Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
O.k.
so I 1st have to say thank you to the regulars for posting such helpful information, I am tuned in to this forum for the potential move there in Sept w/ Mom, 2 dogs, 4 cats...ugh!!!!
So 2nd my question(s)
As a NC Native what would you say is Raleighs best overall feature? Job market? location, neighborhoods? restaurants? what would be #1?
As a transplant fm wherever, Boston, San Diego, Okalahoma city, where ever, what has been your most pleasurable suprise about moving to Raleigh?
KISS in replying so we don't bog down the forum
tks
Sj
My most pleasant surprise was finding out that there is pretty much anything and everything within 15 minutes of where I live. From great grocery stores (Harris Teeter, Whole foods, Trader Joe's), a plethora of restaurants, to small boutiques, Nordstrom's and Macy's. I think I had been under the impression that I would have to travel some distances to get to certain stores. The other great thing was actually how beautiful the Triangle is - with rolling hills, pine forests and the mutitude of local parks!
As a transplant fm wherever, Boston, San Diego, Okalahoma city, where ever, what has been your most pleasurable suprise about moving to Raleigh?
I don't think that we've really had many pleasurable "surprises". What I mean by that is that we really did our research and knew a lot about the area before we moved here. We also visited on 2 weekends; once before we actually decided to move here, and once after we had decided that Raleigh was were we wanted to be. So. . . . we knew how nice Raleigh was beforehand and knew all it had to offer. No surprises there.
However, I should say that we did have a few disappointing surprises though. The first was that home prices climbed about 5-10% from the time we decided to move here and the time we actually bought a house (about 2 years). The second was that we found it very difficult for my wife to find a job in her field.
I would say the best overall feature is that there are enough "bedroom" communities surrounding raleigh proper, that there are many choices for living, people seem to be able to find whatever they are looking for.
I would say the downside is there might be a perception of a wealth of jobs, and based on what many people have told me, that is not necessarily the case. Yes, there are a huge number of well established companies, but getting jobs with them can be quite difficult.
Pleasurable surprise, 'sunshine' and lots of it. Coming from the Northeast we had about the same amount of sunshine but it was almost always behind the cloud cover. I would fly in and and of out area in the Northeast and at about 10 to 15 thousand feet up it was always sunny. I can now have the same amount of sunshine down near sea level here in NC.
Surprise was how green and beautiful the triangle is and the number of pine trees in the area. We expected a flat area but we were pleasantly surprised how hilly the region is. My husband and i had not visited the triangle prior to our move.
The disappointing aspects? The amount of construction and traffic. Read about the expansion in the triangle, but never expected this much. Also, we were expecting a much more bike friendly community here like Ottawa.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
