front page coverage... but sheesh!
I also miss having access to great theme parks close by, especially Busch Gardens.
If these "negatives" seem shallow, that's because these are the only things besides family and friends that Florida has over NC, imo.
Schools: Wake County is great. I taught in both, and hands down, choose Wake.
Traffic: Oh, please... I lived near Tampa, there's no comparison!
Hospitals: There are several sattelite ERs that have opened around Raleigh to take the pressure off the bigger hospitals.
Gas: FL has a pretty high gas tax, too - call it a tax on the vacationers, it's one reason they don't need to impose an income tax, if I remember correctly. The gas prices are pretty much the same for us.
"Rudeness" factor: People are nice here, as a whole. They let you merge in traffic. They'll even smile and wave as they do, but you should wave back as a "thank-you"! (One of my pet peeves...) People will let you cut line in the grocery store if you only have a couple items. They say excuse me if they bump in to you. If you're prepared to do the same, then you'll love it here. If that seems foreign and weird to you, you may have some adjusting to do.
Yes, the lack of theme parks is one negative. Of course, I'm not big on theme parks so it doesn't bother me. Busch Gardens in Williamsburg is 3.5 hours away and you can go to Carowinds in Charlotte about 3 hours away as well.
The people are very courteous in the area, and the crime rates are very low.
Compared to Virginia, the income tax rate is NC is higher (8% vs. about 5.75%). However real estate tax rates tend to be lower, and the property values tend to be less than half, so the higher income tax rates really only affect six-digit income owners. You'd have to be making a quarter million dollars for this to affect you. ($250,000 income earner would pay $20,000 in NC vs. $14,375 in VA) - this difference of about $5,000 would be made up by getting the same house in NC for half the price and paying less than half of the real estate taxes on it. Compared to California tax rates (top rate of 9.3%!), NC is lower. Compared to NY (top rate of 7.7%), NC is higher.
The humid, hot summers in NC is another negative, but this is the case on the entire east coast. Only the mountain areas and New England doesn't experience this.
For us there were 2 reasons we chose Chapel Hill over Raleigh.
1. Traffic. Maybe not as bad as some places, but it's not good.
2. We felt more comfortable, not being from the South, in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill seemed more liberal, open, diverse, and have more people from "other" places. I hear Cary does too, but we can't stand new developments, so that was not at all an option.
That's MY opinion. Schools are great in Chapel Hill. People in Wake think their schools are better, we think ours are. Look at both and see what you think.
Where we're from: my husband grew up in CO. I grew up in NJ. We met in the Peace Corps in Africa, since then, have lived in:Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, Blue Hill and Castine, Maine, Tucson, Arizona, and now Chapel Hill, NC. This is where we're planting our roots.
tarp - great points about the income tax being offset by other factors!
We were very concerned coming from FL, with NO income tax, to NC, but found that we saved so much on insurance and property taxes, that it was pretty much a wash.
MaimounaKande, I would consider Cary to be very diverse and open-minded. At the supermarkets I see a huge mix of people - white, middle eastern, Indian, etc. There are also many parts of Cary that I wouldn't consider new. There are many houses that were built in the 1970's, and some neighborhoods are even older. The downtown part of Cary is old (but small).
Chapel Hill is definitely more liberal, but you shouldn't write off the rest of the Triangle. Inside-the-beltline Raleigh is almost as liberal as Chapel Hill. It's the outer edges of North Raleigh and the eastern and southern parts of Wake County (Knightdale... Zebulon... Garner...) that make Wake County seem conservative.
Amsm196, one of the posters said that "Chapel Hill seemed more liberal, open, diverse, and have more people from "other" places."
The entire Triangle (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill along with other towns) has a lot of people from other places. Me, for one. ;o) Chapel Hill is not the collection point for most of the newcomers. Several posters have mentioned the friendliness of the people around Raleigh so you'll find openness to people's differences, but people generally do uphold high morals around here, much to the dismay of a few.
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I personally am more offended by the presence of intolerant southern baptist churches in my area.
Tarp, it appears you pointedly painted yourself with the tarp of intolerance in that one statement. Hooyah.
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This is a free country and the simple fact that a strip club is present in your community shouldn't be a reason to move.
That is for the readers here to decide. Some people, Tarp, use facts to help guide decisions so for show grins I'll throw a few in:
Many local governments have evaluated the secondary effects of adult businesses in their communities. These effects include criminal activity, health and safety concerns, and declines in property value, especially residential property.
On average, the number of sex offenses in neighborhoods where sexually oriented businesses were located was 506% more than other areas.
On average, the number of property crimes was 43% greater in neighborhoods where sexually oriented businesses were located, and the number of violent crimes was 4% higher in those areas
Crime increased significantly with the opening of an adult business, the expansion of an existing business, or the addition of a bar nearby. The rise was greatest in serious offenses (homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and auto theft)..
Both residential and commercial property values diminish substantially when the property is within 500 feet of an Adult business. The greatest impact was on single family homes. The chief factor cited for depreciation was the increased crime associated with adult businesses.
...more than 90% of realtors, real estate appraisers and lenders responding to city questionnaires said that a grouping of such businesses within 500-1,000 feet of residential property decreases the market value of the homes.
In Oklahoma, 32% of property appraisers said that an adult bookstore within one block of a residential area would decrease home values by at least 20%.
Last edited by Skipstone; 01-21-2007 at 09:28 PM..
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