We like to keep things real around here, so you have realistic expectations and knowledge before deciding whether to move to Raleigh.
As much as we love living in Raleigh, we also know that Raleigh is NOT perfect, it has its flaws like anywhere else, and is not for everyone.
If you are thinking of relocating to Raleigh, then you may be wondering what are some reasons not to live in Raleigh.
We first moved to Raleigh in 2004 and we’ve said from day one that Raleigh is “America’s best kept secret” and have been singing its praises ever since. But, the secret is definitely out, and people are moving here in droves.
Why? Show me any list of best places to live in the USA, and for most categories Raleigh is ranked pretty highly, and it has been that way for a long time.
But if you are in the process of making a life altering decision like relocating from out of state, before you invest time, finances, and mental energy, we think it’s important you have as much perspective and awareness as possible!
Looking for a Realtor
Are you looking to buy or sell a home and are in needed of a real estate agent in the Raleigh area? As a Licensed Realtor and referral agent, I can save you the time and stress searching and vetting and connect you to my team of trusted Realtor partners. Read more here or click the button below to fill out the form and get started.
Reasons Not To Live In Raleigh
There certainly are pros and cons to anything in life, and we strongly believe the pros of living in Raleigh far outweigh any of the negatives, and overall it’s a lovely place to call home!
But, as liveable as Raleigh is, it’s definitely not for everyone, and here’s why!
1. You can’t go to the beach before, or after work!
We’re Australian and grew up by the ocean, so being close to a beach is something we’d grown accustomed to and also took for granted. If you’re also used to being near the beach, I’m sorry to break it to you but you’re not going to get that in Raleigh!
One quick look at a map will tell you this before you move to Raleigh, it’s pretty land locked! One thing I hear a lot of people complain about is that Raleigh is not on the beach, especially in the summer when all you want to do is lie in the sand and feel the cool ocean breeze.
That being said, Raleigh is not short of water. There are more than 100 lakes in Raleigh, and
Yes, we have a lot of awesome lakes in Raleigh, and there’s a lovely golden sandy beach, Ebenezer Beach at Jordan Lake, which is 35-minute drive from downtown Raleigh.
By the way, the best beaches near Raleigh are at least three hours drive away, and is doable as a day trip!
Wrightsville Beach is two hours drive each way from Raleigh down I-40. We’ve done plenty of day trips to Wrightsville, and it’s one of our favorite beaches in North Carolina as it reminds us of home in Australia.
So if you LOVE the beach and it’s something you have grown up with and CANNOT live without in your daily life, if you must have a swim or surf before or after work, or on the weekends, then reconsider moving to Raleigh!
2. Lack of Diversity in Food
When we first moved here in 2004, the food scene was nothing to write about, but the Raleigh food scene has certainly thrived in recent years and we now have James Beard award-winning chefs, innovative new restaurants and concepts moving in, so it is becoming much more diverse – it’s not just Carolina BBQ and your typical classic Southern dishes!
In fact, Raleigh continues to gain in prominence compared to other Southern foodie cities like Charleston, Nashville and Atlanta, and nearby Durham has been called “the tastiest town in the South” and there is not much we can’t get here!
However, a lot of people who have moved here from, say, New York City, South Florida or California and Texas tend to complain about the quality, flavor and lack of diversity of food options.
If you come from a foodie city, you might be disappointed in Raleigh. We didn’t move here for the food, and when I think of Raleigh, as good as the food has become and we love our restaurants, I know that it comes up short on amazing food when compared to other big cities.
On the flip-side, in my opinion, Raleigh has one of the best craft beer scenes in the nation and that comes from personally drinking many beers in Portland, San Diego, Seattle, Denver and Asheville, the most highly-rated beer destinations in the county, so beer lovers rejoice!
And coffee lovers, you are well taken care of too. No, Starbucks doesn’t cut it, and we love to support local, and we have some excellent local coffee shops in Raleigh.
So, if you’re from New York or Connecticut and CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT your authentic New York style pizza and NY bagels (which they complain about a lot), or you Texans cannot live without your Tex-Mex, you are going to constantly complain about the food here and may choose not to live in Raleigh!
3. Summer is HOT and HUMID
One of the main things people complain to us about is the humidity, and we get it, humidity is tough to deal with if you’re not used to it.
We might be weird as we love it, but we grew up with it and it just suits our body better and we embrace it.
Humidity is intense and draining when it hits 90%. We don’t want to say to you don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine, because humidity affects people in different ways. It’s definitely something to think about. Here is the average humidity in Raleigh.
