Anyone from North Carolina?

[Robin Carlton]

Hey chicklets!

My hubby and I are getting wild ideas. Arizona just doesn't feel like home. We want trees and open space and a house with a porch and seasons and small town neighbors with convenient access to a metropolitan area if we want to go out to dinner / do some shopping. CHANGE.



Thinking Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill/Holly Springs, etc area - anyone from around there who can give me some insight, ideas, experiences or just anything you think might be helpful for someone (a california/arizona girl) considering a possible move?

Looking forward to hearing from you guys!
Robin

[Leah]

Oooh that sounds adventurous Robin!

[hmlentz]

I grew up in Raleigh, NC. It's gotten too big for me personally, but I love NC. All of my family (parents, brother and sister and their families) still live there. My DH grew up in Burlington. If I were moving back there, I would go for the Cary area. Stay away from Durham unless you like a lot more "excitement" than I do. But then I never went there b/c I was afraid to go there. I'm sure if you're living there you know where to go and not to go.

What specifically did you want to know? Oh, also Raleigh more on the north side I would probably go to. I have a friend who moved their riding barn from middle Raleigh farther out that way and it's nice. But I don't like big cities. Traffic around Raleigh has just gotten CRAZY. I grew up across from the Leesburg K12 school. The older neighborhoods have great houses with nice big yards. Of course, newer construction has smaller yards.

[Robin Carlton]

Hi Heidi : )

I dont know that I want to know anything specific. I suppose just general impressions of schools, the people, the areas, the vibe. Keep in mind that the only thing I've ever known is Southern California and Phoenix - so you saying Raleigh has gotten too big for ya makes me giggle as no matter how I look at it it seems soo small town compared to what I know.

Have you been to big cities like Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, LA? Are Raleigh or Durham comparable in that they have all the malls, restaurants, movies, etc you would ever want even if you decide to live in a quiet burb off the beaten track or is it... smaller... than that.

I know it sounds like a strange question but when we were thinking of moving from California to Arizona, I remember thinking Arizona was nothing but sand and cactus and was shocked when we drove into the sprawling city that Phoenix really is for the first time. I think I'm having the same misconception about NC now, so I'd love if someone told me how it really is from that perspective, as the only places on the East Coast I've been to are NYC, DC, Williamsburg and Orlando really.

Any specific areas/towns you would love to live in? Any you would absolutely avoid? Why? Is it really as pretty everywhere in reality as it is in pictures....?

Hahaha - I suppose I had more questions than I thought

Thanks again!
R

[joelsgirl]

I don't live there so it's totally not my business to be up in this thread, BUT I vacationed in Wilmington once, and I would move there in a heartbeat!

[nun69]

I am not from there either, but you could always come up to WA/Oregon....beautiful and they get all 4 seasons

[Julie Billingsley]

Originally Posted by nun69

I am not from there either, but you could always come up to WA/Oregon....beautiful and they get all 4 seasons

the 4 seasons meaning cloudy, partly cloudy, raining, and pouring.

[Coila]

We live in AZ too and want to leave for the exact same reasons! I think when we eventually do leave we are going to Missouri though

[Robin Carlton]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

the 4 seasons meaning cloudy, partly cloudy, raining, and pouring.

Haha this made me laugh as we have sunny and warm, sunny and hot, sunny and Surprise... Monsoon! and Sunny and OMGWTFHOT! Oh and it's brown.. so so brown.

We could go anywhere really. This is sorta what we're looking for though...



If it's near you for under $300k - let me know

R

[BrattyMeg]

You can get that here for under 300k Just sayin

I've worked in Charlotte a few times (when I worked outside the home) and it's pretty nice. I love Atlanta though but Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston SC, and Nashville TN are on my short list of cities I'd consider moving to if we were to ever move. I'm from AZ as well and besides allergies I love living on the east coast.

[sprauncey1]

It is pretty humid there in North Carolina as well (especially coming from Arizona/California). Just sayin'! We were stationed in Savannah, Georgia and moved then to Newport News, Virginia (we're military) and there was a big difference in humidity there. And the paper pine trees (allergies!). But yes it is a lot greener than it is here (Texas) or there (Arizona). And yes four seasons. I would move back to Southern Virginia in a heartbeat! And I've heard good things from friends about the Charlotte area.

