Raleigh, North Carolina

Plasticman4Life
Living in Raleigh
6mo ago
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I grew up in Pittsburgh, but have lived in the Raleigh area for about 30 years. I agree with the others here who have lived in both places.

I’ll add that Pittsburgh (and the surrounding area) has a similar population to the Raleigh-Durham area, but it’s concentrated in a smaller geographic area, so it feels like a real city. It’s much older too and has a totally different vibe with many different ethnicities and cultures - especially European. (Raleigh is diverse too, but limited more to Indian, Chinese, and Hispanic.)

Pittsburgh is on the western edge of the Appalachian mountains, and is definitely quite hilly. Raleigh’s topography is much flatter, with (barely) rolling hills.

Pittsburgh’s weather is gloomier in the winter. It’s mostly deciduous trees, and it’s often cloudy in the colder months, so it feels gray and dead outside for months. Raleigh has mostly pines so it stays green, and the winter is shorter and sunnier, making it feel much warmer.

Pittsburgh has rebounded well since the collapse of the steel industry in the late 70’s, and is cleaner and more vibrant than ever.

For cost of living - especially housing costs - Pittsburgh beats Raleigh hands down. You can find reasonably priced places to live in the Raleigh area, but not anywhere in Raleigh itself. But if you’re willing to be 20-30 minutes out of town, you can still find houses in the $250k range.

MrDubTee
Living in Raleigh
6mo ago
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There’s probably a lot of posts about it. In short for me, it’s home.

The culture, community, food, and overall variety here provides a warm invite to anyone willing to step in.

Cost of living is a little subjective, overall it’s average to the US except housing is pricey (similar to everywhere) I would say 65K a year you can do well but may be better off with a dual income. My wife and I make a combined total of 110K and with a bit of a budget we are happy.

Overall, you can get great outdoor walking, with better hiking out west, or you can drive east and be at the ocean. Food is quite good at many spots, beer scene is good, and plenty of events held by the city.

Hope this helps and regardless of your choice, best of luck and safe travels.

bush-leaguer
Living in Raleigh
3y ago
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My wife and I moved back here a few years ago after 7 years in Charlotte.

Charlotte was a tremendously fun place to be child-free and in our 20s. It definitely has more of a big city feel and I think a lot more to do. That said, Raleigh is fine? It doesn't get me excited, it feels very sprawled, but there's nothing particularly bad about Raleigh either. It's pretty safe and people are usually personable.

As with any city, you need to locate to an area that fits your interests and age group. When we first moved to Charlotte and were just starting out, we lived in the north part of the city and didn't go out a lot. Then we moved downtown and did tons of stuff and had a much more enjoyable experience. There are definitely places to live/hang out in Raleigh where you'll be happy. So it depends on what you're into and where people your age tend to congregate.

If you're looking for specific neighborhood recommendations, they are building a ton of apartments in the Glenwood/Glenwood south area and that would put you pretty central to everything.

Off_register
Living in Raleigh
3y ago
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I moved here (from Chicago suburbs) at the beginning of the pandemic so my wife can be close to her family. Got super lucky and got a townhouse down the street from Lake Johnson. Love my area which is super convenient to the lakes, downtown, breweries and surrounding sights. I love all the greenery here. Even in winter, it is still somewhat green with all the pine trees. The greenways trails are a great and seems people use them a lot. Everything is 15 minutes-ish away. Go see the Canes at PNC arena, hit up the farmers market on the weekend. Tried lots of great restaurants and some not so great lol. Burial beer is amazing and a great spot to post up.

What I don't like?, the drivers. Havent seen so much disregard for pedestrians before. Nearly got ran over a few time exiting stores. Nobody wants to stop. As Ricky Bobby says, if you're not first, you're last. It also sucks how insanely expensive housing has become. I know the whole country is a hot market right now but houses have gone up nearly 100-150k since I've moved here. Oh and the humidity is absolutely insane. Never felt anything like it before haha.

Pros and Cons of Living in Raleigh North Carolina