Another problem the humidity brings is the air conditioning. While some people love their A/C to be ice-box cold, I’m personally not a fan. When going to malls, restaurants, or any indoor establishment in the summer, the A/C is usually Arctic cold, which means you need to carry a jumper around wherever you go even though it’s hot outside.
So, if you absolutely HATE humid summers, or carrying around layers, don’t move to Raleigh!
4. Pollen is a pain on the sinuses!
If you’re not used to pollen in the spring before moving to Raleigh, it can be a pain on the sinuses, literally. It can get so thick sometimes that they call it the pollenpocalypse, and Raleigh ranks fifth in the nation in pollen severity.
It can get everywhere, all over your car, your deck, your roof, your window screens, your clothes, and it can make sitting outside challenging at times.
So, if you have issues with your lungs or sinuses or struggle with allergies related to pollen, consider not moving to Raleigh!
5. Hurricane season
Hurricane season obviously happens every year, and it’s a problem for many cities across the US, but in the 10+ years we’ve lived here we’ve never experienced anything bad (thankfully) just some strong tropical storms.
That being said, when they hit, they hit bad. They tend to hit the Southeast area in general quite hard, and being two hours drive inland from the coast, Raleigh usually just gets a lot of the heavy rain and some wind as a result. As you know, as soon as hurricanes go inland they lose a lot of strength.
The thing about hurricanes vs, say, tornadoes, is at least you get several days warning so you can plan and prepare, or leave the area. So they don’t really freak us out – the only hurricanes we love around here are these Carolina Hurricanes!
If you want to know what big storms have impacted Raleigh directly, the most recent hurricanes were in 2016 (Hurricane Matthew) and 2018 (Hurricane Florence), and both were Cat 1 and didn’t cause too much devastation.
The worst hurricane in history was Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which took the Wilmington/Fayetteville/Raleigh track. This was the only Category 4 hurricane ever to make landfall in NC, and is regarded as the most deadliest and devastating in NC history.
Hurricane Fran hit in 1996 as a Category 3 and hit Raleigh directly causing the loss of power for 2–3 weeks across the triangle, with thousands of downed trees and power lines.
Wherever you live there’s going to be some form of natural disasters that could be a potential problem, but if hurricanes are of particular concern to you, keep this in mind.
6. Capped Schools (and Overflow schools)
Because of the continuing growth of people moving to Raleigh, several Elementary, Middle and High Schools have reached the maximum number of students they can effectively teach. When that happens, the Board of Education may place an enrollment cap on the school.
If you recently moved to your home and are assigned to a capped school, your child may be assigned to an overflow school, which means they may have to study at a different school to the one you want.
We know ourselves as parents that figuring out where your kids go to school is important and stressful, and many people choose a particular neighborhood to live in based on the school.
Your kids may not always be able to get into the school you expected based on your address. Before you pick your house, you may want to look into whether local schools have space first.
NOTE: you should still contact the data manager at your base school. It is possible there are available seats in certain grades at a capped school.
Learn more about what schools are currently capped on the official Wake County Schools website.
7. Bugs, Mosquitoes, and Flying Roaches
When a place is hot and humid, with a bit of rain thrown in (especially around water sources like lakes), you’re going to have mosquitoes and other annoying bugs, including flying roaches.
The common species of cockroaches found in NC are the German, American, Oriental, and Pennsylvania wood cockroach.
German cockroaches are the most common we’ve found, and are characterized by their two black stripes running horizontally down behind their heads. Their bodies are light brown to tan in color. They are capable of flying – but there is nothing dangerous about flying cockroaches, they are just unsightly!
When we were buying a home here in Raleigh, one of the things at the top of our wish list was a screened in patio, or room to add one!
We love to be outside as much as possible and even though we grew up with mosquitos and flies in Australia, the mosquitoes still drive us nuts here – so a screen porch allows you to be outside but without the bugs!
Just a note on window screens (fly screens). Not many people have window screens here. They don’t like the look of them and say that it takes away the aesthetic appeal of the home. That’s not to say you can’t have screens, we certainly do! You might just need to add them yourselves.
You can get pest control to deal with most bug issues, but if you really freak out about bugs, mosquitoes and FLYING roaches, this is your warning, lol.
8. It Can Rain a Lot (Sometimes)
In case you don’t know, Raleigh is literally a city within a forest, just fly into Raleigh-Durham Airport and you’ll get the picture, or drive down I-40.
