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This will give you a rough idea which states are gaining population, which are losing and which are remaining about the same. The picture may change somewhat after the next census in 2010.
A few things:
1) we are moving because we are Southern at heart. Meaning, both of us love going to the store and talking to people, but when we do that up here people look at us like we are ax murderers and run away. I'm not kidding either, people are extremely cold up here, not friendly in the least bit. No one knows their neighbors or even waves to them. Sad. Isn't how it used to be and that isn't how I was raised.
2) my boyfriend is actually from South Carolina. He is definitely a country boy, raised on a farm, ate off the land, and the one pig they had and that is how I'd like to live, on a farm. There are no farms in Delaware anymore because all of the NYer's came and built $500,000 houses right on top of each other so they can pretend that they live in the "country". Silly.
3) Did I mention how friendly the people are down there? We went to a restaurant, can't remember name, but the waitress sat down and talked to us all through our meal and told us all about the area. She was the sweetest thing. Course, she wasn't a transplant, she was from Durham. Though, I imagine the transplants like us who actually want to be there, will be just as friendly as we are. Can't imagine why people like to be miserable all of the time, but to each his own.
4) We know how to make and eat fried chicken, grits and collard greens, and we put salt on our cantaloupe. LOL I'm just kidding, but it is true no one up here does that. Told you we were Southern. And we like to have huge bbq's at our house and invite everyone we come across.
5) I personally don't feel that it is going to be perfect or easier in the least bit, I don't believe colleges are cheaper, at least not the 2 that I'm interested in attending (Peace or Meredith). They are far more expensive than I pay up here, but I'm willing to sacrifice. And I also don't believe housing is going to be all that much cheaper, but I do hope there will be more land which is all I care about because I will need a place for the dogs to run and I want a nice sized garden for my veggies, maybe get a pig or a cow. And I know jobs don't pay as well down there, but money isn't everything. At least not to us anyway.
6) I am praying that neighborhoods don't start popping up everywhere down there with the cookie cutter houses and the civic association nonsense and deed restrictions, etc, but I am not naive enough to believe that it won't happen. It already has, sadly enough, because for some reason that is what some folks want. But you don't have to worry about the US ever running out of land because no one wants to live in the middle of the country. That is why it is so empty.
7) And don't worry, once all of the glaciers melt, the center of the US will be the new coast and those of us who are left, will all be there.
(And I don't want to get into any political discussion or anything, but it isn't the immigrants, whether they are legal or not that are running us out of where we live and we aren't trying to escape the higher cost of living. There is a pretty simple way to fix things, however, this isn't the time or place to talk about it.)
I’minformed, you keep asking the same question and give the same examples of why moving to NC is such an “unimformed” decision, I have to wonder.
You left your family who you miss a lot. You want to live in a place that has people that live there for 3,4,5 or more generations. Basically you want to go to somewhere that is familiar. A place like you grew up in and you want that feeling for your children. What do your children really want? Since they have lived in NC for (you’ll correct me) 10 years isn’t that home to them? I lived in GA from 4 to 14, 10 of the best formative years of my life and that’s home for me. I have lived in CA for over 35 years and this is the last place I would call home.
You have questioned peoples move citing that they are escaping an area that will be just like the one they are leaving. Maybe, maybe not, but the one constant is that the overpriced place some are leaving will give them enough leftover cash to buy more than they will ever hope to have if they stayed. As stated by Silverwing if it gets overcrowded then sell the NOW higher priced house move further out if that’s what you want.
You seem to have missed the “buy low sell high” aspect of real estate. Once you move back to NY you will see what I mean.
As for your need to be with family, that’s important to everyone and if that is what you want you should have it.
Let me leave you with one final scenario to ponder not that this applies to you, but just a thought. Some of these areas that have many generations that never leave tend to get protective of what they have. New people that move in never really fit in, or are maybe made to feel that way maybe not intentionally, but they will always be the “new” people. Small towns or enclaves like this always get this way. Some of these towns have the normal growth spurts, usually brought on by outside influence, but usually end up going back to the way it was, when outsiders leave. With not much stimulus to spur the kind of growth that makes people migrate there the only people remaining are the die hard that feel comfortable with the same predictable life style. What happens when the next generation wants more? What happens when the next generation can’t find employment, because the industry that built the town generations ago leaves?
Many on this site seem to be searching for the same thing, small town feel, with plenty of future growth. They are leaving overgrown areas for areas like they remember their town use to be, but are not naïve to think that it will always stay that way.
Enjoy your move to NY, but don’t be surprised if the generation you are raising doesn’t feel as connected as you and decide to find out if the grass is greener on the other side, when they get older.
If I could add to that--and I think it's well said--my family and I have chased the ideal location. And we did so with our kids duriing some of their most formative years. We left our family in California and moved to Colorado for a new life. And it was new. But after a while we missed family, and moved back to California. Well, family was there, but so were all the reasons we left there in the first place. So we went back to Colorado. And guess what? It had grown by leaps and bounds; homes were expensive; we noticed more people who were rude and "better than" us; the skiing was no longer fun because of the expense and the constant traffic jams getting there.
