Moving To Raleigh, NC: The City Of Oaks Awaits You

If you’re about to move to Raleigh, NC, then you should consider yourself lucky. Located in the northeast central region of North Carolina,the city of Raleigh (pop. 431,746) is the capital of the Old North State and as such, it offers a score of unique attractions – great museums, unforgettable live performances and festivals, thrilling sports, extensive parks, large lakes and endless fun activities.

Raleigh is an extremely family-friendly destination as well – not only will children of all ages have a great time there, but so will their moms and dads. Yes, parents will be happy to know that Raleigh’s highly stimulating and safe environment will spark their kids’ imagination and will nourish their free spirit.

Take a look at our Raleigh Relocation Guide to learn why moving to Raleigh, North Carolina can be a good opportunity for a fresh start.

Why moving to Raleigh is a great idea

The capital city is North Carolina is an exciting and appealing destination that continues to attract more and more people with its genuine charm, powerful economy, excellent education facilities, wide range of leisure opportunities, unrivaled museums, galleries and art centers.

Here’s only a small fraction of the reasons why moving to Raleigh can easily be the best decision you’ve ever made.

Strong economy

Raleigh is a very fast-growing city as it boasts a strong economy and a favorable job market. According to the latest data, the median household income in the capital of North Carolina is $62,021 with a healthy job growth of 3% (2013). Not surprisingly, the city took the prestigious first place in the 2014 Forbes List of the Best Places for Business and Careers.

Raleigh is part of North Carolina’s Research Triangle – one of the largest research parks in the country. In particular, the city is recognized as an important center in the field of high-tech and biotech research. The top 3 employers are the State of North Carolina, Wake Country Public School System and North Carolina State University.

Top-notch education system

Based on the number of Raleigh residents who hold college degrees, a few years back Time Magazine ranked the North Carolina’s capital as the 3-rd most educated city in the country. There are a great number of universities in and around the city, including the North Carolina State University – the largest public university not only in the state but in the Carolinas as well. Founded in 1887, NC State is a research university that currently enrolls more than 34,000 students and offers 106 bachelor’s degrees, 104 master’s degrees and 61 doctoral degrees.

Climate for anybody’s taste

With four distinct seasons, the humid subtropical climate of the City of Oaks will suit anybody’s climatic preferences. Make sure you pack your summer clothes as Raleigh summers are hot and humid, with a July daily average temperature of 80.0 °F (26.7 °C). However, don’t forget to take your warm clothing with you either as winters can be rather chilly – the average daily temperature in January is 41.0 °F (5.0 °C).

Unmatched leisure opportunities

With more than 150 recreation sites scattered on more than 10,000 acres of parkland, Raleigh is a great place to enjoy various outdoor activities. If you’re a nature lover, then “the city in a park” will surely impress you with what it has to offer. Your post relocation stress and anxiety, if any, will melt away at a lighting speed the minute you step inside the city’s two state parks with miles of hiking and mountain biking trails (there’s a horseback riding trail too!), and well protected campgrounds. If you’re in the right mood, you can easily rent a boat or canoe for a satisfying fishing trip or just take advantage of the calming effect of the nearby rivers and lakes.

Raleigh is also a sports-rich city with plenty of opportunities to be a happy spectator or a thrilled participant in a wide variety of sports on professional, collegiate or amateur levels: golf, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, pro soccer, action sports and many others.

Amazing museums

There are a great number of exciting museums in Raleigh, which is often regarded as “the “Smithsonian of the South”. Here are the 3 major ones:

• North Carolina Museum of Art. Established in 1956, NCMA is the first state art museum in the country and boasts a collection of artistic work that spans more than 5,000 years. With free admission to its permanent collection, one of the leading art museums in the south offers 40 spacious galleries and the largest museum park in the entire country (154 acres of outdoor exhibition space).
• North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Established in 1879, this is the oldest and the most popular museum in the state that receives more than 1.2 million visitors a year.
• Marbles Kids Museum. Opened in 1999, the Marbles Kids Museum is a nonprofit children’s museum that is famous for its interactive learning experiences and education adventures for kids of all ages. The museum features a state-of-the-art 3-D IMAX Theater with a 5-story high screen and a 12,000-watt surround sound system.

Also, Raleigh is a great place for anyone who loves the sophistication of performing arts. The city is home to several professional arts organizations, including the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, North Carolina Ballet and North Carolina Theater.

Moving to Raleigh, North Carolina

Professional movers to Raleigh, North Carolina

Regardless of your starting point, your move to Raleigh, North Carolina will need to be perfectly planned and carefully executed in a way that will guarantee you an overall affordable relocation, as well as a stress- and trouble-free moving experience from start to finish. And only the quality relocation service of a reliable moving company can give you such a guarantee. And yet, the question of where and how to find a trustworthy professional mover that supports your moving route (for example, New York to Raleigh movers or Boston to Raleigh moving companies) remains wide open.

