Oh I forgot about the schools in Raleigh! There are some well known, good private schools. The public schools in Wake County are not known to be especially bad or especially good. I think they are probably similar to public schools in most second tier large cities. Chapel Hill, Cary are known for good public schools, likely due to the wealthy professionals / college professors in those communities. Durham magnet schools have good reputations too.

If you are working from home enough, it might make sense to look at Durham, CH and Cary in addition to Raleigh, due to the (arguably) better school options there. They also have quality private schools too.

I can only speak of Raleigh.

Pros:
- 2.5 hours from the beach, 3.5 hours from the mountains (including skiing!). 4.5 hours to DC.
- Lots of transplants, you’ll be welcomed and find diverse interesting people here
- Relatively low cost of living (compared to DC, no idea about Pittsburgh)
- Good airport
- Purple state (dem gov, rep senate… not sure if that’s a pro or con for you but seems good for moderates on both sides)
- UNC school system is great
- nice lakes nearby if you are a lake person
- Hospitals are good and the Duke hospital system in Durham is excellent if you need serious care. People travel hours from neighboring states to get treated at Duke.
- Trying to be the next tech / research hub (in connection w Durham). Lots of growth, lots of smart professionals moving to the area

Cons:
- not a great place for foodies - you’ll need to travel to Durham/Cary/CH for dining options if you’re really into food
- not that interesting a city.
- hockey is our only major league team - no basketball, baseball, football
- sometimes big exhibits skip Raleigh in favor of charlotte (2.5 hrs away)
- Museums are fine but not amazing. No zoo. Limited children’s museums / children’s activities (they are there, like Marbles and Museum of Life and Science, but you’ll do them on repeat).
- traffic can be bad (tho maybe that’s any city)
- we don’t do public transportation here (I mean the city does, but you know what I mean!)

Anonymous wrote:Raleigh Durham. Cleaner, newer, warmer. More job opportunities. Better educated population. More nature.

And completely uninteresting. Unless you like cookie cutter McMansions.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

Have you ever lived in Pittsburgh? This is so far off. And its got 3 major universities and is a major medical hub. There is a lot, professionally and culturally, going on in Pittsburgh.

Same complaints are very common for Philadelphia and Philadelphia is much bigger with more universities and medical hubs.

Some cities are just easier for people to move to than others.

What's your point? I lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years. Has a ROBUST arts scene. Lots of fun neighborhoods, all of which their own, unique feel to them. Schenly Park. You can get all sorts of "diverse" exposure to culture: white, black, mediterranean, african, East Asian, South American, etc. etc. I had them all there. There is a huge LGBTQ+ population, even back in the stone ages when I was there. Lots of sports, too.

The weather isn't great but it is a GREAT place to live. And an easy transition from another city (I came from the boonies, which I would argue is a much tougher transition).

This isn't unique to Pittsburgh. Every city above a certain size is going to offer all of what you described. Including Raleigh-Durham.

But having moved to a few cities in my life, due to work, certain types of cities are going to be much easier on transients and relocating families than others. I wouldn't rank Pittsburgh as one of them, although if you put in the effort to establish roots through community institutions like churches or synagogues, it can be easier.

No, not all cities offer these things. i've lived in several cities as well. I will also say that I found Pittsburgh very easy on "transients" or people new to the area. So I heartily disagree with you there.

I have family in both. I like to visit Pittsburg, I don’t like to visit Raleigh. Raleigh is too hot, brown (the topography), southern, boring. Pittsburgh is green, beautiful, and there’s lots to do.

Re: 2335. Developers are clear cutting the trees. That's good for those with allergies, but it takes a pretty landscape and makes it barren. If u move to the Raleigh area, be prepared for some very warm summers. Warm and achingly humid.

Raleigh Durham. Cleaner, newer, warmer. More job opportunities. Better educated population. More nature.

OP, you mentioned that one spouse would work hybrid. Does this mean traveling part of the time to your current location?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

Have you ever lived in Pittsburgh? This is so far off. And its got 3 major universities and is a major medical hub. There is a lot, professionally and culturally, going on in Pittsburgh.

Same complaints are very common for Philadelphia and Philadelphia is much bigger with more universities and medical hubs.

Some cities are just easier for people to move to than others.

What's your point? I lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years. Has a ROBUST arts scene. Lots of fun neighborhoods, all of which their own, unique feel to them. Schenly Park. You can get all sorts of "diverse" exposure to culture: white, black, mediterranean, african, East Asian, South American, etc. etc. I had them all there. There is a huge LGBTQ+ population, even back in the stone ages when I was there. Lots of sports, too.

The weather isn't great but it is a GREAT place to live. And an easy transition from another city (I came from the boonies, which I would argue is a much tougher transition).

This isn't unique to Pittsburgh. Every city above a certain size is going to offer all of what you described. Including Raleigh-Durham.

But having moved to a few cities in my life, due to work, certain types of cities are going to be much easier on transients and relocating families than others. I wouldn't rank Pittsburgh as one of them, although if you put in the effort to establish roots through community institutions like churches or synagogues, it can be easier.

Pittsburgh. If you're from the north, stay north.

Signed,

Current Raleigh resident looking to move back north

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

Have you ever lived in Pittsburgh? This is so far off. And its got 3 major universities and is a major medical hub. There is a lot, professionally and culturally, going on in Pittsburgh.

Same complaints are very common for Philadelphia and Philadelphia is much bigger with more universities and medical hubs.

Some cities are just easier for people to move to than others.

What's your point? I lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years. Has a ROBUST arts scene. Lots of fun neighborhoods, all of which their own, unique feel to them. Schenly Park. You can get all sorts of "diverse" exposure to culture: white, black, mediterranean, african, East Asian, South American, etc. etc. I had them all there. There is a huge LGBTQ+ population, even back in the stone ages when I was there. Lots of sports, too.

The weather isn't great but it is a GREAT place to live. And an easy transition from another city (I came from the boonies, which I would argue is a much tougher transition).

Pittsburgh !!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too many Indians in Cary

Do you love to inject your Indian hate into every type of thread you can think of?

Side note: the Indian restaurants in Cary and nearby are awesome. It's a muh more diverse place than Pittsburgh, so you may want to take that into account.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

Have you ever lived in Pittsburgh? This is so far off. And its got 3 major universities and is a major medical hub. There is a lot, professionally and culturally, going on in Pittsburgh.

Same complaints are very common for Philadelphia and Philadelphia is much bigger with more universities and medical hubs.

Some cities are just easier for people to move to than others.

Anonymous wrote:Houses are sitting in Raleigh. Market is not great and neither are the schools

Zoned high schools (meaning, not magnet, lottery or charter) within the limits of a city are never going to be “great” meaning low-poverty & high average SAT scores. This pretty much holds true no matter what city you’re in. Definitely holds true for Pittsburgh, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and NYC. Urban & rural schools (again, non-magnet) generally perform the worst. College towns are the exception to the rule.

Raleigh may be different because they re-zone schools frequently. It’s hard to compare GreatSchools scores across state lines, but some states are better for education than others. The worst school in Massachusetts is probably going to be better than the best school in Mississippi.