Why We Said No to Raleigh and Yes to Wilmington NC - 12/31/2018
Better weather, great eats, funky historic neighborhoods walking distance to downtown... an artsy vibe, brew pubs and dog parks. This was what we were hoping to find in the Raleigh Durham area- we were moving from the north.

A sprawling diaspora of new construction awaited us, Truman Show type developments with 5’ between you and your neighbor. This is Minivan Metropolis. Suburbia on Steroids. Helloooo Gridlock.

2 hours east, we discovered Wilmington NC. A port city that was never destroyed during the civil war, the historic neighborhoods are walking distance to a fun and funky downtown... homes less than HALF of what you would pay for Raleigh. 15 minutes to the beach, the downtown is currently undergoing extensive development with house boat communities and luxury condos incoming. Golf courses and new developments abound as well; there’s plenty of variety for everyone.

Will prices stay low in Wilmington indefinitely? I doubt it. Since coming Read More

Living & Working in Raleigh is For Me - 9/23/2018
Living in Raleigh has been wonderful for my family and my business. As a roofing contractor, we are able to help our community protect their most valuable asset, their home. We enjoy working side by side the people in our community. The schools are also great depending on where you are in the city. Overall this is one of the best place I have Read More

Worst experience ever - 6/17/2018
I have lived in 10+ different cities throughout my life (London, SF, NYC, Chicago etc) and move to Raleigh for a work opportunity. Worst decision I have ever made. First of all, do not believe the media hype that Raleigh is a city on the rise. Raleigh is NOT, I repeat, not a city in any way. It is a giant suburb with zero infrastructure, population density, downtown development or metropolitan culture or energy. I have been here for a year so far and am counting down the weeks until I get to move back to a city never to look back at this place again. I find the people here incredibly basic, ignorant, close minded, conformist and uninteresting. The "city" itself has 4-5 supposedly upscale restaurant options where you see the same people as they rotate between the very limited choices in town. Everyone lives in incredibly gaudy macmanions on the outskirts of town and strives for a mind-numingly boring super suburban lifestyle. Most people who I have encountered here are nice enough, but Read More

BORING suburban sprawl - 3/27/2017
I am stuck here due to my husbands job and there isn't more than a week that goes by that I'm not in tears because of this. There was never a lot of character to Raleigh in the way other nearby cities have it (Savannah, Charleston, etc.) so everything remotely old is being torn down. Most places weren't worth preserving but now we're left with chains and mcmansions. It all looks the same and it all lacks imagination. Speaking of looking the same, people here are so conformist it seems like a comedy sketch. Same clothes, same hair cuts, same houses and same cars (this must be one of 4 Runners best markets) Southern people here are rude and nosey; Northern transplants are materialistic and gaudy. Its a city built on an office park and that's exactly what it feels like. People go from home to cars to cubes and back again. Everyone is all about their bad corporate jobs. (The job market, for the most part, is awful if you only have a college degree) I spend a crazy amount of Read More

news=the north won - 12/21/2016
the level of hatred of Northerners was a surprise to us (you like our money though). The drivers here have no courtesy toward others on the road, refuse to signal and pull bizarre stunts while flying down ice covered roads at 70 mph. The amount of crashes reported on the news daily is hysterical. Love the weather Read More

Yankee - 12/9/2016
Yes lots of Yankee are up tight, but there are all kinds in all places. I'm from Michigan and a lot of people up hear are tight wads but in other area of Michigan people are very friendly, most outside of SE Detroit area or ever some folks inside the city of Detroit are very friendly and open minded. But i noticed the suburbs outside of Detroit white people are nasty and some very cold heart. It is very sad that some area turn into a cesspool of clicks and undesirables. Are country needs more awareness and education on other places and other cultures.  Read More

Wages/ Groceries/ Housing Bubble - 11/8/2016
I moved from Boston to Raleigh, NC area. The job here are very IT based. The wages are very low, unless you are in the top tier position of a company. I was making 6 figures as an Executive Assistant, I was offered a job @45K a year for a CEO of a Multi-million dollar company. I told them I moved to the South, but don't plan on being raped here. But yet I pay my dog walker $25/ 30 minute walk a day. The flight home was cheaper than I was quoted to have my hair cut $45-55. You cannot have people making cheeseburgers selling them to manicurists and waiters. The houses here under $375 go like hotcakes because that is what people can afford. I will never buy real estate here, it is a bubble. In addition to the people being very transient the jobs are too. You can have a job, but if you lose it I have heard countless stories of people that have to leave the area.
The groceries are very costly, never mind the taxes on basic groceries. I have priced compared a few items Read More

Raleigh is not what it protects itself as - 6/15/2016
I've moved a lot and have lived in some really great places. I have to say that Raleigh has been the most disappointing moves. I could list a million things that make my decision to move easier, but it's not productive. For starters,there's no urban planning or zoning laws. I've never seen so many horrible neighborhoods go up around this town. The trees are all cut down and then the houses go up. They all look the same. It's an empty and lonely feelings to drive by these neighborhoods. No personality, no soul, no nature...just houses. Urban sprawl in this area is awful. Inside the beltline is beautiful. I would consider living there, but even then I'm not sure.

Raleigh is a town, not a city. It still has a town mentality. So it's a weird combination, tons of growth, tons of transplants and a town mentality. It doesn't fit. They could do so much with the downtown area and if they were smart about it would look at Durham and other southern towns as a reference. Raleigh is Read More

Not sure why it is rated so high every year - 5/31/2016
I have lived in Raleigh, Cary and Wake Forest for the past 15 years. If you are considering moving to the area and have kids in school, please move to Cary for their benefit. Raleigh schools are horrible! Wake Forest is fair, but Cary is definitely the best in the area. Also, unless you like to drink A LOT, there is not much in the way of things to do. Raleigh folk can be rather clicky and hard to make friends with. However, once again people in Cary are much more friendly and out going and Wake Forest is once again in the middle. Raleigh is often dirty with trash everywhere on the sides of the streets. It has also become way over populated in the past few years. This has led to extreme traffic problems, a massive decline in upkeep on the existing roads and very dangerous drivers in the area. If you drive anywhere for 10 minutes or more you most likely find yourself scratching your head at the other motorists or swerving for dear life. Wake Forest is even worse in the driving Read More

READING BAD REVIEWS - 4/16/2016
Hoping to get back to the reviews I was reading about Raleigh NC.
Makes me nervous about moving there.
Although I read a couple they seemed very fair and not at all angry.
So hoping to see more Read More