But when we do move, it will be back to the Pacific Northwest. Green, mountains, ocean, family.

[Darcy Baldwin]

You can get that house here, for less than that, probably - but you don't want to live here. Austin, yes, Dallas, no

We'd be in TN in a heartbeat if I could leave here. I love the area. I've never been to the mid-Atlantic states, but I also know I'd love to live in any of them! They have trees and mountains and weather that's not OMGWTFHOT, 2 weeks Fall, 3 weeks Winter, 2 weeks spring, 1 day ICE and OMGWTFHOT.

[KyRainbow]

My ex-inlaws live in North Carolina. They live in a really small town, but are only 45 mins from Charlotte which has every store/restaurant/mall you could ever possibly dream of wanting, lol. It's really pretty there too.

[nun69]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

the 4 seasons meaning cloudy, partly cloudy, raining, and pouring.

not where I live...did you see all that damn snow we got a few weeks ago!!! holy moly :P

[nun69]

and I do hear TN has some GREAT houses for cheap and it is a great place to live, but I don't know personally....my house was $318 and it is nowhere near that big, but was a good price for where we are~

[maryinaz]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

OMGWTFHOT.

OK Darcy, I am SOOOO using that...and soon.

I moved from Missouri to Arizona years and years ago. While I would love more green and some fall weather, I could in no way whatsoever move back to humidity. When we visit MO in the summer, I hate every minute of the weather. With the ice storms, tornadoes, floods, and uncomfortable summers, I think I'll just stay in AZ. Besides, I can drive less than 2 hours and be in the mountains with plenty of green there!

[Julie Billingsley]

Originally Posted by nun69

not where I live...did you see all that damn snow we got a few weeks ago!!! holy moly :P

LOL Angie! I heard about it from my dad! My dad still lives in the Bremerton area (it's where I grew up) but we dodged most of the snow here in Portland. I am just so tired of clouds and wet here. Today we had some sun and I nearly burst with happiness!

That is a cute house Robin! We've talked housing prices before and the Portland area was really costly. The economy in Oregon has really dropped housing costs lately, and there are tons of foreclosures around to grab for decent prices. Still, I don't think you could get a house like that here with any land.

Good luck on finding a great place to move to! I wish I could do that. It sounds like such a cool adventure!

[deepounds]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

the 4 seasons meaning cloudy, partly cloudy, raining, and pouring.

Amen!

[deepounds]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

You can get that house here, for less than that, probably - but you don't want to live here. Austin, yes, Dallas, no
.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Darcy!!

[deepounds]

It's totally cool that you all are thinking about such a big move, Robin! I have never lived in NC but visited Charlotte several times when I lived in Virginia, and it's lovely there IMO. The humidity will definitely be something you'll have to adjust to, though - especially if you've only lived in SoCal & AZ. But you could hardly ask for more gorgeous countryside than in the Southeast. (eventhough the Pacific NW is glorious - on the rare occasions that the sun is shining!)

[Robin Carlton]

Thanks girls! Keep the advice and experiences and thoughts coming

I know the humidity is going to be a killer, but Arizona was staggeringly HOT when we moved here. Like couldn't breathe hot and now it doesn't even phase us, so we're hoping that all of the other things make that part of the weather no biggie and a good trade-off.

100 degree temps from May to September isn't exactly pleasant here in AZ if you girls catch my drift.

Anyone from NC able to tell me approximate weather months? You know Springy March-June, Hot and Humid July-Sept, etc?

R

[Andrea Gourley]

Come and live in England!! My brothers FIL comes from Arizona and he likes it. You might need your thermals though

[MamaBee]

I have nothing valid to add, either... I've never been to NC - but would move there in a HEARTBEAT! My mom and I dream of moving our families out of Wisconsin to a place where even though it may snow/ice... it will melt in a few days instead of a few months! *sigh* someday.... someday... my dream will come true. Maybe this is something I should be scrapping...

My mom has a cousin who has lived in one of the Carolinas for the last 50+ years... I think they used to live in Raleigh, but now in Winston-Salem NC... moved for her husband's job. They love it!!

