learn me north carolina

I'm tired of the cold, and am not well traveled. I need warm weather, some culture, good roads, good people, etc. If not there then where, and why? Thanks!

P.S. We live in northampton mass, and if it were warmer here we would stay forever.

come on down … just be prepared it's not all milk and honey

this was just a few days ago

You need the state below which is South Carolina.

I love it here. I am in Raleigh. 2 hours to the east and I am at the beach and 3 hours to the west is the mountains. The snow is pretty, but creates havoc for ~4 days a year. We haven't had a big hurricane in a while, so that is good. Overall the people are nice, there are good jobs available, and there is some culture. Not a ton, but some. The roads are a little better than the education system. (That's not saying much)

I think NC would be a very cool place to live and want to look into it as I get closer to graduating and moving. Another place in that part of the country which I liked was Chattanooga.

Or go to the other side of the country, Cali is pretty warm

I'm also in Raleigh. I moved here from the Albany, NY area.

I'm never going back. Compared to New England, the roads are fantastic, potholes that stance kids roll over up there cause a major freakout here and are patched fairly quickly. Education is good IF you do your research and get in the right school districts. The people are nice enough, but I suppose I have to say that since I am one of them.

Raleigh also has a thriving motorsports scene. VIR is not too far away, there are plenty of autocross events and almost enough rallycross events.

state income tax and heavy handed police traffic enforcementin NC. Things are much better on the Tn side of the mountains.

wbjones wrote: come on down … just be prepared it's not all milk and honey this was just a few days ago

Is the red car coming toward us in that pic an old 911 with a bunch of rally lighting? Thats awesome!

Mooresville, NC is the home to most of the Nascar teams. The area is full of welders, fabricators, and all around car guys. A few hours to the mountains and a few hours from the beach. Lots of car stuff always going on. Charlotte is within 8 hours of most of the best tracks on the east coast. Just a short hop away from the city and you're back in farm country. If I couldn't live here, I think I'd be in Florida somewhere. The biggest downside is that drivers here are the biggest morons I've seen anywhere.

Anyone have any Asheville gouge? I've heard very good things, but also very bad. I'm a big music fan, beer fan, etc,.... seems like a pretty cool place to spend some time. Can you tell me about it?

In reply to Teh E36 M3: Asheville has Beer, lots of beer, we have a good music scene if you like more intimate venues,check out The Orange Peel website if you want big shows have to go to Charlotte, Atlanta, or Greenville SC. We have great roads and a thriving out door style lifestyle, All this being said Asheville proper has a very liberal wierd vibe they are very proud of, surrounded by very conservative rural areas, neither bad nor good just something to know.

There is a strong local Auto X club and many great race tracks are with in 4-5 hours drive.

Asheville rocks. I would love to move there and have a job within a few miles of downtown and just ride my bike everywhere. berkeley cars. The comment I hear from too many people is "bring your own job" :(.

I live in Winston right now (grew up in Northern VA). Most of the places I've been in NC are small-town life, (both good and bad) except for Charlotte. Climate is great. Cost of living is great. The general lack of stress regarding going out with friends and whatnot is fantastic. There are few things about living in a large metro area that I miss. The "traffic jams" here are laugable (unless it snows), but then again so is public transit and stores with reasonable hours :( Real-estate market is slow and flat here, which makes me grumpy.

I haven't heard much good about the public school system. Teacher pay is like 3rd lowest in the country and getting worse. State politics are pretty E36 M3ty IMO.

Mountain biking here is awesome awesome awesome.

The Mooresville go kart track is awesome awesome awesome. Seriously. Like take the best go kart track you've been to and turn the knob to 11. Then multiply by 2.

Good info, I googled warmer northampton mass and asheville was the only hit lol. The teacher pay thing sucks though as we are both teachers

In reply to carbon: There was mention of starting teachers' pay today in Raleigh News & Observer. I've already thrown it out but IIRC new teachers here start at only $33K per year or so. Some school districts may supplement this. Local school system here, 40 miles east of Raleigh, is the pits.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: You need the state below which is South Carolina.

If you want some culture, just be sure to go to either the coast or the mountains.

I lived in Belchertown, MA and moved to the Asheville area in 1990. Love it here!

I have family in Spruce Pine. Beautiful area- a little slow for me. KILLER bombing roads. Combination of driving what appears to be a P71 (civvy panther that my grandmother owns) and my last name being on many of the roads up there means I don't generally get in trouble. It's a different way of life... but no one harasses you for walking out the front door with a shotgun and a beer lookin' for varmints. If anything- they want in on it because they's good eatin'.

I just spent two years in the Raleigh area. I thought it was great. I was transferred from Houston by my employer, who then sold the company and I got laid off by the new owners. Thanks, motherberkeleyers.

I then had to pay my own way back to Texas because my chances of finding a job in Raleigh were slim. Oh, and I lost a bunch of money on the house I had bought.

The climate is almost perfect. You've got all four seasons, but none of them harsh. Tornados and hurricanes could bite you, though. A lot of trees to fall on stuff.

I would have loved to stay in the area. It sucks to be back in a E36 M3hole like Houston after that.

Downside was the high income tax, although the property taxes in Texas are so high it was almost a wash.

But don't go to Raleigh without a job, 'cause there ain't one waiting for you.

Great info, I knew the brain trust on here would have valuable insight. Thanks guys, Keep it coming! Also if there are other areas we should be looking into, let me know.

One thing to consider is that the cost of living in Raleigh is going to be a bit lower than in New England overall- lower power bills, etc. Housing is comparable in price, most likely.

50k of earnings in Pittsfield is equal to $45k in Raleigh.

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

There are teaching jobs around.

I was in Raleigh for a solid eight hours last year; I hit every stop within walking distance of the Amtrak station. I really liked what I saw of the city.

Much of northern NC is tucked up against the Appalachian/Smoky mountains, so it gets the northern winter's sloppy seconds. Weather isn't much better than Maryland or Virginia.

I just visited Asheville and had mixed feelings. Nice town, neat coffee shops and curios, but high enough in the Smoky mountains that it was pretty wintry.

If you're looking for a break from winter, I don't think NC is a great choice right now.

In reply to curtis73: Quite true NC and the NC mountains are having one of the coldest winters we have had since the 1980's but the one saving grace in all this cold is it will be 15 degrees on Monday and the next Saturday It will be 55 or 60 and sunny. The weather can't seem to stay constant here, so yes you will have some very cold days here, another thing to keep in mind.