Yo.

I currently live in the Washington D.C. area. I work with the area's transit authority on radio telecommunications systems. I'm pursuing an electrical or systems engineering degree, and as soon as I'm done with that, I'm out.I'm looking at a few areas in North Carolina. The NC climate and location seems right. A few hours to the coast and a few hours to the Appalachian mountains. A few hours to VIR, Road Atlanta, and six hours to Summit Point isn't terrible either.

Being that I'm of a technical background, I was looking at Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, as there are High Tech/Industrial companies there. However, I was told that I wouldn't like it there because it's not that much different than Washington D.C. Others have suggested the areas of Charlotte and Greensboro as up-and-coming cities that may have what I'm looking for.


I dislike living in D.C. because it's way too crowded. The roads and other infrastructure can't handle the population. Housing is insanely expensive and the commute is horrible... Also the culture is not very friendly. People are rude, stressed, selfish, and never helpful. D.C. is built on politics, so everyone's a lawyer or lobbyist or some such thing. Those that aren't are military, ex-military, or military contractors. There's just so much corporate backstabbing and looking out for number one. It's like everyone has a stick up their ***.

Don't get me wrong. There are positive aspects of D.C. There's always something to go out and do on Friday and Saturday nights. Whether it be an off Broadway play, a raucous Irish pub for pints of Guinness, wine and beer tasting, Concerts of any variety, Night Clubs... Shopping is plentiful, there are many malls in the area. There is just convenient access to everything.

I want all the conveniences and activity of a city nearby, but I want the friendliness and open spaces of outer suburbia/small town living.


I'm 26 right now. I like to snowboard in the winter... If the fact that I own an RX-7 and mentioned tracks earlier, I love all things automotive. Four Wheeling in Uwharrie is also appealing... I obviously like to go out and have fun, be it a cultural event (Stage plays, concerts) or drinking (I'm a beer snob. I've never had Natural Light, Milwaukee's Best, or Pabst Blue Ribbon. Busch, Coors, Bud all suck.) I have a Virginia CCW permit, and I think NC is a reciprocal state, so I should have no problem with the NC gun laws, I think NC would be pretty gun friendly.

I'm looking at doing this in a few years after I get my engineering degree and when I can sell my house up here. I still hope to be in well enough shape to be able to do the same things I like to do now. I'd like to maybe get a couple acres to build a house and garage on and make this the place I call home for a while.


Can anyone tell me about a few cities/areas I might be interested in looking into in North Carolina? Thanks in advance.


I'm looking now because I want to plan into the future. Due to the current low real estate prices, I may buy a piece of land. When it comes time for me to move, I'll sell. If it won't sell, then I build my house on it and that'll be my home for a while.

 

just from your few likes, i'd recommend Boone, its in the mountains so you're right there when you want to go snowboarding, everything is within walking distance, if not within a margin of 5 minute drive tops, the town is centered around a university so there's nightlife specially if appalachian wins lol, but as far as all the big corporations and stuff, idk, i'm not sure how Boone is about that, and i know that housing is a bit expensive due to the fact that its in the mountains and near the Blue Ridge Parkway too...but this is coming from an 18 year old who still lives at home :P.... that's ...well Boone and Winston Salem, Winston is bigger and more city like, where boone is like a rural town but with everything squeezed together lol... i'm not as experienced with winston, but hey these two options may get you started somewhere, hope this helps.

 

Statesville area is nice. Its right where I77 and I40 meet. You can get a place in the country but be in mooresville, hickory, or greensboro in 30 minutes and Charolette in a hour. Your about a 1 to 1 1/2hours from the mountains, and 3-4 from the beach. There are a lot of OHV places some just in sc and in the morganton nc area

 

I came up from south florida, and I would recommened Charlotte got a nice night life with a couple of colleges. And theres a nice rx7 meet here. I havent been able to make the meets but have gotten to know couple of the guys. Weathers great year round

 

What about jobs in the Charlotte region? Industry? Tech?
Like I said, I'm getting a degree in engineering.

I know Wachovia is there... But I'm not a banker.

 

Jobs are good down here as long as you have the edu/experience.

The one thing I don't like is that I want to be a welder, and everywhere I go to apply for welding (even though I will be going to school for it) says I have to have experience to be applicable. Kinda hard to get experience when no one will hire...

 

That's the story of every carrer to start with. Mine was the same. Now I am 11 years deep.

I like Charlotte area. I live in Denver ,NC. Next to Lake Norman. As mentioned by alot of the crew there is a good 7 family here. Jobs are good in Charlotte for most business'. As well if your skills can be applied to motosports there is always that. The degree is the way of the future for race teams. If you are into that aspect of engineering.

Charlotte needs a transit system that is competent and efficient. Maybe you could be the brainchild for that.

Good luck! And come join the crew, We'd love to grow more.

