Tell me about... North Carolina

Yes, I'm another potential refugee from Californistan. No, I don't vote for the people that have wrecked this state. The pandemic has eliminated just about everything that was great about Los Angeles and exacerbated what sucked (other than traffic). I'm pretty ready to call it quits. I'm currently working from home and it doesn't look like this lockdown bullshit will ever end, so I should be good to go anywhere for the next year at least while continuing at my current job.

After looking at relative pay and open positions, real estate prices, and lifestyle North Carolina looks like the best bet. Colorado is my second choice. My wife and I have a couple of young kids and she wouldn't be working, so her finding a job isn't a concern. I'm looking for commuting proximity to Raleigh/Durham if we decide to stay permanently and I quit my job in CA. Call it 45 minutes one way max. We'd be looking to buy if we did move. The only real thing holding us back is that we know absolutely no one out there, well and we've never actually been there.

My hobbies are motorcycles, bicycles, hiking, everything outdoors. From what I understand, NC is an excellent area for all of the above.

I'm planning to come out for a few days in the next month or 2. Currently doing research on houses and I will do a few tours (if they're in person now?), but I don't know what to check out otherwise to get a feel for the place. Any recommendations? What should I be cautious of with buying property in the area? Commentary about living in NC generally is appreciated. The good, bad, and ugly.

 

Whatever you do, don't tell anyone you are from CA, and are looking to move there.

 

Plenty of stuff to do around Raleigh, vir is really close ncbike is close, CMP is about 3 hours for trackstuff

 

Holds true for every state.

 

I lived in Durham for 11 years and would be more than happy to offer some suggestions. I loved living there and plan to return in the future. PM your phone number and I’ll call to provide some suggestions.

 

I feel like sticky humidity is worse here than out west, but that may not bother you.

 

45-minute drive from RDU opens up some good areas. Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Durham, Hillsborough, many others. Real estate isn’t cheap but it’s stupid-less than California. Schools are usually pretty good, and as previously mentioned you aren’t far from many track venues. PM me if you have any specific questions. I’m in Rougemont, about 17 miles north of Durham. On 12 acres, for less than an 1100 sq ft house in many areas of California

 

Well hell, you know me! Sheesh.

But seriously, I can help with you with things to do outdoors in the western side of the state. Not much help for the area that you want to be, though. 45 minutes, IMO does not leave a lot of good choices, but that's just me. 45 minutes is all suburbia around your target location. You'll be in the middle between lots of great beach spots and the good mountain activities. Don't know anything about government schools in that area, in NC they all seem to be equally mediocre.

 

This part makes me question how well you'd fit in this part of the country as well as your sanity

On a serious note, Colorado is amazing place but it appears to be one of the states most quickly turning into another Cali. And go figure, from what I understand North Carolina is slowly becoming the Cali of the southeast, though it's still the south at the end of the day. NC does offer some amazing stuff for the outdoorsman. We used to take a couple trips a year up there to mountain bike (and hope to resume that tradition soon). Not sure if that holds as true though for the area you're looking in as all the nice mountainous stuff that I'm familiar with is a few hours west. If possible, I'd look more that direction or in Northeast Georgia or East TN if those fit your other needs.

 

I am in the process of building a cabin on top of a mountain near Franklin. I have found everyone to be friendly and helpful. I have no idea about employment prospects, since my plan is to become a hermit, but I would be happy to ride some back roads or go hiking if you end up in my area.

 

The non-stop growth of metro ATL, along with the imports of people from CA, the NE, and south of the border, have made the area much less desirable than it once was.

 

Why not keep your California work gig.

That's want I did for the last 3 years, my company rents me a small single office and before covid hit would fly back once a quarter.

Works great for me as I work california hours so don't have to start early. Could easily work from home, but like the disconnect of being able to switch off.

Lived in Cali for 30 year's, NC is pretty Ok far as I'm concerned, great if you enjoy the outdoors.

Bit of everything. Just not many Ducati or BMW dealerships, unlike Cali where they are 10 a penny.

 

I've lived here (Raleigh area) and in Charlotte. Being from E TN though (but having lived in E, Mid, and W TN) I'd say move to TN before moving here. Mainly because you're basically moving to the Cali of the East. We're not totally taken over by "blue" folks yet, but it's going that way. However, as some have said, you do have every type of terrain here from the smokey mountains to the ocean to the flat boring areas. I don't think the taxes are near Cali rates, but they're not great either. 6.75 income and 6.75+ sales tax... Things like property taxes and vehicle taxes vary depending on your county. I certainly wish you luck in escaping Kali though. Be ready for what it costs just to escape!!!

 

Not sure about their education system, they take a long time to count.

~sent from mobile

 

That's cause it can tricky to count webbed toes sometimes

 

If it were me, I’d be looking at Knoxville/Maryville, TN, Chattanooga/Cleveland, TN, or somewhere in northern GA. I’ve been a regular in western NC, the last 7yrs, and have some friends in the area. Things aren’t what they used to be.

 

Once upon a time I was from Hawaii, maybe I'll just say that as it's less threatening. Just won't mention the decade and a half stopover. California was once a great place, now ruined by complete fucking insanity. I really would prefer to stay and have been trying to find a way to justify it, but the writing is on the wall. Maybe moving makes no difference anyway given the state and direction of our nation generally, but rolling the dice is better than staying still.

I like Colorado and prefer the (non-humid) weather there, but there are definitely strong indicators of the same insanity consuming California.

My preference is to keep the same job as long as practicable. The company was previously very office focused and not enthusiastic about permanent remote work, though we could generally telecommute a few days a week. I'm looking to move into a technical management position but I don't believe they'd want a remote manager post-COVID, but who the hell knows? I believe being remote when other people are at the office also hurts your progression. Schmoozing has always helped me. Who knows what the world will look like in 6 months or a year though? The world will have changed drastically, maybe they won't care. I'll just hang on as long as it keeps benefiting me. I would like the option of taking another position though, so relative proximity to a jobs center is paramount. I work in business intelligence and NC seems like just about the best place in the US for STEM jobs relative to cost/lifestyle. I'd also like to go to graduate school in the near future, and 100% online classes are NOT my preference.

Where in California did you live?

I've looked at TN. It seems awesome, but I feel like educational and career opportunities would be better in NC. Nashville looks potentially promising though.

Maybe. I think it really takes a New Yorker to count things though. As they sit in their high ivory towers, they can clearly look down and see when the hoi polloi didn't get the correct count. That's when they're forced to come early in the morning to supervise and correct it. So noble. We really should thank them properly for their service.

I do know you! Hey do you babysit? 45 minutes away seems to be practically rural compared to Los Angeles. Been looking northish of Raleigh/Durham. Franklinton, Butner, Youngsville. I know nothing about these places other than what I can Google, but they seem nice enough. I map listings by proximity to Costco/Trader Joe's anyway. Wife won't be happy if it takes more than 15-20 minutes to drive there.

Thank you for all the replies! Especially the offers to talk 1 on 1, I'll be taking you guys up on it.

 

Seeing your career and goal path, the research triangle is probably going to be your best bet. I have a cousin in the programming field who moved there, seeking higher goals.

 

Where aren't things like they used to be... rhetorical question. Anyway, what part of WNC you been hanging out in?

 

Locusts...