Moving to Raleigh

Hi Megan! My husband and I moved from SF although we both had gone to school nearby prior so we had some knowledge of the area and knew people here. It was definitely a change of pace compared to living in a big city but we’re really enjoying it. Raleigh is very family friendly. There’s awesome parks and green spaces that cater to kids and families and it’s growing quickly so lots of new developments popping up and we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the food scene (although still hard to compare to SF 😅). People are friendly and life is a bit slower paced but it’s nice when you’re thinking about settling down. Lots of great universities in the area too and good public options depending on where you live. There’s lots of transplants here now too so you wouldn’t be alone in that. We bought a house with a yard and lots to do nearby although you are definitely way more car-dependent out here. Weather is temperate which is nice too. Beach and mountains nearby.

Hey Megan! I actually moved from Lakewood, WA to Fayetteville, NC last June when our baby was 5 months old. I haven’t explored much of Raleigh yet, but I’ve heard great things so far. Even if you are far from family, it is nice to have that direct flight from Seattle to Raleigh to make visiting them more easier. The Raleigh airport isn’t as robust as SeaTac but it’s okay. We are originally from Michigan, so we didn’t have family support in WA and don’t have any in NC (we are military). If you do move, find yourself at least two reliable people to babysit so that way you are able to get breaks that your family would otherwise have provided. The cost of living is significantly cheaper, by a lot! We were able to get double the house for the same price in WA. Whether wise I find the humidity and heat in the summer tough compared to WA. I do miss WA so much and would choose it over NC any day (we did a ton of hiking and exploring in WA). If you have any other questions please reach out!

Hey Megan!

My husband and I moved to the Raleigh area when I was about 14 weeks pregnant. We tend to move a lot for his job (every 3 to five years). This is our first child and moving away from friends and family was absolutely terrifying.

About a week after moving here, we received news our baby had a 60% chance of being born with a genetic condition. We were referred to Duke Hospital. Duke has been so amazing throughout this pregnancy with genetic counseling to talk therapy for me to extra tests for baby girl. They have helped us so much.

Marlowe was born on Thanksgiving morning. After more genetic testing with her cord blood, there was no sign of the genetic condition. 🙌

Long story long (🤣), there is such a great support system here in the medical community. Even the nurse that helped deliver her stayed an extra two hours past her shift to see our girl be born.

I would come back to this area ten times over to have my next children if it meant we got this same care.

Hey Megan! Late to the party here but wanted to chime in regardless. A big +1 to everything said on the thread esp on being very family friendly and great medical system with the universities and hospitals in the area — I delivered at Wake Med Raleigh and had a very positive experience.

I relocated here from DC, and as others said, it’s definitely a change in pace in comparison to big city living but I kind of love it for that reason. My husband is from the area, so there was that draw too. There’s been A LOT of development in the area since I moved here in 2019 and doing always expect it to be quaint or remain super affordable!

Hope this helps!