Any BF Netters in Raleigh NC

[82brewcrew11]

Getting ready to graduate and have a potential job offer in the Raleigh area. We have two elementary age children and we are interested in what Raleigh has to offer in terms of family life. We are looking for a high degree of culture with lots of things to do.

 

If anyone has any thoughts, let me know.

[Funketown]

We've lived in Chapel Hill for the past two years and we really like it. I haven't spent a lot of time in Raleigh but it's supposed to be a pretty nice city for a larger city. It has fairly low crime rates and the populace is very well educated. I suspect that public schools in Raleigh are fairly good because of this, but I'm not quite sure of this. As far as culture, I don't think Raleigh feels particularly Southern these days. It's ballooned from just over 200,000 people about fifteen years ago to well over 400,000, with many of those migrants coming from further north (Cary is Raleigh's largest suburb, and is nicknamed "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees"). The weather is really nice if you don't like the cold (I lived 22 years in WI/IA and had enough of snow!). July/August can be pretty brutal, but it's worth it to be able to watch a NCAA baseball game on a 65' sunny day in mid-February!

 

I really have no idea what goes on in Raleigh as far as "stuff to do" outside of sports, but if you like hockey, Hurricanes tickets can be had pretty cheap just about any time they have a home game. From downtown Raleigh, you can be on the campus of UNC, Duke, or NC State within about a half hour, so it's hard to beat the area if you're a college basketball fan. Also, UNC has one of the best college baseball programs in the country right now (Matt Harvey!) and you can get great seats for a family of four to an ACC clash for about $30. Tampa Bay's AAA affiliate is the Durham Bulls and they have a really nice ballpark, so Bulls games are pretty fun if you like baseball (I'm assuming you do).

 

Another thing we really like here is the proximity to the coast. It's only about 2 hours from Raleigh to Wrightsville Beach and a few more minutes to Topsail Island, and I love going down there for the spring and fall fishing seasons. It's also only about four hours to the nicer/non-touristy areas of the mountains as well.

[GAME05]

i spent 6-7 years in nearby Winston. Raleigh is probably the best place to go for a Northerner (note: in this area of the south, "Yankees" are those from New England, and "Northerner" is just from a northern state). Raleigh has the biggest influx of Yankees, so the culture change won't be near as much to get over.

 

in winter you'll have about three snows (all nothing compared to what you're already used to) and a week of about 20 degrees. summer you'll have two straight weeks of 100. humid, but not Wisconsin-humid. i still loved the weather there because nights cool down and are awesome.

 

Boone is your closest inroad to the Appalachians, about 3-4 hours away. and a lot of highly underrated wine is grown in NC. quality of the beer has really been improving, too.

 

all in all i think the weather is perfect in NC. seemed to me harder to form friendships with Southerners since i wasn't local, but no matter. either way i'll be moving back to the state sometime near Winter.

[Funketown]

Game - whereabouts are you moving this time around?

[GAME05]

i'll likely settle in Winston again since i know the area. my summer job in Madison ends in October, so i'll be on unemployment when i move. where i finally end up depends on who finally hires me, but i do want it to be somewhere in NC.