Raleigh, NC Reviews

Real Expectations of the Triangle - 2/22/2014
I've read a lot of negative comments on Raleigh and I've lived in the area for a couple of years now. I was born and raised as a young child in Louisiana, but went to high school and college in Northern Virginia, just outside of DC. Because of this mixture and the clients I serve in the triangle area I've been exposed to both sides of this North/South divide. So to cut to my biggest pieces of advice;

1) If you are looking for a Northern friendly "liberal" area, you are looking for Cary/Apex. We jokingly say Cary means "Containment Area Reserved for Yankees".

2) Know that you are moving to the south and while southerners are generally very nice and polite, you get what you give. Much of the rude behavior I've experienced or been told about has been in the city itself and (no offense) tends to come from people who have moved to the area rather than those who lived here for a while.

Having lived in a true major metro area (DC) I will say there is Read More

Thoughts on life in Raleigh, NC - 2/19/2014
Birdie, I too realized I made the biggest mistake of my life moving to Raleigh at the age of 40.

I've traveled extensively, both domestic and internationally, so I'm not comparing Raleigh to other cities without some knowledge of where else you can live, granted regardless of cost. Unfortunately my wife doesn't want to leave Raleigh, and with the real estate bubble (outside of Raleigh) I'm stuck here for now.

Why am I frustrated living in Raleigh?

1) Weather - The weather is terrible. Summer - four months of the year the temperature never drops below 90F, many days it is 100F with very high humidity. Walk outside and you are sweating in minutes. It is hilarious to see people drive convertibles with the top down in the summer, sweating profusely. During the summer months you will get mauled by mosquitoes. Spring - I never had any allergies until I moved to Raleigh. I now have lots of allergies. In the spring there are literally rivers of yellow Read More

nice driving - 2/13/2014
I wish to express my thanks to all the assholes , who in the midst of a snow storm, proved to everyone that the roads are all THEIRS!!! And then there is the brain dead, sub-moronic pieces of crap that were actually TEXTING and driving!! REALLY??? You people can not drive when the roads are dry. Please leave, I mean you are only ruining this place. Read More

worst place to live ever - 12/8/2013
My husabnd and I moved here 4 months ago, we had a silly idea that it would be nice to live in teh south and my husabnd thought everyone would be friendly and nice, it would be laid back and less stress. It is not friendly and not nice at all, once you open your mouth and say just hello, they say " your not from here" and it goes down hill fast. They dont smile or say thank you even after a purchase barely ring you up, but they want that dollar in your hand!, so they tolerate you enough to get that money. The first question is " what church do you go to?" because if your not in their church, they wont even smile or talk to you! the people in stores are just as bad, they wont even say have a good day or thanks for shopping, I cannot tell you how mnay times we have smiled and tried to talk to teh cashier ina store only to be looked at like dirt on their shoes and tossed our bag. I went to a job fair and it was horrible, people were borderline rude, my husabnd was amazed, he couldnt Read More

should have listened - 12/8/2013
My husband and I moved to Raleigh about 4 months agao, I graduated college in IT and we tohught it would be a great place to start a new life.Ny husband had heard about the friendly and laid back life style couples with a lower cost of living, we envisioned building a little house and living a happy less stressed life. The reality is entirely different. The people are so far from friendly it is amazing. We smile and say hello to everyone, excited to make new friends, and once they hear you are not from here they barely look at you and forget a smile.even the businesses are like this as well. I have cashiers walk away from us when we are paying for things, or better yet they take your money and almost toss the bag at you, dont say thank you, or have a nice day or anything. we are constantly asked what church we belong to, and if you dont answer they wont continue to talk to you, so I guess religion here means if someone is not in your church, then dont be nice and dont be polite!.The Read More

Raleigh NC area and quality of life - 6/24/2013
I have been spending a fair amount of time over the last ten years in the Apex, Raleigh and Fuquay Varina area's of North Carolina and love the area.

I was born in California but grew up in Idaho and have lived everywhere over the years from Utah to Hawaii so am not Southern unless wishful thinking counts! I will be moving from Hawaii to North Carolina.

No where, even Hawaii, is Utopia but everywhere has great things about it and sometimes not so great things.

I bought a house in the Apex area for my upcoming retirement and am looking forward to kicking back and learning to be southern. I love the culture, the opportunities to try new things and the possibilities that exist. Read More

I don't get it. - 5/26/2013
Raleigh has some major perks. The universities and RTP keep the area lively, with an educated population and all the cultural amenities that that brings (concerts, lectures, plays, museums, etc.). However, there are a few major roadblocks that keep Raleigh from being a desirable place to live.

1) Climate -- Apparently some people enjoy bursting into flames 6 months of the year in the scorching heat of Raleigh. I guess the soul-drenching humidity helps to put out the flames. If you want to feel like you jumped in a pool fully clothed and then walked through the worlds largest sauna, then Raleigh may be right for you.

2) Traffic -- Basically plan on not leaving your home between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM, and you might be okay. If you have to venture out, then clear your schedule. It doesn't help that the city is spread out. So when people talk about the cultural amenities of Raleigh, remember that it could take an hour and a half to travel to them.Read More

Raleigh is Okay, but could be better - 4/14/2013
I came here of my own free will, seduced by the laid-back Carolina style and the lush greenery as well as proximity to the coast and the mountains. NC is truly a beautiful place, but much of it has been sprawled over, especially in the Piedmont. Then there's the thing about Raleigh people. The native NC folks are very friendly, but there are a lot of people who've moved in from elsewhere so that this place no longer really resembles the South, especially in terms of friendliness and Down South hospitality. It can actually be fairly cold depending on who you're talking to, and when you combine that with the crazy high taxes, an entrepeneur like me just doesn't want to hang around. I will probably be back in Texas in another 2 or 3 months where people are truly laid back and friendly, and the state is very business-friendly.

All in all, there are several reasons why I'm leaving. The climate, while hot in summer, is not really one of them though. It is a lovely climate, Read More

where should the liberals with kids live? - 1/14/2013
We are also looking to move to Raleigh or Chapel Hill. We have 2 school age children and our budget is around $300 - $400,000 for a house. We would like to get out of the painfully conservative area we are currently living in. We are looking for good schools (of course) A charter/magnet school would be great. In an ideal world we would find a safe area that would allow us to walk to coffee shops with live music and restaurants that serve funky food . We want to live somewhere that we can have our Obama sticker on our car and send our kids to school with their organic edemame without feeling like we're from another planet. Please help:) What part of town should we live in? My husband works from home so we really don't need to worry about a commute. Read More

Southerners and Yankees - 11/13/2012
I would like to reply to the unhappy comments from our friends from the northern states. There were many that stated we southerners were unfriendly, hated "Yankee's" and that you just did not fit in. Truthfully I am rather shocked as Southerns are known for being some of the most friendly and welcoming people in the world. I was born and raised in the South and have never heard anyone say they hated Yankees. I will tell you what I have seen and that is the people from the north relocating here in the south and the first thing they wish to tell us southerns is everything they preceive to be wrong with the south. If we and our southern states are so distasteful to you then why are so many northerners moving to the south to work, some to retire? I would like to respectfully suggest that instead of telling us what is wrong with our southern home that we cherish and are proud of, maybe you should try to adapt more to our way of life. This is our home and heritage, if you wish to "fit Read More