[mariewilcox]

I have lived in many places, but never N. Carolina. We lived in Virginia and S. Carolina a lot; we were stationed in Georgia for a while and in the DC area when DH was at Quantico and to be honest, I left Virginia when DH died because I was tired of the humidity. Of course as long as you stay in air conditioning during the summer it's fine - LOL. DD and I are outside people and spend a lot of time hiking, biking, etc. and being damp and sticky ALL.THE.TIME wore on me. I much preferred it when we lived at Camp Pendleton

Ultimately, we came back to Maine - even though I'm not ecstatic about the snow, I can live with it and it varies from winter to winter. We love the pace of life here, the ocean, the mountains and lakes, and all the GREEN. We love being outdoors in all 4 seasons without feeling like every bone in our bodies has melted in the humidity. We do get the humidity up here but not in months-long spells like we did in Virginia, and when we do we use the A/C during those days.

I know you probably would never dream of moving up here, but it really is beautiful!

[DoodleLT]

I live in the mountains of North Carolina. The humidity is not that bad here. There are alot of people that don't use AC all year. You can just open your windows to the cool breezes.

We live close to the Blue Ridge Mtns. In the fall you have all the beautiful fall leaves. We do have quite a bit of snow and high winds in the winter. We do see all the 4 seasons here.

[mariewilcox]

DoodleLT - I bet the mountains there are a lot like living in the mountains here! We are less humid in our part of the state than the citiy areas, and we get the breeze off the lake. I just found Virginia so oppressive in the summer months. (I apologize to any Virginians here!) I love living in the mountains and on a lake - the best of all worlds in IMHO

[mummytothree]

I lived in ...wait for it.....Elizabeth City for about 5 years when I was in college back in the early 90's!!! It was perfect!!! I lived on the out skits of a medium sized town and was about 40 minutes from Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/Nags Head area. NC is one of the places we have traveled too for vacations and while I love the "inner state" and the mountains...I wouldn't want to live there....I prefer the coastal cities.

Good luck with your "adventure" Robin!!!!

Now that I have read the thread.... a few answers to your questions.

There was not much humidity further east, Elizabeth City sits on a "sound" and there was always a breeze. We did have "snow' once when I lived there....it shut the town down...well me being from Ohio...I was giggling....it was like 2 inches.

I can remember surfing in February during our "winter break", you still needed a wet suit cause the ocean was quite cool...but you could sit on the beach with just a hoodie and capris. We could go it the beach and get in the ocean through late October with no wet suits. November we would use wet suits and December and January we wouldn't go in. By May we could go in without wet suits.

You could possible have a bit of wind/rain/flooding from hurricanes. We experiences some of that in 1994, but nothing that would make me run for the hills.

If my husband's job could transfer him down that way again...I'd go in a heartbeat!!!

[nikkiARNGwife]

My hubby and I are getting wild ideas. Arizona just doesn't feel like home. We want trees and open space and a house with a porch and seasons and small town neighbors with convenient access to a metropolitan area if we want to go out to dinner / do some shopping. CHANGE.

You just described where I live But that's Mississippi..not sure if you want to go that far South...however the cost of living and cost of homes is WAY lower than most anywhere else in the country.

[Penny Springmann]

Nikki, you're wrong, that sound like NWA! Ask Libby, Robin, NW Arkansas is gorgeous! We have wonderful schools, all 4 seasons, a great quality of life, and even though we are a small community, great shopping. But being near the ocean, that's priceless...

[Darcy Baldwin]

Originally Posted by Geordie Girl

Come and live in England!! My brothers FIL comes from Arizona and he likes it. You might need your thermals though

What I wouldn't give to do that!!!

[dballance]

Originally Posted by Robin Carlton

Anyone from NC able to tell me approximate weather months? You know Springy March-June, Hot and Humid July-Sept, etc?

R

Hey Robin, I'm a NC girl, born and bred

I'm biased soooooo, I think you would LOVE IT! I'm used to the erratic weather, and still wouldn't move anywhere else. I live near Goldsboro, NC which is about 35 miles east of Raleigh. I did live in Garner/Cleveland area which is wayyyyyy better area (especially if you have small kids) than Raleigh itself. You have everything shopping wise under the sun there but still plenty of country to play in. I would stay away from Cary if you're looking economical hehehehe, it's more expensive to live there than Raleigh. I haven't really been to Durham much, but there's always alot of construction going on. If you are interested in the Garner/Cleveland area, I could pm you the name of the Subdivision I lived in with houses very similiar to what you posted and I know for a fact there are several houses in there for sale.