Our extensive database of licensed and insured moving companies is the perfect place to start your search for your professional relocation partner. Once there, you can easily narrow down your available options by checking out their online reputation in the form of moving reviews, quality ratings and testimonials left by their customers. These ratings are usually a good indicator of the quality services of a moving company and they can really help you in your search process. However, there are a number of other criteria by which you should judge whether a specific moving company will be the right one in your case: quoted price, additional services, professionalism, availability, communication and so on. Trusting your first impressions and following your hunches also play an important role when choosing the best cross country mover for your relocation to the capital city of North Carolina.

The cost of moving to Raleigh, North Carolina

Naturally, one of the most pressing and burning questions to preoccupy your mind will probably be the financial side of your relocation to Raleigh. If you’re performing a local move (less than 100 miles between Point A and Point B), local moving companies will usually charge you by the hour. The hourly rates will be different depending on your exact location, but you should expect to pay approximately $25 per hour per mover. Also, depending on the size of the property from which you’re moving out and the number of hired laborers, the relocation job can last from 2-3 hours up to 12 hours, or even more.

On the other hand, if you’re moving long distance to the City of Oaks, then you should know that the relocation price will be calculated on the basis of three major factors: the distance, the weight of your shipment and the additional services you request from your mover. Use our Mileage Distance Calculator to learn the exact distance between your current city and Raleigh, which once confirmed, remains a constant. Shipping weight is not a constant value though, and a proved cost-saving technique you can use to your advantage is to get rid of all the items you no longer need or want prior to the actual moving day in order to reduce the overall weight of your stuff. This principle is especially valid for heavy household items, such as bulky furniture pieces and big kitchen appliances. So, in short, the fewer belongings you have set apart for packing and transporting, the less money you will end up paying to your mover.

Either way, it’s imperative that you know how much your move to Raleigh will cost in advance so that you can set your relocation budget accordingly. Fill out our relocation cost estimator and later, when contacted by a professional relocation consultant, request an in-home survey of your household items for an accurate calculation of the price you’ll have to pay to move to Raleigh, North Carolina. Pay special attention to the list of extra services and their corresponding prices in the written estimate you will receive, and ask your mover about anything you fail to understand regarding your moving price calculation.

How to reach Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, NC is very conveniently located on the East Coast, approximately halfway between New York City and the state of Florida which greatly facilitates the transportation from the major population centers. Therefore, you have plenty of choices to reach the city of Raleigh by car, by plane and by train.

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  By car: Several Interstate Highways (most notably I-40 and I-440), U.S. Routes (most notably Route 1 and Route 64) and North Carolina Highways will enable you reach your destination city easily with your automobile.

• By plane: The principal airport in the region is called Raleigh-Durham International Airport (the second-biggest in the state) and is situated northwest of the city center. With approximately 10 million annual passengers, the airport serves not only the cities of Raleigh and Durham, but a great part of eastern North Carolina as well.
• By train: Amtrak has a busy train station in the city where as many as 4 passenger trains stop on a daily basis, connecting Raleigh to Charlotte, New York City and Miami.

Interesting Facts About Raleigh, NC

• Raleigh was founded in 1792 both as a county seat and state capital. It was named after Sir Walter Raleigh – an English writer, poet, politician, soldier and explorer.
• More than half of the country’s population lives within an hour’s flight or a day’s drive from the capital of North Carolina.
• The main attraction at the Pullen Park is a classic wood carousel that was built in 1900. The carousel that is now included in the National Register of Historic Places features 52 hand-carved animals made of basswood, 2 chariots, 18 large mirrors and a pipe organ manufactured in 1924.
• With a height of 538 feet (164 m), PNC Plaza is tallest and largest building in Raleigh, and the tallest tower between Philadelphia and Charlotte.
• In 2006, Raleigh’s NHL team the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers (based in Edmonton, Alberta). Presently, this is North Carolina’s first and only professional sports championship.
• On January 25, Raleigh was hit by a powerful winter storm (the January 2000 North American blizzard). As a result, the city was left with 20.3 inches (52 cm) of snow from a single snow storm.
• Approximately 13.26 million visitors are attracted to Greater Raleigh each year.

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  The largest event in North Carolina is held in Raleigh. It’s the North Carolina State Fair. First organized in 1853, the annual fair and agricultural exposition, which lasts for 11 days in mid-October, broke its old attendance record and attracted exactly 1,091,887 visitors in 2010.

Useful links

• City of Raleigh
• Visit Raleigh
• Things to do in Raleigh
• Events in Raleigh
• Maps of Raleigh
• Services in Raleigh