I moved out of Upstate NY to Raleigh about 18 months ago - best move I ever made.
Raleigh is the biggest small town around. Bigger than Pittsburgh, but without all the big town amenities - for now. It has a very nice small town family feel
Taxes - 8% top rate on income. Real Easte taxes are 1/3 of Rochester NY (NICE!)
Weather - Beeoootiful for most of hte year. Mild winters. Perfect Spring and Fall. July can be nasty. Hot and humid. But I like it that way.
Schools - Wake County is great. Durham sucks.
Sports - College basketball heaven. Football is great. Baseball too. Home to the Stanley Cup !!! (I went to the playoffs and hold a mini-game plan) Nothing like it!
Quality of life - Outstanding.
Restuarants - at first I did not think we had much. I was wrong. We have some world class faire. BUT - forget pizza and goof bread. Something about the south - the water messes with the bread.
I love it here. Never living in the snow belt again. Charlotte is also nice - but to big for me. I don't like that kind of traffic. Wilmington is very nice too - but you can get a hurricane...
Schools may not be great in Durham, but have you checked out the restaurants? BTW, my favorite in Raleigh is Michael Dean's... excellent meals and service every time.
I love it here. Never living in the snow belt again. Charlotte is also nice - but to big for me. I don't like that kind of traffic. Wilmington is very nice too - but you can get a hurricane... [/B]
You can get a hurricane in Raleigh too I was in college btw '92-'97, and one of the hurricanes came straight up the Cape Fear river..., it was still a Category 1 by the time it got to Raleigh... boy that was a fun night. There were all these idiots running around outside in the roads, completely hammered... cars got washed into creeks, trees everywhere. We broke out candles and about 4 cases of brew and rode it out... didn't have power for 4 days.
Sorry about the late addition to this thread.
My Wife and kids and I are looking to relocate in the next 6mo-1yr. We have been looking seriously at the Cary/Apex areas. We are going to visit there in the next couple of months. Can anyone share anything about those areas?
Thanks in advance!
-H
I lived for 16 years in the Reno/Tahoe area and thought it was paradise on earth, especially if you are into hiking like I am. But in the mid 90s crime got really bad and I left for the East. Although I don't presently live in NC I spent a few summers there and will probablyy move there permanently in the next few years. There is no prettier place in the eastern U.S. than the Boone/Banner Elk area aka the High Country. Anywhere along the Blue Ridge Parkway is special. Hiking-wise you can't beat the Asheville area since it's surrounded by national forests and a National Park.
I was in college btw '92-'97, and one of the hurricanes came straight up the Cape Fear river..., it was still a Category 1 by the time it got to Raleigh... boy that was a fun night. There were all these idiots running around outside in the roads, completely hammered... cars got washed into creeks, trees everywhere. We broke out candles and about 4 cases of brew and rode it out... didn't have power for 4 days.
