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I have a question for everyone that has moved from another state to the Raleigh Area? First, how do you do it? Do you sell your current home first, then come to raleigh? It seems houses are moving slow especially in area where we come from so I think financially I would have to sell my house first before I move since I won't be able to afford two home payments or one home payment and a rent payment? Second, is it better to rent an apartment for 6 months and store your stuff in storage before buying a home? Third, Do most of you find a job in Raleigh before you come down here, if so how do you do that? Most people see out of state resumes and don't pay attention to them it seems; or is the job market so good that a person can just move down here and find a job within a month or two. What about driver license? I ask this because my husband works for a beer distributor here and the requirement is a valid MI license? How would he get a job for a distributor down there if they required a valid NC license? Any answers would be appreciated because my husband and I are in the process of thinking of possibly moving to this area within the next year or whenever we could sell our house.
Whether to sell your home first is a question of financial liquidity. If you cannot afford two payments, then you will have to sell your home first and unfortunately the market is slowing down everywhere right now. Talk to your realtor about what you can do to make your home more attractive to prospective buyers. It may be as simple as planting some flowers out front to create better curb appeal, or painting a room, or lowering your asking price. Second, whether to rent first and store your stuff or buy depends on your familiarity with the area or how quickly you figure out where you want to live/work. The Raleigh area has a lot of smaller towns on its outskirts (Wake Forest, Fuquay Varina, Holly Springs, Rolesville) where property may be more affordable, but wont be feasible if you end up working on the other side of town. Which brings us to finding a job. Part of my current job consists of reviewing resumes that we receive. If someone states in their cover letter that they are relocating to the Raleigh area we definitely take their resume into consideration. Use Career Builder or Monster to find good job leads. Finally, it is not difficult to get a NC Driver's license and you can have licenses from multiple states. If you have a license from another state, they usually run your driving record and you would have to take a written test, a vision test and a driving test. Sorry for the lengthy response, but you asked a bunch of questions! Hope I helped....
If houses are moving slowly where you live I would definitely sell your house first. Especially if you can't afford two mortgage payments - and I don't think you want to get stuck having to rent a house out in MI while you live in NC.
The NC driver's license is easy - you just go to DMV, fill out some forms, hand in your MI license, take a written test, get your picture taken, pay some money, get your NC license.
I'm sure other people will chime in with more answers/advice.
My wife and I moved here in July from Dallas TX. We took some risks, but generally avoided them by planning well.
We did not move until I had secured a job. I wasn't getting any nibbles until I stated at the top of my resume "Relocating to Raleigh, NC. Willing to pay for relocation expenses". I also had to take a temporary position instead of permanent, and I had to agree to start the new job within 2 weeks of accepting the offer.
During the time I was hunting for a job, we prepared our house to sell. We did this by contacting an agent and asking her to recommend changes that would make our house more attractive to buyers. We painted, cleaned, repaired, packed away items we didn't expect to use, and got rid of stuff that we didn't need. We also contacted 3 moving companies, got estimates, and selected a mover. Moving a 4 bedroom house cost about $5K.
As soon as I got a job offer, the agent hammered the "For Sale" sign in the yard and it was on contract within 2 weeks. We priced it to sell. We also researched apartment complexes in Raleigh and reserved one (6 month lease) with a detached garage so that we could store our stuff until we bought a new house.
We then took the next 9 days to pack our remaining belongings. The movers came on day 10, we packed up the cars and left Dallas on day 11, arrived in Raleigh 3 days later, and I started my job the following morning.
We haven't changed over our vehicle tags or drivers licenses yet as we are waiting to do that once we get a house.
Don't wait too long - there are time limits involved, and there can be costly fines. (Don't ask how I know that... Well, ask my husband. )
I'm assuming that I would have to wait in line at the DMV twice. Once to change plates and license from TX to NC, and once to change license address once we get a house. If that is not the case, then I can go now.
If your husband works for a major beer distributer that also is sold in NC, then he might have the in on a new job. Even if they don't pay for the move, he may have job opportunity. My friend's husband, that moved there a year and a half ago, worked for Lowe's in CA and he was able to find an opening there and start work within a few weeks. It wasn't a transfer as much as them knowing he knew their system, computer, etc. And of course Lowe's did not pay their moving expenses.
He works for an Anheuser Busch distributor. I do know there are a few of them down there so I suppose he would need to contact them, perhaps he would have an in. Thanks.
I'm assuming that I would have to wait in line at the DMV twice. Once to change plates and license from TX to NC, and once to change license address once we get a house. If that is not the case, then I can go now.
I know it's a pain - if you call ahead and make an appointment at the dmv, then you can walk to the front of the line. That is, if you don't mind the burning stares as you do so! Once you have your NC license, the fee to change your address and get a new license is $10, but if you don't do it within 60 days, you can be fined.
There's a different office location to get your NC registration and plates. Once you've got the NC tags, for a change of address, I think you just mail in this form, but please double check the website: http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/forms/vehicleregistration/download/mvr24a.pdf
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Partial answers for you.
Well, ask my husband.
)
What beer distributer?
Once you have your NC license, the fee to change your address and get a new license is $10, but if you don't do it within 60 days, you can be fined.
