Tell me about North Carolina

Quote from ByLoSellHi:

I mean, we're not Berkeley liberal by any stretch - I think we're fairly socially moderate - but maybe we're more socially progressive (while economically conservative) than what I may may fairly or unfairly have as a portrait of North Carolinians in my head (due to media portrayals and word of mouth of people who may lack any credibility)?

Thanks in advance to any tarheels that want to give us the real scoop.
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I lived in Cary, NC (suburb of Raleigh) from 1995 to 1999. Cary is jokingly referred to as C.A.R.Y. (Containment Area for Relocated Yankees). The first southerner that I was aware of living in our subdivision was the guy who bought our house.

There are many areas of NC that are like the archetypal old south: rednecks, shacks, cotton fields, etc. But if you're in a metropolitan area like Charlotte, Raleigh, etc you'll find things more familiar (if you're not southern).

Here in the Washington DC area, day-tripping to the beach is nearly impossible due to Bay Bridge traffic. In NC, a day trip to the beach is easy and very pleasant. What's more, the mountains are about the same drive west and are very nice.

Why'd I leave this apparent heaven on earth? Because I could see the economy topping and decided to move back to an area with better job stability. For once I timed the market just right.
 
i live outside of asheville, in the mountains. I love it here: no crime, nice people, stuff to do, especially if you love to hike / kayak. This place has superb restaurants for a city its size. I spent the first 30 years of my life in large cities (ny, chicago, london) now, i am in recovery. another 50 years ought to do it.

two things to be aware of if you are considering a move here:

1) the pace is much much slower. if you can adapt to that, you will love it, especially if you have a dose of organic food loving alternative lifestyle modality.

2) allergies can be bad in the spring and early summer, because of the pollen. I have type 3 asthma, and it bothers me sometimes.

best of luck with whatever you choose.

cybele
 
Speaking of Asheville, the wife's been mentioning moving back to NC to Asheville after both kids are in college.

Sounds good to me.
 
I like Raleigh, NC.

Has anyone thought about Charlottesville, VA? Not too far north from Raleigh, NC. It is right at the foothill of Blue Ridge Mountain. The weather is perfect for my taste. Winter is mild, Spring and Fall are Gorgeous. Few days in July and August can get hot, but usually it is cool at night because of the mountains.

Great schools as well, top notch restaurants.

The only thing is it is getting pricey now. A 2500 sf house cost you about $500K.

freewilly
 
Quote from dagobaz:

i live outside of asheville, in the mountains. I love it here: no crime, nice people, stuff to do, especially if you love to hike / kayak. This place has superb restaurants for a city its size. I spent the first 30 years of my life in large cities (ny, chicago, london) now, i am in recovery. another 50 years ought to do it.

two things to be aware of if you are considering a move here:

1) the pace is much much slower. if you can adapt to that, you will love it, especially if you have a dose of organic food loving alternative lifestyle modality.

2) allergies can be bad in the spring and early summer, because of the pollen. I have type 3 asthma, and it bothers me sometimes.

best of luck with whatever you choose.

cybele
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NYC born and bred. in my mid 20's

Had a GF move into the burbs right outside of charlotte.
for 250K she got a house that is prob worth 700K on Long Island. her part of town was very similar to one of those picket fence towns on tv. clean, manicured lawns, and the ppl were absolutely polite. One thing i did notice was that the ppl I met in the neighborhood were mostly from around the country (NJ, NY, CT, CO, MO)

I also checked out the night life. started out at a bobcats game. the arena appears to cater to the entire family. (they do the mascot thing, they have a small basketball court that is open for the children, right above the court they have an open air bar..no bad seats ..puts MSG to shame) Also did the restaurant and bar thing the rest of the w/e. I would give the nite life a 6.75 out of 10.

Although a very nice city I can't see myself living there in my late 20's early 30's, but later on in life is def a possibility.
 
P.S.

Had the poker itch when I was down there.. so I look up and see that the nearest casino was Harrahs abt 3 hours away west of charlotee.. GF and I drove through the farms, flatlands, and mountains..(nearly drove off of the great smokey mountains..the climb was really narrow). A flat tire and a few rest stops in between we get to the Harrahs and they tell us that THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY CARD GAMES!!! angry, fuming and livid could not describe what i felt at that moment..

sucked it up..ended positive a cpl hundred on video blackjack and 3card poker..
 
Quote from Difital Fibers:

P.S.

Had the poker itch when I was down there.. so I look up and see that the nearest casino was Harrahs abt 3 hours away west of charlotee.. GF and I drove through the farms, flatlands, and mountains..(nearly drove off of the great smokey mountains..the climb was really narrow). A flat tire and a few rest stops in between we get to the Harrahs and they tell us that THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY CARD GAMES!!! angry, fuming and livid could not describe what i felt at that moment..

sucked it up..ended positive a cpl hundred on video blackjack and 3card poker..
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I live 20 minutes from there. It is a real shame they don't have poker tables at Cherokee.
 
Quote from freewilly:

...Has anyone thought about Charlottesville, VA? Not too far north from Raleigh, NC. It is right at the foothill of Blue Ridge Mountain. The weather is perfect for my taste. Winter is mild, Spring and Fall are Gorgeous. Few days in July and August can get hot, but usually it is cool at night because of the mountains.

Great schools as well, top notch restaurants.

The only thing is it is getting pricey now. A 2500 sf house cost you about $500K.

freewilly
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The wife and I looked at Charlottesville back around 1990. I had a job offer there and we did the real estate trip. We found the same thing you did. It was surprisingly expensive considering how isolated it was. We found out later that OJ Simpson and other rich celebs have estates in that area. That's prolly part of it.

Traffic there is horrible as well.
 
I'm working north of Charlotte, been here a couple of months. Very beautiful country, it seems the friendliest people are the ones I meet from other parts of the country. For you single guys I wouldn't recommend it, lots of large women and not a lot of lookers, at least not from what I've seen so far. I think I've seen more fat people here than anywhere I've ever been. I've met some nice people from here but overall not the friendliest place I've been. But this is just from being here 2 months, so it might be a lot better than my first impressions. I'm keeping an open mind and hopefully I'll be liking it better here. And oh yeah it's hotter than hell here, seems hotter than back in Texas.
 
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