Any property still affordable in the area? We both like something away from the madding crowds, with a small amount of land -- an acre or two.
We'll be moving from SW Ohio, and other than the NC BBQ, I know nothing about the state.
Mods, feel free to move this if I've put it in the wrong place.
Thanks to all!
I have lived in Raleigh my entire life (51 years) (my parents are from Ohio). It is a great place to live.
There are expensive places to live and places that are more reasonably priced. Depending on how much you want to spend, there are areas with and acre or two for reasonable prices.
There is plenty of traffic.
I work in RTP. The drive use to take 35 minutes, now more like an hour....traffic sucks....too many Yankees and folks from Kalifornica.
Cary is overcrowded and traffic is worse. Kids? If so, plan on having them change schools every year even if they are in year round schools to balance that diversity thing (schools compete for poor kids getting free federal tax dollars for lunches, etc. Wake County's school board operates much like the GAmbino family from New York.
Local New TV station website. - WRAL.com - to poke around on.
Besides, you'll love that the Dems control the legislature and the governor's office and they like growing the state budget at 1.5 times the actual economic growth of the state.
You like Hispanics? We got plenty of them too and they are posted on TV 505% of the time as the perps involved / arrested for crime. Like overvalued property taxes? You will love Wake, Durham, and Orange counties then......it takes a village, ya know?
It’s nice here, compared to a lot of other places. We have many FReepers in Rollie and Durm (or “Nifongville,” as they like to say ...)
Bat_Chemist, can we get a North Carolina ping?
2004 Pine Bark Lane
Clayton, NC 27520
MLS ID# 978691
This place is located just down the street from us. It’s the nicest house in the neighborhood. Clayton is a small town southeast of Raleigh and is very nice. The Forest Park subdivision is about 3 miles outside of Clayton with 7 to 15 year old houses in the $250,000 to $500,000 range.
If you know the BBQ. . .THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!!!
I forgot to ask
Habla espanol?
What I mean is. . .everything you will need to know about North Carolina is indelibly linked to BBQ. If you find where the BBQ is. . .you will find everything else that is good in NC. .such as: Bass Fishing, Nascar, College Basketball, Springtime, fiddler’s conventions, mountain honey, etc. Stick your nose into the air.. .sniff, sniff.. . .follow the BBQ! follow the BBQ!!
Welcome to the state!
If you are working in Rawlee, I would suggest looking for homes in Johnston County. Someone mentioned Clayton, which is a good place to look. Other places in Johnston County are nice as well and not far from downtown. Depends on where, exactly, you are working. If you are working in RTP, you may want to look northeast of the city, towards Wilson County. Highway 264 has been opened up to 4 lanes and the new link to RTP around the north side has opened up, making that commute real easy.
If you are in RTP, you may also want to look at Person County or (as a LAST resort) the Chapel Hill area. Be forewarned that Chapel Hill is THE most liberal part of the entire state and does some stuff that you could only dream of if you were from Berkeley. Still, it is a nice area and home prices aren’t too bad.
Personally, I would steer clear of Nifongville (Durham). Another liberal bastion, with some real racial issues and more crime than you can imagine at times. I have always found Derm to be dirty, but that may just be me.
Hope this helps. Might want to check out the NC forums for some help as well.
Oh yeah, when you say you are “familiar” with BBQ, you need to make sure you know what you are talking about. The state has three distinct “styles” of Q. Eastern style, which is most prevalent from about Chapel Hill eastward, is a pulled-pork version with a sauce you can put on yourself of vinegar and red pepper. It is usually served with corn sticks and brunswick stew. Lexington style is popular from Chapel Hill to about Hickory and is a chopped style of pork with a sauce added to the meat which is vinegar based with more ketchup or tomato sauce added. Sauce is thin and leans more towards the “sweet” side. It is usually served with coleslaw and is often put on a bun with the slaw. The other crap in the western part of the state and around Charlotte is not fit for consumption. It is a heavier tomato based pulled or chopped pile of slop. Meat is drenched in the sauce. Usually swimming in it actually. I can’t tell you what they serve with it because after trying it one time, I never ordered it anywhere again. I would steer clear of it at all costs.
