Quote:
Originally Posted by janinetw
My husband has asked if he wants to transfer to North Carolina. We both have good jobs in London working in IT for an Investment Bank. We live in a realtively large house in inner London and our daughter (6 years old) goes to a good private school.
I like the idea of all the space in North Carolina but am worried about what I would be giving up here and if North Carolina could match it. I hear the education is meant to be good there but am not so sure about the housing quality of life etc. And mostly I am worried about uprooting my daughterand also from my perspectigve that after living in central London for 20 years that I will find Raleigh a bit quiet.
On the other hand my husband and I often think that the UK is going down hill and think about leaving.
I wondered if anyone could offer me their thoughts on this - especially if you are also famliar with London!
Thanks
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I moved from London a few years ago and so, like a few others who have already replied with some good info, I can perhaps give you a "Londoner's" view on things and from what we experienced after we moved here.
Much will depend on the folowing:
1. What your motivations are for moving.
2. How do you regard your UK/London life.
3. How long will your move be for.
It depends on how much you like your life in London and if you regard it as your home and roots, etc. and have established friends and family.
If you can afford to, I would recommend you do what we did, which is to keep your London home and let it out and then rent a home over here.
If you have some extra rent after paying any mortgage/costs, you can use that to pay towards your rent here.
This way, if it doesn't work out here, you can return within a year and not have to face the task of buying a home and the buying costs, etc.
The rental agents here are not geared around tenants, so you will find you have to spend a lot of time ringing around and chasing people, unless you have someone to help you with this at the company where you are moving to.
The agent's websites have no registration system for tenants.
At the top end of the home market, there is a lot of choice and you get a lot of house the higher the rent you go, as well as more niceties and luxury touches.
This is partly due to the economic climate where some home owners have been unable to sell their home, so they offer them for rent.
Plus: You get a nicer, not-made-for-rental-house and perhaps, not rented out before.
Minus: the landlord is likely to be a reluctant landlord and may not have measures in place to deal with maintenance and other things that can arise.
You need to check this aspect and where the landlord lives too so they can easily visit you to deal with or supervise things.
At the bottom of the market, there is very little choice and we have seen mostly grotty/unkempt homes that private landlords present to you with perplexing enthusiasm since many have not been lived in for many months or more (typically) and many have not been updated since late 70's or early 80's, and which feature all sad and bad design ideas.
You may not be looking in this area, but there are lots of apartment complexes here (purpose built flats only for rent, mostly on one level, but there are also townhouses too) and who are always screaming out for tenants.
The biggest you will find are 3 bedroom apartments, around 1400/1500 sq ft.
Be warned that all these advertise themselves as "communities", but few can be described that way with even the wildest imagination.
Also, as tenants, no-one living there has any vested interest in anything, so most have varying degrees of problems, some quite serious.
You may not have experienced a living environment where everyone is renting, which is a foregin concept to most Brits, except for those who grew up or who come direcly from Council Estates.
Pluses for us.
Most homes have at least a good/average level of surrounding greenness around them, trees, bushes, grass, unless its a brand new development, of which there are dozens.
Generally, homes will have a bathroom for each bedroom and built in closets (wardrobes).
You will get more space for your money than you expect, but that is a result of the size of the city and its population and of the state of the economy.
Less crowded environment, less traffic, easy commute to work (I would guess its around 30 minutes for most people and it can be much less - mine is about 15 mins)
Driving around is generally easy (apart from the behavior of others), parking is almost all free and plentiful.
The roads here are pretty good and getting around the towns are fine, but there are lots of potholes in Raleigh that the city takes ages to fill them.
I'm in America!
This excitement has not left me yet and since I couldn't wait to leave the UK, I am delighted to live here, even with all the negs.
The attitude of American people is generally more refreshing and positive than in the UK and many things are easier and less hassle here.
There is no evident class distinction and people are not generally stuck up about status or where they live/car they own.
The workplace environment is usually much more relaxed and not stuffy like the UK.
No suits/ties or dress code here, unless its specified (mostly is smart/casual).
You will find lots of choice in shopping for almost everything and the availability here is quite good.
Shopping hours are long enough to cope with almost anyone's work schedule.
Almost all but the $1 stores shops and all restaurants have proper bathrooms (toilets not baths) that are generally clean, have soap and hot water.
