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We moved from the NE Carrollton/W Plano area to Raleigh in July of 2006. My wife was born and raised in Dallas. I had lived there for 20 years, having moved there from Pennsylvania after graduation from college.
My wife still has family in Dallas, so we visit once a year. Neither of us would ever go back. We are very happy here in Raleigh.
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Originally Posted by TXtoNC87
2. Are the summers better in Raleigh compared to Dallas?
Yes. And No. The temperature is about 10 degrees cooler, but the humidity is worse, so in that respect, it's probably a wash. The best thing about Raleigh compared to Dallas though is that Raleigh is all trees while Dallas is all concrete. The sun goes behind the trees near sunset and things begin to cool off sooner. In Dallas, the concrete soaks up all the heat during the day and just radiates it back out overnight. It never seems to cool off.
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Originally Posted by TXtoNC87
3. What did you only realize about Raleigh compared to Dallas after the move that you wished you had known before?
Living so close to Addison TX, we were spoiled by the abundance of nearby restaurants, especially Tex-Mex (my wife's favorite).
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Originally Posted by TXtoNC87
4. The proximity of the mountains and beaches are a big draw. How often are you actually visiting those attractions each year?
When our kids were younger, we used to go to the beach once every summer. We would also go to the mountains once a year. Now we tend to go to the mountains twice a year, and the beach once every few years. It takes us about 3 1/2 hours to get to Asheville and about the same amount of time to get to Nags Head.
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Originally Posted by TXtoNC87
5. Why did you decide to leave Texas?
We hated the heat in the summer, and the endless expanse of big-box stores, malls, houses, and roads.
This is a bit of an exaggeration, but you can drive down I-635 in Dallas and never see a tree, but you can drive down I-40 in Raleigh and never see a building or a billboard
In the 1990s and 2000s there was a lot of back-and-forth between Richardson/Plano and the Triangle area because of Nortel, Ericsson, etc.
The obvious thing is, less traffic. The flip side... fewer professional sports and far fewer nonstops from the airport.
By the way, I can leave my house in north Raleigh and have my toes in the sand at Wrightsville Beach in 2 hours 15 minutes. Or less, if I'm willing to speed on I-40.
In the 1990s and 2000s there was a lot of back-and-forth between Richardson/Plano and the Triangle area because of Nortel, Ericsson, etc.
The obvious thing is, less traffic. The flip side... fewer professional sports and far fewer nonstops from the airport.
By the way, I can leave my house in north Raleigh and have my toes in the sand at Wrightsville Beach in 2 hours 15 minutes. Or less, if I'm willing to speed on I-40.
Yep! And going the other way; I can leave my house in NW Raleigh and be in Boone in under 3 hours. IMO Boone is the superior "Mountain town" to Ashville....and the fact that it's almost an hour closer doesn't hurt either!
Sorry, my reply and quotes got messed up. So I had to cut and paste:
1. Are you happy with the move?
Overall, yes. I grew up in the Highland Park and Plano areas and lived in Plano after graduating from TCU. I don't miss the pretentiousness of the Dallas area at all. I do miss the "Dallas mainstay restaurants (Mi Cocina/TexMex, Houston's, Snuffer's, Bob's, any of the Kenny's restaurants, etc.). I get that many of the ones I listed aren't as good as they used to be, but we always make a point to hit those up while visiting family/friends. Don't get me wrong, Raleigh and the surrounding areas have a ton of great restaurants, but there's nothing here that I actually crave when we're trying to figure out where to dine out. When we lived in Plano we found it hard to decide, since we liked so many of the choices. I'm not a "foodie," so it seems like so many of the restaurants here try to overcomplicate things (farm to table, sustainable, locally sourced, James Beard accolades, vegan, etc. - these are important to some, but I'm just not that granola - each to their own and I respect that). Locals, don't beat me up...I know we have a lot of steak & BBQ joints, but I just don't get their notoriety - Angus Barn & The Pit, to name a couple. But being a Texan, I think there are better. One thing to note, we do have a Chewy's and Uncle Julio's, but they just aren't the same.
2. Are the summers better in Raleigh compared to Dallas?
Compared to Dallas, Raleigh has four seasons. We don't go from Winter - Spring - Winter - Spring - 3rd Winter - Actual Spring - Summer - Hell's front porch - false Fall - 2nd Summer - actual Fall. Our cold faucet water also doesn't only range from not hot to hot.
3. What did you only realize about Raleigh compared to Dallas after the move that you wished you had known before?
I miss the infrastructure planning in the DFW area (not including Dallas proper). For the most part, the roads are in great condition here. However, they don't keep up with roads and new development at all; it seems worse than Austin in the 90's. The actual traffic on the highways and tollroads aren't bad at all, compared to other cities. In fact, a lot of people here refuse to use the tollroads - compared to TX. BUT, there are so many two-way/two lane main roads that need to be expanded into at least four lanes, let alone six (I'm speaking to Ten Ten, Penny, Old Stage, Lake Wheeler, Strickland..I'm sure there are more that others can mention). I live off of Old Stage (2 lanes), near 401 (4 lanes) & Ten Ten (2 lanes), where there are approx. 1,500+ single family & multifamily units under construction or planned within a 4 mile radius. Currently, it takes me 45 minutes to drive 12 miles from South Cary back home in the evenings because all the roads are two lanes. I can't imagine what that drive looks like after all these new homes/townhomes/apartments are built. Last I saw, I think we still have another 8-10 years before NCDOT plans to widen these roads. Luckily I don't commute on a regular basis. I'm certainly not against development, but wish they would plan ahead accordingly for the extra traffic or make the developers pay to expand the roads as a condition of approving their permits.
