Californians are flocking to North Carolina
We are going to detail all the reasons why people are flocking from California to North Carolina. When you think about people leaving California you typically think they’re going to Arizona, Texas, maybe Washington State but it might surprise you to learn that a good number of people are actually headed to North Carolina.
According to a recent report by moveBuddha, since 2010 nearly a million people are new North Carolinian’s. Of those 70 percent are coming from out of the state, moving into and relocating to North Carolina. Three states accounted for 30 percent of that inflow into North Carolina. Those states are Florida, New York and California. Of all the searches for moves into North Carolina 13.5 percent of those searches came from within the state of California. Two of the most popular areas that these people are moved to include the Charlotte area where four of the cities are considered rapid growth cities and around the Raleigh area where seven cities are considered rapid growth cities. In other words these cities are being greatly impacted by the inflow of all of these people in from California, New York, Florida and all of the other states.
Wake County where Raleigh is located accounted for 25 percent of the growth that has been happening seen since 2010. Wake County has added 230,000 new residents since 2010. A good number of those people moving into Wake County are coming from California. In fact about 20 percent of the people we are helping on our real estate team are coming from California. On a personal note, Tanner one of the co-owners of our company and one of our agents, Isabella, both moved in the last few years from California.
When asked by pollsters why they made the move from California all the way across the country to North Carolina respondents said the mild temperatures like you would see in California. Except in North Carolina there’s less danger for mudslides, forest fires, electrical grid malfunctions and water shortages. Another popular response was, it’s just simply a lower cost of living in North Carolina than in California. Another response was North Carolina has lower taxes. For example just this past week, Los Angeles enacted a mansion tax on luxury homes in the city of Los Angeles which has already started having an impact on the number of home purchases in the city. In Raleigh we don’t have a luxury mansion tax. Another source of appeal or those respondents to this poll, all of the outdoor activities you can find in North Carolina. It has beaches on one side of the state, mountains on the other side and in the center of the state there’s a vast park and greenway system ideal for nature lovers. It is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to get outdoors and explore. The next source of appeal to these respondents was the fact that a lot of North Carolina and especially the big cities have high-speed fiber internet. It makes it easier if you work from home to be able to do so in the state of North Carolina. Another reason North Carolina is so appealing to these respondents is the diversity of places to live. There are large cities, large towns, small municipalities and towns and everything in between. There is something for everyone when it comes to finding the ideal city for you in North Carolina. Another reason respondents said they moved to North Carolina is it ranks seventh in the United States for companies relocating from California. This means a large number of people are moving to North Carolina due to job relocation.
With all that being said what are the pros of a move from California to North Carolina? The first pro is North Carolina has a diverse and growing economy. There is a growing number of jobs. There are many opportunities for work especially in technology, healthcare and education. Another pro of North Carolina is the lower cost of living. North Carolina is generally less expensive than California when it comes to housing, taxes and the overall cost of living. The next pro of living in North Carolina are the easy access to all of those outdoor activities mentioned before. From one end of the state to the other, you can be at the beaches or the mountains in under five hours. This makes day trips and vacations that much easier for people who live in North Carolina. Another main pro of moving to North Carolina is that North Carolinian’s are considered very friendly, especially when it comes to newcomers. Another pro less congestion and traffic in North Carolina when compared to most of California.
There are still a few cons when it comes to moving from California to North Carolina. The first, North Carolina has all four seasons and sometimes in the same week. It can be frigid cold at the beginning of the week and 85 degrees by the end of the week. You never know what’s going to happen with the weather in North Carolina. North Carolina can get pretty humid especially in the summer. California on the other hand is a much more mediterranean-like temperate climate which doesn’t change very much from season to season and month to month. Although North Carolina doesn’t have the forest fires and mudslides that California has, North Carolina does have hurricanes on occasion. Another con of North Carolina is the allergies. Be prepared. There is about a two to three week period where pollen is rampant. Be prepared and take Claritin. Another con of North Carolina is the bugs. North Carolina has a lot of bugs, especially mosquitoes. More than you would see in California. Another con of North Carolina is it simply isn’t as glamorous as California. It is very unlikely you’re going to see a movie star walking up and down your version of Rodeo Drive in your town. North Carolina in general are fairly proud of being simple folk. They are welcoming and nice but not glamorous.