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The W - Random - Possible move to North Carolina...
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TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 3507 days
Last activity: 3507 days
#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.65
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It's not a glamorous job by any means, so I wouldn't feel bad about passing on it, but it's appealing enough that I'm considering it. Anyway, I'm hoping some people here that live in North Carolina or have been through the area could maybe tell me a few things about the city.

What kinds of things might a mid-20s person do there? Does the city have decent bars, a good movie theater, quality book stores, stuff like that? Is it more rural or urban? Is it in the mountains?

I've looked on Google Maps, but realistically how close are major cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem (is that even a major city?)? Are these places close enough that I could go there in the morning and return home at night or is it a weekend sort of trip?

How cold might it get there?

Anything anyone can tell me would be a major help. It's tough to plan this sort of thing from the other side of the world, especially when the Internet connection is so unreliable everywhere I go.
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DrDirt
Banger








Since: 8.10.03
From: flyover country

Since last post: 2336 days
Last activity: 2238 days
#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.83
I don't live there but have visited often. I enjoy the area but if you move there figure out if it fits your lifestyle. And with the lull in gas prices not ikely to last, live as close to where you work as possible.

You would be relatively close to both the Smokey Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Sounds great.

One question, can you deal with a rural lifestyle?



Perception is reality
TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 3507 days
Last activity: 3507 days
#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.65
    Originally posted by DrDirt
    One question, can you deal with a rural lifestyle?


It just depends on how rural we're talking. What I can find online isn't painting to clear of a picture.

I mean, I lived in a small town in central Texas for a year. I was about an hour north of Austin, so I went there when I needed to see a real city. But this town was 10 minutes away from miles of empty fields in any direction.

I think I can handle a city that isn't lined with bars downtown and stuff like that, but I can't live on a farm. I grew up on the beach in Florida, went to college in Tampa then moved to San Francisco after the Texas stay. Now, I live in the capital of Cambodia. So rural life isn't in my background. I really just don't know how to answer this.

If there's a reliable way for me to meet and interact with other mid-20s people without going to a 4-H show or whatever they're called is probably the determining factor.
DrDirt
Banger








Since: 8.10.03
From: flyover country

Since last post: 2336 days
Last activity: 2238 days
#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.83
I looked the area up and the town is about 40,000 with a metro area of 400,000. Rural you are not. Rural is where I live with no traffic lights, many dirt roads, having to drive a minumum of 30 minutes to just get basics, etc. You'll be fine. Enjoy.

From what you have said, at this stage of your life, rural ain't for you and that's fine. It's good to know your preferences. Many more urban folk move to the wilds of western Kansas and wax poetic for the first month. Almost all of them leave within a year.



Perception is reality
StingArmy
Andouille








Since: 3.5.03
From: Georgia bred, you can tell by my Hawk jersey

Since last post: 2947 days
Last activity: 540 days
#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.36
I believe Hickory is about 2.5 hours from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. I have a friend who grew up in Hickory and she went to Durham almost every week during college basketball season. She never says very much about her hometown (so I may be wrong on this) but I get the impression that she felt there wasn't much to do there for someone like her. For reference, she's currently in her early 20s and just made the move to New York City for grad school (and she loves it).

I think, generally speaking, a good way to browse local establishments from afar is to use Google Maps to look up various things using a local zip code. In this case you can use 28602. Things I might look up would be like Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Target, Harris Teeter or Kroger (probably the biggest local grocery store there), etc. Even if you don't normally frequent places like this, it'll give you an idea of how big the city is. You can look up generic establishments like bars and bookstores using this method too.

- StingArmy
emma
Cherries > Peaches








Since: 1.8.02
From: Phoenix-ish

Since last post: 435 days
Last activity: 157 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.36
I was based out of North Carolina for 3 years, & was not a fan. We were in a suburb of Raleigh, but it was still 30-45 minutes to *anything*.

Chapel Hill is nice. Charlotte has stuff. Asheville is quaint-artsy. I probably drove through Hickory from Raleigh to Asheville -- & have no recollection of it.

Mapquest says Charlotte is an hour, Asheville is over an hour, & Chapel Hill is 2-1/2 hours. (Note that Charlotte is your closest airport of significance.)

