Raleigh, NC Reviews

Feels like a town, amenities of a city - 7/25/2023
I moved to Raleigh in 2018. Before that, I lived in Orange County CA, Boulder CO, South Africa, Northern California, Arizona, and Toronto. I say all this to give context- I moved a lot, loved everywhere. But Raleigh is wonderful! I love all the new development- maybe because that’s what I’m used to. Raleigh feels like a big town, but there are nice amenities. What I LOVE about Raleigh is that I feel like I can do fun things (restaurants, shows, close(ish) to beach and mountains) but ITS NOT HECTIC! what a relief to live somewhere where parking is easy, where traffic isn’t bad at all, and where houses arent crazy expensive. Just like everywhere, Raleigh house prices have gone up in the last few years. But compared to other places that are desirable to live, it’s not bad at all. I would say that Raleigh is pretty equally liberal and conservative, which is something I appreciate because I love when there is freedom of opinion and speech. I also love that people are kind and wonderful. Read More

Great for most, but not for.. - 6/2/2023
Excellent for a great many people or categories of people. As far as prices: ratio of wage and job opportunity here with housing remains one of the better ones in the US. Many educated people and lot of high tech. So particularly great for technology professionals. Fairly good offering in higher ed and medicine as well. Some very nice places for fairly well-to-do seniors, elderly and geriatrics.
Also exceptional for families. Lots of programs and school choices and after school xyz's. Lot of parks and rec offerings. Y's abound.
Not great for elderly who are also low income especially those needing care as facilities here are very expensive and long waits for mediocre low income independent and there no low/few mid income places that are highly supportive.
For the no money, no/low skilled it'd be expensive. There the periphery and 'down east' especially where it starting to flood that is fairly cheap but not much work. But shelter low Read More

My Blue Heaven - 5/25/2023
I attended university here in the early 90s and came back around 2005 and never left. I'm surprised at the other negative reviews honestly. Yes, housing is pricey in Raleigh, it has gone through the roof in the last five years, apartments included, and the city allows predatory developers like KB Home to throw up shoddy homes on the outskirts, but our tax rate and overall prices are still much cheaper than many big cities, and there ARE benefits to living here. The weather is warm, usually sunny, and we have very clean water and air. With three R1 universities in the Triangle, there are ALWAYS cultural and sporting events if you bother to look (check out the IndyWeek publication). It's a college area, so if you like college sports you'll be good. Very good. If you like pro sports, you'll have to settle for the Bulls, Hurricanes, and women's soccer. Raleigh and Cary have several outdoor concert venues that bring in varied shows (Red Hat, Koka Booth). There are excellent state-funded Read More

Ghosts Available For Haunting - 10/5/2022
I have lived in Raleigh for four decades. most of my life. I used to love Raleigh beyond words. I was proud of Raleigh and now, in 2022 and now I am thinking about moving far away. All the things that made it a great place to live are no longer, almost anything that had local flavor or history is gone, even places that were new and helped revitalize the downtown area are gone. Most have been pushed out by developers, house flippers and bland.transplants hoping for a beige life. All these beige souls moved in doves into areas where there was lively nightlife, dining and but they demanded a quiet city, a city without city things. Generic suburbia, but with high rises. These things once existed, I know because I was part of it. Music venues, theaters, restaurants, galleries all the things that make a city fun and vibrant are gone. as well as those who were the creatives behind it all. All the fun has been drained, all the culture purged..We once were a welcoming, friendly place, and Read More

Visit and do your research before you decide - 9/13/2021
I've lived in Raleigh since 1971 so I've definitely seen a lot of changes, some good and some not! I won't say which is which in my review because realistically, we all have different things that matter to us.

-Housing/Real Estate- Prices are rising like crazy (compared to the past decades) and there is not enough inventory for everyone who wants to buy, especially at entry-level prices right now. Raleigh has a lot of suburban sprawl, with inadequate public transportation. Road construction has struggled to keep up every year I've lived here it seems. City Council decisions seem to tend to favor developers and not enough attention is being paid to how growth is affecting the character of the city and quality of life. Depending on the architectural/neighborhood styles you like, there is some variety- from small mid-century homes to McMansions to brand new neo-traditional homes. Raleigh has small pockets of older neighborhoods with lots of trees. But Raleigh also has a Read More

Think twice before you do it and don't. - 7/12/2021
I've been here 25 years. I can't wait to leave. What was a beautiful, charming, quiet town has turned into a nightmare of hundreds of people moving here every day. Infrastructure hasn't kept up. Nothing but sprawl and more sprawl. Builders knock down anything that looks like a tree and flatten the land into a pancake every time they walk onto a square inch of property. Absolutely no concern for the environment or the creatures that used to live there. New houses are thrown up in five minutes. School teachers are just done and are quitting at an alarming pace. School jobs are available because people are quitting because they are miserable. New people with kids immediately start screaming about the quality of the schools. The State is slam-packed overwhelmed. Mercy! Just mercy. Whatever you are looking for, it's not here. Don't contribute to the further ruination of the natural resources and environment that is being decimated as quickly as possible. Also, if you are a foodie or like Read More

Bland and Boring - 7/5/2021
I don’t see how Raleigh makes the top best places to live lists. The people are funny acting and job market is only great if you are in IT or Medical/biotech field. Cost of living is rising, if you make less than $80k as a single or $160k as a family you better have a side hustle (e.g: Uber, Lyft, side business) if you don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck.
There isn’t much to do outside bars and restaurants on Glenwood south/North Hills. Outside of those areas Raleigh is bland suburbia. Raleigh is not a city! There is no aquarium, zoo, theme parks, or decent museums. You are paying city cost of living without all the big city amenities.
People act the same, very cliquey, dress alike, and drive the same type of vehicles. Raleigh is full of basic bros/gals with no individual character or personality.
If you want true city life, this is not the place for you. Move to Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Austin, or Miami for a true southern city Read More

Not the Southern State You're Looking For - 4/22/2021
TLDR: I'm shocked how cold the people are here and not at all what I would expect from a Southern state. If you're looking for a Southern state with that "Southern charm" near the beach or otherwise and escape from cold weather this is "a place." NC has warmer weather compared to any Northern state, but the people are just as cold(if not colder) than the weather you want to forget. Here are my thoughts and background. I'm originally from south AL - 2.5 hours from Panama City Beach. When I was younger I moved with my parents to Rocky Mount, NC. I remember having many friends and many great memories alongside the troubles you get into as a kid. Overall, I had fond memories of the place. Soon after we moved to East TN. I lived there for 22 years before I moved back to NC with an, at the time, SO. East TN was quaint yet beautiful and charming in it's own right. Mountains, weather, people were mostly warm and cheerful. There's some in-between caught in the mix but overall I was spoiled Read More

Not as great as it appears on paper - 3/29/2021
This review is from the perspective of a potential transplant who was very, very interested in Raleigh as a potential destination. I thought it had everything a medium city such as Portland, OR but I was wrong. When you read about the Growth Sprawl - believe it. It is one big cluster of spaghetti roads that have no amenities near by. There's nothing to do anywhere except Downtown and that's not saying a whole lot since downtown is very small. The population size of this city will deceive any outsider in to thinking that it is a good sized city but it's not. The population density is among the worst of any city in the US. Also, the housing market supply is almost non-existent with home sellers taking 10+ offers on homes that will go for up to 50k above asking price. These are the cons. There are some pros, tho. It is a very clean city with lots of diversity and a growing micro beer culture. If you're coming from the west, be prepared for culture shock as Raleigh is definitely a Read More

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