Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

DH and I plan on going down to NC within the next couple months to see if we like it enough to move there in a year or 2. We would like to be in an area similar to long island, not in the middle of no where or where the houses are REALLY far apart. Also would like an area that is tolerant of all backgrounds.

I've heard positive and negative things about the Raleigh and Charlotte areas. We'd need to find jobs wherever we go (that's why I was thinking outside of Raleigh- b/c Research Triangle Park wouldn't be far).

Any guidance would be much appreciated!! TY so much!

ETA: I've done many searches about this, including on LIF, but wanted more feedback

Also we're concerned about the quality of the public schools- I've heard most ppl have to pay for private school....

Message edited 7/28/2006 9:37:53 AM.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My brother and SIL just moved to New Bern and I think it is pretty diverse and nice and has different types of communities with houses closer and farther apart. I think they are moving to an area called Tiburna and it seems to be suburban but they also bought property in Carolina Colours and I think that is more spread out with houses on a golf course.


I know they got a really nice 3 bedroom house brand new for 205K

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Janice just moved down there. You should FM her. I can't remember which part she's in.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Have you looked into Wilmington? That's the only place I visited when I went to NC and found it was a lot like LI...with beaches, neighborhoods, etc. There's quite a bit of NYers down there.

Unfortunately I know nothing about the schools or job situation down there.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Denise I don't want you to go to NC.

But...I have a friend that moved down there - loves it - and just bought her second home. I'll see if I can find out where they live and get you some info.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

I also heard Wilmington is beautiful but in terms of jobs I don't think there is a big job market like you would get in Raleigh.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My brother & SIL have been living in Raleigh for 8 years. They love it! They are outside the city - near NC State and the arena where the Hurricanes play. They are constantly trying to get us to mave back down (we lived near Chapel Hill for a couple of years a while ago.) If I was to move back, I think I would like that area more then Charlotte. I have heard great things about Charlotte too- I was there once (for about 6 hours, so it really doesn't count for much) but I just liked the atmosphere in Raleigh better.

My best friend also lives just outside Raleigh in Morrisville and seems to really like it. She's in a newer development and there are lots of new, young families moving in there, so i think she likes that about it.

As far as schools, I'm really not certain. My brother works in a Catholic HS there and says my neice will go there when she gets to that point.

If you have any other questions - let me know. I'll try to help if I can.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My sister lives in Durham and my BIL used to work at the Research Triangle. They like it alot - I like their neighborhood - its close to civilization:) and the people are nice. I don't know about the schools, but I'm pretty sure the high school is good - they plan to send my nephew there eventually so I hope so. If you have specific questions about it -let me know and I'll ask her - I'm going there in 2 weeks. The houses are nice and its definitely a neighborhood feel.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

One of my friends (Jnico) just moved down to Winston-Salem and so far she loves it down there. Another friend lived in Cary. I know that that is also supposed to be a great place to live, and it's within the research triangle.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

TY all so much for the help!

We're really nervous about it and if we do move it will be SOOO hard, but it would be great for our daily lives (stress, finances, etc.).

Does anyone have a really great person we can contact to check out houses, areas, etc.? We have one from my other friend, but it wouldn't hurt to meet with more than person to get a good feel. I've heard good things about Wilmington and places close to the water, too, but we'd rather not be right on the coast, more inland would be good.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Hi, I just moved to Charlotte. The area is still very new to us, but I like it. We are looking to buy a home for 140,000-we will have the smallest home in the neighborhood we want. DH will only have a 8 mile commute to work, all highway.

If I had a 5 year old, we would probably opt for Catholic school. I went to Catholic school myself, so I am kind of for it anyway. I am pregnant now, so I can worry about school systems, or I can just wait till the time comes and deal with it then.

Outside charlotte, there are different areas. North is concord and kannapolis, very rural. We are looking to stay closer to the city. Lake Wylie, Matthews is south. both nice areas, just would be a longer commute for DH.

DH had no problem looking for a job. He is in restaurant management though, that is why we picked charlotte, tons of restaurants here. I was an admin assist in NY. I was offered at least 5 jobs the first week here. It is the 2nd largest banking headquarters, #1 is NY.

We like the diversity. Hardly anyone is from Charlotte. A lot of northerns. There is a lot of everyone here. There is a church on almost every corner, they love their religion down here. Some houses we drive by (in south park) look like the fresh prince's home, then 5 minutes down the road it is a completely different scene. Just like any area.

We came down because we weren't current homeowners. a boom hasn't hit here. Maybe it will come, maybe it won't, but atleast we are building equity. It has already shown to be a better quality of life. DH's commute is going to be so short. Our car insurance is 69.00 a month, full coverage on a 2006. Everyone is soooooooo friendly and helpful. I can't get over how nice they are. Everyone really wants you to do well.

From my dr. office, to meeting a lady in the mall who referred DH to a great headhunter. That occured at 8 pm one night, the next morning DH called headhunter, and she said "oh hi Leo, I was waiting for your call" we were shocked.