Even though I live in the Piedmont area (Lexington style), I prefer the eastern style of Q. I can season as I like and the pork seems to have better flavor. Just beware that you NEVER, EVER get into a discussion about Q, religion or politics with a life-long NC native without having some knowledge of their views first on all of these subjects first. Also, NEVER pick one style over another if you think you are in one of those crossover areas, because you will likely tick off someone who loves that style. Best to just say you are a yankee and are trying every style of Q to better appreciate the finer points of all of them Once you have eaten it for 5-10 years, you will get back to them as to which is “best” IN YOUR OPINION. :)
Fastest growing region in what, for the moment, is fastest growing state in the nation.
One in every five persons new to the state since 2000.
Road infrastructure from Raleigh to Charlotte, having halfway completed a twenty year Road building plan, is short of demand by almost precisely the amount skimmed off Gasoline and Road Taxes since 1989 by nearly invisible General Assembly dominated by ancient Democrat Oligarchy.
Public schools in Wake County public schools trying to maintain quality and failing for number of reasons, not the least of which is state and local government social engineering to "maintain diversity," together with problems inherent to the usual collaterals native to liberal experimentalism. PRIVATE SCHOOL and public Charter School infrastructure is exceptional, and exceptionally well positioned politically since Democrat Oligarchy is timid, more concerned with risk of rocking the boat (and growing Republican voting base at last reaching "competitiveness"). Home Schoolers well-organized.
Faith Community exceptional for comparable demographics.
All-Powerful State Legislature ("General Assembly," 120 House and 50 Senators) is hidden within present day news reporting dominated by National, International and then Local News, with sorry neglect of Raleigh's state government.
Highest tax burden of any state in the Southeast, for some higher than Massachusetts of New York State. (You've been warned.)
Same Democrat Oligarchy, however, tends to phase in regulatory burdens beginning in cities, now the largest part of NC population for the first time in centuries. Look to work in zoned suburbs and to commute by car from surrounding "rural" counties.
The farther away you end us from the cities, the better your quality of life will be. The commute will be the price.
Don't be afraid of the natives. There are very distinct native populations, despite your hearing what may seem the same southern accent... but all are friendly except for the most remote. Might seem "distant" but they are just cautious. They warm up quickly and are raised to say Yes Sir and Yes Ma'am and do not take kindly to being corrected by "outsiders" with regards to anything touching upon their culture, tastes, manner of living, etc. In this, they are sensitive above Texans, for example. Don't make the mistake of feeling shunned or frightened into hoarding up in the bland exurbias, but go a step further, just over the countylines, and thus avoid relaxing.
Start at your workplace, or preferred workplace, and move down the two-way path of least resistance, from areas as surrounded by concrete as any city in New Jersey, and find someplace at the other end where you can hear the wind blowing through the "long leaf pines" and the birds. You won't regret it, though the drive be long.
Oh, and smile and say nothing pro or con about strongly held views regarding various Universities. The rivalries are intense and passionately held, although seemingly irrational. Oligarchy used these divisions as a distraction from watching, too closely, it's usually petty grafts.
All in all, you'll find the people friendly and honest, very hard working, though victimized by that Oligarchy which, wisely, has married its rewards and punishments system to the pseudo-intelligensia, largely hold up on the campuses of the overly funded and independent University system.
Much more... so much more I could tell you. You'll be welcome but come prepared to offer labor and ideas and participation in keeping the state from becoming "the New Jersey of the South." Complaining we already have plenty of.
Though the accents seem different to the newcomers ear, we've become completely used to the accents from beyond in a state almost entirely formed by people who have moved here from elsewhere.
I'll be glad to engage in Q and A regarding NC matters large and small by Private Reply.
I live in Apex and work in RTP. My brother builds houses in the Pittsboro/Holly Springs area. Freepmail me if you want any info about this area.
Please tell me you are not an OSU fan! ;-)
Just stay away from North Raleigh.... (My commute from there is already getting slow!!!) :0)
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Actually, if you’re working in the Park (RTP), North Raleigh is a very nice place to be. Upscale living, slightly better public schools, some VERY good private schools, and a lake thats about bone dry!
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Traffic is getting worst everyday unfortunately, but I make my 17 mile commute in 22 minutes most mornings.
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
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.
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.