London UK vs. Raleigh North Carolina (Durham, Cary: credit, buying a house, transfer to)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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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!
Would this be a short-term (i.e. few years) or permanent assignment? If short-term, I'd say it's a no-brainer...move to NC for a while and experience life in a different country. We moved to Sydney from NC for a few years when I was 6 and it was a fantastic experience for me and our family.
Now, if it is long-term, then you have a much bigger decision facing you.
Your life now finds you in what sounds like an exclusive enclave of one of the world's most exclusive and diverse cities. Cost of living is prohibitively high in London, but if you're already in a larger home in inner London and with a child in private school then the COL is probably not a huge issue for you. From London, you are also one flight away from most of the world.
In the Raleigh area, you will almost certainly be able to afford a grand home at a price that will seem quite reasonable to you. You will have to drive EVERYWHERE. Public schools are generally good, but if your standards are a private school in an upscale area of central London, they might not be up to your standards. There are some good private schools in the area, too. The climate here will be much different...a bit colder in the winter but A LOT hotter in the summer. There are good cultural offerings for an area of 1.5 million people, but they will pale in comparison to what you have in London. There are good recreation/travel opportunities within a short drive of Raleigh...the beach (with very warm water in summer!!!--2 hours away), the mountains with fantastic hiking (3 hours), Washington DC (4 hours), Savannah (6 hours), Disney World (8 hours), etc...
The Raleigh-Durham area is, IMO, one of the best areas of the country to live and raise a family. However, in my opinion, if you are trying to escape a county that is going "down hill" as you suggest the UK is, I'm afraid you'll find much of the same going in here the States. I won't get into the politics of why in this forum, but I believe it is for many of the same reasons.
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
Well I moved here from manchester UK in 2004 and anytime I visit Manchester I'm glad to get back here ( Manchester UK is about 220 miles NW of you - Joke)
It depends what your long term plans are, if you can live here indefinitely then all well and good, if you have to go back you will need to maintain a house in UK because you won't make much, if anything, from buying a house here.
Here is the sub division where I live - most of the established houses are $350-450 , some new ones are around 600-700. I live in a semi rural are but only 12 minutes from downtown which is nice , there is a 400 acre lake just down the road Picasa Web Albums - Stephen - Enchanted Oak...
When I moved here it was $2 to 1 GBP, everything seemed very cheap , now I've lived here a while it doesn't seem AS cheap
There are some very good schools here, I believe, and if you are going private then you should be well covered. If you can be placed in good jobs before you get here then that would be useful 'cos jobs are still tight here
Culturally you wont have the same opportunities as London (obviously) but I love Downtown Raleigh , it has a metropolitan feel and plenty of bars, nice eateries, museums etc
I don't know exactly where you live in London but you could but a LOT bigger house here with land for about half your house price (prob less)
Quality of life is good here and slower
Food prices are cheaper than UK and better choice
Vehicles and gas are cheaper
Summers are VERY hot here, you have to be vigilant with critters, bugs etc
You have to pay for gas and electric all year around because when you are not heating your house, you are cooling it (except for couple of months)
Come and visit , there are a lot of Brits here in NC and raleigh - it's a bit like the UK was in the 60's
Feel free to DM me with any questions etc
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 wondered if anyone could offer me their thoughts on this - especially if you are also famliar with London!
Thanks
I guess your husband works for Duetsche Bank or Credit Suisse if you are currently working for an Investment Bank? I would consider a transfer to Frankfurt or Zurich before NC if in your position rather than the Triangle as you will find it culturally lacking compared to a major international city like London.
Whilst you will be able to live in an amazing house here for a fraction of the cost in London do not sell your house in London until you are absolutely certain this is the place for you. You will find the weather considerably better here than London, particularly in winter when there are at least blue skies even if the temperature maybe in the 40's rather than the grey damp skies in London for 7 months of the year. You will also enjoy that it is less crowded here and that the traffic runs fairly smoothly compared to London - but there is zero public transport worth bothering with. Driving everywhere is the only alternative here Feel free to DM me if you want further details
OK, I'll give you a little background on me first. I'm a native of NC. I did an M.Sc. at LSE and lived in central London during that time. I absolutely would have stayed in London if I could have. I have been there a lot and still have quite a few friends there. I also have several good American friends who attended St. Paul's School and have heard a lot about the education there.
