I was wondering of anyone has any advice to offer. I have lived in NJ my whole life and my husband will be interviewing for a job in NC on 12/19. If he gets the position we will have to put our house up for sale ASAP and move. I have a 3 month old girl and a 3 1/2 year old boy. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to live and how to start this moving process? The hubby would be in charge of the whole state going to different billing offices so he was looking in the Raleigh area near a town called Cary. If anyone is from NC please share your thoughts or if anyone moved there from NJ please tell me what it's like. I want to move and I don't, probably because I've never even seen the state. Thanks
My brother is in Apex outside of Cary and he loves the slower pace. My sister-in-law owns violet greenhouses in Cary http://www.bluebirdgreenhouse.com/ They have lived there awhile and enjoy the area.
I live in NJ now, but I moved from NY to NC back in '99. I lived in Durham and worked in Raleigh at one point. Raleigh is more the "big city" for them. It's a great state. Very beautiful. And although it does get cold, winters are easier. There's always a week in Dec and Jan where it's 70 degrees. There's an old saying down there. "If God didn't love Carolina so much, he wouldn't have made the sky Carolina blue." I really loved it down there. I just hated to be away from my friends and family. Good luck with whatever you 2 decide.
My SIL grew up in Chapel Hill and swears by it. Pretty, safe little college town (I was there for their wedding), great schools, etc., and it's right near Raleigh.
Hope that helps!
Hi L.,
You did not mention if you work and how this is effecting your carrer but my advice having lived in a section of Western NJ that is 60 miles away from friends and family in NY is to get a support network. Start your son in some sort of structured daycare if he isn't in one already so that he can meet other children and you can meet their parents. I can't stress how important this will be when you find the section of NC to settle. There is nothing worse than being in a new environment and feeling isolated. You will also want to establish a relationship with someone or another family that you can rely to watch the kids in a pinch. You may move into a community where the "clicks" are already established so just stay away from the gossip and find the needle in the haystack that you can trust (I am going through all of this so this comes from experience!. This will not happen right away so be patient and try to network.
Lastly, save up a Holiday fund so that each major Holiday you can fly back and spend time with your family if they cannot come to you.
All the best to you. You may find more transplants from up this way than you realize since many of us are getting tired of the cost of living in this State. Good luck!
My brother and sis-in-law are looking at moving there from RI...they just went there looking at areas. They were very interested in Cary at first, but upon going there and looking at Cary, Raleigh and Charlotte (among other smaller towns), they really liked charlotte and are now looking to move there. The cost of living is lower...houses are cheaper although the amount of land you get I believe is smaller than up where we live. Good luck with whatever you decide!!
