North Carolina?

clacksteel · 03-10-2008, 10:27 PM

Anybody have any experiences with the state of North Carolina (specifically Raleigh)? I have the opportunity to do a year exchange to North Carolina State University and am curious what people think of the area. They have an intercollegiate bass fishing team there and a rodeo club...could be interesting but living on the east coast seems like it could be a bit of a shock for someone used to Oregon. Thanks for any info/advice!

Tar Heel · 03-10-2008, 10:48 PM

I highly recommend it, and if you wish to discuss it in detail send me a pm and we can discuss in as much detail as you like. Few people live in those parts and complain about it-even fewer leave. It has, in essence, been loved to almost death, a mass imigration of northerners and midwesterners who think the Pac. NW is a mossy wasteland--and it's for the better. Tom McCall had it right, and NC, for all it's granduer, is living proof. It is a wonderful area, and while I much prefer it here in the long run for your education and satisfaction that the further west you go, the better it gets-- seize the opportunuty, get a year under your belt, and come home. At any rate, as the moniker implies, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the subject, and even have a nephew(my name sake) at NCSU in engineering. So, go, enjoy the vibrant academic and athelitc collegiate atmosphere, spend some weekends on the other banks and in the Appy's, then come home to a much more unblemished version of a state with wild places, bio diversity and H&F opp's that is unsurpassed and be glad your a Duck.

clacksteel · 03-10-2008, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tar heel

and be glad your a Duck.

Actually...I'm a Beaver! HAHA! But I would be going to NCSU for engineering as well (Construction Engineering Management to be precise). I would love to hear more about it...I will definitely be pm'ing you in the near future!

PapaHog · 03-11-2008, 04:06 AM

I have been in NC since September. I love it here. If it were not for my grandchildren in Oregon I would stay here.

Great salt water fishing to be had just 2 hours East of Raleigh. I am in Rocky Mount one hour East of Raleigh. My sister lives in Winston Salem 2 hours West of Raleigh.

I really think you will like it. Tons of history happened with in days drive and I have taken many road trip just site seeing.

jvp · 03-11-2008, 10:55 AM

i spent a few weeks there a couple of times and enjoyed it. go if you can PH is right tons of history to see. try some flounder gigging, locals took me out one night. what a hoot. practice saying this often, i enjoyed it, you will use it a bunch.

Troutinator · 03-11-2008, 11:55 AM

I travel to Durham several times a year for businesss. I would jump on the chance to spend a year there. I would not want to MOVE there permanently, no place compares to Oregon. But... I can't think of many places I want to spend a year. Raleigh/Durham is one of the few.
Beautiful country, fabulous BBQ, lots of outdoor opportunities, nice people... once they figure out you're not a yankee... yes, NC is a southern state and they have a very tribal memory of The War of Northern Aggression. But being from Oregon does not make you a yankee... near as I can figure, if you're from anyplace west of Chicago, you're not a yankee... and when you point out that Oregon was a southern sympathizer state during the WoNA, you're a friend.
I was taken fishing twice by one of the local boys in our design center there. Once fly fishing for surf perch. We had a blast and caught a bucket of fish. On another occasion we took a charter to the outer banks and fished our guts out in rough conditions but still managed a few striped bass. We moved inside the banks and caught enough flounder to send a good diner home with most of the fellas. Living in a hotel room I opted to give mine away...
anyway... I'd do it in a heartbeat, I can't imagine you'd regret it.

PapaHog · 03-11-2008, 02:43 PM

It is funny but this is a Southern State. The war is not over for some. They are just taking a break.

They are still training. I took these pictures myself in November.

Hook-Line-N-Sinker · 03-11-2008, 03:57 PM

My wife spent her freshman year at NCSU. She loved the area!

I traveled out a couple times to visit and thought it was great too. I would jump on the opportunity!

adobe wall · 03-11-2008, 05:13 PM

I spent nearly my entire life in NC, mostly around Charlotte. As much as I loved the state it can't hold a candle to the Pacific NorthWest.

