Narrowed down Raleigh NC or Charleston SC any thoughts? (Cary: home, good schools) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

roterjo · 03-03-2010, 04:22 PM

Good Afternoon,

I will try to sum up what I am looking for as best I can. I have searched the past year on the forums to narrow down where to move. We have a major plus & major negative - we can move anywhere! My husband works from home and has for the last 4 years. We are in Atlanta and want to move closer to the beach. We have a 21 month old & a 4 year old.
Here is what we are looking for(who isn't right?)
1 good schools
2 close to an airport (45 minutes or so)
3 not as long summer season - Atlanta is hot & humid from May - Sept
4 near the beach
5 decent cost of living
6 sense of community

I have no idea how you gage levels of humidity. Atlanta is hot and humid but people say Florida is worse. I have been to the Panhandle & to Charleston they both seemed hot & sticky in May. I want a place that maybe the humidity doesn’t start until June to August so going from 5 months of it to 3 months.

In the running is lots of places with Raleigh & Charleston being the top 2. Raleigh has everything on the list but not close to the beach. We are trying to figure out if driving 2 or so hours to the beach will be enough. We are 5 hours away now. The appeal to Raleigh would be more of the 4 seasons and less of a long hot & humid summer. Am I correct in the summers being shorter and not as hot & humid? We are thinking of Cary or Apex. Charleston is such a neat place. We have been 3 or 4 times and love it. But it’s major drawback is the heat. If you went to the beach is it truly a bit cooler or is there no escaping the heat in the summer? From what I have read here the place to look at for schools is Mt. Pleasant.

The other options are Jacksonville Fl which we really don’t know much about but we are not sold on the idea of living in Florida. We briefly looked at Wilmington NC but were turned off by what I read about it. We also looked at Outerbanks & VA but it is quite a bit more expensive there. We are remotely considering Houston. It has a great cost of living but it is so stinking hot there! People from Texas love living there. Honestly we are open to change & the main reason we want to leave Atlanta is after 10 years here we still feel like we are not connected with anyone. For some reason Atlanta is a city of people that are too busy to be social! We would like somewhere we can get connected and actually have our children hang out with our friends kids. I hope this all makes sense. I am not sure if anyone else has been looking for these same things but if you have I would appreciate any feedback and direction.

Warmly,
Terri
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PS I also posted this in the Charleston forum to get both sides.

samdan · 03-03-2010, 04:52 PM

I'm sure you will have plenty of comments,however I will comment on one of your desires.Climate.You will have a winter here.Too much of a winter for my taste,but if your looking for a little snow,cold temps,and a complete shutdown of the area when the first occurs this is the place for you..Although summer is indeed hot,and in the few years I've been here,not much rain.The weather here IMO is just slightly different from long island NY.Winters are a tad colder and last a bit longer and summers a tad hotter,but with a lot less rain.Since we sit in the middle of the country the temps have a hard time deciding what they want to do.Does it want to be the south or will it be more like the north is the norm.
I would chose charlston based on that and proximity to the shore.3 hours to the beach is a stretch,despite those that would argure it's sooooo convenient.

samdan · 03-03-2010, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samdan

I'm sure you will have plenty of comments,however I will comment on one of your desires.Climate.You will have a winter here.Too much of a winter for my taste,but if your looking for a little snow,cold temps,and a complete shutdown of the area when the first occurs this is the place for you..Although summer is indeed hot,and in the few years I've been here,not much rain.The weather here IMO is just slightly different from long island NY.Winters are a tad colder and last a bit longer and summers a tad hotter,but with a lot less rain.Since we sit in the middle of the country the temps have a hard time deciding what they want to do.Does it want to be the south or will it be more like the north is the norm.
I would chose charlston based on that and proximity to the shore.3 hours to the beach is a stretch,despite those that would argure it's sooooo convenient.

Please forgive the spelling I'm not able to edit for some reason,I meant to say Long island is a tad colder,and longer in duration and NC is a bit warmer,with a shorter winter but a winter none the less.

samdan · 03-03-2010, 04:58 PM

I also have friends in Jax. fl and if I were not moving back to the southwest that is where I would go.

lovebrentwood · 03-03-2010, 05:12 PM

I would move to Charleston, SC, no question about it.

People vacation in Charleston. People don't vacation in the Triangle; they visit, but they don't vacation.

nipsip · 03-03-2010, 05:20 PM

Raleigh is not close to the beach, Charleston is.

As far as the hot, humid summers go, you are better off near the water where the land temp is a function of the water temp rather than inland, like Raleigh where you will have similar summers to Atlanta.

Winters are warmer in Charleston than Atlanta, which has warmer winters than Raleigh.

kornfed · 03-03-2010, 05:29 PM

I like the heat and humidity in Charleston more. Winters are far better there. Hurricanes are much worse there.

kornfed · 03-03-2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

I would move to Charleston, SC, no question about it.

That would seem silly for you. You say you hate the heat and humidity. It is far greater there. Now I would like it.

jnr4411 · 03-03-2010, 05:36 PM

I just moved to the Raleigh area about 6 months ago, and the thing that suprised me most was that most of my neighbors are from "up north". Most are very nice, but don't have that "southern hospitality" thing going. I didn't think NC would be very different from TN, but I was so wrong. I only mention it because you said something about making connections w/ people. It's been harder than I thought it would be...and nobody says "yall". ha ha!

roterjo · 03-03-2010, 06:12 PM

Oh my I cannot thank you enough, all of you for your time and responses. My husband is from Edmonton Alberta which is cold and snowy. I am from Vancouver which is wet & rainy. We have been in Atlanta for 10 years and prefer the sun & humidity far more than the grey overcast & rain. We want to move somewhere that is smaller with less sprawl & traffic than Atlanta has. The traffic doesn’t bother us but all the people we meet as soon as they move out of the 15 minute range of you they won’t drive to come see you. I get that if you have been in the car all day you don’t want to drive on the w/e. This is why we are seeking a smaller city size. All of our family lives in Canada and we want to feel like we have made real friendships with people as opposed to spending 10 years in Atlanta with always starting over with people. I joke with my husband and say is it us? I don’t think it is but maybe I just don’t get the hint!

Growing up with the mountains and the coast I really desire to be close to the beach which really does make Charleston seem like an ideal fit plus the amount of character and beauty it has. We are planning a trip in April or May to either place to narrow it down. Thank you for all your help and opinions. I can handle the heat and humidity I do not mind getting sticky and sweaty. My first summer here 10 years ago I changed 3 or 4 times a day. Then I discovered once you are hot and sticky you don’t get stickier you just stay sticky.

Thanks
Terri