4. The proximity of the mountains and beaches are a big draw. How often are you actually visiting those attractions each year?
Living two hours from the beach and three or four from the mountains is awesome. We visit both at least two/three times each year. You can even drive to DC or Baltimore in about five hours. Just think...in TX you can drive for seven hours and never leave the state - that was a strange concept for me, being used to driving to Corpus Christi & Port A several times a year, which is a 7 hour drive.
5. Why did you decide to leave Texas?
I met who is now my wife at Sherlocks, who grew up in Raleigh, while she was living in Plano for work. Soon after we met, she accepted a job in Phoenix and I agreed to follow. We hated Phoenix and she wanted to be closer to her family, so we settled in Raleigh. Oddly enough, after four years of living here we moved back to Plano and couldn't stand it, so we moved back to Raleigh.
Sorry for the rant, but these are the things that irritate me the most about this great city. They're so petty compared to other real world issues, but when asked to compare the two cities, this is what goes through my mind. To sum it up after reading through all of this, I guess the two things I miss the most about the DFW area is the food and the WIDE roads - even though traffic is hell - at least they try.
Hope you guys decide to get out of the Concrete Jungle soon, the trees here are awesome!
I live off of Old Stage (2 lanes), near 401 (4 lanes) & Ten Ten (2 lanes), where there are approx. 1,500+ single family & multifamily units under construction or planned within a 4 mile radius.
I live very close to you. . . . but on the opposite side of 401. I live near the intersection of Ten Ten and Lake Wheeler Road.
I agree with you about the size of the roads, but remember that we live in what many would consider a semi-rural part of Wake County. The Swift Creek watershed area where I live has a low population density, and only recently (2-3 years) have these roads begun to get overcrowded. . . . . mainly due to the development push for when 540 is completed this summer.
The planners seem to forget that the 1500+ families who are buying these new houses near us need to travel through Swift Creek on these narrow 2-lane rural roads to get to Cary/Apex/Holly Springs in order to go to work and shopping.
But. . . . . . . then I recall travelling on I-635 (a 12-lane double decker road) on a Sunday and the traffic being horrible. . . . . and I think that sitting in traffic on Ten Ten doesn't seem so bad after all.
I live very close to you. . . . but on the opposite side of 401. I live near the intersection of Ten Ten and Lake Wheeler Road.
I agree with you about the size of the roads, but remember that we live in what many would consider a semi-rural part of Wake County. The Swift Creek watershed area where I live has a low population density, and only recently (2-3 years) have these roads begun to get overcrowded. . . . . mainly due to the development push for when 540 is completed this summer.
The planners seem to forget that the 1500+ families who are buying these new houses near us need to travel through Swift Creek on these narrow 2-lane rural roads to get to Cary/Apex/Holly Springs in order to go to work and shopping.
But. . . . . . . then I recall travelling on I-635 (a 12-lane double decker road) on a Sunday and the traffic being horrible. . . . . and I think that sitting in traffic on Ten Ten doesn't seem so bad after all.
OP, not trying to deter your move at all! This is a great place. But when you are used to infrastructure being expanded to handle the population growth, NC is very slow and Raleigh's mayor has all the big developers in her back pocket.
I don't miss 635 at all, even with their new "metered" below ground lanes. Thank God for the GB and 121 (at least for getting to the airport from far N. Dallas!)
I totally get what you are saying, and agree 100%. We've been in Eagle Ridge since 2018 and still love this area. But being from the DFW area where I'm used to urban sprawl and massive development, and plenty of land to expand the roads, it's just hard to watch all the new developments go up around here with no road widening. I get that things are different here - especially with a lot of the roads being state roads (not city), so you have to wait until NCDOT plans for an expansion; instead of the city taking the matter into their own hands. I can't remember where I saw this but Ten Ten isn't planned for expansion until 2038 and Old Stage gets widened in 2042.
There's an additional 250+ townhome community being built on Old Stage (closer to 401), and another proposed 250 SFH community proposed near Ten Ten & South Mountain; backing up to Eagle Ridge (across from the white barn). The state's solution is a stop light at the entrance of our neighborhood. I just can't imagine what things will look like with this many additional cars on these two lane roads - even with the addition of 540. So many people around here are already saying they refuse to pay a toll to drive on that road (I have my TollTag/EZ Pass ready and have no problem with it, because I'm used to it). But the new 540 won't really help me get to the places I normally go.
Different subject, but does anyone know why Hammond was built as such a wide road? There's nothing there but a bank headquarters and jails. I know they just broke ground for new apartments near I40, but that road always seemed odd to me - one of five six lane roads in the Raleigh area I can think of. Just curious.
Hammond was supposed to be one end of the North South expressway through Raleigh that got canned due to neighborhood opposition.
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