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"I rarely hear southern accents in the Cary /Morrisville area."
That's because CARY stands for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. For the love of Pete--it is, after all, still the South, no matter how may people flee NJ. To get back on track: my response to the original poster is that Raleigh ain't what it used to be. It has gone downhill in the last 25 years--most of it due to the growth. Litter has become an obscene issue, all waterways are now hopelessly polluted, and me and mine now know this fair city as "The Jethro Bodine Culture Scene--Dead From the Neck Up." It is now the grand showplace of status seekers and mindless spendthrifts. Was it a good meal? I dunno--how much did it cost? Next time you visit, take a stroll down "Glenwood South," and you will witness firsthand--the freak show. I've lived here for 30 years, and have watched the sad decline. There used to be great clubs with great music, moderately priced everyday joints, which have now fallen to the paint and glitter crowd. Ahh, money talks.
Not sure why you think this. Raleigh has become *better* in the last 25 years based on... well, everything from magazine accolades, transplant relocations, new businesses, improved services (although granted we're still figuring out public transport), excellent events.... Where exactly have you been looking that you're seeing such negative things about this awesome city?
We moved here from CT. Love the weather/climate. Love how friendly folks are down here.
If you are in IT, jumping around often is not unheard of, so I wouldn't worry about the time you were with your company. And, there is a lot more IT down here than up in CT (IMHO).
Try it - you are young enough to try things out -- if they don't work out, then you can try something else.
I would advise against buying anything as tempting as it is because it just delays your ability to move if things don't work out. The $3000 to break your lease would give me pause though. Are you allowed to sublet? or negotiate in some manner?
Not sure why you think this. Raleigh has become *better* in the last 25 years based on... well, everything from magazine accolades, transplant relocations, new businesses, improved services (although granted we're still figuring out public transport), excellent events.... Where exactly have you been looking that you're seeing such negative things about this awesome city?
I have been looking at pollution, litter, urban sprawl, and more pollution. It used to be that the LAW prohibited building in the Falls Lake watershed. Now, huge ChemLawn homes dot the landscape, with all the toxic elements traversing the slope of the land into the water. I wouldn't eat a fish caught in that lake. I understand Americans generally think bigger is better, but in Raleigh's case, the greed of the quest has left an urban sprawl that has involved little planning. I would invite you to consult the many parents of schoolkids who don't know which school their kid will attend next year due to the constant re-shuffling because the city "leaders" haven't planned effectively for the growth. The advance of technology to the fevered pitch that it now holds on the populace, has left little time to even consider the natural world. Someone made a comment that I need to travel more. To the contrary, I have traveled extensively (Europe and Asia primarily), and it is the result of that travel that the stark contrast of interesting cultures vs. glitter cultures stand out clearly.
I have traveled extensively (Europe and Asia primarily), and it is the result of that travel that the stark contrast of interesting cultures vs. glitter cultures stand out clearly.
It's been a couple months since you last posted so, did you ever hear from the job? If I could give you some advice from someone who has tried to relocate twice now in the last four years... it takes a lot of money to do it. My husband has a CDL (he's a truck driver), and moving to NC cost us a lot the first time around, due to all of his endorsements on his license. He had to drop all of them but like one, because NC is SO expensive when it comes to getting your license changed over - when you are a CDL driver anyhow. Also, we had to have tons of documents for him to show to prove who he was. So, make sure you have everything from your certified birthday certificate on up. Do all of this research ahead and know what you need.
Also, we just came back from trying to move to Florida a few weeks ago. We had several thousand dollars, more than what we came to NC with. We survived in NC for 7 months because my husband had the promise of a job when we left to go there, and we had already arranged to rent a beautiful mobile home and all of this worked out but, then he got laid off and we had no more savings to pull from.
We had to return to our hometown, Baltimore - very depressing. Then we took our tax return and went to Florida this year, we lasted only two weeks there. He had a few job opportunities lined up but after we got there nothing panned out. This was in Jacksonville, FL. It was suppose to be like the mecca for truck drivers with tons of jobs. Didn't happen because no one would hire him until he had a place of residence so he could get his license done, and no one would rent to us without the promise of a job or at least X amount of dollars in our bank account.
So, what do we recommend.... make sure you have at least one year of rent and living expenses and bill money saved up and some extra for the unexpected. This way you can make it at least one year. Now that may sound extreme but, if you have never tried to relocate, trust me, you need a lot of money.
One other thing, apartments will not rent to you unless you have a letter from a place of employment that you have a confirmed promise of a job, OR, you have X amount of dollars in a bank account. It's usually about 3 - 5,000. Just so they know you have enough to pay the rent for like six months or something - not that they take all of that up front, they just wanna know you have it.
You can search online, such as craigslist etc... and find a private renter, like a house or something. Sometimes they work with you.
Anyhow, I just thought I would post this because we have tried this twice now and this is what our experiences have taught us. By the way, my husband has been unemployed for over a year now, and we are stuck living with a family member these last four years since returning from NC. So, make sure to dot all your I's and cross all our T's, and know your plan inside and out and have a safety net. It's a rough, ROUGH world out there, and when going it alone, it can be very hard. Not impossible, but very hard.
I wish you the best.
P.S. We had to break our least too on a townhouse we were renting the first time around when we left for NC. Luckily they re-rented it and we had to only pay the difference of about $500.00 and some dollars, but that has to be paid before anyone else will rent to you, unless you find a private renter.
Raleigh is an easy place to transition to from colder climates. People are friendly, the weather is pleasant though summers do get hot, there are lots of cultural and IT opportunities, lots of restaurants, and you can get from Raleigh to the mountains or the ocean in a matter of hours. Apparently, NC has the highest in state college participation-meaning more kids stay in state than in any other state. They love it here and feel they have all they need. Lots of great areas. Consider north Raleigh-pretty, suburban, close to the interstate which means close to anywhere.
Aside from opinions about the area, let's get to the meat of your post.
Yes there may be a job opening, but there are a lot of unemployed North Carolinians. I'm not trying to take the wind out of your sails, but don't bank on moving down here for a job. If you truly want to move here (or anywhere) you need to have a plan that doesn't rely on landing a job while you're hundreds of miles away. Just my two cents.
Agree with this. In this economy, I wouldnt move anywhere without a job, also a utility company is considered stable these days.
I moved here from Ct about 29 years ago and love the area. I can't believe how many people from CT,NY,NJ,ME,MA have followed me since. It seems like all I work with lately is Northernors. Not complaining but never would have guessed that the area that I picked 29 years ago is even more popular now. We have made so may lists its unbelievable.....Love It and all I can say is come on down ;-)
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