Help! North Carolina!
 

My husband is possibly being relocated to North Carolina. I am sure there is information on North Carolina within CG. However, I would love to hear from those that live in/grew-up in NC. We actually have the opportunity to pick our area, if we choose to relocate. I do not want to give too much personal information out over GC. So, if anyone can help with more detailed information, please PM me. We are looking for an upper middle class area, near or on the water. I am involved with Junior League here in Boston , and would like to stay involved with Jr. League or something similar. In addition, the school system is very important or a good private school.

Are you looking to locate near the ocean or a lake? I grew up in NC in Concord, NC near Lake Norman. (Charlotte area) We moved before HS but I still have almost all of my family in that area so if you looking for info on that area, let me know and I can try to help you out. If its more about the ocean area, I only know the Ocean Isle/Cherry Grove area where we own houses on the beach there.

I don't know much about the rest of the state, but I know Charlotte has good private schools and nice neighborhoods. Plus NC colleges are the cheapest in the country. I just moved here, but if you want me to look up anything here in Charlotte, just PM me!

I also live in Charlotte. My husband is originally from Denver/Lake Norman...and that is definitely a beautiful area! I would also be willing to answer any questions you may have.

Does it have to be NC? What about SC? I'm just thinking that Charleston would be a great fit for what you're looking for.

Hey, move to Raleigh so you can help with our new North Carolina Delta!;)

I am partial to Raleigh because I've been here for 5 years now and I love it! Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hil has received lots of accolades lately including "Best Place to Live". Below are a few links to articles. All three cities have major universities as well as lots of other great things to offer. Research Triangle Park is also located in this area. RTP is home to many different pharmaceutical and IT companies including IBM and GlaxoSmithKline.
I don't know a whole lot about the schools since I grew up in Winston-Salem before moving here for college. I have heard that there are a lot of good public and private schools though.
I have considered becoming involved in the Junior League if I'm still living here in a few years, but I do not know anything specific about the Raleigh chapter. I am willing to bet that it is very good.
There's not a lot of water here though. If you want to be on a lake I agree with the suggestions for the Charlotte/Lake Norman area. And if you want to be on the beach I think the best place on the NC coast is Wilmington. It's still pretty small, but it is growing a lot.
I hope this helps a little. Feel free to PM me for more specific info on these areas.

MSN's America's Best Places to Live
1. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill has the warmth and charm of a small southern town, while still being large enough to provide all the amenities of big-city living. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill's scores are above average in nearly every category. The city has the second-best health score in the nation, thanks to great air quality and affordable health care. The citizens of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill are a smart bunch—91% of its 312,000 residents have graduated from high school, and nearly 19% have a four-year college degree. A healthy economy and a low cost of living cement Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill's ranking as America's Best Place to Live.

CNN Money's Best in the South

Triangle Accolades

move to Raleigh......youre in the central part of the state so you're only 3 hours from the mountains and less than 2 hours from the beach

i went to high school in Raleigh and it's a great area.....especially places inside the beltline and North Raleigh

I went to school for 4 years in NC and I LOVED it!! I was in the Piedmont Triad area, right between Greensboro and Raleigh and everyone is right--its the best of both worlds--driveable to both the beach and the mountains. I highly reccomend!
Also, my parents have a house in the mountains, near Asheville and that area is wonderful as well, but a little more slow.
A & A--I am in Jr. League in Atlanta and I know I looked at the Raleigh league and it looked really nice!

Move to Asheville

I live here in Raleigh-moved up from Texas....so far I'm not too impressed with the whole state.

I just want to second the Lake Norman area if a lake qualifies under the type of water you're looking for. Also the Charlotte area in general is nice, particularly suburbs like Matthews.

I would recommend maybe the Chapel Hill area, but not Raleigh. Raleigh and Greensboro are almost too... inner city? for what it SOUNDS like you're looking for. This is opposed to Charlotte, where you can spend the majority of your time actually IN the suburb and very rarely have to go into the city.

I'm trying to think of good places on the coast, and I'm not coming up with any. Wilmington has a lot of charm, but I have no clue about their nicer areas or their school systems.

Thank you very much and KellyB I owe you an extra thank you. Your links and information is perfect!

my parents live in Raleigh and trust me it's not "inner city." especially if you go out towards North Raleigh......you're about 20 minutes away from downtown but everything you could ever need it right there in North Raleigh


i live in Wilmington. the city has about 100,000 but on the weekends it rounds out to about a quarter million with tourists and visitors and such. now with school systems.....it depends where you live, just like any city. message me for more info on Wilmington if you're interested

if i were you angels, i would ask to be moved to South Carolina and then high tail it to Charleston

You are very welcome.

