I'm graduating soon, and I want to move out of Raleigh. But there are a lot of things I like about this area, so I'm trying to find a place similar to here.

I'll list what I'm looking for:
-A place that's growing, with opportunities to find a good job (RTP)
-Traffic like Raleigh, where I won't spend > 45 minutes going to and from work.
-The cost of living is low, where I can spend $600 a month on a place to live, rather than $1200/mo.
-The pay is still high (I work at GSK who has a site in RTP and Philly, but the pay is the same in both places)
-Preferrably near the coast (except georgia, south carolina)

I'll also mention that I'll be looking for a software development position.

3/23/2006 11:52:26 AM

Have you tried Raleigh?

Quote :

"Traffic like Raleigh, where I won't spend > 45 minutes going to and from work."

You know nothing yet! Raleigh traffic is fucking horrible. We're rated like the 4th worst in the country under NY, LA, and DC. I lived in Kansas City for a year and there was virtually NO traffic. And the city is like 5x bigger than raleigh.

And I'm a software developer and making it just fine here. The cost of living is low compared to alot of the other east coast cities.

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 11:56 AM. Reason : .]

3/23/2006 11:54:12 AM

Richmond, VA is great for high paying software jobs

3/23/2006 11:54:33 AM

^^ that can't be right. The Bay Area rush hour traffic is the suck compared to the Triangle (and I drive by the worst of it every day)..

3/23/2006 11:56:30 AM

I forget the survey but we were like 4 or 5. Once they finish 540, it should alleiviate a lot of the problems.

3/23/2006 11:57:04 AM

uhh, how about Atlanta? the traffic is awful down there.

3/23/2006 11:58:54 AM

where in raleigh does traffic suck other than creedmoor. i mean, it is bumper to bumper, but it does flow.

3/23/2006 12:00:00 PM

147, 15-501, 40, 70 in Garner, 70 in Raleigh

I'll find the survey... hold on

Ok I lied. I can't find it. And we're not listed in the top 10 of the most current ones... I could have swore I heard that not too long ago on the news. Damned liberal media making up stories...

But I-40 still sucks balls. The reason is that only 20% of Durham's working population live in Durham. The rest go home to Raleigh or Chapel Hill for understandable reasons.

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 12:05 PM. Reason : .]

3/23/2006 12:00:36 PM

I can name at least a dozen places with worse traffic than Raleigh. It's really not that bad here. I work in RTP and live in NW raleigh. Even during rush hour, it's no more than 30 minutes (16 miles).

3/23/2006 12:07:30 PM

East coast only?

3/23/2006 12:12:03 PM

Wilmington, Delaware
Baltimore, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Providence, Rhode Island
Tampa, Florida

Charleston......even tho its in SC

hahha and seriously thinking that we have bad traffic is hilarious


1. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Calif.
2. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Atlanta
5. Houston
6. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex.
7. Chicago.
8. Detroit
9. Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif.
9. Orlando, Fla.
11. San Jose, Calif.
12. San Diego

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 12:19 PM. Reason : get you some]

3/23/2006 12:17:02 PM

Since you want to get out of raleigh, I imagine there are things about it that you don't like. It might be helpful to list those things so people don't suggest places with those same things.

3/23/2006 12:17:50 PM

i was gonna say tampa, but i thought they were substantially bigger than raleigh.

3/23/2006 12:18:01 PM

i mean, finding a city that is just like raleigh is hard. Its got a faily size population (300,000ish) but the suburban sprawl is retarded. The city is smaller than it seems.

3/23/2006 12:20:21 PM

HERE IS A LIST OF COMPRABLE CITIES...ALL WITH SIMILAR LIVING COST TO RALEIGH...

TAMPA
CHARLOTTE
RICHMOND
NORFOLK
WILMINGTON (MIGHT NOT HAVE MANY JOB OPPORTUNITES)
ORLAND (MAY BE A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE)
PITTSBURGH
JACKSONVILLE, FL

ANYTHING NORTH EAST OF DC IS GOING TO COST A LOT MORE.....

3/23/2006 12:21:47 PM

those lists seem to underrepresent the pains of driving in miami

3/23/2006 12:29:00 PM

i would say Tampas cost of living is significantly higher than Raleigh.

3/23/2006 12:30:06 PM

Miami isnt in the USA silly,

3/23/2006 12:30:13 PM

The only reason I want to leave is that I will be graduating and it's a good time for a change. I have been living here for almost 9 years now.

3/23/2006 12:40:06 PM

GTFO

3/23/2006 12:48:49 PM

i'm tryin...

3/23/2006 12:50:35 PM

Have you considered Austin?

3/23/2006 12:55:43 PM

houston would be similar in that there are a lot of jobs there that pay well (depending on what you do), lots to do, cheap to live, etc. people always talk about the traffic and sure it is bad BUT it greatly depends on where you choose to live. if you live south of town and work in the north west, traffic will be a nightmare. but like i said i depends. i was there for a week for training and my hotel was roughly 20 miles from the training center. i drove it every day in less than 25.

but it is hot there.

i'd look to richmond, charlotte, areas of philadelpia, areas of atlanta, dallas or austin (except not near the coast), denver (no beach but you can ski every weekend!), portland

nothing is affordable in CA tho i'd kill to live in SF.

3/23/2006 12:57:36 PM

oh yeah, I hate texas, so no to these states: south carolina, georgia or texas.

3/23/2006 12:57:51 PM

that was rude.

