HELP US MOVE PLZZZZZZ

[diamondseeker2006]

Lol! All PSers are welcome in NC!! Just keep it a secret because we really don't want the entire northern US to move here! Might drive up housing prices WAY too much! lol!

 

[decodelighted]

I've lived in Cary, NC for two years now (only five more weeks until we move!) and I would not describe it as liberal-- and I suspect you and I fall on pretty similar areas of the political spectrum. I would describe Cary as suburban, upper middle class, white, and relatively conservative. But that's how most of NC feels to me.

Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro would be good choices within the triangle- Durham probably the best match as it's the most affordable of the three (generally) and closest to RTP. Hits all of your wants, depending on how close you want to be to the major airport. And FWIW, my husband and I are in the process of buying a home in one of the three locations I mentioned above so I'm practicing what I preach, so to speak.

Hey E B,

Not sure, sure if you're responding to Gypsy or myself but that's so cool that you're moving to one of the three above towns! Wish I knew what you scooped up but am sure it's fab! Its been really fun the last week or two scouting properties in the area. And a nice distraction from the two-foot blanket of snow that hit us in a 48 hr. period. OOOF! Buried! Jim Henson's (48 yr. old) son just died from a heart attack out playing in in a few miles from here. Now I'm afraid to even do that! Was going to buy a sled and give into it all. Now we're just watching "House of Cards" and shivering between bouts of online research about GETTING THE HELL OUT. (And, for old times sake, handicapping this season's future winner of American Idol: CJ Harris.)

Thanks Lady!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

HEY, DD -- I'm here too! If you come down, we have to have a GTG! We can show you the advantages of NC -- the sparkly kind first!

--- Laurie

YES!!!

 

[decodelighted]

HEY, DD -- I'm here too! If you come down, we have to have a GTG! We can show you the advantages of NC -- the sparkly kind first!

--- Laurie

YES!!!

LOL! You gals have one track minds. AND I LOVE IT! Just seeing y'alls sparklies might be eye candy ENUF

 

[E B]

Hey E B,

Not sure, sure if you're responding to Gypsy or myself but that's so cool that you're moving to one of the three above towns! Wish I knew what you scooped up but am sure it's fab! Its been really fun the last week or two scouting properties in the area. And a nice distraction from the two-foot blanket of snow that hit us in a 48 hr. period. OOOF! Buried! Jim Henson's (48 yr. old) son just died from a heart attack out playing in in a few miles from here. Now I'm afraid to even do that! Was going to buy a sled and give into it all. Now we're just watching "House of Cards" and shivering between bouts of online research about GETTING THE HELL OUT. (And, for old times sake, handicapping this season's future winner of American Idol: CJ Harris.)

Thanks Lady!

It was to you, but applies to Gypsy as well (I believe!). Sorry for the anonymity- a public board with no PMs, yanno. There was a great house for sale in Carrboro my husband and I toured while looking, but it's gone under contract since. It was snapped up pretty quickly! New construction, and in a neighborhood within walking distance to downtown. I'm sure more will pop up in that neighborhood and some like it. I adore Carrboro, but like you've said, there isn't much for sale at any one time because of the size and desirability level. If you can get in, I think you'd love it. (Of course, you don't have to live in Carrboro to enjoy it- you can get close enough pretty easily!).

Durham has some great new and rehabbed condos within walking distance to Durham's greats like DPAC, etc. Good restaurants, too. If you're looking for city surroundings, this would be the way to go.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Deco, what about North Carolina? The weather there tends to be fairly moderate and there is an area called "tech triangle" that could be a good job spot for hubby. Bill and I actually considered moving there several years ago because he is also in tech (telecom to be specific) and there are a ton of financial firms there too so that would have worked out well for me. Just an idea!

I was going to suggest NC, too.

The Durham area is part of the triangle region, and it's worth looking into. As Dee*Jay said, it's known for its tech. positions.

