People from the northern states have been moving to North Carolina for quite a while. Here we are going to tell you what to expect if you’re planning a move to North Carolina from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts or any of the other northern states.
The first thing you need to know if you’re planning a move to North Carolina is that a lot of the locals are not really happy with all of the people that are coming here from up north and really from all over the world. North Carolina has a definitive culture, a southern culture that the locals are seeing slowly die out. It is becoming diluted by so many people moving in from all over and from everywhere. There is a little bit of a resentment for that and so just be aware of that as you come here. People generally are very welcoming. The locals do have in the back of their mind, the old way of living is dying out. Along those same lines we’ll give you a little tip here, North Carolinians are really proud of the fact that we’ve gone from being a generally poor, backwater state, to being one of the most economically successful and vibrant states in the union. Because of that, when people move here especially from up north and talk about how awesome things were in New York City and Boston and Philly, when they brag about how great thing were up there, you are going to get meet two types of local people. The first, the locals are not going to say anything at all to you but resent you or they may say that they really think you maybe should move back where you come from. Locals here are very nice and welcoming people but they do resent putting their state down. We’ve come a long way and we’re really proud of it.
Why are so many people from up north flocking to North Carolina? First, the weather is warmer in North Carolina. People that are tired of the snow and the ice gravitate this way. We are definitely one of the southern states that has a lot of warm weather but unlike places like Georgia and Florida where they just have two seasons hot and very, very hot, North Carolina has all four seasons. It is definitely a place for people who like all four seasons but not too much of one season or the other.
Another reason people love North Carolina taxes are lower. State income tax is at a flat 4.75%. State sales tax is anywhere between 4 and 3/4 cents, all the way to 7 cents depending on which county you’re in. Property taxes are much lower than you’re going to find up north. For example in the Raleigh area you’re looking at about a $1 per $1000 valuation on your taxes versus say like a 1,000,000 per $1, 000 on your valuation on your taxes that you’re going to find up in the northern states. Another thing people love about moving to the North Carolina area is you have easy access to the mountains, to the beach and everything in between. It doesn’t matter where you live in the state, you can quickly drive and incidentally we have pretty decent roads in North Carolina. It is quick to drive from anywhere in the state to anywhere else in the state.
Another great draw is the lower cost of living. Insurance is cheaper, housing in general is cheaper. Taxes are cheaper. The cost of food and beverage is generally cheaper in North Carolina than most of the northern states. North Carolina also has great golfing. If you’re a golf lover, you’re going to love the fact that North Carolina has over 600 golf courses and that includes the 19 courses in the golf mecca of the universe, Pinehurst, North Carolina. North Carolina has some really great sports teams to root for. You have UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, NC State, ECU for both football and basketball among many other schools in the state. You have the Carolina Panthers NFL pro football team and Carolina Hurricanes NHL pro hockey team among others. The Durham Bulls minor league baseball team is also in the state of North Carolina. There are plenty of opportunities for you to find a sport that you love and a team that you love and this will give you the opportunity to root for them.Another thing that people really love about North Carolina are the great educational system and especially on the college level.
What can you expect if you’re buying a home in North Carolina compared to up north? Let’s start with how do home prices compare. Here’s a few examples of median home prices up north versus North Carolina. In Boston you’re looking at $799,000 for the median home price. In Massachusetts as a whole you’re looking at $580,000. In New York City $829,000 and in New York state as a whole $437,000. $668,000 is the median home price for a home in Washington DC. In New Jersey as a whole about $468,000 whereas in North Carolina the median home price is coming in at $323,000 for the state. In the Charlotte Metro area in particular there you’re looking at about $450,000. Whereas in the Raleigh Triangle area your median home price is coming in at $499,000.
Generally you’re going to get a much larger home in North Carolina than you are used to finding up in the northern states. In North Carolina the median home size is coming in at about 2,152 square feet. This means North Carolina has the 14th largest median home size in the United States. Compare that to New York state which ranks 49th. Maine which ranks 47th. New Jersey which ranks 43rd and Massachusetts which ranks 42nd. Ohio is coming in at number 41. Rhode Island is coming in at 31. New Hampshire which is coming in 33rd for median home size. One interesting fact is that Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware all came in with larger median home sizes than North Carolina but all three have a higher cost per square foot than North Carolina does.