3/23/2006 1:00:31 PM

what??? how do you hate texas? texans are the closest thing to north carolinians that i have found as far as politeness, work ethic, etc. i love texas (except the whole heat thing)

3/23/2006 1:02:53 PM

cost of living in charlotte is higher than raleigh....move to Houston...it's the most obese city in the US so you'll look like a stud in comparison and pick up tons of girls

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 1:04 PM. Reason : ]

3/23/2006 1:03:07 PM

^ not really. Actually I've found that a lot of corporate owned apartment complexes are cheaper in Charlotte (Archstone and Equity to name a few..).. You're going to pay more to live in downtown Charlotte but other then that it's quite comparable..

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 1:04 PM. Reason : f]

3/23/2006 1:04:07 PM

^^^I whole-heartedly agree. Plus you don't pay state income taxes there!

I was in the same predicament as you after I graduated, and out of a half a dozen or so cities I was willing to relocate to, Austin was on the top of my list, followed by San Diego.

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 1:05 PM. Reason : ^s]

3/23/2006 1:05:14 PM

i guess when i think of texans, i think of arrogant people who think they're better than everyone else.

3/23/2006 1:06:23 PM

Quote :

"nothing is affordable in CA tho i'd kill to live in SF."

true.

i was pricing out a house near the marina at $500k and that was the cheaper option.

3/23/2006 1:11:06 PM

^^haha no you are just talking about a&m grads

admittedly they don't hesitate to tell you "you know, we were a country once...." and they all seem to own 5000 lone star flags. but honestly, i've never, ever had a problem while in dallas, houston, etc with rude people. i've been lost countless times and people always go out of their way to help you find your way. if they see an out of state license plate obviously lost, they let you over. customer service at restaurants and stores is usually far better than most states i go to (including the one i live in). they always seem to say "thank you" and "yes, ma'm, no sir". in general super nice people imo.



[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 1:20 PM. Reason : \/ true]

3/23/2006 1:11:41 PM

There are nice people everywhere, so don't base your move on that.

Jacksonville, Fl perhaps?

3/23/2006 1:19:25 PM

Austin, TX reminded me a lot of Raleigh

only a lot nicer and much bigger

3/23/2006 1:26:05 PM

i've looked at four big cities so far, baltimore, miami, san jose and philly. i liked philly's public transportation, but i thought the city was very ghetto. miami was the cleanest city, i loved the people, but it was very expensive there. baltimore seemed like a good mix of what i'm looking for. i loved everything about the san jose/ mountain view area, except for the price.

i still want to visit ft. lauderdale and tampa because i hear a lot of good things about those places.

3/23/2006 1:28:33 PM

san jose and norcal have great tech jobs, but unless you find a roomate or have a wife who makes $california, you're probably better off back on the east coast

3/23/2006 1:30:11 PM

- Anywhere on the west coast (generally) will be more expensive than Raleigh.
- You already ruled out Texas.
- Anywhere in the northeast (gennerally) will be more expensive than Raleigh.
- That leaves you with some random hotspots in the midwest and mostly southeastern states.

Unless you have a heavily padded resume and some $texas to float on ... don't be overly picky with where you first job offer is. If you stick with the company, you'll have options on switching divisions/areas of the country to work. If you don't stick with the company, you have X years of experience and a bit more flexibility.

(And there is a link out there somewhere to the worst traffic hotspots ... abonorio needs to get his/her facts straight ... Raleigh isn't anywhere near the top of the list).

[Edited on March 23, 2006 at 1:36 PM. Reason : .]

3/23/2006 1:33:38 PM

and to be honest, as much as i didn't care for raleigh, it is a much better place to live than miami or ft lauderdale

the pretty weather and beaches don't make up for the insane amount of crime and traffic you'll encounter on a daily basis

3/23/2006 1:36:36 PM

^^good call.

^i didn't think the traffic in miami was that bad. i wish there was a better form of public trans there though.

3/23/2006 1:37:36 PM

i have never heard people honk their horns as much as i did when i was in south florida

not even in new york

3/23/2006 1:39:44 PM

Quote :

"i guess when i think of texans, i think of arrogant people who think they're better than everyone else."

FUNNY THATS WHAT I THINK OF A LOT OF NATIVE NORTH CAROLINIANS

3/23/2006 1:43:04 PM

HONOLULU!!!!!
Yesterday it took me an hour to go 15 miles.

3/23/2006 1:43:28 PM

austin, tx is where i'd go

3/23/2006 1:46:01 PM

Jon, I have a better Idea....STAY IN RALEIGH asshole.

Or you could move to Greensboro like all the other losers

3/23/2006 1:49:26 PM

one thing I could never figure out when I lived in NC was why the hell did anyone want to live in Greensboro? That place straight up sucks ass.

3/23/2006 1:51:35 PM

yeah, i hate g'boro. there's no way i'd move there.

3/23/2006 1:53:50 PM

Quote :

"i guess when i think of texans, i think of arrogant people who think they're better than everyone else."

that just sounds funny when posted by rudeboy

3/23/2006 1:53:57 PM

Raleigh pretty much sucks on my list, so it'd probably be comparable to Montgomery or something.

3/23/2006 1:54:05 PM

instead of just asking people on the internet, why dont you do some traveling?

3/23/2006 1:56:31 PM

Nah, Raleigh has plenty of Northeasterners in it these days and more coming everyday.

By default that makes it ten times cooler then any place in the Deep South (especialy Montgomery)..

3/23/2006 1:56:40 PM