We lived in Charlotte for a year from '09-'10, and we loved it. It's Charlotte's not in the triangle region (it's maybe 2 hours south), but my husband got an IT position there, and he liked it a lot. There's a really cool area of Charlotte close to downtown (they call it uptown), called Dilworth. It's near the older sections of Charlotte, and there's lots of great restaurants. We lived in a planned community in a different area of the city, and we loved that, too.

I loved living in Charlotte.

 

[zoebartlett]

We ended up leaving Charlotte after a year because our parents and most of my husband's family is in our home state in New England. We just missed friends and family too much, and also, my position ended and I'd have to look again. I had the opportunity to return from my leave of absence at my district in NE, so we came home. We really did love the area though. It's so different than what we're used to, and it was refreshing to learn about a new region.

Hey Zoe,
Thanks! Didn't mean to pry! Makes total sense. We'd be making the move South for some of the same reasons you came back North. And I totally agree that it's very cool to shake things up every once in a while & get new perspectives from different environments. What I *DON'T* want to happen is to fall into the trap of thinking moving somewhere else will be a magic elixr for all problems. You know the old saying: WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE.

You're welcome, and you weren't prying at all! Moving to Charlotte was a huge change for us in so many ways, and although it was really hard to be away from family and most of our friends, we're glad we did it. You're right, it was good to shake things up, gain new experiences, and get new perspectives. The good thing is that if we decide to pick up and move far away again, we know we can do it.

 

[MarionC]

Re: housing prices ... oh I've been stalking the listings already! Carrboro doesn't have a ton of inventory ... so i know stuff won't be still available when we're ready to move ... but it's fun to get a feel for what's down there. After living in a 200+ year old house for almost 12 years now ... you can't IMAGINE how nice it is to see walk-in closets and open spaces and clean lines and new windows and fresh cabinetry. I'm having new construx-gasms. And big condOhOhOhOhhhhoooos. (I'll miss the super charming, cock-eyed widdle wee cottage of course but man, the stuff that bugs me about it is REALLY starting to bug.)

Carrboro real estate CAN be a bit tricky. I live on a farm outside Carrboro and my daughter lives in the town. It's the hip place to be : ) It took her a year of looking to find a house - every one she liked was sold within 48 hours - or less of going on the market. She finally found a FSBO in Spring Valley [a neighborhood of cottages on a lake that I highly recommend].
If I can help in any way [we had a great agent who was really on top of things] let me know. I think it's mostly about diligence and moving fast when the right thing comes along. Sounds like you are doing your homework. Good luck!

 

[Roxy]

HEY, DD -- I'm here too! If you come down, we have to have a GTG! We can show you the advantages of NC -- the sparkly kind first!

--- Laurie

YES!!!

LOL! You gals have one track minds. AND I LOVE IT! Just seeing y'alls sparklies might be eye candy ENUF

Oh, that's a fantastic idea!! YAY, I love it too!

 

[Roxy]

Other places we're researching are where airline "hubs" are located so we'd have a lot of travel options whenever we need to head out of town. Ex, Atlanta (Delta hub) and Dallas (American hub) were two cities on our short list. Another great option for fantastic weather is Albuquerque, NM. It's not a hub, so travel isn't fantastic, but you get all four seasons w/out major extremes (snow that melts w/in days or hours; heat w/out humidity, so you can sit in the shade comfortably for hours). Since Dept of Energy is there, there are a LOT of tech jobs w/ either the National Laboratories or DOE contractors, and the quality of life is great so your income goes a long long way!

Interesting about Albuquerque. I was just looking at this crazy thing ... the pleasantness index or something:

http://www.kellegous.com/j/2014/02/03/pleasant-places/

i"ll have to see if that concurs! Still think it might be too hot for *us* ... even w/o humidity (we're chub). Good luck on y'alls search and thanks for the scoop!

Sure, ABQ's off the beaten path so it's always a surprise when folks come across it. I TOTALLY get what you're saying about the heat, I'd have a hard time w/ some parts of TX and FL for the same reasons but I know there are some beautiful places in both states.

I love the idea of having a GTG in NC though, either Charlotte or Raleigh/Durham would be SO MUCH FUN!!!