I'm sure that we can expect that NC has changed from what it was 5 years ago. And it'll change from what will be today. But what's important to remember is that there is no ideal place to be. There's a place that we want to be, and then there's a place where we need to be.
My husband and I have had very different ideas on where we wanted to spend the last portion of our lives, and western NC was the only one left on the list that satisfied our mutual requirements.
We must leave our home of the last 50 years, Los Angeles, because it is too expensive for us to live here, and we don't wish to grow old in an evironment where very little English is spoken or understood. We've been through drastic emergencies like the 1994 quake amongst people with whom we could not communicate, and it makes terror tenfold. Lastly, California is legislating away any of the things we enjoyed about the place (example: 2 weeks ago the Los Angeles banned all dogs that are not neutered or spayed. There goes my hobby of 30 years with show dogs. . .) That's the negatives we hope to be discarding.
On the positive side, we have never lived in a place that's beautiful. In So. Cal, if you're not rich, you have to go drive a considerable ways to see anything but crowded blight (with palm trees.) We've never lived in a place where a majority of people seem to appreciate the outdoors and its activities, and enjoy what they have.
My family is from the South, we've visited relatives extensively, so it's not terra incognita to us. I look forward to being able to talk to people again, rather than just reach out into the ether of the internet because no one here speaks English any more.
5) I personally don't feel that it is going to be perfect or easier in the least bit, I don't believe colleges are cheaper, at least not the 2 that I'm interested in attending (Peace or Meredith). They are far more expensive than I pay up here, but I'm willing to sacrifice. And I also don't believe housing is going to be all that much cheaper, but I do hope there will be more land which is all I care about because I will need a place for the dogs to run and I want a nice sized garden for my veggies, maybe get a pig or a cow. And I know jobs don't pay as well down there, but money isn't everything. At least not to us anyway.
My daughter graduated from Peace College in Raleigh in May, 2000. She loved it there. In fact she still lives in Raleigh. She bought a house a few years ago and they have been working on it ever since to get it "perfect." I told her there was no such thing. By the time they get everything done doing it a little at the time, the first things they done will have to be redone.
Well, I must say it sure is nice to see I'm not alone in my thinking. As stated so many times before we are leaving (or trying to) California for greener pastures of a sort.
Backfist, you said it well when you stated that there are places we want to be and then there are places we need to be. I can say I relate to you. We would be leaving all family and friends, so that is hard. On the other hand we would be buying a much larger home for smaller mortgage, selling our home here in Calif. is what is helping. We would also be debt free except for small mortgage. Frees up alot of opportunity.
I was born and raised in NC. My mother was a native Californian, Dad was native NC. Spent my teen years in Ca. which was nice, but I now wish to go "home". It's funny, through my teens and early 20's I wouldn't consider moving to NC, now it's all I think about. It's pretty bad when you watch any southern movie and see "green", southern hospitality and you begin to cry. There's much I would miss about Calif, but there's much more I won't miss: traffic, high housing, rude people -only concerned about themselves-, gangs, graffitti, ugly desert, only sunny weather year round. I like thunderstorms!
With me being a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids we need more room to roam, can't get that here on hubby's income. We would also like a slower lifestyle.
Well, I must say it sure is nice to see I'm not alone in my thinking. As stated so many times before we are leaving (or trying to) California for greener pastures of a sort.
Backfist, you said it well when you stated that there are places we want to be and then there are places we need to be. I can say I relate to you. We would be leaving all family and friends, so that is hard. On the other hand we would be buying a much larger home for smaller mortgage, selling our home here in Calif. is what is helping. We would also be debt free except for small mortgage. Frees up alot of opportunity.
I was born and raised in NC. My mother was a native Californian, Dad was native NC. Spent my teen years in Ca. which was nice, but I now wish to go "home". It's funny, through my teens and early 20's I wouldn't consider moving to NC, now it's all I think about. It's pretty bad when you watch any southern movie and see "green", southern hospitality and you begin to cry. There's much I would miss about Calif, but there's much more I won't miss: traffic, high housing, rude people -only concerned about themselves-, gangs, graffitti, ugly desert, only sunny weather year round. I like thunderstorms!
With me being a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids we need more room to roam, can't get that here on hubby's income. We would also like a slower lifestyle.
Hope we all can make our "dreams" come true!!
I too wasn’t as anxious to get back to the south east in my 20’s, 30’s and most of my 40’s, although I always felt more connected there, but now that all I think about. You said it “home”.