Dave

 

Bump... Keep it coming guys. I like what I'm hearing.

 

Bump again...

Since this thread, I've bought 5 acres right on Kerr Lake (Us Virginians call it Buggs Island Lake.) It's about an hour out of Raleigh, near Clarksville, VA and Buffalo Junction, VA. I've got my own personal beach.

I don't like the snooty community association and I don't think it's close enough to anything that resembles a city. (Though I still haven't visited NC yet.) I might end up just calling this property an investment and selling it.


I had some friends look into Raleigh. They said night life is almost non-existent. I still have to verify for myself, but I do trust their judgment.

Still... I can't get over the fact that I have my own personal beach... Then I noticed Lake Norman... Right near Charlotte.

How's that area?

Like, say if I were to set up house in Cornelius, Westport, or Mooresville, how bad would the drive to downtown Charlotte be?


Currently, in Washington D.C., it takes me an hour to get to and from work... And when I get home, I come home to a suburban, cookie cutter neighborhood to a little brick rambler... Hardly paradise.

I could handle driving an hour to come home to my own personal hammock on the beach... Maybe a boat... Relax on the water... With my 3 bay detached garage and nobody else around... Ahhh. Paradise.

Of course RX-7 clubbers are invited.

 

Sounds to me like you would be more at home in the Greensboro area of NC for a house but I have no clue how the jobs are in the area for your line of work.
The reason:
3.5 hours from beach/mountains, +/- .5/.75 hours depending how you drive and where you go
1.5 hours from Charlotte/Raleigh/statesville
maybe 1/1.25 hours south-west of VIR
Houseing/cost of living isnt all that bad price wise.
The night life isnt all that great but then you do have Winston Salem, High Point, and Martinsville with in a easy drive to find stuff to do.

 

What's in Greensboro?

 

Pele,

NC is nice. I've never lived there, but have been through much of it (mostly for RX-7 related events).

If you have a degree in engineering, you should check out the company that I work for. The US headquarters is here in Lynchburg, but there is also an office in Charlotte.

http://jobs.areva.com/

The company is big, so there is work in all kinds of areas. Best of all, there are locations in Paris (and other parts of France) as well as Germany. Lots of chances to go over there for a short term (weeks to months) or long term (years). Sure nice to get paid to travel.

 

Well it has UNCG and A&T State University
A few clubs, coliseum, Honda jet factory, a indoor pistol range, piedmont triad international airport, a shitty police force, a so-so car scene, and I think thats about it. Then you also have high point which had a major car scene untill cops started giving out ticket if they seen you drive by more then 4 times on the strip. Also you have Winston-Salem which I couldnt tell you anything major, since ziggy's closed I dont like the drive for me to get there.

 

What's Charlotte got for night life? Bars, microbreweries, and such...
I'm a beer snob in addition to everything else.

 

I moved to the Triangle area 13 months ago from the Baltimore area. So far, I'm delighted for all the reasons you mentioned. Last summer, we vacationed at the Outer Banks, and we went to Asheville (the Biltmore) for our wedding anniversary. It's all good.

I can't see any comparison with the DC area, but Charlotte and Greensboro have their good points.

You won't have all the joys(?) of big city life here. While population density has all the problems you mentioned, it also supports cultural events. While there's not as much going on here as in DC, there's plenty due to all the colleges and universities (11) in the area and the high tech companies in the Research Triangle Park in Durham. Rudeness will NOT be a problem. My wife and I have constantly been amazed an delighted at how nice the people are in this area.


Easy to do here within a reasonable commuting distance to work. Hope that's helpful.

 

For microbreweries I would have to recommend either Asheville or Raleigh. Raleigh has at least 5 that I can think of off the top of my head (one of which I visit at least weekly if not more than that). We also have a LBS called American Brewmaster and a good home brewing community (I haven't really done anything with the community, but I know it exists). A local bar Tir Na Nog hosts the American Brewmaster once a month for brewing classes, which I hear are not for the faint of heart.

Raleigh also has a bar called the Flying Saucer (I think Charlotte has one as well). Which is like Capital Ale House in Fredericksburg/Richmond, but better in my opinion....something like 300 different beers.

So from one beer nerd to another...Raleigh is great. There is also a ton of live music in this area if you are into seeing shows. Of course this is only one aspect of what you are looking for, but NC is great. I grew up in Hickory near the mountains and love that area as well, just not for beer/music. Being close to the mountains is nice though as I love DH mountain bike racing and snowboarding.

I also have my CCW and NC is a reciprocity state. Raleigh has a couple of cool gun shops and shooting ranges, but also a couple that are way overpriced that I avoid. Road courses are pretty close (VIR is only 1.5 hrs away) and there are a lot of track guys around here. Check out the Tarheel Sports Car Club. They setup a lot of track days, auto-x's, and TT's.

Shoot me a PM if you want any more specific info on this area and good luck with the decision.