I am so proud to be living there. I really have taken to it well. The first week was overwhelming, but once everything was in order it was great.

If your price range for a house is larger then mine, which it probably is South Park and Ballentyne are GREAT areas. Since DH is working north of the city, it would be out of the way for us. But we like in south park now and LOVE it.
If you want to do a home search, our zip is 28211. go to buyersselect.com

Cary, NC is also a great town. really nice. I am not sure what the job situation is there, but it is beautiful.

We recently drove out to Asheville as well. Soooooo nice out there. really nice. More expensive then what we are looking for, but it is basically the west village of NC. Surrounded by mountains, all these coffee shops, great restaurants, and local artist galleries.

We went to Wilmington last week. Very nice city. We only saw touristy parts.

lots of luck to you!!
also here are some pics:
This is the intersection of our apt. complex, that is the grocery store


here are some pics of the uptown area:


also wanted to add that if you enjoy sporting events, they have a ton of teams right here. It is affordable, not like trying to score Knicks tickets.

wow, sorry so long.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Oh Janice just reminded me - my friend is in Cary and when Rich and I were playing with the idea of moving we started looking here.

One other thing - TIAA-CREF is in Charlotte and Dre's work experience might make for some interest there. He should check out the website.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My ILs own a second home in Southport, NC. It's about 20 minutes away from Wilmington. It's beautiful down there. We've met a lot of NYers who have moved there and bought/built brand new beautiful houses for not that much $$. Wilmington as a city is really fun, there are some businesses there, but not nearly as much as Raleigh or Charlotte.

A friend of mine lives in Charlotte now and loves it, and she was a hardcore New Yorker.

Good luck!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

OMG- TY so much, Janice!
Totally not too long! I appreciate all the info! It's such a hard decision for us, we need all the help we can get!

I will research the areas everyone suggested! By all means, if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Posted by BMonster
It's such a hard decision for us, we need all the help we can get!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Hi! I just moved down to Winston-Salem two weeks ago. It was an easy decision for us to leave NY because the only reason we were there was for my parents. I miss them greatly and feel horrible that they are so far from their only grandson, but the positives of living here far outweigh those negatives. I absolutely love it here. Everything is so relaxed and the area we live in is very pretty. We have stores right down the road like we did on Long Island. As a matter of fact I lived right around the block from Walgreens on Long Island and I have one right around the block here. The largest mall in N.C. is 10 minutes away and all the same stores such as Lowes, Home Depot, Target, etc. are all here. The area is very pretty. Wake Forest University is only minutes from here which is a beautiful campus. The people that live in the area are very diversified, which I really like. And everyone is so friendly and nice. My Bil lives in Greensboro which is about 45 minutes from here, if you are looking for more of a city. And my FIL lives 20 minutes away in Kernersville which is more rural. My dh eventually wants to move to Charolette, but I would be perfectly happy staying here. Good luck with your decision. Feel free to FM me if you need any help. I only just moved here so I don't know a lot of people or places yet, but I will help in any way I can.

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Thank you all so much!! All of you are so wonderful and so helpful, it makes me want to cry!

Hopefully we can start coming up with a game plan now! TY!!!!!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My SIL moved to Raleigh 7 months ago, and said it was the best thing they could have done. My nephew will be going to a brand new school in the fall. My best friend moved there in June and loves it too. HTH

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

My DH and I live in Durham, NC. We've lived in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville and the Charlotte area. I would not recommend Durham. I hate it here. Besides being robbed, we only moved here for temporary reasons. I highly recommend the Cary and Apex area. The school district in Apex is one of the best in the Southeast. That's where we plan on moving back ASAP so my son can go to a good district. North Raleigh is nice as well, but they keep redistricting the schools, so the kids keep having to go to different schools. Cary is really nice too. Well, the Northeast Cary area near Morrisville. Cary/Apex and Morrisville are near the RTP which is where A LOT of people work. There are so many companies there. The school district in Durham is horrible. There may be 1 or 2 good schools, but overall, it su@ks! We love it here. We have absolutely no plans on moving back to LI. It's too crowded and filthy and way too expensive to live. We've been here 7 years now. The Charlotte area is ok. I definitely prefer the Raleigh area much, much more. I don't really have much to say about Charlotte, I just didn't care for it I guess. Anyway, I think that when you first leave LI it's hard, but when you do and then go back to visit NY, you'll see immediately why you left! And you won't regret anything. As soon as we get close to NY we're so grateful for where we live. Good luck and if you have any questions let me know!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

I've heard good things about Cary, NC. It's outside of Raleigh, and I've heard it's a "Mini-LI"

Good luck!

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Re: Need some help with areas of NC PLEASE....

Raleigh and Cary


I have a couple of NC Re agents sending me stuff. I would move down there in a heart beat if John said the word. Maybe when you get a mansion, we can visit you and he would see how great NC is.

Good Luck Denise - hopefully we will be right behind you!