Raleigh is very green and has a lot of trees, hence why it’s referred to as The City of Oaks, which we think is awesome. However, it is green for a reason – because we do get our fair share of rain!
Embrace it, otherwise it would not be so lush and green here.
July is typically the wettest month with up to 4.5 inches of rain. Click here for the average precipitation per month.
If you prefer consistent dry weather like in the desert regions, keep this in mind.
9. Copperhead Snakes Might Scare You?
In Australia, we have 8 out of the 10 deadliest snakes in the world, among other deadly animals like spiders, crocs, and Great White Sharks, so we don’t have a great fear of snakes. The Raleigh native snake, the Copperheads, don’t really concern us too much either.
But we certainly understand the fear around snakes. The Copperhead snake is the most common venomous snake in North Carolina, and we’ve probably seen one in our whole time here (10+ years). Obviously it would depend on where you are in the city – they are usually found in natural settings, as opposed to urban places. They mostly prefer woody areas and tall grass for cover.
You should be familiar with what they look like. They are around 24 to 40 inches long and have triangular heads. They are usually light brown or tan in color and have dark irregular bands patterned along its body.
You can also find them in gardens or along the exterior walls of a home, so be sure to check areas of your yard where there is a lot of wood, mulch, and leaf litter.
Copperheads are usually out and about during the day in the spring and fall, but during the summer they become nocturnal, and during the winter, it hibernates.
What can you do? Lay out traps and baits to address rats and/or mice to take away the snake’s food supply. Learn more here.
10. No Big Tourist Attractions
We love Raleigh because it’s not too big and not too small, and even though it’s the capital of North Carolina, it has a small town feel. It’s just about right for us that it doesn’t have many big tourist attractions, which to us makes it very liveable.
However, it can also be seen as a downside, as if you plan to open a business here, tourists would generate a big portion of income, so having a few major landmarks would help to boost the economy and help out small businesses.
Raleigh is a mid-size city (population 476,587 (2022), and metro area 1.5 million) and that number grows by an estimated 67 people per day in Wake County, so if you’re coming from a big city, it might be a bit too small and quiet for you if you need to be doing something 24/7.
Whilst we do love to visit big tourist cities, we like coming home to Raleigh for peace and quiet. Just because it’s not a big tourist destination, doesn’t mean you’ll get bored and there’s nothing to do!
From our perspective, there’s plenty of things to do in Raleigh and always something going on like festivals and events, markets, breweries, coffee shops, Greenway trails, lakes and excellent free museums.
11. Life Moves Too SLOW Here
Similar to the last point, we often hear from out of state people that things move too slow here, like customer service for example. This is because of that “small town feel” I mentioned before.
We find that yes, it can be slower paced, but people are more friendly here and want to talk to you. It might slow things down if you’re not used to that interaction, but it’s also something we love about Raleigh.
I just think the Southern way is more relaxed and there’s not as much intensity here. If you’ve ever been to a place like Fiji where it’s super relaxed and basically useless to have a watch as things happen on Fiji time, think of it like that.
Don’t worry, it’s not THAT slow!
However, if you prefer hustle and bustle and things happening quickly, like yesterday, you might get frustrated.
12. Competitive Real Estate Market
The real estate market has been on steroids here for quite some time with low inventory, high demand and historically low interest rates. It seems like people keep coming and I don’t know where they’re coming from.
The house prices in Raleigh do sit 2% below the national average (every % helps!) but it is still competitive. This is the case in many cities, so I don’t think you can avoid it too much.
Since more people these days have the ability to work from home and are not tied to a location job wise, people are constantly moving to more affordable and liveable cities, like Raleigh, for the better quality of life.
From what I see and hear, almost every home on the market sells for above list price, and is a multiple-offer situation, but again, that’s probably true for most markets currently!
The affordability of house prices is always what people say is a bonus about Raleigh, but in our experience, that hasn’t been the case. And I’m a licensed realtor here in Raleigh, so I know.
If you want to listen to our home buying experience in Raleigh, listen to our podcast below.
Looking for a Realtor
Are you looking to buy or sell a home and are in needed of a real estate agent in the Raleigh area? As a Licensed Realtor and referral agent, I can save you the time and stress searching and vetting and connect you to my team of trusted Realtor partners. Read more here or click the button below to fill out the form and get started.
13. Too Many Trees (Wait…What?)
I read a funny complaint by a newcomer to Raleigh, who said that there are “too many trees blocking his view when driving so he couldn’t see any buildings or landmarks to get his bearings.”
