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I don't regret moving to this area, because when I first visited Chapel Hill about 15 years ago, I thought it looked like a great place and always wanted to check it out as a place to live. However, now that I've experienced it, I wish I could have moved here on a temporary basis - like a 2-year term just to check it out.
It's not a BAD fit for me, but it's not a GREAT fit either. I'm used to living near a major city and all the amenities that go along with that. We used to visit DC quite often taking the kids to the museums on a regular basis. And we used to drive up to Philly to see my family more frequently and even go up to NY every so often. I also just like the hustle bustle of the Northeast. We also lived in a great town that was walkable, had great schools, was on the subway line, and convenient to everything. Nothing was far away - the city, stores, numerous restaurants, museums, festivals, etc. Jobs were also more plentiful. And picking up and leaving friends, our school, and our community was very difficult.
What I DO like about living here is that everything isn't crowded. I've yet to wait more than 10 minutes in a doctor's office, whereas 45-minute waits in NoVA were not uncommon. I also like that I don't have to plan any outings around the time of day because of bad traffic. Sure it might take me 10-15 minutes longer to get home from Durham at 5 PM on a Friday, but it's NOTHING like the traffic in DC where rush hour commutes can be triple the time during non-rush hour (and non-rush hour is essential 10 PM until 6 AM). I LOVE the mild winters. Even compared to NoVA, it's usually 10 degrees warmer here on many winter days. I like the schools here in Chapel Hill with smaller classes than what we were used to.
I like it here okay, but don't love it and don't want to live here indefinitely. If I could move back to NoVA tomorrow, I would in a heartbeat.
I have felt this way for some time now. We have been here for over six years and I feel very unsettled. Fortunately, we are active with our kids sports and school, so it keeps us busy.
I don't know if we will stay here long enough to get our kids through school. In fact, if the right opportunity presented itself to get back to the Northeast, we would jump at it.
This isn't a knock against the area or its people. It's just not what where we want to spend our lives.
if you're a Big City person, this isn't a Big City.
If you have regional needs (read: food, stores) then we may be in a different region - shock!
If you need public transportation, we don't have it.
If your hours are as much after midnight as 9-5, this joint ain't for you.
If you believe the news stories about this being some magical place where all your ills are cured and a higher-paying job await - stay put.
It's not a regret, it's not a bash. it's understanding who YOU are and what YOU WANT or NEED. And there are wants and needs that many people will NOT GET.
I'm a native of the Triangle and have lived here 40 years+. This is HOME to me. Wherever your HOME is will always be your HOME. If you're a nomadic person that when asked "where are your from?" answers the last place they lived, not necessarily the 1 place they lived for 75% of their life, then you can enjoy living here.
I knew at age 17 that NYC would be a fantastic place to visit, but hell if I'd ever want to live in THAT. Your opinion may vary, and that's OK.
if you're a Big City person, this isn't a Big City.
If you have regional needs (read: food, stores) then we may be in a different region - shock!
If you need public transportation, we don't have it.
If your hours are as much after midnight as 9-5, this joint ain't for you.
If you believe the news stories about this being some magical place where all your ills are cured and a higher-paying job await - stay put.
It's not a regret, it's not a bash. it's understanding who YOU are and what YOU WANT or NEED. And there are wants and needs that many people will NOT GET.
I'm a native of the Triangle and have lived here 40 years+. This is HOME to me. Wherever your HOME is will always be your HOME. If you're a nomadic person that when asked "where are your from?" answers the last place they lived, not necessarily the 1 place they lived for 75% of their life, then you can enjoy living here.
I knew at age 17 that NYC would be a fantastic place to visit, but hell if I'd ever want to live in THAT. Your opinion may vary, and that's OK.
Word! Preach it, Brother Bo! Preach it!
Or as, Abraham Lincoln was quoted (IF I may be offered the latitude to quote Mr. Lincoln in a reply to a post by a Son of the South):
C'mon Mike J, you are better than that. It is a bit offensive to imply that someone is unhappy if they don't like the Triangle, or any other locale for that matter.
C'mon Mike J, you are better than that. It is a bit offensive to imply that someone is unhappy if they don't like the Triangle, or any other locale for that matter.
I offered no such implication, nor intended such, because as you cite, I AM "better than that."
The endless simpering and whining, "Gloom, Despair, And Agony on Me," to the point of infecting the thread, "What makes you happy living in Raleigh?," prompted me to make the post.
I like Bo's post and the Lincoln quote. And I think the Lincoln quote is not geographically specific, just fits.
No place is perfect, for sure, and I don't blame anyone who decides a place is not for them. And anyone is free to criticize an area, to be certain. But, I would not endlessly post about any place how awful it was.
It is an eminently fixable geographic situation.
"I-95 runs both ways," and "Delta is ready when you are," were true 16 years ago when I moved here just as they are today. It was the deal I made with the wife when we came, stands today, and I would call U-Haul before I would spend valuable free time on a forum whining about the area.
I offered no such implication, nor intended such, because as you cite, I AM "better than that."
The endless simpering and whining, "Gloom, Despair, And Agony on Me," to the point of infecting the thread, "What makes you happy living in Raleigh?," prompted me to make the post.
I like Bo's post and the Lincoln quote. And I think the Lincoln quote is not geographically specific, just fits.
No place is perfect, for sure, and I don't blame anyone who decides a place is not for them. And anyone is free to criticize an area, to be certain. But, I would not endlessly post about any place how awful it was.
It is an eminently fixable geographic situation.
"I-95 runs both ways," and "Delta is ready when you are," were true 16 years ago when I moved here just as they are today. It was the deal I made with the wife when we came, stands today, and I would call U-Haul before I would spend valuable free time on a forum whining about the area.
Yup.
When I moved to the SW 'burbs of Chicago at 19, I knew I didn't care for it. Moved back the next year.
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I have felt this way for some time now. We have been here for over six years and I feel very unsettled. Fortunately, we are active with our kids sports and school, so it keeps us busy.
I don't know if we will stay here long enough to get our kids through school. In fact, if the right opportunity presented itself to get back to the Northeast, we would jump at it.
This isn't a knock against the area or its people. It's just not what where we want to spend our lives.
If you're just taking a headcount, put me in the "regret" column. I've been here since 1985 and it's never felt like home. Of course, if I hadn't moved here with my boyfriend back then, we wouldn't have gotten married and had three children, so I'm happy about that part. But I'm divorced now and my three college kids are entrenched in a region which doesn't make me happy. I really thought our move here was for a few years and didn't realize this assumption was wrong until it was too late.
Being 2 or 3 hours away from NC mountains is good for heat relief, but they don't provide near the enjoyment for me that I get from visiting the more grand mountains of California or Colorado. I wish I could have raised my kids in a state that valued education more, and college sports less.
I'm not as claustrophobic as I once was, because of all the trees, but I do miss the big sky.
It is my dream to see North Carolina in my rearview mirror for the last time as a resident. I hope to move back west and that my kids follow me or I hope to at least get a position that allows me to buy them many plane tickets so they can visit.
Ok...I can't help it. I'm just a positive type of person and being a middle child, I'm the problem solver. So...this is going to sound sarcastic and I really don't mean it that way...
Our housing inventory is low. We are turning from a buyer's market into a seller's market. So...now is the time to SELL if you are thinking of moving.
The Triangle is what it is. After that it becomes how you use it. Two hours from the beach is great if you use it. It was part of the plan and the housing bust sealed the deal when we gotta second place there with a two hour drive between.
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