Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

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MikeZ
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Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by MikeZ »

My spouse and I have been thinking about moving for lifestyle reasons. Mainly we are looking at areas near mountains with seasons, but not bad snow, where we coold purchase a home on at at least 1.5 acres for under $300k and still be in a decent commute of employment centers. I work in IT audit and information security.

One of the areas that is on the top of our list right now is the Raleigh area.

Can anyone speak to whether our Internet searching on this is leading us in the right direction and if there are other areas we should consider?
lazydavid
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by lazydavid »

There's a huge tech sector right outside Raleigh in Research Triangle Park. Here's the Company Directory. Quite a bit in the surrounding area as well. Very beautiful out there almost any time of year, and RDU is among my favorite airports. Very easy to get through.
ten2go
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by ten2go »

Geographically, the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area is fairly big. Especially if you're considering living on the outskirts to get more land for your $.

Do you need to consider school districts?

I'd first rent a house or apartment for 6 months or a year to get to know the area. See what part of town fits you best. Also, see where you end up working.

There are a lot of tech jobs. As the other poster mentioned, RTP has many of them. Other companies have set up shop in downtown Raleigh or Durham.
Bondman
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by Bondman »

It is a nice area. It may be hard to find 1.5 acres in Raleigh at the price, but if you are willing to commute 20-30 minutes, it can be done. As others said, there are several tech hotspots in the area (Raleigh by NCSU, RTP, Durham).

There is an area called Brier Creek near the airport that is very centrally located to all the major areas. 5 minutes to anywhere within RTP, 15 minutes to Durham or Chapel Hill, 20 minutes to Raleigh.

If you ultimately decide that this area is the right place, I would rent in Brier Creek for a 6-12 months while you learn the area.
rgs92
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by rgs92 »

I dunno, if you are that mobile, I would just go wherever you could find a good job, and the income should support the cost of living just fine.
Being flexible in location in IT is the key to job success and salary level, so if you can go anywhere, follow the money (or at least the career prospects).

Limiting yourself to one area is probably a mistake. The exception would be if you had good gov't related employment in the DMV area (the DC metro area).
ThankYouJack
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by ThankYouJack »

MikeZ wrote:My spouse and I have been thinking about moving for lifestyle reasons. Mainly we are looking at areas near mountains with seasons, but not bad snow, where we coold purchase a home on at at least 1.5 acres for under $300k and still be in a decent commute of employment centers.

Can anyone speak to whether our Internet searching on this is leading us in the right direction and if there are other areas we should consider?
Where do you live now and what sort of lifestyle options are you looking for?

A couple things to note:
- the mountains are about 3 hours away from RTP so you won't be able to go hike a mountain after work
- 1.5 acres for under $300k will be tough unless you're willing to go with an older smaller home. If you can go up to $400k that's definitely doable.
- Depending on how you handle the heat and humidity, you'll probably either love the weather or hate it

Asheville could be another area to look into. Not as many tech jobs, but right in the mountains and cooler (more of the traditional 4-seasons that many people like)
Topic Author
MikeZ
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by MikeZ »

Right now we live in Florida so we have become quite addicted to lower COL.

I would say that this move is more of a marriage compromise. My wife works at home and grew up in a rural area and is missing the lifestyle and finds the Florida summers too long. I don't really care where I live so long as it's a good cost of living and a under 40 minute commute.

Her dream is that I find a telecommute job so we can live in the middle of nowhere. She has a good prespective. Saying inside our suburban house all the time without any nature around is not that stimulating.

I understand the career implications, but this is more a lifestyle call. I've lived in the DC area and can't see the salary differences or career growth making sense whem the trend line is adjusted for commute and housing.
ThankYouJack
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by ThankYouJack »

MikeZ wrote:Right now we live in Florida so we have become quite addicted to lower COL.

I would say that this move is more of a marriage compromise. My wife works at home and grew up in a rural area and is missing the lifestyle and finds the Florida summers too long. I don't really care where I live so long as it's a good cost of living and a under 40 minute commute.
There's a few million people in the Triangle and it's growing like crazy. One town, Pittsboro, has ~3,000 residents and a new development will increase it by 20x. There's new housing developments popping up left and right. You can buy land, but I'm not sure your wife would like it if she wants rural.
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tcassette
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by tcassette »

MikeZ wrote:Right now we live in Florida so we have become quite addicted to lower COL.

I would say that this move is more of a marriage compromise. My wife works at home and grew up in a rural area and is missing the lifestyle and finds the Florida summers too long. I don't really care where I live so long as it's a good cost of living and a under 40 minute commute.

Her dream is that I find a telecommute job so we can live in the middle of nowhere. She has a good prespective. Saying inside our suburban house all the time without any nature around is not that stimulating.

I understand the career implications, but this is more a lifestyle call. I've lived in the DC area and can't see the salary differences or career growth making sense whem the trend line is adjusted for commute and housing.
Be aware that telecommuting from "the middle of nowhere" can be challenging with the limited internet services available. North Carolina is one of the states that has a law restricting free competition for high-speed internet service. The law restricts municipal utilities from offering internet service outside their electric service area. Municipal utilities have been more pro-active in providing fiber high-speed internet service, but are unable to provide service in adjoining areas. This means that many rural customers are stuck with satellite or cellular internet service, both of which are slow and expensive, especially with associated data caps.

