Triangle pros and cons (Charlotte, Raleigh: real estate, school, university)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Austin is cooler and Texas doesn't have state income tax. I think it just depends what you're looking for. There are a lot of strip malls in both places, but I think Raleigh feels more suburban.
I do not think Austin is cooler. I would actually say that it is warmer, just not as humid. For tax, there may not be income tax but the property tax is right around triple the cost over the Triangle. We have found that the taxes are pretty much a wash - just paid in a different manner. Austin's traffic is much worse than the Triangle, housing is probably pretty close to the Triangle, BBQ and Mexican food is much better in Austin! There are good things about each place - right now I am really enjoying the green in the Triangle. Much browner in Texas.
Pros:
1. The greenery and hills. Some roads feel like you're driving in the mountains, it's amazing. There are some neighborhoods that are straight up in the woods, yet not even 5 minutes from shopping, restaurants, offices, theaters, etc.
2. The job market. Whether you're entry mid or senior level, there are job opps abound here. I moved here 3 years ago for a job in a toxicology lab with noooo lab experience at all, and in those 3 years my pay rate has doubled due to the experience and I'm at a new job in a cancer testing lab.
3. The new-ness of everything and increasing density/development. There are new apartments, subdivisions, shopping centers, office buildings, high rises, theaters, grocery stores, etc popping up everywhere. Lots of new places that look really nice, yet still there is historical charm in older neighborhoods and downtown.
3 cons
1. Increasing cost of living in only the 3 short years I've been here. With the rapid growth this area is experiencing, developers know they can jack up prices. I'm paying $905 a month for a 1 bed 1 bath loft near North Hills built in 1975 with no renovations and kitchen cabinets that are stuck, badly painted walls, cockroaches in the kitchen every morning, and we got notice today that the rent will be increasing to $965 upon renewal. Hell nah.
2. Increasing traffic. Like I said, only been here 3 years. But I already notice it. I live in midtown Raleigh and commute to RTP. In the morning, it's usually 35 minutes to go 20 miles. In the afternoon it regularly takes me 50 minutes or more. Longest commute home so far was this past Friday. Left the office at 5pm and it started storming, took my 83 minutes to get hone according to my Google's. An hour and a half to go 20 miles.
3. Competitive job market. Yeah I know it was also my #2 pro. There are dozens of well educated and qualified people applying for the same job. It can be difficult to break into it if you don't know anyone or don't have the most impressive resume ever.
Last edited by LordHelmit; 08-03-2017 at 07:28 PM..
I do not think Austin is cooler. I would actually say that it is warmer, just not as humid. For tax, there may not be income tax but the property tax is right around triple the cost over the Triangle. We have found that the taxes are pretty much a wash - just paid in a different manner. Austin's traffic is much worse than the Triangle, housing is probably pretty close to the Triangle, BBQ and Mexican food is much better in Austin! There are good things about each place - right now I am really enjoying the green in the Triangle. Much browner in Texas.
I didn't mean cooler in regards to temperature. Austin is definitely a hipper city than the triangle area.
Pros:
1. The greenery and hills. Some roads feel like you're driving in the mountains, it's amazing. There are some neighborhoods that are straight up in the woods, yet not even 5 minutes from shopping, restaurants, offices, theaters, etc.
2. The job market. Whether you're entry mid or senior level, there are job opps abound here. I moved here 3 years ago for a job in a toxicology lab with noooo lab experience at all, and in those 3 years my pay rate has doubled due to the experience and I'm at a new job in a cancer testing lab.
3. The new-ness of everything and increasing density/development. There are new apartments, subdivisions, shopping centers, office buildings, high rises, theaters, grocery stores, etc popping up everywhere. Lots of new places that look really nice, yet still there is historical charm in older neighborhoods and downtown.
3 cons
1. Increasing cost of living in only the 3 short years I've been here. With the rapid growth this area is experiencing, developers know they can jack up prices. I'm paying $905 a month for a 1 bed 1 bath loft near North Hills built in 1975 with no renovations and kitchen cabinets that are stuck, badly painted walls, cockroaches in the kitchen every morning, and we got notice today that the rent will be increasing to $965 upon renewal. Hell nah.
