Welcome to the state!
If you are working in Rawlee, I would suggest looking for homes in Johnston County. Someone mentioned Clayton, which is a good place to look. Other places in Johnston County are nice as well and not far from downtown. Depends on where, exactly, you are working. If you are working in RTP, you may want to look northeast of the city, towards Wilson County. Highway 264 has been opened up to 4 lanes and the new link to RTP around the north side has opened up, making that commute real easy.
If you are in RTP, you may also want to look at Person County or (as a LAST resort) the Chapel Hill area. Be forewarned that Chapel Hill is THE most liberal part of the entire state and does some stuff that you could only dream of if you were from Berkeley. Still, it is a nice area and home prices aren’t too bad.
Personally, I would steer clear of Nifongville (Durham). Another liberal bastion, with some real racial issues and more crime than you can imagine at times. I have always found Derm to be dirty, but that may just be me.
Hope this helps. Might want to check out the NC forums for some help as well.
Oh yeah, when you say you are “familiar” with BBQ, you need to make sure you know what you are talking about. The state has three distinct “styles” of Q. Eastern style, which is most prevalent from about Chapel Hill eastward, is a pulled-pork version with a sauce you can put on yourself of vinegar and red pepper. It is usually served with corn sticks and brunswick stew. Lexington style is popular from Chapel Hill to about Hickory and is a chopped style of pork with a sauce added to the meat which is vinegar based with more ketchup or tomato sauce added. Sauce is thin and leans more towards the “sweet” side. It is usually served with coleslaw and is often put on a bun with the slaw. The other crap in the western part of the state and around Charlotte is not fit for consumption. It is a heavier tomato based pulled or chopped pile of slop. Meat is drenched in the sauce. Usually swimming in it actually. I can’t tell you what they serve with it because after trying it one time, I never ordered it anywhere again. I would steer clear of it at all costs.
Even though I live in the Piedmont area (Lexington style), I prefer the eastern style of Q. I can season as I like and the pork seems to have better flavor. Just beware that you NEVER, EVER get into a discussion about Q, religion or politics with a life-long NC native without having some knowledge of their views first on all of these subjects first. Also, NEVER pick one style over another if you think you are in one of those crossover areas, because you will likely tick off someone who loves that style. Best to just say you are a yankee and are trying every style of Q to better appreciate the finer points of all of them Once you have eaten it for 5-10 years, you will get back to them as to which is “best” IN YOUR OPINION. :)
Only thing that comes from the western part of NC that’s any count is the taters, beans, corn and cabbage. They don’t know squat about Q. I’m without a doubt a whole hog real oak/hickory coals smoked Eastern pork BBQ man.....no plate except to hold a piece of bread and some slaw....I like mine pulled straight from the pig on the cooker....no chop. There’s an Eastern vinegar based baste sauce and then the finishing sauce which is a little sweeter.
You say to never get in an argument about NC BBQ but you mischarecterized eastern versus western! Eastern is what is swimming in sauce.
the real dividing line on BBQ is what is cooked using gas versus coals.
Oh yeah, when you say you are “familiar” with BBQ, you need to make sure you know what you are talking about. The state has three distinct “styles” of Q. Eastern style, which is most prevalent from about Chapel Hill eastward, is a pulled-pork version with a sauce you can put on yourself of vinegar and red pepper. It is usually served with corn sticks and brunswick stew. Lexington style is popular from Chapel Hill to about Hickory and is a chopped style of pork with a sauce added to the meat which is vinegar based with more ketchup or tomato sauce added. Sauce is thin and leans more towards the “sweet” side. It is usually served with coleslaw and is often put on a bun with the slaw. The other crap in the western part of the state and around Charlotte is not fit for consumption. It is a heavier tomato based pulled or chopped pile of slop. Meat is drenched in the sauce. Usually swimming in it actually. I can’t tell you what they serve with it because after trying it one time, I never ordered it anywhere again. I would steer clear of it at all costs. Even though I live in the Piedmont area (Lexington style), I prefer the eastern style of Q. I can season as I like and the pork seems to have better flavor. Just beware that you NEVER, EVER get into a discussion about Q, religion or politics with a life-long NC native without having some knowledge of their views first on all of these subjects first. Also, NEVER pick one style over another if you think you are in one of those crossover areas, because you will likely tick off someone who loves that style. Best to just say you are a yankee and are trying every style of Q to better appreciate the finer points of all of them Once you have eaten it for 5-10 years, you will get back to them as to which is “best” IN YOUR OPINION. :)LuLuLuLu,