The mosquitos made 6 months of the year absolutely miserable. I didn't mind the heat or the humidity but it is brutal. I have a number of friends and coworkers in NC suffering from Lyme disease (ticks) which can be debilitating and is incurable.

I lived in a dry county and for most of my adult life it was an hour's drive to get a 6 pack. That is changing, though.

Striper fishing is fun and you can fish with 14 rods per person (or more) if you can manage it. You'll see crappie fisherman who's boats look like spiders. I never understood sparkly boats and bass fishing though.

The coast and mountains were each about 3 1/2 to 4 hours for me which made trips either way a lot less fun.

There's a lot less room for differences of opinion there. One thing I like about Oregon and Washington is that there is a lot more room for different points of view. People are far more polite drivers here. I like that.

There are fairly good odds my job will get moved to NC/SC sometime in the next 5 years. I can't see making the move- even though I really like my job.

For some people going away makes them appreciate what they had back home. For me, moving out here was like getting to see a different part of the world. Salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, elk, great skiing, real mountains....

Still have a lot of friends in NC but it ain't home anymore.

regards, aw

Dave G · 03-11-2008, 06:50 PM

I lived out at Fort Bragg for five years. NC is a very nice state, BUT you have not seen hot until you go to the South, so be prepared for that.

jimh · 03-11-2008, 08:09 PM

I think it would be a good experience. You'll know why you don't want to live there by the time the year exchange is over.

Leatherneck · 03-12-2008, 01:45 AM

Living on the East Coast will be a shock for you if your from Oregon. I think the East coast is a dump but thats my

I lived in NC for 5 years in Jacksonville NC while in the Marines at Lejeune. Saw alot of NC. The hot and very humid weather from May-Sept is something you will never get use to if your from the Pacific Northwest. The only great thing about NC is that I met my wife on Emerald Isle, NC. She now lives in Oregon and has no desire to go back other than to visit family. There is no place like the Pacific Northwest.

Texascat · 03-12-2008, 05:09 AM

anytime you live outside of a millitary base it's more than likely going to be a dump. I have been all through NC and there are some very nice areas. A good friend of mine is from Knightdale, NC so I spend a bit of time there. Good fishing, and hunting along with some beautiful scenery. If you get away from millitary it is very nice, and yes different from the N.W.
I'm glad I had the chance to experience some of the east coast, you should take advantage of the opportunity.

dixiefisher · 03-12-2008, 06:27 AM

I moved from Raleigh to Oregon back in 2000.....and I think you would enjoy the state for a year.....NC State is a great college right in the downtown area....and if you are a fan of basketball....you can't beat the town. NC and Duke are right there....anyway, I miss the fishing, like papahog said...about an hour or so east and you are right in the thick of some great fishing!.....short bar transition out to the salt, and you can get into kings and durado ( they will call the dolphin fish..). You can also stay inside in the flats and pound the flounder as well. Tarheel is a great historian of NC...so, I can't add much more than he will tell ya.....I say go for it!.......

Chromaflage · 03-12-2008, 06:33 AM

If you're interested in any of the offshore fishing opportunities, you might try to get in touch with Ifisher Hammer Down. He recently moved to either N or S Carolina (can't remember which). I'm sure he's had ample time to get the pulse on the fishing scene down there.

clacksteel · 03-12-2008, 10:12 PM

Sounds like there are some varied replies haha! I think it would be a cool experience...definitely different. I have always wanted to live in the South or at least experience it (some of my ancestry is from down there from pre- and post-"War of Norther Aggression" times). How is the city/college location itself? I am not much of a city kid (for instance I would do horrible living in downtown Portland with all the traffic, weirdos, and liberal-ness...no offense), but I don't need the boondocks like Corvallis either. Thanks for the help so far!

dixiefisher · 03-13-2008, 05:24 AM

Clacksteel,
City life in Raleigh is a little different than Portland.....its hard to explain in a few words....not the same 'hustle and bustle'....If it were me I would live out the outskirts of town and just drive in to school.....