Worst thing about NC... (Charlotte, Raleigh: crime, middle school, to live in)

[nctarheel]

silverwing, that is exactly what happens. People always talk that they want a slower pace of life, less traffic, etc. Then they find a nice piece of land and before you know it youve got everything you wanted to avoid.

Then everyone wants to incorporate the town, drive up taxes, get these city services, and before you know it its all gone.

[NYer]

Originally Posted by silverwing

However, a couple of developers came in and bought great swaths of unused farm land, divided it into subdivision plots, and now the hordes are swooping in and squawking about "the inconveniences." Hey! we have lived quite happily w/o those things for almost a decade,

are the developers North Carolinians or out of towners?

On Long Island it is our homegrown developers who have sold us out.

If the developments were built with lower density, then the type of hordes you don't like would not come. But, the developers put lots of planning into what they build... then they go & hold seminars or make nice websites to draw people into them.
Higher Density = Higher Profits for them.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by NYer

are the developers North Carolinians or out of towners?

On Long Island it is our homegrown developers who have sold us out.

If the developments were built with lower density, then the type of hordes you don't like would not come. But, the developers put lots of planning into what they build... then they go & hold seminars or make nice websites to draw people into them.
Higher Density = Higher Profits for them.

Both out of town and local developers. The part of the county I reside in is teetering on the edge. We are limited to at least 1 acre lots because of the necessity of drilling a well and having a septic tank and field. However, water lines have been laid as close as a mile from us, and I expect that the need for "economic development" that our country poobahs have been pushing will lead us to higher density. (There go the taxes! ) At least we have our five acres, though we can't afford to expand. The 1.5 acres next to ours is for sale, at nearly the same price we paid for our 5 back in 1997 [covenants we agreed to when we bought our property forbid us from dividing what we have. that actually pleased us immensely. we have space and there'll be no pressure on us to downscale our property]

Back to developers. This is sad: some of the local builders, who have been around for several generations, are now going out of business due to the more cut-throat competition from the out-of-town developers
http://tinyurl.com/fwreq

And this - this sounds like a nightmare http://tinyurl.com/rj9ah (broken link)
I doubt that even the people selling their homes in the bubbled real estate markets of S.California can afford the homes planned there

[NYer]

I am in the strange position of feeling displaced by newcomers who have changed the character of my town,

while excitedly preparing to move to a place where I will, in my own way, change the character of the place to which I am moving...


I long ago stopped hating the newcomers here, I look at the forces that made them leave their beloved homes to come here, I look at the people who paved the way for my town to change, & I am angry at them. The developers, the politicians who go along with it, all the people who profit.

But, I do not take it out on the newcomers... even as I am annoyed by their differences, I understand them all too well!
I am angry at how no one seems to live in one place any more, all the bonds of family & friendship are pulled apart by economic necessity. We cannot count on our employers to be in our town (or even our country!)

So, I place the blame firmly at the feet of the people pulling the strings.

[LookinToMove]

Jerseymom

I'm formerly of Jersey myself, and during my never-ending research into NC for a (hopefully) relocate to NC from MD, I've found that the idea that each area is VERY different is an understatement!! To illustrate, just think of the differences from the Trenton/Philly areas to the Toms River/AC areas to the Jersey City/Hoboken/NYC areas....Although Jersey is SOOOO small, the difference in attitude, language, jobs and home prices differs so much! It's been hard to really narrow down my search so far because NC has the same thing...only its like 5 times the size of Jersey!

Now to add an answer to your question (and I don't even live there yet!), one of the worst things I have come across so far is the state income tax! And here I thought that Jersey had the corner on high taxes! NC's personal income tax rate is almost 2% higher (depending on bracket). Yuck. But, then again, property taxes help to offest that I guess.

[Bethanytedder]

We do have state taxes but generally speaking if you're employed, your employer will take out these taxes right from your pay check each week and at the end of the year, you file state taxes and some people actually get a refund. They took out nearly $1500.00 on my husband last year but we got $1328.00 of it back when we filed taxes.

[nascarnancy]

Originally Posted by Carolina_native

Dont swat the mosquito or youll go to jail, its the state bird.

Is that like The Kansas state tree, the telephone pole?

[gingerbunnie]

or like the mass state tree a dpw worker still csnt figure out why they call them workers

[udelslayer]

I'm from Delaware since 92...(actually I grew up as a young'n in SC). We have had an influx of NJ/NY/Pa people for the past 10 years because they come from states where property sells for 3-5X what it originally sold for here. I understand the feelings of having what seems to be mass tourism flood an area. They think its a gold mine, but in fact, the growth just pushes people like me out. Starbucks (awful coffee, and anti-free trade), Wal-Mart, strip malls and 6 houses to an acre on old farmland are about all you see in DE anymore. The infrastructure cant support it. The population density is 400:1, which is about as bad as NYC. NC on the other hand has around a 170:1 density, which seems to keep the property values reasonable in comparison.


Aside from that, I've read about 300 posts on here tonite. I have been researching the climate of the area for the culture and attitude. I'm somewhat educated (incomplete degree) with experience and my work does me pretty well... I cant afford a house. I make 3 times what my parents made, and I cant afford the 50 year old rennovation thats in the crappy neighborhood here. This is due to the influx of retirees flooding a poorly managed state that has shrinking industry.

The RTP looks like a good place to work. It seems that the job market is pretty healthy there, but what do the natives think about that market? Do you find that its harder for locals or noobs to find decent work in the technology fields (I'm in IT myself)... Though nobody seems to move there for the money, do these jobs seem to pay well enough to lead a decent life there?

It seems to me that Wake County is becoming the next Delaware. Inflation of home pricing with mass development and lack of infrastructure are going to make for crowded streets and lots of transients that seem to not care about their community. I was looking at NC after my parents took a gander at Pinehurst because of the low cost homes there. (not golf fans). I visited the triangle and surrounding area to find hospitality, good food, and plenty of evergreens (which I miss so much)....

I could care less for starbucks, though it was nice to see that Raleigh had 2 sams clubs. Education seems to be decently priced there (we have 2 decent schools here). I just pray for a good job, a decent roof over my head and a cable internet connection so I can keep my WoW account

and btw, some of your "ghetto" neighborhoods would get eaten alive in the "ghettos" up here... we have places where cops dont even stop at the stop signs.

[udelslayer]

Whats the area like in first quadrant up to 21 miles outside of Raleigh? (you know, from about 12-4 o'clock (along 401, between 1 and 64). I know that Google Earth isnt the most up to date software, but much of that area isnt mapped well and it seems a whole lot less dense in that area?

What I'm having a hard time understanding is why everything appears so tightly packed inside the 540 beltway when there is so much space all around. Is it like some kind of security fence for the residents? In skinny Delaware, everything is built off of the main arteries branching off of 13, 1, I95, and 202. The state is like 35 miles wide at the largest point and 115 miles tall....

thanks
j