If you’re moving from up north to North Carolina what things are you going to miss? Unfortunately you’re going to miss the diversity of restaurants. In North Carolina, especially in the rural areas, they do not have all the different kind of restaurants you’re going to find up in the northern states. If you have this amazing cuisine that you’re in love with, you probably aren’t going to find it in all the different counties of the state, unless your favorite cuisine is say McDonald’s or Burger King. You’re going to have to go to some of the larger cities to get Thai food, Indian food, Korean. Another thing you might miss from up north is the hustle and bustle. North Carolina is still pretty much a rural state that means if you really like the go, go, go and densely populated areas you’re probably going to be a little disappointed if you move to one of the smaller towns. You will probably going to want to move to one of the bigger cities and even then you’re not going to get that 24 hour a day, seven days a week, go, go, go atmosphere that you’re going to find in New York City or Austin or Washington DC. You will have to make that adjustment if you move down to North Carolina.
What things will you not miss? You’re not going to miss the toll roads. There are a few toll roads in North Carolina but it’s not everywhere. It’s mostly in the major metropolitan areas like around Raleigh. You don’t really have to worry about that. Another thing you’re not going to miss is the horrible traffic. North Carolina is a rural state so you’re not going to have that bumper to bumper traffic jams 24-7. Even in the densely populated areas like Raleigh, you’re only going to have traffic jams from say 7:00 A.M to 9: 30 A.M and from 4:00 P.M until 6:00 P.M or 7 P.M. It is not all day and all night. You’re going to not miss all the those traffic jams from up north. You’re not going to miss the smog when you move down to North Carolina. NC is a clean state. There are some pockets of smog but by and large it’s not like you’re going to see in New York City. You’re also not going to miss the dirty snow. Yes, we get snow occasionally here but it doesn’t pile up in big giant, dirty, smoggy piles. You’re not going to miss the rude people we talked about it earlier. North Carolinians in general are fairly nice and welcoming people. It is going to be a breath of fresh air, if you’re used to the fight and the hustle and bustle that you experience up in those densely populated northern states.
What will surprise you about moving from the northern states to North Carolina? One thing is traffic may be worse than you expect. Again, we do have traffic jams here but they are isolated to certain areas and in certain times of the day. You are still are going to experience some traffic especially on the interstates, on holiday weekends. Another thing you’re going to be surprised about moving to North Carolina we have due diligence fees when it comes to buying house. This is something you can talk to your real estate agent about if you’re planning to move down. To know how to budget for it but that’s just another wrinkle and something that might surprise you that you need to be prepared for. Another thing we have few basements here in North Carolina because the topography of the land is relatively flat. You’re not going to see as many basements as you see up in the northern states. Granted, as you get into the hilly areas, in parts of the Piedmont and certainly the mountains you are going to see more basements than you would in Wilmington or Atlantic Beach, North Carolina and on the coast. Just know that in general, basements are few and far between in our state.
Another thing that might surprise you about North Carolina is that it is a melting pot. People are coming here from all over the country and really all over the world. The people you meet may not be locals from here. They may be from all over the world and that really adds to the diversity and culture that we have here in the state. It is definitely a welcome surprise that you’re going to experience moving here. Another thing that might surprise you and that you’re really going to love is southern cooking. We still are experts at making North Carolina barbecue with fried chicken and all of the delicious and very low calorie foods that you would expect. That is definitely something we recommend you try. Another thing that may surprise you and really you need to be prepared for is people are really nice here in general. The locals are very welcoming. We hope that as people come into the air, they adapt to that and adopt that philosophy and become welcoming and friendly and helpful and will not cut people off while traveling. Another thing that’s going to really surprise you about North Carolina and moving here is you’re not going to miss the snow. We have a little bit of snow but you’re not going to miss the piles and piles and mountains of snow that you have up in the north.
If you’re considering a move either into or out of North Carolina our real estate team would love to be your agents of choice. You can give us a call at 919-964-0474, email us at [email protected] or click here to fill out our contact request form.