tamms_1965

I've been there too. It's grown over the years.

JacquelineH

NC is a lovely place to live. I've lived in Charlotte for 5 years now. It is clean, good weather, good food, lovely people, plenty of work. I do not live in the main part of the city but in southern Charlotte. Yes this is the Bible belt, I do not find anyone has ever pushed their beliefs or ways of living etc upon me. People are for the most very nice indeed.
My Daughters go to Universtity in Chapel Hill, Durham, that is also a very nice area. My youngest initially went to Asheville before transferring, but Asheville is indeed a very pretty and arty town also. All in all I would highly recommend lving here.
As for housing you can indeed have so much choice. Last I read the housing bubble has not burst here yet and Charlotte is in the top 10 list for top growing and developing cities.

YankeemovingAbroad

I agree with this post and just want to add that there is a website(can't remember where I saw it) that illustrate which states have seen the greatest appreciation/depreciation of home prices nationwide as well as showing which areas are under priced and proving to be great values.

North Carolina is in the column as being a great value for a home purchase because its considered a area that did not see the wild over priced swings which effected many regions in America.The Triad area and the Charlotte area is rated as great buys and are seen as rock solid investments because of what you get for less money.

The Raleigh,Durham area has seen much higher home price appreciation and that area has also seen a slight price correction in negative territory.That certainly is good news for anyone who is thinking about jumping into the housing market.Living in Florida I sometime get very jealous of how much a person can buy in North Carolina:curse:

ulpul

So is the consensus that friends are made through the church?

Am I likely to meet people who want to go for a beer just so I can gauge?

We will definately be visiting in June but the more back ground info I can get the better as we will have a limited time there. Any recommendations on places to stay too would be appreciated

NC Penguin

Church is just one place to make friends. I've made friends through other channels, e.g. neighbors, coworkers, through pastimes/hobbies.

I don't go to church either.

As for places to stay in Reidsville, you should ask at the Reidsville office for suggestions. I don't imagine there's that many choices because it's a small town.

ulpul

I will ask them and see what they come back.

Now looking into other visas incase I can't get over with the current company.

ulpul

What is North Carolina like for poisonous animals/reptiles/creatures?

Can I safely go Mountain Biking without being attacked by a tiger snake equivilant and can my cats go outside without being attacked?

dunroving

There are some poisonous snakes and spiders, but you are not likely to see then unless you start poking around in old wood piles, wading through swamps, or crawling under your house.

Emma M

I live in NC, does anyone know of anything to do, like nightlife?! Major culture shock going on, there are no clubs, no decent pubs, all there are, are about 50 million restaurants and churches. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!
The only music anyone seems to like is hip hop, rap, country. I want to find a club that plays trance, house, garage, decent music, basically. The only club I can find that play anything decent is a gay one. I think my husband and I would get funny looks if we went in there.
I love the area for the weather, it is pretty everywhere, clean, etc. but it's soooo damn boring!

NC Penguin

Yes, there's clubs in NC. Since there's universities in each Triangle city/town, there's clubs to suit all tastes. Radio stations too. I like WXYC based in Chapel Hill which is independent and plays a huge variety of music that isn't heard on commercial stations.

Read the News and Observer (Raleigh/Wake focused) or the Independent (Durham focused) for listings.

Life's what you make it!

ulpul

This is good information too. Music tastes and distastes are similar, lifestyle sounds like what I am after but if I want to go for a few beers at a pub then a club or two after, I would need that within a reasonable taxi ride distance.

So living near a uni area could be the way to go then? I am 27 so enjoy the peace and quiet but also the nightlife

Steerpike

Living in the San Francisco area, I can tell you that a LOT of straight couples go to gay clubs for the music. I also know a lot of straight single women who go to gay clubs to have a night of dancing and fun without getting 'hit on'. I would suspend your fears and give it a shot.

Emma M

I'm 27 too, and I can tell you I have found nothing thats even similar to good nightlife here! lol! Don't get me wrong, NC isn't without it's charm, but if it's a good letting your hair down sort of night out you are looking for... well. NC just doesn't seem to do it. My husband and I tend to get some beers in, crank up a bit of trance or house music and party indoors.

NC Penguin

If you're hoping/expecting to find the same lifestyle as you had in the UK, you're making life tough for yourself. I'm from London originally (London born and bred) so I know exactly what you're saying. I realized after some months that it's pointless to expect to find the same variety of food, for example, in NC as London.

UK tastes in music are probably different to average American tastes in music. Like I said previously, check out events going on near the universities. Local clubs near NC State, Duke, NCCU and UNC-CH may host club nights for your kind of music. Plus, listen to the local indie radio stations (some broadcast on FM like XWYC but if you're in Wake, you might not pick up a signal. It's 89.3. They may even broadcast on the web.)

YankeemovingAbroad

When ever my siblings and I discuss all the great years we spent growing up in NC and what it would be like to move back there, maybe one of two biggest down sides we believe to such a move usually is the lack of night life.When you think of Jazz clubs,dinner bars with live entertainment that cater to a mix ethnic cliental,you learn quickly its difficult to find that in North Carolina.

Charlotte and even Durham to a lesser extent do have some music venues but most club/bar offerings tend to cater to the youngish(18-25) college crowd. I'm sure there are establishments to be found for the mature (28-50) group but they are few and far between and not on par with venues found in large U.S. cities like Miami,Chicago,New York,Portland,Seattle even compared to cities like Orlando orTampa.

There are not many downsides to NC but I would say lack of a decent vibrant dating scene for singles is a big draw back to living in the Carolinas.I've been to more house parties in North Carolina than I care to remember.But on the up side if you like dinning out there is no end to the amount of places to have a good meal.I'm not saying NC is boring but if a new resident were leaving a active sizable city for a move to NC you can expect to experience culture shock to some degree.

I moved from northern New Jersey 15 minutes out side NYC to the Greensboro area to a beautiful home and managed to adjust pretty well for the first 6-8 months. Then came the reality/shock that I was no longer that person who was use to a slower pace of life and came to the decision that what I wanted was the mix of a friendly community while being in a progressive inviroment that also offered night life.I love NC for the great wholesome up bringing it gave me but great night life,progressive thinking has very little to do with the Tar Heel State.

Oh btw my second gripe(a biggie) with living in North Carolina is how segregated the state is.Growing up there like most kids we never noticed racism we just got on with it.Not until I hit my middle teens did the realities stand out like a waving confederate flag in the wind.I believe the high level of segregation and the lack of night life were the deal breakers to living there for my family.

As a side note I did notice that if you do live in a up scale gated community most of your neighbors do seem to be from other progressive states from around the country.Which does make a hugh difference to the community where you live.Most of my neighbors were from Colorado,Delaware,California and even the person who I sold my house to is from New Jersey.We were greeted upon moving there with invitations for dinner and more bunt cakes than we possibly could have eaten.

Having said all the above North Carolina is a great state to call home but I am abit bias!

P.S. If you were to combine a progressive state government and progressive community with the out doorsy feel along with NC's beautiful landscape in addition to good night life it would equal out to= Portland Oregon.