As for seasons, this year from Nov to Feb was COLD like 20 degree cold and we actually had 3 snowstorms, snow is rare here, usually just a light one or two. March has been beautiful, with days that are 40 to 50 and a few 70 degree days. There's usually a good bit of rain in march and april, spring finally comes around to stay in mid april. April/May are just fabulous months with 70 to 75 degree days and the most gorgeous flowers you'll ever see EVERYWHERE. June starts getting hot and by July it's 100 degree humidity weather. August/Sept are hot too, but start to dry out some and September is known as "Hurricane" month. We normally have a few a year, most are mild but there have been a some bad ones in the past, MAKE SURE to research your particular area very well for floodzones and MAKE SURE no matter which house you buy you have very good flood coverage on your homeowners ins. Fall starts popping up in late sept/early october and quite honestly is my favorite season, it just is the shortest because by late Nov, cold starts setting in.


Just pm me if you have any specific questions and I'll try my best to answer for ya!!! Good luck!

[Amy Carey]

I still trip every time I read a post from Debra and realize we live in the same town and STILL have never met, lol. But I live in Goldsboro, NC too. I can echo a lot of what Debra says. I am also NC Born and bred, but I did live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for 3 year and came back home. The Triangle...Raleigh, Durham, Cary is comparable to Dallas with the restaurants, shopping,etc. When we want to shop that's where we go. I am right smack between the Raleigh area and the beaches. Someone above mentioned Wilmington and I have to echo that also. I go to the Wilmington/Kure beach area every weekend all summer long just about. We have gorgeous beautiful beaches, lighthouses, you name it. Our mountains are stunning and beautiful and really there's just not a "ugly" place in NC. Yes it is VERY green, all year round, we have lots of evergreens. I don't know about the schools in Raleigh, but the high school that my daughter is about to enroll in has a 100% graduation rate and when you graduate from high school you also have an Associates college degree..at NO CHARGE to the student. There are a lot of amazing opportunities like that throughout the state. I think sometimes NC gets a bad rap as far as education goes, but I have always been very happy with my children's schools. Where I live it's rural and peaceful out in the county and we have the "town" of GOldsboro. There are a lot of areas like mine within a 30-60 minute drive to the bigger areas, so you can sort of have the best of both worlds. If you have any other questions PM me and I'll see if I can help.

OH and forgot to say..my house is quite comparable to the one you showed and ours was $169,000 in 2006.

[dballance]

AMY!!!! If you're daughter is going to WCC I will probably see her!! LOL I am full time in the accounting program out there. And we really should meet!

[Amy Carey]

yep that's where she's going. My sister is the WEMCHS principal

[glumirk]

I'm Arizona born and raised (although Southern AZ, Phoenix is WAY too hot for me...even Tucson was way too hot) and we are now New England transplants. Seasons seriously blow me away, and even though winter is long, and I've got spring fever, I'd much rather have 4 beautiful seasons than brown and hot year round (although Southern AZ does have the most beautiful monsoon seasons and I miss the smell of creosote when it rains).

My brother lives in NC and we went there for Thanksgiving. Random, but they totally have prickly pear cacti there...as well as venus fly traps. They live in Chapel Hill, and when we went for Thanksgiving fall was in full colors and absolutely gorgeous. Not quite New England, but enough to blow an Arizona girl away anyway. What's great about living places where there are trees is that you can be right in the midst of a city and not really know it because of the trees. It makes everything feel so fresh. And NC is much more affordable than New England. They have stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, if that's what you're into (it sold my bro...lol!). Don't know much about the schools since my neice is only 3.

Oh, and if you've ever lived with a swamp cooler during monsoon season, you won't even notice the humidity. It hasn't bothered me at all here, and if I see sweat start popping up on DS I just turn on our little window unit for 10 minutes and it dries things up enough that he stops sweating. I didn't really notice it much while we were outside though.

[Ginger_79]

Obviously I cannot say anything about any American region to live in...but want to say: That house looks beautiful. If you move there, can we all come along and drink self made lemonade on the porch together?

[Melissa Bennett]

You can get a house like that here in the Charleston, SC area. It is really nice here. We live about 30 mins from Charleston, so we are close to all the fun downtown stuff and close to the beach too. We love it here so far. The winter here is very short which I like. If you need anymore info about this area just let me know.

