Posted on 01/29/2008 5:07:49 AM PST by LuLuLuLu
We're 80% sure that Mr. LuLu will be transferred to NC within the next 6 months, so I'm looking for all the information I can find.
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A few more things you might want to know before you move down here.
1. Johnston County has the only good school system in the Triangle area. (very important if you have kids or pay taxes)
2. NASCAR is your favorite sport. Dale Jr. is your favorite driver. You hate Tony Stewart.
3. NC State is your favorite basketball team. (this will keep you out of trouble with the UNC and Duke fans)
4. You love SEC football (never mention OSU or the Big 10. It’s to protect your own ego)
5. Stick with one helping of BBQ and enjoy. (anymore will ruin the rest of your day and/or night)
6. You can be a fan of any professional sports teams. Nobody cares, although the Hurricanes are growing in popularity.
7. If you think your a good golfer, keep your money at home.
8. Never mention Ohio’s role in the Civil War.
If you’re looking for a few acres in the country, look in the online real estate guides for listings in Spring Hope, Zebulon, Wendell, Clayton, Garner, Louisburg, and maybe Bunn. Look east and south of the city; north and west is all built up for the most part, and even in the rural areas to the north and west prices are up.
Oh... and when people around here talk about barbecue, they mean slow-roasted and shredded pig meat marinated in vinegar and red pepper. It’s a taste that can be acquired... I like it okay... but it’s not for everyone.
Grab an apartment or rent a house around the Cary/Apex area for 6 months to a year and take the time to explore and ask a lot of questions. Both Cary and Apex are an easy commute to RTP and they are relatively central to where you’ll eventually end up wanting to live.
back home ping
Well, I don’t know where you are eating your Q, but I have NEVER seen Q swimming in anything resembling a sauce east of Greensboro. I have eaten Q all over the eastern part of the state (wife is from Wilson County and MIL lives in Johnston) for well over 30 years and not once have I seen anyone douse their Q with sauce.
Lived in Charlotte for a while and couldn’t find decent Q. Everything was served in one of those paper rectangular “bowls” with the meat covered in sauce. I tried to eat Q in Asheville once (WCU grad, so I have spent many years in the mountains as well) and it was served the same way.
I will grant you that most Q east of the Triad is cooked over gas and most joints in the piedmont are wood fired joints, with exceptions in both areas. But sauce is like a four letter word in eastern Q joints.
Well bless your hearts!
I know there are many, many more pressing issues that need the bandwidth, so I will Freepmail those who replied.
Thank you all so much! I knew I could count on this motley crew. :)
Not a bad house. And only 300K!!!
Here in Arlington, VA, you can get maybe a one-bedroom condo for that, even in today’s depressed housing market (which hasn’t affected close-in Arlington much at all, by the way).
I was born and grew up in the Triad area of NC. Kinda thinking about retiring and going back. Fortunately, NC doesn’t tax federal retiree pensions!
I’m fairly new to NC having married into the state.
My stepchildren live in Apex, husband used to work in the Triangle until his company pulled out of the US.
The joke about Cary is “Containment Area for Transplanted Yankees” - that tells you how many out of state have moved into the Raleigh area.
In my opinion, the area is too much of everything - too much traffic, too much construction, housing is too expensive, too many liberals. Apex and Cary are wall to wall housing subdivisions and strip malls.
We live in the country between Greensboro and Durham. Husband and several other like minded souls share an apartment when they have to be in the area (sometimes the entire week), he works from home as much as possible and commutes the rest of the time.
Believe it or not the commute from the country is not in longer in time than the commute from most subdivisions - the traffic thing.
The good things - easy access to the ocean, lots of sports and other entertainment, lots of cultural options, wonderful native people, good food, lots of options if you are into gardening - NC grows things for the rest of the gardening world.
My stepkids go to Wade county public schools. All I can say is I agree with what other posters have to say on the system. Cary and Apex are insular yuppy communities and they educate their children in like values - there is a real entitlement culture there.
Otherwise there are four seasons: spring summer swealter fall and winter. The area is subject to hurricanes and other nasty storms - everyone has a “xx days without power” story. Its flatish and the native flora is mostly pine trees.
The farmer’s market and the flea markets are wonderful. I’ll join you there any weekend - the wholesale nurseries in the area bring in their plants and you can get wonderful bargains.
The best Juniper level nursery on this end of the continent is located in the area - Plant Delights Nursery.
Disclaimer: all of the above is personal opinion only.
1) “Containment Area for Transplanted Yankees”? How's that spell CARY? Now there are a few versions and they all differentiate based on the letter "C". But then you say "Transplanted"? Our family always went with Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees
2) Wade County? It's Wake County.
I know what you mean, Yooper. We bought our 1940 colonial in 2001 for 432K. We could sell it now (even in today’s market) for around 700K.
So a nice house in NC for 300K looks mighty good.
Some of the things I like about Arlington: you can take Metrorail and don’t have to drive much; restaurants and shopping are good; the public schools are excellent; and it’s not DC!
What I like about NC (Greensboro, mostly): BBQ; can drive everywhere without problem; housing is inexpensive and good; the Fresh Market supermarket is excellent; the people are nice.
When you meet your neighbors, be sure to say that things were different up north. Then kind of look for items of comparison, say, “up north our community planning seemed to be more protective of the of the true look and nature of the community”, you know, things like that. They’re always happy to know how it’s really supposed to be done...
Seriously though, NC is a wonderful place. I don’t live far from Raleigh and also grew up in Winston-Salem. In so many neighborhoods, the people genuinely care for and look out for each other in a southern type of way. Very giving people.
And by the way, John Edwards old neighbor recently moved, and is now a millionaire. Now, any neighborhood he landed in is guaranteed to be entertaining. I would put that on my short list.
ping
Good luck with your move, LuLuLuLu. :)
Welcome to NC. You might want to stay away from Asheville, though. I’m swimming in hippies and taxes here. Aside from that, beautiful country.
cheers
Cary really stands for Contained Away from Redneck Yokels.
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