2. Increasing traffic. Like I said, only been here 3 years. But I already notice it. I live in midtown Raleigh and commute to RTP. In the morning, it's usually 35 minutes to go 20 miles. In the afternoon it regularly takes me 50 minutes or more. Longest commute home so far was this past Friday. Left the office at 5pm and it started storming, took my 83 minutes to get hone according to my Google's. An hour and a half to go 20 miles.
3. Competitive job market. Yeah I know it was also my #2 pro. There are dozens of well educated and qualified people applying for the same job. It can be difficult to break into it if you don't know anyone or don't have the most impressive resume ever.
Austin has way worse traffic and higher cost of living than Raleigh - try driving through downtown Austin on 35 during rush hour and the drive from Raleigh to RTP on 40 will seem like a breeze.
PROS:
1. You get all 4 seasons
2. One of the highest % of GPA per capita in the country
3. sexy southern belles
CONS:
1. Driving on Capital Blvd.
2. waaaay too many chain restaurants
3. The only pro sports team is the Carolina Hurricanes
I lived in Charlotte last year and I can't think of a 6 lane road there. Imagine Capital being 4 lanes. Then take away any middle turn lane. Capital is only crazy because people have to slow down and look at everything. The guy waving the sign people have to look at. Police got a guy on the other side man let's see who it is. Otherwise 8-10 lanes is great.
Austin has way worse traffic and higher cost of living than Raleigh - try driving through downtown Austin on 35 during rush hour and the drive from Raleigh to RTP on 40 will seem like a breeze.
80 minutes to go 20 miles is shtty traffic whether you're in Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta or Austin. An hour and a half in traffic is an hour and a half no matter where you spend it.
I've never been to Austin so can't comment on that but here are my pros and cons:
Pros:
1. Family oriented
2. Affordable
3. Strong job market in IT
Cons:
1. About 3 hours from anywhere I truly want to be (beach, mountains, etc)
2. Cost of living is rising rapidly
3. If I was young and single I would want to be in a bigger city.
I'm interested in learning more about how the cost of living is rising rapidly. I'm a numbers guy and track my spending diligently. In ten years living here my cost of living has remained mostly stagnant. In your two years living here where have you experienced notable increases?
Also, I see living 2-3 hours from the ocean or mountains as a strength, not a weakness. There really aren't too many places in the country where those dual options exist, and where they do, they tend to come with a much higher cost of living premium.
Lastly, I work for one of RTP's larger employers and many of my colleagues are millennials who are under 30 years old. They enjoy a fairly active life and are engaged and busy all the time. I'll admit that it's not the same as living in NYC or Boston, but at some point even recent college graduates get tired of handing over half their income to live in a closet. If I was young and single, I'd want to live here and visit NYC a few times each year (I mean, I was young and single in NYC and can tell you that it was more stressful than exciting).
This is relative to where I grew and have lived throughout the country.
Pros:
Weather
Job Market is one of the best in the country
House Prices and COL
Parks and Greenways (I run a lot)
Amazing Airport for a metro this size
No Traffic
College Sports
Safety
Cons:
Far from the beach (although still drive-able from Raleigh, this is a big negative for me. But I could never live in a location like Austin bc of this.)
Little Authenticity, but this is changing very slowly
Politics on a State Level
Pro Sports
80 minutes to go 20 miles is shtty traffic whether you're in Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta or Austin. An hour and a half in traffic is an hour and a half no matter where you spend it.
yes but for the purposes of comparison, Raleigh's traffic is nowhere near Austin's level.
http://inrix.com/scorecard/ - Austin is #42 in the world for worst traffic (#12 in US), Raleigh #432 (noticed that the ranking isn't all inclusive of every country/city but you get the point)
On an average day, it takes 35 minutes to drive 8 miles through downtown Austin on I-35 during the afternoon rush hour.
Last edited by pierretong1991; 08-04-2017 at 07:46 AM..
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! There are good things about each place - right now I am really enjoying the green in the Triangle. Much browner in Texas.
