they also inject you with weird radioactive alien drugs to track your every move.

Does it come with super powers as well?

Good to know. Thanks, Stephanie. God, I had forgotten you were even down there!

I haven't been to NC in a while, but I'll add my praises for Chapel Hill. Spent the best four years of my life there in grad school and law school.

For what it's worth, UNC-Greensboro is only about an hour or so (or has the drive time gone up in the past few years?) from Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

I know - that was two moves ago!

Does it come with super powers as well?

Wouldn't that be nice? Or maybe healing fast could be your super power.

I'm just doing English and/or teaching English at the secondary level, but it sounds like Rocky Mount is probably not for me. A lot of things to consider, especially given that we really want to move this summer, and moving to the Triangle might be a risk if I don't know for sure I'd get into UNC. Hmmm.

Well, UNC is (gasp) certainly not the only University in the Triangle. There's also Duke, NC State, NCCU, and Meredith. Would you be doing creative writing? I think I have a friend who graduated from that program and or is teaching in it.

Still, beautiful. My one criticism of NC though is that it *really matters* where you are because it varies *a lot*.

This is super true. As a total bleeding heart liberal, the Triangle is the only part of NC I'll live in, and I'm picky within that (sorry, Raleigh, you've gotten better but you're still soulless). If you like things like culture, and good food, and good music, and funky stores... this is where it's at. Chapel Hill/Carrboro is an excellent school district, Wake County is also respected, not sure about Orange County or Durham. If you're looking to buy, Durham is much MUCH more reasonable, but the rental market in CH is not bad at all.

Let me know what other questions you have. We can also take this to group email.

(HOLYSMACK! MY CHILD TURNS FIVE NEXT WEEK!)

I reject your reality and substitute my own. SHE WAS JUST BORN OR IS SURELY ONLY JUST A TODDLER. NOT FIVE.

As a total bleeding heart liberal, the Triangle is the only part of NC I'll live in, and I'm picky within that (sorry, Raleigh, you've gotten better but you're still soulless).

Hahaha. I almost wrote exactly this. I would live in Carborro, Chapel Hill, or maybe Durham (I liked where flea lived). I would also live in Cary, but it's def. more cookie cutter suburbs. That's about it.

Thanks, smonster! I'm not sure what we're doing yet -- I'd like us to move somewhere we really want to *be* regardless of where I go to school, although school is a factor. But I have to finish this book first, and then maybe next week I can dig in again. I'm just furious at myself that I missed the deadline for UNC. Missed Penn State's, too. Too much going on!

Duke is right out, though, because it's just way too pricey.

My one criticism of NC though is that it *really matters* where you are because it varies *a lot*.

Yep yep yep yep. And there are a lot of places that are good, not just the Triangle -- the coast is lovely and really different from a lot of other beachy places, not to mention the rest of the state. The mountains are gorgeous. The Triangle has mega-brains and culture and art and an amazing food scene -- and even within those regions, every individual town has a really, really different feel to it. There's really no "I'm an hour away from the town I really want to live in and that's close enough" -- if you're an hour away, it's a completely different life. Even Carrboro and Chapel Hill, which are a ten-minute *walk* away from each other have very, very different vibes.

Pick a place to live, which (biased) I'd say should be the Triangle and (extra-biased) I'd say should be Durham because we rock like that, yo; but amyth and smonster and Calli would likely disagree on the latter point, because they're also biased. There are a ton of schools around here where you can study English or Education or both, whether it's part-time or full-time or online or whatever. But you're going to (okay, thinking of, but we'll work on you now that you've let it out of the bag) live here, and NC really rewards diving into the cool places and punishes living in the strip-mall-and-sprawl parts.

I would also live in Cary, but it's def. more cookie cutter suburbs.

I would never live in the Containment Area for Retired Yankees. But that's me.