If you choose to live in Central London now and have not gone suburban, then I doubt Raleigh is for you. I have friends who live a pretty suburban life out towards Heathrow, driving everywhere and rarely going into Central London. To them I'd say "sure, come out, you'd love it, you can get a huge house, the weather is fantastic." But if you have chosen to stay in Central London with a kid and with all that entails, I'm guessing that you really take advantage of the culture, the arts, the wonderful international aspect where you can meet people from anywhere, the public transport and the ability to walk to things you need. There is none of that in Raleigh.
I don't think the schools are on the level of British public schools for anything up to about GCSE level, even the private schools. After that the universities are as good or better, but they are not funded with anything like the grant programs available to students in the UK (even though I know those are less liberal than they used to be).
I'd also be nervous about the terms of the transfer, as Raleigh has already seen several investment banks transfer folks there only to lay them off (make them redundant) far from home.
If you can do it for a few years and for the experience of it, the you might enjoy it. But for the long-term, unless you are really looking for dramatic change I think I'd say no.
Why? Because there are some life decisions that you need to make only if you are 100 percent sure.
One is getting married. Anyone who asks, "Should I get married?" shouldn't.
I think the same is true about moving to another continent.
I think that you have a good life in London. I think that you would be bored to death here. It's fine here in Raleigh, but it is not a world capital. It is suburbiavillle.
You've been given some great advice here. I also second that if it's for a set period of time you'll live here, then go for it! However, if you are talking a permanent move, I'd hold onto the London house until you know for sure you want to make this permanent. Otherwise, with the slow rate of appreciation on homes here, if you sell up and move back to the UK, you will have lost money not just with $ to pound conversion but buying a new home with London prices a yr or so from now.
Schools, for private you should look into St. Timothy's in North Raleigh - it's like an Anglican school. And for a middle school, age 11+, Cary Academy Cary Academy
I really don't think you will like the govt schools here. Our system is www.wcpss.net if you want to research it. Don't forget, "public" here means govt rather than "private" in the UK.
Consider also the immigration issue you'll face here. If you will be on a work visa, there is no guarantee you'll be granted a Green Card - another reason not to sell your London home.
Be prepared for lots of driving, everywhere! It doesn't have heavy London type traffic, but people don't follow the rules of the road so you have to get used to some crazy driving. Raleigh is a lovely place to live. It has lots to offer, and is a very safe place to raise a family. You'll be amazed at the open expanses of land, and all the trees. It's not really like a typical city, more like a large sophisticated town. I love the locals! They are curious about Britain and so are very open to us.
I know how things have changed over there. It's not happened here, yet.
If the discuss was between, moving from London to New York, Chicago, San Francisco or Boston, or even Pittsburgh, then I would say you have a somewhat easy choice to make. London vs Raleigh is like the difference between Mars and Pluto (after being downgraded from planet status).
Fly in for a couple of days, the differences will be readily apparent, so much so, you shouldn't have much problem making up your mind.
PS - By UK standards, Raleigh is a long ways from anywhere else.
...We both have good jobs in London working in IT for an Investment Bank...
Most of the responses to this post have emphasized the cultural aspects of this potential move; but as a veteran of Tech business, I would suggest that in such a situation, a more important aspect of the decision might be the stability and potential of Raleigh's "IT market". I would respectfully suggest that you do a detailed analysis of the area's technical business environment before making a decision.
You've been given some great advice here. I also second that if it's for a set period of time you'll live here, then go for it! However, if you are talking a permanent move, I'd hold onto the London house until you know for sure you want to make this permanent. Otherwise, with the slow rate of appreciation on homes here, if you sell up and move back to the UK, you will have lost money not just with $ to pound conversion but buying a new home with London prices a yr or so from now.
Schools, for private you should look into St. Timothy's in North Raleigh - it's like an Anglican school. And for a middle school, age 11+, Cary Academy Cary Academy
I really don't think you will like the govt schools here. Our system is www.wcpss.net if you want to research it. Don't forget, "public" here means govt rather than "private" in the UK.
Consider also the immigration issue you'll face here. If you will be on a work visa, there is no guarantee you'll be granted a Green Card - another reason not to sell your London home.
Be prepared for lots of driving, everywhere! It doesn't have heavy London type traffic, but people don't follow the rules of the road so you have to get used to some crazy driving. Raleigh is a lovely place to live. It has lots to offer, and is a very safe place to raise a family. You'll be amazed at the open expanses of land, and all the trees. It's not really like a typical city, more like a large sophisticated town. I love the locals! They are curious about Britain and so are very open to us.
I know how things have changed over there. It's not happened here, yet.
Where abouts in M/c are you from?
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