Might be relocating to Raleigh area...
 

First off, I wasn't sure if NC would qualify as southeast or mid-atlantic. It's kind of a tweener, so apologies if this belongs in the mid-atlantic section.

So I currently live in NE PA. I might be relocating to the Raleigh area for work. Specifically, my company has mentioned Cary, but I don't think anything is finalized yet.

I've never been to the area, but as with everyone here, I love my car. As anyone in suburban or rural PA can attest, there are some great back roads here. What's the situation like down there? Some days I just like to get out of the house and go for a 15 - 30m drive to de-stress. Is that possible down there? Or does there tend to be a lot of traffic and main roads/highways?

On a somewhat different topic, has anyone relocated from the northeast to the area? Opinion? From everything I've read and the few people I know who have relocated, they all seem to love it other than occasionally missing friends and family they left behind.

Sorry for the vastly different questions in this thread, but any and all info on either is appreciated.

Seems like everyone's moving into this area! We're gonna have the makings of a solid FRS/BRZ crew in no time. See this thread for reference to your questions:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37513

Optimus, I hate to say this but there really aren't any roads nearby to do any joyriding on (either that or I haven't looked hard enough). There are a few curvy roads on the outskirts of Raleigh and Cary but I always get stuck behind a soccer mom driving a minivan or some crap like that.

NC, and especially the triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is kind of in between "mid-atlantic" and "southern". There is a huge relocated northern population here (myself included) however all natives identify themselves as southerners. For instance, even though the Baltimore Orioles (okay Nationals are closer now) are the closest baseball team for most of the state if you're a baseball fan here you root for the Atlanta Braves. Stuff like that. Cary has a very strong northern influence, and all the best NY-style pizza places are in Cary. They don't call it the Containment Area for Relocated Yankees for nothing ;)

While the roads aren't very exciting this area is very car friendly. Always plenty of places to park in downtown Raleigh (parking decks are free at night). The roads aren't too brutal on cars either.

If you do any light research you will see that the qualify of life down here is very high. Raleigh is constantly rated at the top of "best cities to live" lists and for good reason. You get a lot for your money here, the traffic isn't "that" bad and most people really like the weather (I personally think it's way too hot in the summers but that's just me).

And if you are into any type of motorsports participation this is a great spot. There are a plethora of race tracks around that can be used for recreational purposes:
-Virginia International Raceway ~ 90 minutes
-Carolina Motorsports Park ~ 3 1/2 hours
-Summit Point Motorsports Park ~ 5 hours
-North Carolina Center for Automotive Research ~ 90 minutes
-Roebling Road Raceway ~ 5 hours
-Charlotte Motor Speedway ~ 2 1/2 hours

Thanks for the reply Wolfpack! I admit I committed a cardinal sin and didn't search the forum thoroughly before asking my question.

That's kind of what I was expecting to hear about the roads. It clearly wouldn't be a deal breaker as the most important thing is quality of life, work opportunities for myself and my wife, and education for my daughter when she's old enough for school. As far as those are concerned, from what I've discovered, the region is top notch.

I love how every place I post, I get the same comment about Cary! At least I wouldn't be alone! I doubt I'd live IN Cary though. It looks like you can get more house for your buck a little further away and still have access to some quality schools.

Definitely appreciate the time you took to chime in(and anyone else's who may chime in). I suppose I should actually get some work accomplished today so that if I do decide to move I still have a job to transfer with!

I live in Cary and I love it here. Like wolfpacks2k said, there are a ton of northerners down here. My family and I are all relocated from NY so there you go haha. There are a ton of back roads that are great for that in the outskirts of Raleigh and Cary, sort of out of the city lines and out in the county. Careful at night though because all the kamikaze deer out here tend to throw themselves in front of your car in a suicide attempt. Wake county is an excellent place to raise a family though, so I think you'll like it a lot here.

And I say a "ton" of backroads, but the only place I have to compare it to is where I lived in upstate NY and in my opinion, there were more back roads there than there are here, but there are still quite a few here. I'm not a big joy-rider though so I don't go out looking for roads to drive around on. I'm sure you'll find some good stuff out where all the farms are.

Thanks bds! I definitely don't "joy ride" in the sense that I'd be pushing the car to the limits, but do enjoy taking the twisties tight enough to take my mind off of work and focus on the road...if that makes sense!

We're very excited about the possibility of moving, so it's great to see more people who moved from various areas that seem to love it. Appreciate the feedback!

Well you will be in good shape then. There are lots of tight turns that are fun to whip it around. Especially since this car handles so well.