Moving to the Carolinas? Anyone up there?

[mbeach]

I can't help but notice how helpful the members have been in this thread -what a good bunch.

From my experience (after living in NC for 6+ years), it's been my favorite state. I love the weather, foliage, culture (except Nascar), and all of the quaint little towns/suburbs. I was actually looking for a job in NC when I was contacted about my current position.

The Triangle will put you comfortably out of range of all but the most devastating hurricanes -which could be comforting.

[Maugan_VX]

If you are into the arts and culture then I would definitely choose the triangle over charlotte, only because that town is all about its sports.

I'm in Cary right now, which is about two minute's drive away from Morrisville (I'm about to go get some sushi in Morrisville after I complete this posting) which is about a 15 minute (no traffic) commute down I40 into downtown Raleigh. You're also not very far from Durham either.

One drawback is that Morrisville is directly across the highway from RDU. You can't escape the planes. Although the airport shuts down at 11pm, it starts up again at like 5am.

Wish I could help you out as far as finding a job, but it looks like technocoy's better connected in your area of expertise. Unless you know something about Oracle or have worked in the Pharma industry, I can't help ya

[JimRori]

Yup, we'll definately be up there checking things for ourselves, but it is good to have input from those who have been there already. I'm pretty busy with work but I might be able to squeeze in a long weekend in early Dec. If not, it will be late Feb. before I'll have any real time. I will let you know if I'm gonna be in your area.

I ment to ask about the weather too. About how hot in the summer and how cold in the winter? Is there much of a difference in temps. between Charlotte and Raleigh?

What's the deal with basements? Don't they build 'em up there? I've looked at a few realtor websites and there seem to be some nice/big homes but no basements.

[JimRori]

Also wanted to ask - what's RDU?

[Mikeys00vx]

RDU is the three letter identifier for Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Mikey

[technocoy]

not sure about the basements question, there are lots of houses with them, maybe you just haven't run across any yet. They aren't as standard here as I hear they are up north, but it's a common thing.

as for the weather... pretty mild except for summer (but i hate the heat) and the only reason thats bad is because of the 98degrees combined with the 100% humidity. Of course, coming from florida, you won't be to out of your element. ha! usually get one to two small winter storms, very rarely anything huge. the fall months are beautiful especially in the mountains.

[Maugan_VX]

the reason why there are no basements around here is because the soil in which the foundations for homes rest is mostly red clay. Its the nastiest stuff on the planet, but its also known for not providing the best foundation support, therefore basement walls tend to crack when the house shifts.

So instead they just lay footers in the ground with a crawlspace and no basements.

[Heraclid]

the nightlife is pretty good if you're into that. It does have the Panthers.

LOL! Well, I know that the night life in Tampa got interesting when a couple of Panthers cheerleaders were in town.

[technocoy]

that was SO AWESOME... my wife and i were like, oh i wonder if they got in a fight? then when we heard what happened it was like, sweet!

[JimRori]

Well everybody, thanks again for the helpful info. I've got a second phone interview Monday afternoon. I hope to impresss them with my near god-like abilities. We'll see how it goes.

[coolk41]

I[/IMG] live in Rock Hill, S.C. and commute to Charlotte for work 4 times /week. I love it down here. I live about .5 miles from Lake Wylie. The Property taxes here in York County are much lower than in Charlotte(Mecklenberg County) and the sales tax is 5.5%. It is a little safer here too. The crime rate is lower and the life style is slower.

[technocoy]

in Rock Hill back in my manual labor days... pretty nice area, and a short commute into charlotte.

[JimRori]

Thanks for the Rock Hill, SC tip. If I end up with a job in Charlotte I will keep that in mind.

Well the phone interview went well. We're trying to schedule a face-to-face sometime in the next week or so. This job is in Mooresville.

I'm really interested in this job. The problem is that the pay is a lot less than I make now. On the other hand there might be more potential with this job. One step back for two steps forward?

Anybody have any specific info on Mooresville - schools, nice neighborhoods, etc?

[technocoy]

ncie historic area downtown, from what i remember it was relatively cheap to get property there, but i'm sure it's grown a bit since then. It's similar to any bordering town. smaller, quieter, good for a commute.

not a bad place at all, just not my style as far as being a designer, etc... but you will be very close to charlotte, so no biggie there.

good luck with the interview.... let us know how it goes.

technocoy

[Maugan_VX]

Hope you like NASCAR living in Mooresville