[AmyM]

Deborah and Amy we should get together for coffee some day! Or pictures? (shameless plug for self teeeeheeee)

Lived here all my life and the only thing that makes me want to move is the state business taxes and red tape. Other than that- will probably be here the rest of my life. I love it.
I'm 2.5 hours from the beach and 5 from the mountains, can't beat that.

The weather is wonky. October and March, prepare to switch from a/c in the day to heat at night. No joke. 80 to 35 at night any given day. It's sticky nasty humid all summer. But nowhere near as bad as Georgia in my experience

Lake Gaston (try Henrico, NC) is an absolutely beautiful area. A lot of wide open space almost entirely privately owned with only 2 public spots on the NC side and those are just for boats, and hard to find. That will be Warren (where I am, this county stinks stay away), Halifax, Northhampton county. Public schools stink in this area but privates are great. Very rural at Lake Gaston, 30 min drive to larger shopping centers that include wal-mart and the likes. But so gorgeous and peaceful and well maintained.

Raleigh is the big city for me and Cary is over priced. I'd opt for Wake Forest and commute. Beautiful town with lots of old charm and not even half the traffic.

You can't go wrong with any of the northern beach towns. Duck, Corolla. Manteo is the best spot on the outerbanks.

Don't know all that much about the mountains, I don't like it up there all that great but hubby's family is from there.

Please call me if you ever wanna chat about it. I'll be glad to show you around too if you come visit!

[AmyM]

Found you a nice waterfront house at Lake Gaston Robin.
http://www.buyatlakegaston.com/pages...tonSearch.aspx
MLS number 104316


Good luck!

[MommaTrish]

Well, I'm not NC but I am in Tennessee... not the Nashville area mind you, but that is one of the places we've thought of moving to.
We get all 4 seasons here... kinda. lol We just don't get the nasty/stupid ones as long as most people **cough - winter - cough**. The cost of living is really low, lower here than in Nashville. But then well... Memphis isn't a place I'd recommend anyone moving to. :P Too much crime. But Nashville is beautiful, and I've heard from family that lives there that the crime isn't bad and that the schools are pretty good.
((And yes, this is my desperate attempt to get anyone to live near me lol))

[Jennifer]

I'm in NC. I've lived here all my life! We're in western NC, about 30 mins from the mountains and about 45-60 mins from Charlotte. I've lived in Boone (mountains--LOVED it there), Greensboro, and Burlington, too. Burlington was a great city--30 mins from Chapel Hill/Durham, less than an hour to Raleigh. It's a much quieter place to live, but still has great shops, malls, and restaurants. Really, really loved our years there. Right now, though, I'm right where I want to be. Love western NC and even though it's super quiet where I live, I know I can get anything I would want with an hour drive.

Weather--of course, I'm closer to the mountains now so it's a bit different. Burlington-ish weather would be:
May-September: Hot with some humidity. Not awful, but you'll want some trees in your yard and AC and ceiling fans in your house. A pool nearby wouldn't hurt.
September-November: Fall. Gorgeous colors, cooler weather.
December-February: Winter. Cold, but not awful. Some days around/below freezing, but mostly in the 40s. Snow is pretty rare in that area, but it's fun when it happens.
March-May: Spring. Warming up, flowers, trees budding, gorgeous. Prob my favorite season.

Feel free to PM or email me if I can help. I've traveled pretty much the entire state w/ hubby's job, so I may have some insight to about anywhere you'd be looking. I love NC...I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

[Robin Carlton]

You guys are AWESOME! Thank you sooooooo much for all the insight and info.

[hmlentz]

Well, in March it is VERY unusual to have snow in most of NC. It actually doesn't snow much at all in Raleigh (it's kinda a whole and snow goes around it). I was just talking to my mom and it's definitely spring there now. Actually 80's tomorrow. Yikes. VERY humid. NOT a place to go if you have a lot of allergies. Pine is a big issue there. In the spring everything is COVERED in a blanket of yellow.

Winter is not a big deal, late Nov- Feb you'll have avg. cold temps like 40-50's during the day. It's rare that they see a lot of snow. Spring is March and April and then it seams that summer hits. Spring and Fall are really short. I live in MO now, and much prefer a more balanced 4 seasons. But that's me and we've already established that I'm an odd duck.

