where in north carolina?

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HI fellow nurses,

I need your help. I'm from new york and we are considering of moving either tampa or north carolina. Since i have no clue where to go, can you suggest a country or city that you think you will choose to live if you have a family, houses between 100-200K and near good hospitals? We're considering the wake county in raleigh or Bennington in DUrham. What do you guys think?

thank you very much. If you need any info about new york, i'll be willing ti help.

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I live near Wake County in NC. Wake County is VERY nice, and you will be happy there. I personally would NOT live in Durham. That city is having quite a few probs. If you want to know, I would forgo NC altogether and head to Tampa, FL since that is your other choice. Good luck!

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hi,

why did you say forego north carolina? can you please elaborate, thanks a lot.

also, what kind of problem durham has right now?

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HI fellow nurses,

I need your help. I'm from new york and we are considering of moving either tampa or north carolina. Since i have no clue where to go, can you suggest a country or city that you think you will choose to live if you have a family, houses between 100-200K and near good hospitals? We're considering the wake county in raleigh or Bennington in DUrham. What do you guys think?

thank you very much. If you need any info about new york, i'll be willing ti help.

I lived in N.C. from 1999-2003, in Raleigh, and went to nsg school at UNC-Chapel Hill. You won't find a good house to buy in Chapel Hill or Durham for $100-$200K, but there are lots of houses in that range "outside the Beltline" in Raleigh (outside I-440).

Durham has had a bad rep -- for gang activity, shootings, etc. -- for a while. However, while I was there, there were many new things happening in Durham in terms of downtown development, a trend toward really cool warehouse lofts, etc., and I think it was improving. We looked at a house there and it was BEAUTIFUL, and parts of Durham are beautiful. I did my pre-reqs at Durham Tech and always felt safe going & coming from there.

There is a TON to do in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, especially if you like sports and the outdoors. It's just a couple hours from the mountains (which are beautiful) and the beach (which is beautiful, and the Outer Banks are a real treasure). There are lots of good hospitals there as well. UNC Hospitals, Duke, Rex, WakeMed.

Also, if you have school-age kids, the Wake County and Carrboro-Chapel Hill school systems are major pluses for this area. Wake County has a fantastic magnet school program/system, and the SAT scores of Carrboro-CH students are amazing.

I have never lived in Tampa, but visited it in 1995, and found the downtown area to be QUITE boring. Other than that, can't tell you anything about Tampa!

My sister has lived in Charlotte for about 10 years and has really enjoyed it.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info on N.C. Good luck with your decision!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I grew up in Fayetteville, NC and definately tell you to stay away from there.

I would recommend the Raliegh/Durham area. I worked at Duke University Medical Center and enjoyed it a lot. Of course they have their problems like any hospital. But the Reliegh/Durham area has a lot to offer and has been a boom town economically the last 20 years.

I live in the Tampa Bay area and would definately choose this area over NC. Downtown Tampa is quite boring. Downtown St. Petersburg on the other hand is thriving. Housing is getting a bit tight due to growth and limited land space so prices are high, but you can usually find something nice in the upper 100,000's to 200,000 range.

Good luck!

Caution. Not sure where you are from, but wages are lower in the South. I got higher wages at Duke than in Florida.

Caution.

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Like others said, the gang activity and school systems have bad reputations in Durham. Also, I have heard it is VERY expensive to live there. My family is in NC, but I lived in FL for 3 years and loved it. I just prefer FL to NC. When I graduate, I am outta here. Good luck!

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Tweety, thanks for the info on St. Pete's. I knew there had to be much more to the area than what I saw in downtown Tampa! ;)

And you're right about salaries. This time last year, UNC Hospitals & the other Raleigh/Durham hospitals were starting new nurses at approximately $17/hour. I have heard that salaries throughout Florida are less than that. However, I'm in the Miami area now, and here, new nurses start at $21-23/hour.

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I think the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area is great. I grew up there, and loved it. I graduated from Nursing school and decided I needed to travel a bit and see things, and let me tell you, I am missing NC more than I ever would have imagined!!

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Go to FL -- .

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Well, it looks like I'll be the only poster to say "Don't go to Florida!" ... This is just a personal preference. I live in Florida now, and have lived here for the better part of my life (in the panhandle for the younger years, at FSU for college, in Jax and now in Tampa). I'll be moving to Charlotte next month for grad school and can't wait!

Maybe I'm just a bit too into the weather, but Florida has 2 seasons. Summer and summer. Did I mention that it's hot? Because it's always summer? I can't wait for 4 season's! I have several friend's that live in Charlotte and they absolutely love it. I'm sorry I can't give any specifics on the Durham area, but I thought I could at least give you my opinion on Tampa. And yes, downtown Tampa isn't very pedestrian friendly, but there are plenty of things to do around Tampa (Channelside, Ybor city, Hyde Park, Westshore, and drive across any number of bridges to St. Pete for more options).

Hope this helps (and I don't sound too much like a jaded Floridian :) )

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Hello everyone,

My name is Fatima and I'm a 31 year old wife and mother to 4 children (10, 8, 3 and 18mths.). I will be starting my nursing program in the Fall and will graduate in 2006. My dh and I are seriously considering moving to North Carolina in the next 3 to 4 years. We have been researching Charlotte? How are the universities there? (I plan on transferring to earn my BSN/MSN and becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner) How are the school systems? Thank you in advance. :)

Fatima

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Hello everyone,

My name is Fatima and I'm a 31 year old wife and mother to 4 children (10, 8, 3 and 18mths.). I will be starting my nursing program in the Fall and will graduate in 2006. My dh and I are seriously considering moving to North Carolina in the next 3 to 4 years. We have been researching Charlotte? How are the universities there? (I plan on transferring to earn my BSN/MSN and becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner) How are the school systems? Thank you in advance. :)

Fatima

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