Raleigh/Durham, NC..checking into the area

[IZ]

UNC, Duke (btw, Rameses goes to UNC, I'm pretty sure you were kidding about him going to Duke but I didn't want you to mess that one up if you weren't), and NC State are all in the RTP area. NC State is in Raleigh itself. You've also got Wake Forest, my alma mater, in Winston-Salem which is down the road a couple hours. The rivalry (Tobacco Road Rivalry) is awesome between them and makes for some great sporting events.

It is still a hike to the beach and to the mountains and I'm not sure if its city enough for you. I'd PM Rameses and Jobu to grab their attention.

And visiting is a good idea. Yuu came down to visit Charlotte several times while he was looking around. He got to meet some locals, taste some good bbq, and get a feel for the layout of the city.

Major employers in Raleigh and RTP: http://www.raleigh4u.com/page/major-employers

Thanks Bub.

What you think..you like the PDX/NW or back in NC?  I really liked Portland/Seattle.  I'm not sure if anywhere I've been looking can compare.  Well, better weather of course!!




BTW..I know Rams is at UNC.  Maybe that's why he hasn't PM me back?

[jdubbs32584]

Thanks Bub.

What you think..you like the PDX/NW or back in NC?  I really liked Portland/Seattle.  I'm not sure if anywhere I've been looking can compare.  Well, better weather of course!!




BTW..I know Rams is at UNC.  Maybe that's why he hasn't PM me back?

Well...of course there's pros and cons to both.

I like the weather in NC for motorcycle riding but the summer is awful. 90+ degrees with insane humidity but the fall is so beautiful and there's rarely significant snowfall. There's great riding around, especially in the mountains, but no track. The beach is there and is very nice most of the time and NC is full of great diversity due to all the influx of people we've had. And of course my family and my dogs are here in NC.

But Mother is in Oregon and I go where he goes (I know, I know, sappy). The weather there isn't all that bad. In the winter, I can ride horses in the indoor arena and head 15 minutes up the mountain to go snowboarding. Yeah, the rain is sucky but there's stuff I can do. There's so much to do outdoors, hiking, shooting, whitewater. There's great riding right outside my door and a track within an hour. I'm a country girl that likes the city so living in the boonies isn't so bad. I was getting real tired of the traffic and noise in Charlotte (nothing compared to DC).

The RTP area is great, here's some info about Cary in particular (Cary is home to a lot of soccer stuff so I'm a fan of it): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary,_North_Carolina

The colleges and Research Park really make it a diverse area, you may just wanna look into whether you can do the outdoor stuff you wanna do there.

[potomacduc]

I grew up a few miles north of Lansing.  If Richmond has more crime then it must be a lot like Flint? 
Detroit, eh?  The s/o's sister lives in Ferndale.  We've visited a few times.  Greektown is cool.  The last time we went was in winter and we were ice skating in the middle of the city.  Ann Arbor was the closest I'd live to MoTown.

DC looks cool and there a few good employment prospects for us..I'm not sold on it though.  I know the traffic there must to be worse than Seattle?!  Being located so close to those other East cities is really cool though!
   

Dewitt?
Richmond has crime that is probably between Lansing and Flint.  It is no where near as bombed out feeling as Flint and is probably a little more vibrant than even Lansing.  If you can keep yourself entertained in Lansing, you would be OK in Richmond.  You can reach all of those same east coast cities from Richmond by car or train, it's just 100 miles farther.

DC traffic hasn't been much of an issue for me, as I have lived and worked inside the beltway in VA since moving here.  I 've been here 6 years, walked to work for two of those years and had a commute of 4.5 miles or less the rest of the time.   You generally do pay more for the convenience, but for me it is worth it.      

On to Raleigh...I have travelled there a fair amount for work and I like Raleigh.  Raleigh is interesting in that at times it feels like a small town and at others it feels quite a bit larger.  To use the Lansing comparison again, Both cities are state capitals, both have the "_______ State University". in 1970 Lansing was a bit larger than Raleigh (130K to 122K).   Since then, Raleigh has more than tripled in size and Lansing has shrunk by 10%.  Add in the fact that Raleigh is part of a metro area with other cities that have been similarly dynamic and the contrast between Raleigh and Lansing can be stark.  Raleigh and its metro area are simply much larger and much more dynamic.  Still, at times it doesn't feel much bigger at all.

My take on NC is that I like the feel and culture of the east side of the state and the topography of the west side of the state.  I guess you can't have it all.  In general though, I like NC; not enough to go out of my way to move there, but if I was in relocation mode, it would get some consideration. 

[herm]

You could move your hippie ass to Boulder, CO.

IZ would fit right into the peoples republic....

seriously though.........skip boulder. 20 square miles surrounded by reality.
if your interested in Colorado, check out Fort Collins.
and avoid the springs unless you are serious about your religion

[duccarlos]

I'm convinced IZ is in the relocation program and he keeps make the beast with two backsing it up by telling people where he's moving.

I have only gone to Raleigh for business and I found it a bit slow. I know I was probably looking in the wrong places. How important is it to be near the beach? Mountains? Is it a deal breaker?

[superjohn]

There's great riding around, especially in the mountains, but no track.

No Track? VIR is an hour away. 

[jdubbs32584]

No Track? VIR is an hour away. 

IZ asked about my experience where I lived in NC (in Charlotte not Raleigh). VIR is 3 hours away from Charlotte. Now I have a track almost in my backyard as well as a very active racing club. Thats just a tad different than my experience in Charlotte.

[IZ]

IZ asked about my experience in Charlotte not Raleigh. VIR is 3 hours away from Charlotte. Now I have a track almost in my backyard as well as a very active racing club. Thats just a tad different than my experience in Charlotte.

Yes, you do have an active club up that way.  Seattle's the same way!

Cool..a track an hour a way in Raleigh?  Not bad.

Arghh..I miss AZ in regards to trackdays.  Firebird raceway was approx. 5 miles from my house.  $20 trackdays for Ducs a couple times/year.

[Mother]

somehow I get the feeling that the end iz near

IZ iz the clock

Once he settlez down the countdown beginz

Upon the unholy birth of hiz spawn

A darkness will spread across the earth

"Corpse of Rebelz"

"Ashez of Dreamz"

"Blood Stained Streets"

and all that

[herm]

so, you're saying we iz doomed?

[Mother]

izactly

[ducpainter]

doomed az doomed can be.

[herm]

iz almost az if he iz the antichrist

[Randimus Maximus]

iz almost az if he iz the antichrist

you're giving his that much credit? 

[Mother]

not him, hiz spawn

IZ iz merely the carrier of hiz half of the unholy light