I haven’t seen that many movies that really capture the feel, but Driving Miss Daisy, came close. I grew up in a town real close to that house and the winter scene where the power was off brought back memories. I really enjoyed the winters as a kid. If we were expecting snow or ice, we would get up early and the first thing we would do is look out the window to see if it had snowed, or iced over, then turn on the radio to see if school was canceled. The feel of spring and fall are also so distinctive out there. In CA you get a hint of crispness in the fall, then the Santa Ana’s hit and 50mph winds turn it into a hot dry, dusty, miserable place. And for some reason it seams the Santa Ana’s are happening more often now than when I was younger.
I also like thunderstorms. We would sit on the screened porch and listen to the rain and thunder and watch the lightning, sounds a little strange to the locals, but if you rarely get that kind of weather, you miss it.
This will give you a rough idea which states are gaining population, which are losing and which are remaining about the same. The picture may change somewhat after the next census in 2010.
That isn't population, that's electoral votes though. The only states that saw a decrease in population from 1990 to 2000 where W. Virginia, Iowa, and North Dakota. The reason for the loss of electoral votes is for the growth rate being significantly lower than the national average... making that certian state's population a lesser percent of the national population. Hence, less electoral votes. Between 1990 and 2000 New York State actually grew by almost 1imillion people, but because it was already such a large state, that was only a 5% increase in population while the national average was over 8%
I’minformed, you keep asking the same question and give the same examples of why moving to NC is such an “unimformed” decision, I have to wonder.
You left your family who you miss a lot. You want to live in a place that has people that live there for 3,4,5 or more generations. Basically you want to go to somewhere that is familiar. A place like you grew up in and you want that feeling for your children. What do your children really want? Since they have lived in NC for (you’ll correct me) 10 years isn’t that home to them? I lived in GA from 4 to 14, 10 of the best formative years of my life and that’s home for me. I have lived in CA for over 35 years and this is the last place I would call home.
You have questioned peoples move citing that they are escaping an area that will be just like the one they are leaving. Maybe, maybe not, but the one constant is that the overpriced place some are leaving will give them enough leftover cash to buy more than they will ever hope to have if they stayed. As stated by Silverwing if it gets overcrowded then sell the NOW higher priced house move further out if that’s what you want.
You seem to have missed the “buy low sell high” aspect of real estate. Once you move back to NY you will see what I mean.
As for your need to be with family, that’s important to everyone and if that is what you want you should have it.
Let me leave you with one final scenario to ponder not that this applies to you, but just a thought. Some of these areas that have many generations that never leave tend to get protective of what they have. New people that move in never really fit in, or are maybe made to feel that way maybe not intentionally, but they will always be the “new” people. Small towns or enclaves like this always get this way. Some of these towns have the normal growth spurts, usually brought on by outside influence, but usually end up going back to the way it was, when outsiders leave. With not much stimulus to spur the kind of growth that makes people migrate there the only people remaining are the die hard that feel comfortable with the same predictable life style. What happens when the next generation wants more? What happens when the next generation can’t find employment, because the industry that built the town generations ago leaves?
Many on this site seem to be searching for the same thing, small town feel, with plenty of future growth. They are leaving overgrown areas for areas like they remember their town use to be, but are not naïve to think that it will always stay that way.
Enjoy your move to NY, but don’t be surprised if the generation you are raising doesn’t feel as connected as you and decide to find out if the grass is greener on the other side, when they get older.
Well for starteers, I don't think of the many wishing to move here as "uninformed" at all, I was a bit confused about everyones expectations more so than the reason for moving. As for the person a little while ago who asked me why I moved here 11 years ago, that's just the thing.... for all the same reasons. We had a 6 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. We wanted warmer weather and more job opportunities. Interestingly enough we were coming from an area with a lower cost of living than here in NC, but thought that they lifestyle would more than make up for that. But I now see that the lifestyle I moved here for is gone. And that as I have said to the point that I'm sure I sound like a broken record, I miss my family. Since moving here I've lost two sisters, neither of whom I was able to say goodbye to, and almost overnight, my parents "got old". As for my kids and where they feel at home, we did ask them about it when orginally considering moving. My son, who is now 17, was actually planning on attending college there anyways believe it or not. My 14 year old daughter has somewhat different sentiments, she's not terribly happy about the move, but understands and says that "we're lucky we're leaving before she starts highschool, because she WOULD NOT come if we made her change highschools" lol. My youngest little surprise is only 3, and right after he was born was when I really started to want to move. I saw that my oldest two didn't get the full experience of extended family life and growing up in a multi-generational community, and felt that I wanted him to be able to. He will be too young to really remember NC, just as my daughter was too young to really remember life in NY. As for buy low and sell high, playing the real estate game is not what I'm into. Moving farther and farther out from the sprawl.... what kind of lifestyle is that? That would give me an even less feeling of home. It's all a matter of preferece and priority I guess. I wish I could have just stayed in one decent sized comfortable home for all of my adult life, instead of the 7 I've lived in since leaving my parent's house.
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And we like to have huge bbq's at our house and invite everyone we come across.
