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I am a bit new here. Let me give some background....
I am from Montana I have lived here pretty much all my life and now I am moving to North Carolina (GULP)! My husband is in the National Guard and he has to transfer "literally" today to Raleigh (Long story won't get into it here). I am looking at going to Nash Community College to get my Physical Therapy Assistant degree, I believe the college is actually in Rocky Mount. I have actually vacationed in North Carolina with my family and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
Soo... Now it comes down to this. I was wondering if someone could give me advice as to where to move in Raleigh if I am going to have to commute to Rocky Mount on the week days. I say this because my husband will more than likely be working in Raleigh. We are going to be traveling down there soon to check it out and find a place to live. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stay when we visit? Any good places to eat? Are there any places that as a whole we should stay away from (as far as living or work)?
If anyone has any advice on anything I am all ears and ready to listen! I have never been so far away from home and the thought of moving scares me a little. I guess it all makes it a little better that in my travels to North Carolina I have met some really wonderful down to earth people!
I don't have any specific advice for you but I couldn't help but to wonder why you have picked Nash Community College as your school. I'm sure it's a great school but if your husband is going to be working in Raleigh why wouldn't you try to find a school closer to Raleigh? Have you looked at Wake Tech?
That was a concern of mine too. I am looking at Nash CC because for a physical therapy assist or regular PT degree you have to attend an accredited college. We did look around the Raleigh area and the closest I could come was Nash in Rocky Mount.
Somewhere like Knightdale (a town outside Raleigh) would be much better for you, while still being a decent commute for him into Raleigh. Zebulon is a little further out (closer for you, farther for him). But commuting from Raleigh itself to Rocky Mount is unnecessary when there are a lot of towns east of there along Hwy 64. It's a pretty commute, at least!
If I were you I would look at the small towns that border Hw 64. Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon. With the new I-540 any of these locations would work for both you and your husband. Like already mentioned the Hw64 drive to Rocky Mount would be a nice 30-40 minute trip for you, maybe less and I-540 makes almost any part of Raleigh reachable with little pain. Good Luck and welcome to the Triangle.
Anywhere along the 264/64 corridor which includes Knightdale, Wendell, and Zebulon. From Zebulon...it's about a 30-25 min ride to Rocky Mount and a 20 min ride to Raleigh. Pretty straight commute too...I've always found 264 to be a pretty easy ride (4 lane, 70MPH limit for most) between Rocky Mount and Raleigh...that's how I usually get to 95 to go up to Jersey. And this has been said...540 now reaches 264 (as of like, 2 years ago)...go one exit up on 540...and you've got a pretty good shopping district with a Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowes Food, Five Guys (followed up with Rita's Italian Ice next door ), etc. Go about 5 more miles, and you'll hit Triangle Town Center and all of those stores...20 more miles, and you'll hit RDU Airport.
I hear there are some bad areas of Knightdale and even Zebulon and Wendell. Though I don't know much about Zebulon/Wendell...I can say that I've heard some bad things about Knightdale along 64 Business, near Wake Med and a little east. Not terrible by any means, but I notice it a tad just by driving through. My brother actually lives about 10-15 mins down Smithfield Rd (actually in Clayton, NC in Riverwood subdivision) which is your next exit west of 540 off 264...and I love that area...but it would be closer to a 35-45min ride to Rocky Mount.
I'm actually not sure about hotels in east Raleigh...and I've been here for about 6 years. That's sad. But anyway, my in-laws will normally stay in the new Hilton Garden Inn at the intersection of Capital and 540...across from Triangle Town Center. It seems nice and new. The entrance to 540 is right there and you hit the east Raleigh area in only 5 minutes.
I am sure to continue posting on this board. What a great way to get information! I will keep up the search in those areas keeping in mind what information I have taken. You all are so nice to me (a newcomer) who knows nothing about the area I am about to make my home.
Just a quick question about Knightdale and Zebulon...What bad things have you heard about them? Is there a lot of crime there?
I also have another question. Is the cost of living in North Carolina fair? I know here in Montana it can be hard to find a suitable apartment/rental for less than about 600-800$ not including your utilities. Also necessary items are much more expensive so saying you made 21.00-24.00/hr, you might as well be making 15.00/hr. Not to say that Montana is a horrible place to live, I love it here. The job market is just not as big obviously due to population.
I have been searching around on Rent.com to get an idea of what we are going to have to pay. I can certainly say that it seems like NC is a lot friendlier to those who have to rent. Some very nice apartments in both Knightdale and Zebulon (that I could see from the pictures).
How long is the wait for residency to become a NC resident?
I live in Raleigh 1.5 miles from Knightdale. I spend lots of time there as my daughter takes piano lessons there, many of our friends live there, I do most of my shopping there. I hve lived in my current home since 2000. Before that I lived 2 miles here in NE Raleigh back when it was mostly farmland and a few small subdivisions.
i have also lived in other areas of Raleigh, Cameron Village, North Raleigh and West Raleigh. This area is no different than any other area I have lived in Raleigh in terms of safety. There are lots of threads on here that answer your questions about the area. As you get closer to town on New Bern Ave it has traditionally been where more of the crime occurred but only in pockets. This area has many nice features and is a great location. Many ppl don't realize this until they come here and commute. Come ck it out
I actually ended up calling one of the apartment complexes I was looking at and the nice lady I talked to there said they were right near the Target, Lowes, and Walmart.
She also said that it is a smaller community (which would be good for me) since the biggest town I live near up here has about 50 people in it. I have heard that the people in this area are also very close knit.
Just a quick question about Knightdale and Zebulon...What bad things have you heard about them? Is there a lot of crime there?
Somewhere on these boards, people have occasionally posted a "crime map" that shows police calls for various types of incidents. As far as those towns, until this past decade, they were small "country towns" such as cover the state, but with Raleigh growing and sprawling so much, they are becoming more "urban" (relatively) due to proximity to the city and lots of out-of-staters moving in, which will "de-ruralize" the culture somewhat. Still, they are definitely "outside the city", make no mistake.
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I also have another question. Is the cost of living in North Carolina fair?
Is there really such a thing as a "fair" cost of living? Usually it's spoken of in relative terms, like the cost of living in place A vs place B. People from "expensive" areas think it's dirt cheap here, but people from some other places think it's expensive. There are "cost of living calculators" on the web where you can compare Montana to this area and see. The Triangle is indeed among the more expensive areas in NC, due to its amenities and exploding population (supply and demand), and I understand there are a lot of "hidden costs" that aren't apparent at first, but I've never lived anywhere else so I can't compare.
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How long is the wait for residency to become a NC resident?
Well, you're an NC Resident as soon as you move here But I suspect you were talking in terms of in-state tuition at the colleges. Minimum is one year, but even after that, sometimes they may be fickle and make you jump through hoops. Moving here due to your husband's job will help; mostly the process attempts to weed out the folks who moved here JUST to go to school and are likely to leave the state when they finish. The more you can "entrench" yourself into wherever you land, the better (register to vote, get library cards, etc.).
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), etc. Go about 5 more miles, and you'll hit Triangle Town Center and all of those stores...20 more miles, and you'll hit RDU Airport. 
