Relocation - Raleigh vs Atlanta (Cary: middle school, square footage, to move)

[jh4000]

The quality of life in the Raleigh area is similar to Northern Virginia, although I'd say that there are probably even more amenities, events and things to do in NoVA compared to Raleigh. I cannot understand why Raleigh has such an inflated reputation. It is probably because so many people have moved here from NY and, compared to NY, Raleigh is an improved quality of life, so this is how the reputation originates and circulates.

Originally Posted by Kmax

My wife and I are relocating from Washington, DC and are choosing between Raleigh and Atlanta. Our primary motive for the move is to relocate to an area with affordable housing, and my understanding is that both cities meet this criteria.

We like Raleigh because the city seems to offer a great quality of life - for example, I would likely work far fewer hours than I would in Atlanta. We are attracted to the slower pace. The flip side to the slower pace is that Raleigh may prove to be too small for our tastes (this is our biggest concern). We think we may become bored with Raleigh. My wife and I are in our early 30s and while we are hoping to start a family soon we may not be willing to give up on the benefits of urban living.

We like Atlanta because it is a bigger city and the downtown feels urban. There are some great museums and we think we would be less likely to become bored. There are also some great parks downtown, which is a plus. On the downside, we read about high rates of crime and awful traffic (we think we may be able to avoid the traffic problem by living in midtown Atlanta).

I would very much appreciate hearing random thoughts about this choice of cities and would particularly be interested in hearing the views of individuals who may have evaluated this same opportunity.

Thanks.

[didee]

If you really enjoy urban living, I doubt you will be happy here. There has been discussion on city-data boards about our "slow pace" but I have never found that I work fewer hours. I work far more hours that my NY counterparts who are out the door at 5. In a way, it sounds like you're trying to talk yourself into liking Raleigh, but nothing you say you want, except for more affordable housing, meets your criteria. And commute time might be less in the short term, but you would have to drive, as others have already pointed out.

I think Charlotte might be more up your alley....or Atlanta except for most, the gridlock traffic there is a showstopper.

Good luck with your decision.

[Repatriot]

Talking about commute time, where I live and where I work makes my commute up to 45 minutes coming home unless I leave way early or well after 6, then it becomes more like 30 minutes. With no traffic it is under 25 minutes.

But all of the commuting is a stressful, tense drive and I expect to soon tire of it.

[JennaJam]

We recently moved from Boston in MA to the Cary area. At first it was all new and exciting, now not so much. I wanted to escape winter and took a large pay cut, we are no working on a plan to go back to Boston.
We did start to look at housing but many things changed our mind. The school system makes me nervous. Especially the story of the folks that can see a middle school from their house, yet their daughter is bused 11 miles each way to school. In Cary I counted (10) trailers alone at one Elementary school. The housing we did see I find many times has zero lot lines. You might be able to get a house with a bigger square footage, but not even you can pass the butter to your neighbor through the kitchen window.


I have also found our car insurance went down considerably. Groceries are much higher than Massachusetts. Even my mani, Pedi's and hair appointments are more than up north, all on less salary. I had to tell one hairdresser I would not pay her advertised price every 4 weeks to have my hair done. I basically told her I am not paying it, she gave me the price I paid in Massachusetts.


My yard in MA was $40/ week to be mowed/ trimmed and driveway blow down, I am told that yard here would be $120. I take pictures on a regular basis in the grocery store and send them to my friends in MA & NH, they are in shock.


I had a long discussion with my accountant who basically told me even though my salary went down everything else has gone up.


Also, in all 48 years of my life I have never been followed or approached by strangers as I have been in Raleigh, three separate occasions, one in which I got my BF on the phone and walked quickly. Never in all my years of taking trains into Boston have I ever had an issue.


Please make sure you think about taking a pay cut to come here, I did and thought it would be OK, but I have found it is not worth it. I also find the companies when I was looking for work, they low ball the wages. They will tell you the cost of living is different, hence they don't have to pay you that much, it is all BS!

Originally Posted by Kmax

Thanks. We are moving from northern VA (Arlington) as well. If we end up in Raleigh, we would want to live inside the beltway, but appreciate that homes are smaller and more expensive inside the beltway than outside. In your opinion, have house prices inside the beltway come down at all over the past year or two? I would think that this would be the case. The homes in this area that we have looked at so far seem to be priced in between $350-400K.

Regarding jobs, I am far enough along in my job search to agree with your comments. The job picture in NC and GA generally is horrific - there are tons of out of work folks in my field and not much demand from employers. Fortunately I have an offer in hand in Atlanta and one that should arrive soon from a Raleigh based employer. In either case, I will be taking a significant pay cut - I suppose this is the price that must be paid in order to secure a better quality of life.

I hear you on your "vibe" comment. My wife and I were in Raleigh this past weekend and we both agreed that folks in Raleigh seem very grounded and focused on things other than money - this is very refreshing. I am still alarmed by the number of people who cite the square footage of their homes when describing to me why they like Raleigh, but oh well.

Given how much you and your spouse have moved around I am wondering where and when you might be moving next.

[Francois]

When comparing two cities in two different states, the City vs City forum is best-suited; otherwise you're going to get a bias by posting in the state of just one of the cities.

[Repatriot]

On our current visit to NY state stopping in supermarkets we are seeing considerably lower prices in NY.

I too got lowballed on salary coming here, in the end my choice but it is a reason to consider greener pastures. As public transport is not an option I have the added costs of a car and all that goes with it.

During late Christmas shopping I saw lower prices in NY and NJ than in Raleigh, but that might not be truly comparative.

[jelenap]

This post is 6 years old, I bet all the cities have changed quite a bit since then. I don't know about Boston but we've experienced almost none of the issues that Jenna mentioned. I shop at Aldi and Trader Joes and prices there are the same. Of course, if you go to HT or Publix their non-sale prices are atrocious. But there are many other shopping options.

To me personally not having the excruciating commute like in Baltimore/Washington area is worth the price of admission. But it's just IMHO, of course.

[Repatriot]

The commute here, for me, while not excruciating, is rather long and unpleasant. At least with some functional public transport you can read and relax for a while.

We are about to spread out from HT-only food shopping and try Aldi, Krogers, and the like.

[CapitalBlvd]

This area is becoming a boomtown with all the problems that creates.

Housing is getting more expensive and the government is attracting new residents with no regard to the infrastructure needs being created. No rail transit for commuting.

Many transplants are coming here because their employers were bribed to come here or to escape insane property taxes elsewhere instead of to get a better quality of life.

We've seen a steady decline in quality of life in our 27 years in Raleigh.

[Repatriot]

I noticed something odd this weekend - a shirt I bought in NJ last week at Sear for $9.99 was on sale for 12.00 in the Sears here.
Usually things are cheaper after Christmas and usually stores like Sears have the same prices (except maybe NYC) - or so I thought.