Google Fiber is supposed to enter the Raleigh market, but apparently most if not all Google Fiber expansion is on hold while Google experiments with wireless service, which will be much cheaper to deploy.
rgs92
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by rgs92 »

Those telecommuting jobs in IT are rare and often very temporary. I would not depend on that unless you got such a job first and became secure in it. Both my wife and I tried to find them there there was just one and it evaporated after a few months.
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Watty
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by Watty »

MikeZ wrote:...and if there are other areas we should consider?
In Atlanta a lot of the high tech jobs are in the northern suburb of Alpharetta. If you found jobs there you could buy someplace a half hour north of there in your price range. That area is pretty hilly and has a lot of lakes but the foothills of the Appalachian mountains are just a bit farther north.

Traffic is bad in Atlanta so even that far out you would likely still need to time your commute around the rush hour.

I'm not real familiar with that part of Atlanta but a quick search found this house for $300K.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom ... 5008-62024
paramedic
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by paramedic »

I lived in Raleigh for a few months, and I did not personally care for the area much. Nothing stood out as super negative in itself, but neither did the area seem particularly compelling to me. From my time in Florida as a comparison, I would rank Raleigh above Orlando and Tampa, but inferior to cities such as Boca Raton, Naples, or St. Petersburg from an enjoyment perspective (purely in my own opinion).
ThankYouJack
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by ThankYouJack »

paramedic wrote: but inferior to cities such as Boca Raton, Naples, or St. Petersburg from an enjoyment perspective (purely in my own opinion).
What do you like about Boca, Naples and St. Petersburg? I've driven through St. Pete's beach but haven't had time to explore those areas and would like to eventually.
paramedic
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by paramedic »

ThankYouJack wrote:
paramedic wrote: but inferior to cities such as Boca Raton, Naples, or St. Petersburg from an enjoyment perspective (purely in my own opinion).
What do you like about Boca, Naples and St. Petersburg? I've driven through St. Pete's beach but haven't had time to explore those areas and would like to eventually.
I suppose the people. Boca Raton in particular seemed to have a well-educated population. I recall even the local bookstore there being pretty massive (and well-frequented!) for a town of that size. Naples is a bit retirey-ish, and Naples has massive income stratification, but the "nice part" of Naples is nice (though the bad part is pretty bad). St. Petersburg seems to be well-educated and it's also a beautiful city. Of the three cities, I like Boca Raton (my favorite city in Florida), St. Petersburg, and Naples in that order personally. But everyone has their own preferences!
killjoy2012
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by killjoy2012 »

Have you ever been to Raleigh? I'd suggest going for a visit, even for a long weekend, before committing.

I also work in infosec. I've spent many weeks in RTP visiting companies like Cisco and IBM over the past decade. Late Fall through early Spring is decent weather, but misery from June - Sept. Too hot, too humid. Compared to Florida though, it may be an improvement. It's very green, and woodsy, and most buildings are fairly new. Driving around the area, I always get this weird feeling - it's like they clear cut the forest just for the road... or just for a shopping center... or just for a building. It's hard to explain - you have to visit. But even coming from the midwest, it's very green.

IT jobs are plentiful. I don't know the housing market, but would hazard a guess the closer to the major employer campuses, the more expensive things get. Most auditors I know travel a lot, so you may want to consider the airport, it's routes, how far you'd really want to be from it, etc.

As someone else mentioned, I'd favor Asheville myself. But it's not the IT center that RTP is.
TN_Boy
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by TN_Boy »

paramedic wrote:
ThankYouJack wrote:
paramedic wrote: but inferior to cities such as Boca Raton, Naples, or St. Petersburg from an enjoyment perspective (purely in my own opinion).
What do you like about Boca, Naples and St. Petersburg? I've driven through St. Pete's beach but haven't had time to explore those areas and would like to eventually.
I suppose the people. Boca Raton in particular seemed to have a well-educated population. I recall even the local bookstore there being pretty massive (and well-frequented!) for a town of that size. Naples is a bit retirey-ish, and Naples has massive income stratification, but the "nice part" of Naples is nice (though the bad part is pretty bad). St. Petersburg seems to be well-educated and it's also a beautiful city. Of the three cities, I like Boca Raton (my favorite city in Florida), St. Petersburg, and Naples in that order personally. But everyone has their own preferences!
The RTP area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) is pretty diverse with different "feels." I would say if an educated population is a plus, that one would struggle to find an area with better educated people than RTP :-). In addition to lots of well educated high-tech workers, there are three major universities in the area. Lots of high-powered health care there as well (so many doctors, etc).

I think the OP's desire for 1.5 acres AND a decent commute would be tough in the RTP area (or really, most places with lots of IT and security work). 1.5 acres yes. A decent commute, yes if housing location selected with care (though $300k might not be enough). 1.5 acres, decent commute, 300k ... challenging. It is a very vibrant area with lots going on though.
MOAChaser
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Re: Infosec Tech jobs and quality of life in Raleigh area

Post by MOAChaser »

I work remotely, exclusively, and have for the past 6 or so years.

When I was looking for my new gig, I wouldn't even consider a position unless it was remote, due to my location and the quality of life it brings. HOWEVER I am still about an hour from Pittsburgh. I would never move "to the middle of nowhere." Even when telecommuting, I would stay within commuting distance... it doesn't even have to be a good commute, just doable... of a tech sector. The company could be bought, downsizing, anything could happen, and you could find yourself several hours away from ANY work if you can't find another remote opportunity.

Living within an hour or so of a place that has several jobs I'm qualified for is my safety net. I just hope I never have to use it.
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