Generally what you're looking at is *extremely* rural. Folksy. Backwoods. Opposite of urbane.

Looks to me like it'd be the same flat, wooded rural as most of NC. (Lotta narrow 2 lane roads, twisty little passages through the woods, with deer attempting to fling themselves at your car.) Weather in Raleigh (further east) was cold & ice storms in winter, & hot/humid in summer, with intermittent hurricanes in between. Insects.

Looking through the "cities" population list here (en.wikipedia.org), comparing to other places in NC, this is rural. It isn't "farms" per-se, 'cause it's not good farmland.

I'm inclined to think this wouldn't suit you any better than it did me.
Lise
Mrs. Guru








Since: 11.12.01

Since last post: 3081 days
Last activity: 2853 days
#7 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.43
We are pretty rural. Portland is about 2 hours away, with the closest suburb being about 1 1/2 hours away. I will tell you the things that I miss: Target, Wendy's, Indian Food, Thai Food, having more than 6 places to eat, having more than 2 grocery shopping choices. Even though Portland is relatively close, we do not end up going there that much.

There really isn't much for nightlife here, and the logging bars close at around 8pm. People have kids really early here, and your singles choices are mostly divorcees and single moms. I would not move here if I wasn't already married.

Mind you, the "town" here is about 4,000 people.

I'd check for things you can't live without on Google Local, and see if you can find some teenagers and young 20 somethings on Facebook or MySpace and see what they complain about.
supersalvadoran
Sujuk








Since: 10.1.08
From: westbury, new york

Since last post: 2740 days
Last activity: 1707 days
#8 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.07
According to Rand-McNally, Hickory isn't too far away from a couple of big cities. You're 63 miles away from Charlotte, 73 from Asheville, 75 from Winston-Salem, and 99 from Greensboro, so except for going north, you can hit a large metro area in any direction within, say, 90 minutes. And yes, they are all major cities IMO; they all have a metro are population of at least 200,000 (Charlotte has a pop. of close to 2.5 mil.).

As far as the lifestyle there, I have never been in NC outside of driving through I-95. But I have had several friends and co-workers that lived there recently or have moved there within the last 2-3 years. They all say the same thing:

1.) If you have an active lifestyle and love the outdoors, you'll love this area. There are a variety of campgrounds, hiking trails, and outdoor activities to enjoy. You'd want to be just a little careful to where you're going though; my friend says that certain parts of western NC can go from quaint and quiet to distrubingly 'Deliverence'-type rural pretty quickly.

2.) You'll also love it if you're into the college scene. Makes sense when you think of all the big-time colleges and universities aorund the area (UNC,Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, etc.)

3.) They say the cost of living is so much better at least compared to here in the NYC metro area. The problem is that Charlotte has a significant banking center that is suffering through the economic crisis, so it might be difficult to get a mortage for a new home for instance, even more so than in other cities.

Overall, I would say that based on what I have been told about NC, it sounds like a nice to live in. You definitely have a large variety of sights to check out around there.




>
JayJayDean
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02
From: Seattle, WA

Since last post: 2975 days
Last activity: 2553 days
#9 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.40
    Originally posted by Lise
    I will tell you the things that I miss: Wendy's


There's a Wendy's in Lincoln City, Lise. You're not THAT in the middle of nowhere.

(Yes, I would drive 45 minutes if that's where the closest Wendy's was.)

Move to Hickory so you can <3 NASCAR, Bucs!



Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....

*snip*

Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass.
-- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Lise
Mrs. Guru








Since: 11.12.01

Since last post: 3081 days
Last activity: 2853 days
#10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.43
    Originally posted by JayJayDean
      Originally posted by Lise
      I will tell you the things that I miss: Wendy's


    There's a Wendy's in Lincoln City, Lise. You're not THAT in the middle of nowhere.

    (Yes, I would drive 45 minutes if that's where the closest Wendy's was.)



