Raleigh, North Carolina....???

[TonUpBoy]

Hello,

I was offered a job to work at Raleigh, NC, but I was wondering if any one has any experience with this location. Good and Bad. Cost of Living v. NJ, etc. Any info would be helpful.

[Commuta_Busa]

I lived in Raleigh for a year, then Cary, then apex, then greensboro... I'll PM you my number... give me a call!

[TonyK]

http://salary.monster.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

should help.

[RtypeNYC]

close to VIR :pimp:

[ekuhn]

friends of mine moved down there for grad school. its dirt cheap. they got a a 1 year old 1200 square foot 2 bedroom apt for 850 per month, plus utilities.

[gotr1?]

i lived down there for about 10 yrs.. I was in durham for awhile and went to school in greenville..

if you like college sports, u're in heaven dude, duke/carolina and state.. just pic one and stick to it..Duke and carolina has the b ball team but their football sux, but state has the football team and always the underdog for b ball... besides, u could always go back to school ;) chicks are great too.. but u will miss the variety thats in jersey...

if you land a good job, u'll be doing good.. u could get yourself a luxury apt for about 800 dollaz in carry, with a pool and garage... car insurance is cheap and u drive 3 to the coast for beach, and 5 hrs to the mountains to the gap...

I wish i had family down there, most definitely, live there... I could tell you so much more, just ask away.. it's a fast growing place, make sure u stop at ANGUS BARN for a steak...

[gotr1?]

oh yeah, its so humid during the summers!!!! so forget riding for 3 months

[WSprtuaL]

I have a lot of family in Greensboro and Winston Salem. In fact, my mother and I are the only ones still up this way. I am a big fan of NC. When I was younger I didn't think that I could live there but as I have gotten older I have learned to appreciate it more and more. If you have a good job and are making decent money you can live very well. Your cost of living is much cheaper but your everyday expenses are about the same. I guess everything is relative....good luck in whatever you deceide to do.

[quickprelude]

http://salary.monster.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

should help.

that link is pretty cool....thanks!

as for NC, i would move there in a second if it was a good job offer. seems to be a pretty laid back state with a fairly cheap cost of living. i say go for it if you dont mind the move.

[Hassmaschine]

Research Triangle Park has some of the best technology companies, and the prices in Silicon Valley are going to drive the hq's over to RTP... so thats the good news. Prices are still relatively cheap down there, although it really depends on the area, my brother lives in Raleigh and is cool with his trek into cisco every morning, really nice area. Funniest thing about that area is no one is originally from NC down there... they are all transplants, so everyone fits in. Cool though, I loved it, I lived down there for 8 months or so... and I enjoyed it, moved back up here b/c of my family being up here.

[TonUpBoy]

Thank you everyone's input! This is for a data manager position (I forgot which CRO company it is), but I wanted to get a feel for the area. I like quiet places, good schools and neighborhood. I used to live in Ramsey and I want something like that for my family. We're pretty laid back and my wife and I miss the west coast living (laid back) and NJ is getting too crowded - so this might be a great opportunity. I'll see what happens. Thanks!

[Commuta_Busa]

based on your style of life I would say it probably is a pretty good place for you. Just about every housing development has it's own play rgound/park to roam through. As far as costs... the cheap homes don't exist IN Raleigh. You have to head out to the burbs... way out in the burbs! Traffic is worse there than NJ. The winters aren't to good there. Temp wise it's not bad but you're right around the perfect temps for ice storms. Lots of sleet... During rush hour things get pretty tied up on the beltlines.

It's def. is more relaxed there. A pro is that the majority of things "to do" are family oriented. One con is that everything is about two hours away from you. What I mean is to go to the beach, its's about two hours. To go to the mountains, it's about two hours. To get out of the state, it's two hours...

I think one of the few remaining cost savings down there is insurance. Clothes and groceries cost more there. If you're moving down there and getting paid NorthEast wages you'll do good. If you're goign to be getting Carolina wages then you may want to really calculate your costs to income.

Go down and visit there for a few days and really get around and see things for yourself and your family.