Is Raleigh, North Carolina a good place to live?

If you’re unfamiliar with the Southern US culture, you’re going to be in for some serious culture shock. I moved to VA from the Bay Area when I was 10. Things were very different for me, though there have been significant improvements to Richmond since the early 90’s. I can’t speak to Raleigh, specifically, but it does have a lot in common with Richmond, and I suspect much of my experience in Richmond would be analogous to Raleigh.

Things I remember being shocked by: Confederate “Southern Pride” flags, more churches than gas stations, limited shopping and cuisine (though this has improved greatly), “Sir” and “Ma’am,” pickup trucks (giant ones), guns, Republican politics, and the “southern drawl” accent.

There is a lot to like too, especially as southern cities are finally emerging from their bizarre obsession with their Confederate histories. There is an incredibly wholesome sincerity to people in the South. It is not uncommon for people to go way out of their way to help a stranger. Having a charitable heart is a noble virtue. When I travel to cities in other parts of the US, and I hold the door for someone, I often get suspicious looks like I’m only holding the door because I’m working an angle or something—it’s hard for them to process why a total stranger would hold the door for someone else without some kind of benefit. I find those moments revealing about their culture, and makes me appreciate living in a place where kindness to others is rewarded with a courteous smile and “thanks.”

Raleigh is 50 miles away from me; the culture is southern-ish, politics in Raleigh has switched to Democratic (most large counties have turned Democratic in NC), Wake County where Raleigh is located is fast growing, Raleigh ranking ‘Top rated’ and college sports are big (Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and NC State).

Learn to enjoy BBQ, sweet tea and slower pace.

@gorillapaws As we are of Indian heritage, we will be looking at Indian Restaurants and Supermarkets so that we can get our masalas and etc. Are they more welcoming to immigrants (like in the Bay Area)?

I totally agree with @gorillapaws . The South is different. Not bad, not worse, but different.

That said, Raleigh and the whole Research Triangle area is pretty cool – more liberal and open than the rest of the state, and a nice place to live. I know two families who moved up there from Atlanta, and they love it.

I don’t know specifically about Indian families, but given the technology aspect of the Research Triangle, and the higher education emphasis, I think you will be among friends.

@elbanditoroso Thank you for your response. I am not into that much detailing about a place or anything. I am a foodie and that too vegetarian foodie. So, I am just looking for options where I’ll be able to find vegetarian things for my palate :)

I lived there back in 1999–2000. Seemed like a good place for a family, I was a little bored. People were nice. Still a Southern culture city, some things in the South are very nice and some not so nice. It was not very diverse that remember, so I am not sure how many people you will find who are also Indian, but since research triangle (RTP) is the silicone valley of the South the Indian population possibly has grown since I was there. I know that is stereotyping. The area does pull people from many other parts of the US because of RTP and also Duke University.

Food I have no idea now, it has been so long. It was not a food mecca when I was there, but I looked on Tripadvisor and there are several Indian restaurants.

The weather is fairly moderate, you will get some snow and ice. Beach is just two hours away and central to all places up and down the east coast.

My brother taught in Chapel Hill for quite a while which is part of the research triangle. I think the whole area is a much more Liberal and welcoming area than other parts of the South. He’s something of a foodie so I will check with him and see if he is aware of the availability of Indian food in the area.

(P.S. Indian food is my favorite cuisine.)

My brother lives in Raleigh and has for about 25 years. His neighbor is Indian and owns a restaurant. Not sure if it is open now with Covid.
My brothers wife is from Morocco and her sisters family now live in Raleigh.
So there seems to be a lot of diversity in the area. He has mentioned several restaurants they go to, gyms, lakes.
They are also a couple hours away from Wrightsville beach if you like beaches.
Lots of excellent medical facilities such as Duke and WakeMed.
Hope this helps.

Just doing a quick Google search on “Indian food markets Raleigh NC” brought up several listings including this one from Yelp:

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Indian+Grocery+Store&find_loc=Raleigh%2C+NC

I think you’ll be fine. It’s not going to be the same as San Francisco in terms of diversity and variety but it should be a great place to live and get groceries!!

And as mentioned above, wonderful medical care.

And remember there are three major universities in the area so there should be an interesting population of young kids for your child and friends for all of you.

(And it sounds like you will be leaving your toxic in-law situation behind so maybe you can cope with them for a few more months.)

@letmelivemylife I can’t speak to how welcoming they are to immigrants in the “Research Triangle.” It is a pocket of more liberal-minded attitudes, but I would likely expect more racism around the state in general than what you would expect to find in the Bay Area.

I found this data on the Raleigh-Duram-Cary area regarding the demographics of the population. It sounds like 5% of the population is “Asian,” but it’s not broken down beyond that.

As far as the food situation, you have to remember that the Bay Area is one of the best places on the planet for food. The proximity to the pacific and resulting large populations of immigrants from Asia has made the Bay Area famous for incredible dining experiences. I remember eating Nepalese food, Afghan food and Erutrian in a single week when I was visiting my sister in San Francisco. Every meal was authentic delicious and memorable (here I am talking about it half-a-decade later). I’m not sure any other place you move to will be “on that level” but I do expect there to be reasonably good Indian food options in Raleigh, probably less so if you travel to other parts of the state.

Certain rarer ingredients may be harder to come-by, or there may be less choice for the ones you can get. For example, I was trying to make some Thai Tom Kha soup in Richmond and ended up having to order Kafir Lime Leaves online, and struggled with sourcing Galangal as well (but eventually found a grocery store that did carry it). Will you be able to have delicious masalas in Raleigh? Absolutely! Will you be able to perfectly re-create your grandmother’s recipe with that unique, hard-to-find ingredient she uses? Maybe—with some planning and Amazon Prime.

Regarding being receptive to expats/immigrants, I don’t think that will be a problem. My husband is Mexican and I never perceived any problem. One set of friends of ours their the wife and her mother were from Panama.

Raleigh is a melting pot !

Thank you, everyone, for such great answers, I am relaxed now. My moving will be easier in comings months.

@letmelivemylife So, I am just looking for options where I’ll be able to find vegetarian things for my palate :)

Dang, yer plumb outa luck, the top 50 indian restaurants in Raleigh VA are closed at 642 am.

Wait on, I just had a thought, don’t they sell those vegetable thingies you want in supermarkets?

@letmelivemylife Happy to help, and welcome to Fluther, by the way! I hope you stick around and share your life wisdom and perspective with us.

@gorillapaws Thank you so much for the warm welcome. Yes, I was caught up with work and family so couldn’t come online to check fluther. I hope I stay here and get wisdom and knowledge from such a nice online family.

@letmelivemylife We are very happy to welcome a new voice to the “collective.”