Yes, this is not common in the UK as most Brits know!
TV can be better here than the UK.
You can also setup a slingbox in your UK home before you go, so you can watch your favorite UK TV progs via the web.
A dual tuner cable/satellite box is best, so you can change channels etc., independent of what the tenant in your home is doing/watching.
Minuses/Caveats
The laid-back/easy going nature of the locals can sometimes be quite annoying and shocking when its do to with important stuff and what you think someone should not be laid back about.
They won't be told that its not OK for them to be that way.
Cost of living.
For us, our overall cost if living is higher than in the UK.
Distances between things.
If you have not been to the US before or to a low population area in the US, you may not know, understand or appreciate the large distances that are often between things here, like shops, spaces between buildings and various amenities.
Living in London, you often have lots of things within a short walking distance and you don't need to drive very much unless you choose to.
Once you are away from the city limits of the Triangle towns and for Raleigh, outside the 1-540 (which is the equivalent of the M25 but it doesn't go all the way around, yet), distances to all kinds of places/facilities increases markedly.
This can have a big effect on your lifestyle choices and the time you have available for all sorts of things.
Because of the above, you won't see many people walking around, which I kind of miss.
But to be honest, during late Spring and the Summer, its best not to be out and about here as the weather here is hot and roasting.
Thank goodness for AC at home, which is not a feature in the UK but should be now.
You need to drive everywhere here and you will have to make a conscious decision to go for a walk or join a health club. You are likely to put on weight if not.
There is no public transport here, save for pathetic and unreliable twice (?) an hour and very limited bus service in Raleigh.
(The universities have their own free bus services in and around the campuses).
Culture, etc.
Raleigh is quite a small city and so it does not have a big city feel or have the facilities/attractions etc, that you might like or take for granted in London.
There is a small section in the downtown area that "could" be described as having "big city or urban" feel, but you could probably walk around it in around 45 minutes.
There are no stand out things in the Triangle, save for the Universities and RTP, which is like an island in itself and is devoid of anything outside of work.
You will most likely work in RTP with your backgrounds.
Culture and entertainment here are mainly local/regional with a few things being what you might know from the UK or have a name that is internationally recognised.
Many people here haven't had the exposure to a variety of culture/music that you may have had in London as many people have never left the city or state, never mind the country, so keep that in mind when talking to them.
Driving.
People's driving habits here leave a lot to be desired and you
will be shocked by what you see
and you
will find yourself saying something like "I don't believe what I just saw!
Driving is London is often stressful and people are aggressive and very territorial, but here they are often dangerous, reckless and very selfish.
Utilities are high here.
Expect to pay upwards of $150 per month for electric in a small house and say $75 for gas if you have it. Minimum of $250/month for electric for 2500 sq ft home and up.
Internet, TV and cell phones/service are all much higher here than the UK, thanks to monopolies, a lack of choice and bad legislation.
I used to think that the USA was ahead of everyone else and often they are in some areas, but for cellphones and internet, they are surprisingly behind the UK and Europe.
Oh yes, and you have to pay to receive calls on your cellphone.
But since the charging model is to share the overall cost between parties, making calls on cellphones is cheaper than the UK, outside of calling plans.
The big cellphone services require you to agree to a 2-year agreement.
I would not do that as its a very bad deal.
I would recommend a non-contract service, of which there are several with lots of plan options, depending on your usage levels, which will change after you've been here a while.
Cheapest I have found is Tracfone and net10.
I would also recommend magicjack for your home phone (works from your USB port of your computer and broadband connection).
$20 per year and no phone bill ever! (currently free calls only in the USA, Canada and you can take it overseas and make free calls back to USA and receive calls as if you were in the USA).
Good food is quite expensive here, especially fruit and vegetables.
Portions are normally bigger than the UK but you probably know that.
TV here has lots of ads and you will soon tire of them.
With the DVR box, you can minimize this pain, especially if you record everything.
You
will work harder in your USA jobs than in UK jobs.
If you lose your jobs, you're going to have a tough time finding new ones.
You may have to relocate to another city or more likely, another state - be prepared for that.
$150K a year easily buys you a lot of time (depending what you do with that money of course) so if you are laid off, you shouldn't have need to panic straightaway.
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OP, we actually have some great restaurants in the USA. 