Say what? Strangest complaint I’ve heard yet about living in Raleigh NC. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather look at trees and nature than an endless concrete jungle or strip malls.
I personally think the trees are one of THE BEST THINGS about living in Raleigh, and if we all had more nature and trees in our life we’d be a lot calmer and happier and the world would be a better place.
But I do get that nature is not for everyone. If you’re used to NYC or LA and prefer the sight of buildings, Raleigh may be too green for you!
14. Only ONE Pro Sports Team (no NFL, NBA, or MLB team here guys!)
If you come from cities like Boston, Chicago, Denver, NYC or any of the other major sporting cities that have all four professional sports teams (NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL), just know that Raleigh only has one pro sports team, the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes (Stanley Cup champions from 2006, with a raving and growing fan base called the Caniacs!)
Raleigh is a college town (North Carolina State University) and this is college sports territory, specifically ACC basketball with in-state rivals the NC State Wolfpack, UNC Tar Heels, and Duke Blue Devils all within a 40-minute drive of each other.
- Nearest NFL team is of course the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte: 2.5 hours drive
- Nearest NBA team is the Charlotte Hornets: 2.5 hours drive
- and the nearest MLB team is the Washington Nationals in D.C: 4.5 hours drive.
We do have the world famous Durham Bulls Baseball team just 30-minutes up the road in Durham which is a great night out – minor league baseball rocks!
However, the NFL seems to be well followed here at sports bars, and several teams have a sports bar headquarters, like the Steelers fan club at Sammy’s Tap & Grill. I think you can find your teams tribe here easily enough.
Also, Soccer is a BIG deal in North Carolina. The area is home to North Carolina FC of the USL (men’s team), and the NC Courage (National Women’s Soccer League).
But, if you love living in a city with ALL 4 PRO SPORTS teams, you won’t find that here in Raleigh! Here are some of our favorite sports bars in Raleigh!
15. Too Much Traffic (and Not Enough Public Transportation)
I think people tend to complain about traffic no matter where they live, and it is always perspective.
Sure, traffic has naturally increased with the consistent growth of people over recent years, and Raleigh doesn’t have a great public transport system compared to other cities. Most people get around Raleigh by driving.
Raleigh could do better to improve the public transportation system. We don’t like having to drive everywhere and miss the days of jumping on an efficient train system like the London Underground, the Skytrain in Bangkok, the MTR system in Hong Kong and Singapore, or the subway in NYC.
There is a bus rapid transit project in the plans, though, which will be in place by 2035 – yes, bit of a wait.
But as far as traffic goes, if you have spent any time driving around cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Washington D.C., Boston, or Atlanta for example, then Raleigh traffic is nothing compared to those places.
If you come from a smaller city or more rural town, sure, you would probably say Raleigh has traffic issues. Again, it’s all perspective!
But for us, it’s only really rush hour in the mornings and afternoons that I would say you can get caught in decent traffic delays. But again, we’re not talking rush hour LA!
16. Some Dodgy Areas
The crime rate in Raleigh on the whole is pretty low, and it’s actually decreasing year on year.
Violent crimes are rare, especially if you live in one of the more affluent neighborhoods. Typically, anywhere inside the belt line is pretty safe, although you might have the odd property crimes such as break ins and burglary.
However, there are some dodgy areas to be aware of. New Bern Avenue around the shadey hotels and Capital District can be a bit dodgy at night, and some parts of East Raleigh are considered to be a high crime area.
We’ve never had any issues though, and I would say typically in the day time most areas are ok.
The violent crime rate in Raleigh is below the national average, with an estimated 295.4 crimes per 100,000 residents. But this crime tends to be isolated to particular areas.
A promising fact: Nearby Cary in Wake County, frequently makes the list of safest places to live in the USA.
17. High Cost of Living
Everyone says the cost of living in Raleigh is low, but it really depends on you and your lifestyle.
I would say that the cost of living is quite high on the whole, with average monthly costs for a single person being around $2,600 per month.
A recent study by CNBC and SmartAsset placed Raleigh as number 23rd city in the USA that needs the highest income to live “comfortably.” For Raleigh it’s $102,752, compared to Number 1, NYC at $138,570.
The good news is that jobs in Raleigh tend to be quite high paying, since it has a huge boom in the technology and finance sector, so you can earn a higher wage to ofset these costs.
It’s claimed that the cost of living is 4% lower than the national average, but as I said, it really depends on you and your expenses.
We find these estimates to be reflective of those who are lucky enough to have a high paid job, but we’re not all lucky to be in that position!