I agree with aphibeach. Raleigh is not "inner city." In fact, some people complain that downtown is too small and not very impressive because we don't have a big sky line. But I think downtown is fine and Raleigh is a very spread out city so you can definitely get away from the downtown area if you want. I think most families prefer N. Raleigh but since I'm only a year out of school I still prefer to be near campus and on the Durham/Chapel Hill side of the city.

Please let me know if I can be of any more assistance.

Aww this thread is making me want to go visit my friend in Charlotte.

i 100% agree. also, look into newer towns forming around Raleigh. besides Cary (which is way too populated and makes suburbs of Raleigh look bad with their tacky rules), look into places like Wakefield (a new up and coming "town" which is now just an annex of Raleigh.....originally part of Wake Forest but they gave it to Raleigh for dumb reasons), North Raleigh (still considered Raleigh but i seriously don't know for how much longer.....its HUGE now), Wake Forest (about 20 minutes North East of Raleigh.....small town that holds the old Wake Forest University....this town has blown up....i went to high school here. i say live in Heritage if you do move up there, brand new schools and closer to the south end of Wake Forest), Apex (south of Raleigh next to Cary.....new and up and coming, beautiful town), Fuquay Varina (now you're getting pretty far out this is next to Apex but again another up and coming area). Those are pretty much the only "suburbs" of Raleigh......Raleigh really doesn't have any.....you either live in Raleigh or you don't

I went to school in the Piedmont Triad for 4 years, and I'm in the process of trying to find a job there so I can move back. I love the area. It's Southern without being too redneck (well, depending on where you go). Raleigh and Chapel Hill are great places to live, and I love Wilmington and Charlotte. PM me if you have any more specific questions :)

i just visited Charlotte for the first time this weekend (i know i know, after 7 years of North Carolina living you would think i would have ventured out there by now) and i absolutely love it there. i'm looking at grad schools and UNCC seems to have what i'm looking for plus i can start as early as January (so my insurance doesn't cut my butt off).

i stayed primarily in South Charlotte, which is a very nice area. it's very suburban like, with lots of new development and it's very family oriented. plus there's a lot to do with shopping centers and South Park (one of their malls which includes a Nordstroms) not being that far away.

pretty much no matter where you end up, i think that you will enjoy North Carolina. i moved here 7 years ago from Texas and trust me i didn't want to move (we had only been in Dallas for one year and had lived in NJ beforehand). but i fell in love with the Southern charm and the weather and i can't see myself anywhere else. i'm trying my hardest to stay in North Carolina for as long as i can.

I work directly across the street from that Nordstrom's. :D :D :D And I live in this area too, so I would be more than willing to make recommendations on where to live (great apartments, prices, etc.). Feel free to ask me anything!!!

Trust me, I grew up near DC and that is inner city, Raleigh is not! Sure, there are some areas that aren't so great but you have that part of town anywhere. I've lived here for five years and I think it's a great place to live! Plus, we have a great alum club too!

^ where in Raleigh do you live?

I live inside the beltline which I love! My folks live in Wilmington by the way!

This thread is making me hate myself for not accepting that job in Raleigh!! grrrr....

Hi! I live in Wilson...about 30 min. outside of Raleigh. I absolutely love living in NC. Wilson is so convient to everything, Raleigh...the beach (either Morehead or Wilmington) and even my parents in VA. I went to college in Wilson and swore I would never stay after graduation, but I got a job right afterwards. Since I was so lazy and wanted a stress-free summer, I decided to stay. Now that I am involved in the community and gotten past the fact I was sucked into the "black hole" (what we refer to Wilson as since once you stay it seems like you never leave) I love it. Check out Raleigh and the surrounding areas, you can't go wrong! PM me if you have any questions!!! :D

Wilson is great, I used to work in Rocky Mount and have tons of friends that live in Wilson and they all love it.

yeah my parents are in North Raleigh but i love the area you live in.....i remember years ago you couldn't pay people to live there but now resale has skyrocketed and you can't get a house inside the beltline

where in Wilmington do your parents live? you can private message me if you like. i own a place here. i like it but i'm coming to the conclusion that this isn't where i am going to stay. i graduate in December and there is no job market here (unless i go into real estate or tourism) and talking about a black hole, people definitely get sucked in here.