Exploring a possible move to the Carolinas - need info

[COYO TT]

Hey guys,

I got married last month, and the wife and I are exploring possible places to move next spring. We both want to move South, and the Carolinas seem like a great fit given housing prices, job market, weather, and proximity to family in MD. I would like some first hand info from people who live in/near these cities. I am a CPA in Capital Markets at PriceWaterhouseCoopers so need to be close to the city for work. My wife is in her last semester of school at Towson and will be an Elementary School Teacher. We are fairly young (24&22), so would like a city that has a pretty good nightlife and lot of activities and is not too far from the beach.

The four main cities were are looking in order are:

Charlotte
Columbia
Raleigh
Charleston

My main questions are:
1) How is the teaching job market in these areas? Maryland has basically stopped hiring.
2) We are looking to spend 200-250k on our first home, what are the best affordable towns near these cities that have good schools and would fit the budget?
3) Charlotte appears to be a more "happening" town than Raleigh, is this correct?
4) How are traffic in these areas? Nothing irritates me more than my 14 mile commute that take an hour are the beltway here in MD.
5) Are there any advantages to one state over another SC vs. NC (taxes, local government, job market, etc)?

Thanks in advance for any useful information.

 

[Rasmus]

I'm in Cary (aka. Concentrated Area of Relocated Yanks) a little outside of Raleigh. Relocated here from Europe a little over 4 years ago. I had been a big city dweller all my life, lived in many cities on various continents, but so far I like this place well enough to stay.

As for Raleigh really isn't bad. It's actually rather good. Traffic is never that bad, although, yes, the beltline does get hit with traffic around rush hour. A lot of things going on downtown as well. I wouldn't say Charlotte is better when it comes to this. As for location, I'd say anything from west to south-east of Raleigh is good. We're looking around Cary and Holly Springs right now. SC vs. NC, no, I'd stay in NC. The beach is only a couple of hours away, and you can still make it to the mountains relatively easily as well.

Feel free to PM with whatever questions you may have.

 

[COYO TT]

Thanks for the info. I will be sure to PM ya with any questions I come up with.

 

[LAllison20]

Charlotte is nice clean city. My folks have lived there for 14 years. The Matthews, Providence, Weddington areas are nice places to live.

 

[k_aimone]

I have lived in both Columbia and now clayton (25min from Raleigh). And I love it here. While Columbia was great it was a little to southern. Raleigh seems a little more modern to me. Also Columbia is three more hours south.

I would say that housing costs are very similar.

 

[COYO TT]

Thanks for the info.

The advantage of Raleigh over Columbia too is proximity to the airport. Southwest flies Directly into Raleigh, in columbia the nearest airport is 2 hours. For this reason I think Columbia is my last choice.