18. Not Great Nightlife
Ok, so nightlife is another thing that comes down to personal preference, but on the whole we think Raleigh could do with a few more options for nightlife.
There are some clubs and bars, and we love that there’s a craft beer and brewery scene, but it doesn’t have the same vibe check as say somewhere like NYC does.
Most of the nightlife is isolated to particularly districts. The University District of course has bars that are frequented by students studying at the University of North Carolina, Duke University, or NC State University, whereas young professionals might go to Glenwood South.
For live music, most venues are around Fayetteville Street And South Glenwood area, and again they are all localized. Glenwood South Ave is the party street, mostly frequented by the younger generations!
Although night time isn’t popping, Raleigh does have a huge festival scene and there’s always an event happening in the summer, so you still get entertainment!
Final Thoughts
There you have it. A few things to contemplate before moving to Raleigh, some more trivial than others.
When looking to buy a home, or move to a new city, it’s important to have a priority list of things important to you personally. What are your MUST haves, your non-negotiable items? That’s what we did recently when buying our home here in Raleigh.
You need to ask yourself, what can’t you live without? And what would be nice to have, but not essential? Keep that in mind when thinking about relocating to the city of Raleigh, NC!
If you’ve been following us on Instagram or have joined our free email community, you’ll know how much we love the Raleigh lifestyle, we even wrote about 34 reasons we love living in Raleigh and I think it would be hard to find a couple from out of state more naturally passionate about the city, than us!
But no place is perfect, and one thing we’ve learned from living in 5 other countries, and traveling through 50+ countries, is that it’s really important to figure out what you like, and what you don’t like, and what are your absolute deal breakers?
When we lived in Dublin, Ireland for 12 months back in 2003 it was one of the most fun periods of our life, but we got to the point where we couldn’t deal with the constant dreary rain any longer. We realized that lifestyle was not going to suit us long-term – yes, the honeymoon period can cool off!
A lot of people contact us and ask, “what is it like living in Raleigh?” And ask us what’s bad about Raleigh, or tell us why they don’t like living here, so a lot of this is from personal experience, plus feedback from others in the community!
If you’d like to hear more of our story, go listen to episode 1 and episode 2 of our podcast which talks a lot about how we ended up relocating to Raleigh, how we got Green Cards and have put down permanent roots!
We’ve also recorded a podcast episode about reasons not to love Raleigh. You can listen at the bottom of the post.
Yes, this article is a bit tongue-in-cheek because we’re always like, “who wouldn’t want to live in Raleigh?” When people visit Raleigh, even if for only 48 hours, they tend to love it and are pleasantly surprised about how cool Raleigh is.
But there is a BIG difference between visiting a place, and living in a place. We’ve visited a lot of places that we love, but wouldn’t want to live there! And in my opinion, you need a good 6-months to get a real feel for a place and into the community, so keep that in mind!
I hope you found this post helpful, as we understand how much time, mental anguish, and finances go into such a big move so we want you to have as much awareness as possible.
Looking for a Realtor
Are you looking to buy or sell a home and are in needed of a real estate agent in the Raleigh area? As a Licensed Realtor and referral agent, I can save you the time and stress searching and vetting and connect you to my team of trusted Realtor partners. Read more here or click the button below to fill out the form and get started.
Why NOT Raleigh Podcast Episode
If you’d like to hear us talk about all these points, watch our video below as we recorded a podcast about this very topic. And don’t forget to read our other article on why we LOVE living in Raleigh.
For those who may prefer watching a video of us podcasting, we filmed that for you too, which you’ll find on YouTube each week.
Watch our Video as we talk about Reasons NOT to live in Raleigh
Like I said, Raleigh is not perfect, and the grass is not always greener and it has its own growing pains going on.
We understand growth happens, and you either evolve or die, but hopefully it is well managed growth and plan for it and learn from other cities who didn’t do such a great job of it and Raleigh keeps its uniqueness and identity as the City of Oaks!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we love living in Raleigh because it’s RALEIGH, not because it’s a future Austin or Seattle or Silicon Valley, and we just hope they don’t ruin the whole fabric of the place – and please whatever you do Raleigh, don’t lose the TREES!
And if you do decide not to move here, we’ve heard that Greenville, South Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Boise, Idaho are other lovely places to live.
Please, if you do move to Raleigh, appreciate Raleigh for what it is, embrace it, engage with it, and don’t expect everything to be like it was back at your previous home, otherwise, what is the point in moving here in the first place!
What have I missed? Share your thoughts, or leave any questions in the comments below. We are here to help!
