Just looking for some insight to this area. A few of us are actually taking a trip down the east coast I think mid June to check out a few places and this is on our list. We are all pretty much PC Techs - Net Admin types so we are looking for some place pretty developed but would like to live on the outskirts if possible. Just have to escape the 1 bedroom shack for $400,000 on long island ya know?

So whats up with this area?

Yeah, im looking to get my butt off this Island, its way to expensive to survive here.. Anyone have some insight in NC?

It's a great place to live, work, and raise families.

This is the home of Research Triangle Park (aka: Silicon Valley East). Cisco, IBM, Nortel, SAS, etc., etc., plus lots of pharmaceutical and biomedical companies here.

If you're a basketball fan, you already know this:
Durham = Duke University, Chapel Hill = UNC, so the entire area goes into fan-meltdown during March Madness.

$400K will get you a very large, fancy-schmancy house.

There's still a faint whiff of the Old South's legacy of quiet courtesy and patience -- or maybe it's really universal, once you decrease crowding and stress. But, this is also one of the fastest-growing areas in the US. Schools and highways are crowded, construction is ubiquitous, building lots are getting smaller, population desities are rising. Tempers are growing a bit shorter -- but it ain't NY yet!

Lots and lots of tall trees everywhere, is what most people notice on their first visit -- this was a rural/agricultural state until very recently. If you drive any direction from the Triangle for about 20 minutes, you'll be well out into the countryside.

We are halfway between the Outer Banks and the Blue Ridge Parkway -- about 3 hours to either (depending on whether your E is broken-in yet.) Close to home, lots of large lakes, with parks, camping, boating, etc.

Climate is 'mild' -- in the winter, anyway; your AWD won't be needed often. But when we do have ice it's a real three-ring circus around here. Also, it's hotter than blue-blazes in summertime!

Factoids:
o NC -- more miles of paved roads than any state, except CA.
o NC -- movie-making capitol of the East (This was true when I moved here 14 years ago, but Orlando may hold the title now. It was very wierd the first time we went to the movies here: when the credits rolled at the end of the main feature, no one in the theatre would leave -- everyone was looking for the names of their friends and neighbors.)

If you are Tech types then the research triangle in the Raleigh-Durham area is for you - lots of those jobs there. Raleigh is a nice area. You'll be able to get a nice house for $250k. A town house for even way less.
You also have 4 major universities nearby: UNC, NC State, Duke, ECU.

I Have lived in Eastern NC for 3 years now in Greenville, about 100 miles east of Raleigh and 50 miles from the coast. The Outer Banks are great for beaches and recreation.

NC is still considered in the south so you have a little of that southern hospitality left. It's a mixture of the fast paced eastern culture and the old south life style. Having lived in the deep south, NC is much more progressive.

Dell is buiding a huge new facility in Winston-Salem (about 100 miles west of Raleigh) so that's also a possiblity for you.

Godd Luck to you.

i live in wilmington...right on beach GE nuclear and aircraft engines is here...so is corning glass.. GE just moved their hdq here from up north. were also the hdq for PPD pharma. the weather is great....wilmington is like comparing miami as the bumping place in fl. im actually moving to s. beach. lol

I left the Island with my tail between my legs 32 years ago and haven't looked back. I now live about 100 miles north of Durham in Virginia. I've got two things to tell you. They don't know what deli is in the South and there's nothing the natives hate more than yankees who think everything is better up north. Oh and Southern hospitality, it's a ruse. They're no more decent than anyone else. Just more polite. Oh and here's one you'll hear: What's the difference between a yankee and a damn yankee? A yankee comes and visits, a damn yankee comes and stays. All that said, I really like it down here and you couldn't pay me to move back to LI. Oh yeah, we love you equity refugees who sell your expensive homes, come down here and raise the price of our real estate. The only problem is, where are we going to be equity refugees? Personally, I'm thinking about Prague. Good Luck!

I left the Island with my tail between my legs 32 years ago and haven't looked back. I now live about 100 miles north of Durham in Virginia. I've got two things to tell you. They don't know what deli is in the South and there's nothing the natives hate more than yankees who think everything is better up north. Oh and Southern hospitality, it's a ruse. They're no more decent than anyone else. Just more polite. Oh and here's one you'll hear: What's the difference between a yankee and a damn yankee? A yankee comes and visits, a damn yankee comes and stays. All that said, I really like it down here and you couldn't pay me to move back to LI. Oh yeah, we love you equity refugees who sell your expensive homes, come down here and raise the price of our real estate. The only problem is, where are we going to be equity refugees? Personally, I'm thinking about Prague. Good Luck!

LOL...that was funny.

Good news...WE DON'T OWN HOMES!!! Can't afford it, thats why we're getting out! No DELIS??? WTF MAN! Its kewl, I can live without.