Wait, What? WHERE in Lincoln City????!!!! Dood, we've driven to Seaside to go to Taco Bell and we didn't even combine trips. Ahh... It's not in Lincoln City, it's in Newport. I usually don't get much further than Walmart into Newport unless I'm there for something work related. Good to know for the next trip down that way though.
Matt Tracker
Scrapple








Since: 8.5.03
From: North Carolina

Since last post: 112 days
Last activity: 5 days
#11 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.40
I live in Transylvania County, near Hickory. You'll be a few hours from all the large city things and a few minutes' drive from everything else. You'll be fine.



"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
JayJayDean
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02
From: Seattle, WA

Since last post: 2975 days
Last activity: 2553 days
#12 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.40
    Originally posted by Lise
    Ahh... It's not in Lincoln City, it's in Newport.


Huh - I would have sworn (obviously) that it was in Lincoln City. I can picture it and everything.

Of course, the fact that I would remember ANYTHING about Newport is extremely surprising. :)



Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....

*snip*

Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass.
-- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Guru Zim
SQL Dejection
Administrator








Since: 9.12.01
From: Bay City, OR

Since last post: 4 days
Last activity: 3 days
ICQ:  
#13 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.40
    Originally posted by JayJayDean
      Originally posted by Lise
      Ahh... It's not in Lincoln City, it's in Newport.


    Huh - I would have sworn (obviously) that it was in Lincoln City. I can picture it and everything.

    Of course, the fact that I would remember ANYTHING about Newport is extremely surprising. :)


Get in the car. Meet me out front.




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TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 3507 days
Last activity: 3507 days
#14 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.65
Thanks everyone for the input.

The other factor in this is that the job market in newspapers SUCKS at the moment, so I may be stuck with a place like this eventually. I'm just not sure Hickory, NC, is that place. I got the e-mail addresses of a couple people working in the city now who are close to my age, one of them from Chicago, so I'm gonna see if they can convince me it's OK. Right now I'm leaning toward no.

Thanks again!
Peter The Hegemon
Lap cheong








Since: 11.2.03
From: Hackettstown, NJ

Since last post: 51 days
Last activity: 20 days
#15 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.02
Watch some of Jon Reep's bits about Hickory and I think it will tell you what you need to know. B^)
Oliver
Scrapple








Since: 20.6.02

Since last post: 3305 days
Last activity: 3299 days
#16 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.36
On the flip side of things...have you thought about your life out there? Relocating for work is all fine and dandy, but there's more to life than that. Think about your personal life where you are; is there anything there that would keep you out there?



Unicow, unicow...he's a unicorn cow!
Lise
Mrs. Guru








Since: 11.12.01

Since last post: 3081 days
Last activity: 2853 days
#17 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.78
Pssssst. Look at his flag icon. I'm pretty sure he's relocated for work before
Oliver
Scrapple








Since: 20.6.02

Since last post: 3305 days
Last activity: 3299 days
#18 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.36
    Originally posted by Lise
    Pssssst. Look at his flag icon. I'm pretty sure he's relocated for work before
I think he posted a thread saying he was moving wayyyyy away from his home for work.

I was thinking of that, too: I mean, where he is is very much different than where he WAS, and in this case, where he may be heading...is that something he's willing to give up?





Unicow, unicow...he's a unicorn cow!
TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 3507 days
Last activity: 3507 days
#19 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.15
Eh I moved to Cambodia from the States about a year ago for work, and now was considering moving to a part of the US different from anywhere else I've lived. But no matter, I'm not taking the job.

I have one other travel-related question, though, and hopefully someone here has some tips:

Since I've lived in Cambodia, I've dealt mostly in cash. I still have bank accounts in the US, but they have very little money and I haven't used them much here, primarily because I had no way to put money in the accounts here without paying crazy transaction fees.

Now that I'm preparing to return to the US in the near future, I've started looking at flights. I'm probably going to take a bus to Bangkok and fly from there when I leave, as I've found it to be cheaper. But the problem I have is, I have to deal in cash, so I don't know of a way to use expedia, travelocity, etc, and they have better prices than the travel agents I meet in Cambodia. Anyone have any tips?
Guru Zim
SQL Dejection
Administrator








Since: 9.12.01
From: Bay City, OR

Since last post: 4 days
Last activity: 3 days
ICQ:  
#20 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.40
Try American Express - see if you can get a prepaid AMEX card or traveller's cheques that they will accept online.




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