It's hard to grow things in a lot of the soil cause it has a lot of clay in it. Or, actually I should be more specific and say I'm from Raleigh so that's my experience there. It's WAY smaller than Orlando and not big city. But it's just gotten crowded. Parking at malls and things is crazy and driving anywhere takes twice as long as it use to but it still doesn't havae a big city feel. The downtown in Raleigh is really cute as is Chapel Hill and Cary. If I were going I'd be a Cary girl myself. I think it's more young family fun. My brother is old school money type (so can't relate) and he lives in downtown Raleigh now and loves it.

I homeschool so I probably shouldn't answer about schools- even though I taught in the public schools there. Not a fan. They do have year round school in a lot of places (again, Raleigh) so I think that is neat and helps.

I think the overall impression is a lot of strip malls on the outskirts of town and then traffic jam in town. The houses are in cute neighborhoods. People there don't tend to their yards and stuff as much as here (from what my Mom and sister said when they visited), but I'm not sure about that. It depends on the area. Personally, I would stay far far away from Durham. I have a great friend who now lives in Charlotte and my DH considered moving us there. Or, he considered it for a moment and then decided it would be lonely without me and the kids- I was NOT moving to Charlotte. Again, I hate big cities though and it's bigger and has more of a bigger city feel than Raleigh. Raleigh is just so spread out that it doesn't have that same feel. Also, race car driving is HUGE in Charlotte and the highways are a parking lot whenever that's going on. I so couldn't deal with that. I would personally LOVE to live at the beach. I want to live in South Port. It's just super cute downtown strolling with ice cream and fun window shopping with kids in strollers kinda place. And has the BEST sea food resteraunt anywhere right on the water. And I HATE fish. But, well, YUM. We love the beach and prefer quiet to crazy crowded beaches.

So, that's more than you ever wanted to know about what I think of NC. I'll take another look and see if I left something out later that you asked about.

[lovely1m]

You could move to Fargo. We have all 4 seasons and the town is on the grow (metro area is 200,000) plus we are only 2.5 hours from Minneapolis. We have great school systems and its super affordable. Our state actually has a huge surplus budget and an increase in jobs even while the rest of the country is having a rough time. I know, North Dakota is not what everyone thinks of when they think of moving somewhere and you might wanna die your first winter after being where you are from, but its really a great place to live.

[tsbegley]

We just relocated to that area of NC (Holly Springs to be exact) from Michigan. We've been here 10 weeks. Absolutely love it here! We had lived in Chattanooga for 10 years before moving to MI and we were really anxious to get back to the SE.

The area is great. Around the Holly Springs area it is really expanding quickly so there is still a lot of growth and there are tons of homes for sale and new ones going up everywhere. You could easily purchase a new home 2500 - 3000 square feet in the style you pictured for $250K to $300K.

Within 10 minutes of me is everything I could need in a hurry and within 20 minutes is any kind of store you could want. Tons of restaurants and Raleigh has many different entertainment options. Because of the major universities in the area (UNC & Duke), we also have excellent healthcare options. We also have a major airport.

We're not far from the mountains, not far from the beach and not far from Charlotte. Raleigh is the state capital so there are lots of potential civic lessons here too.

[schock77]

Bumping to see if anyone has updates as we research the area.

[Susan Bartolini]

Um Robin....BOSTON! With global warming and all, it isn't as cold as it used to be in the winter. (Still waiting for snow.)

I lived in Charlotte for one year during a company re-location. While Charlotte wasn't really for me, the weather was awfully nice. Very mild...and spring was just beautiful!

Good luck with your adventure!

[Darcy Baldwin]

We're beginning to put out our feelers for when I'm not tied down to this area (I have a family member here that I am responsible for who cannot be moved). We're looking at TN and NC. I can't wait

[schock77]

Let's go together Darcy... I would miss my parents and sister, but I also think with technology the way it is today, it wouldn't be that bad. And since it's climate is similar to here (unlike Colorado, where we we looking before) they may even follow us eventually... I'm about 90% sure the in-laws would...

Robin, did you end up moving? I can't remember....

[abm234]

"We want trees and open space and a house with a porch and seasons and small town neighbors with convenient access to a metropolitan area if we want to go out to dinner / do some shopping."

I think you just described central Iowa! Well, the metropolitan area might be stretching it. You could definitely get a house like that for <$300,000 and top of the line public schools.