Hey guys, I'm moving over to the US in approximately a year and we have no set place to move to. My wife's family are in Raleigh so i guess that makes it an option at least. We have visited the area but any input into the car/bike scene in this area would be great. Cheers Adam
There's definitely a lot of NC Hot Rodders and I'm sure Raleigh has a good share of them. Zman and Yankee Mike are both in that are as well as a bunch of others. The Iron Lords are 2.5hrs south in Charlotte so that's not too bad if you ever want to hang. Also Charlotte hosts some pretty big shows like Good Guys and the Auto Fair Swap that you'll love. Steel In Motion is also just a couple hrs away and that's a blast. You're going to love it...I think!
My suggestion would be.....try to stay west of Raleigh and east of Greenville, SC. Anywhere between Raleigh and Charlotte in th I-85 Corridor or along I-77 north of Charlotte would be ideal. That's going to be my target area in a couple years....I'm originally from Greensboro and inherited property in Ashe County (mountains north of Boone).....gotta get my youngest out of high school and settled into college first. Good luck on your move. If you need any info on the area, feel free to contact me.
Awesome Brett!!! I want to move up there too unfortunately I have a bunch more years before Memphis is in College haha!!!!
But it sounds so nice! lol Fayettenam "A southern army town trying to get away from its past, with mixed success and results. Instead of pawn shops and strip clubs (of which there are still PLENTY)you get strip malls, shopping centers, and Applebees. But you can still pick up ******s at the Ruby Tuesdays on Skibo. The "historic" downtown is trying to revitalize itself, but there are still too many crack and meth heads to take care of. A few decent brew pubs and that's it."
Winston-Salem and Greensboro area aren't too bad if you need city life. Not too far from the mountains nor the beach. Had had my choice I'd moved to the mountains and settled in a small town or area, but then again I'm close to alot of neat things. It just depends what you needs are.
Do not forget about Heavy Rebel? I plan on going to the Steel in Motion. This will be my first time there so be gentle. Mike says he is going to Steel in Motion whick 1932 Ford will he bring? J.J. join our club.
I like Winston Salem. I also think the Raleigh/Duram and Chapel Hill Areas seem nice too. I'm north of Charlotte near Lake Norman and I really like it because I can easily access the city for work and such but still am relatively out of the hustle and near a ton of horse farms and ****.
I'll be at Heavy Rebel for sure but I think I'm heading up north to the Jalopy Showdown instead of Steel In Motion to set up a Vending spot. We'll see..... I'll join though haha!!!
Winston is nice, it's a big enough city but not to big, easy to get to Charlotte one way and the mountains the other.
(Lizard Lick) Yep, It's actually just an houf from me....between Knightdale and Zebulon. That's EAST of Raleigh, for those that ain't from these parts! JJ, Retirement will be in Nathan's Creek (Ashe County). My brother and I are 6th generation McMillan's. My 3rd great-grandfather was deeded the land (and was the first Registrar of Deeds - can we say "conflict of interest?") in the mid-1780's. All his land (minus 10 acres that was sold by my grandfather) is still in the "family". My first choice for a metro area would be Greensboro/High Point, and not just because I'm from there. 3.5 hours to Wilmington and beaches, 4 hours to Myrtle (if you like it there), 2 hours to the mountains, and 1.5 hours from Charlotte....and the coolest cats on the "right coast".
Jalopy Showdown is that mud racing w/ old ratrods. Does not sound fun for me? I never been to Steel in Motion from the pics. it look like very nicer event. What parts are you look for I might can hook you up?
Wow what a coincidence Brett, I have a similar story....except my family came from Poland with nothing to the North East in the 1920's..... and didn't leave any land when they check out! Hahahaha!!!!
When you are in Raleigh go over to Ray Price's Harley Davidson dealership. He has a excellent Harley drag bike museum there. I worked with him in 2001 for a year on his T/F Harley. He has been around and has some really cool stuff there. JC
Thanks for some good info guys. Who knows where we'll end up, no state is completely out of the question.
Join the North Carolina Social on the HAMB for some more input .. (if you haven't already) You'll like NC.
My $0.02 We have a house near Lexington, NC in an even smaller town. Lot's of motor heads in the area, a lot of cruises and shows between Oakboro, Thomasville, High Point, Greensboro, Mount Airy, etc. I found that, even as a Yankee, I could find more of my type of people there - people who build cars themselves, and have the grease under their nails and the cuts and s****s to prove it. Over the years, we made good friends with people who stopped by the house because they saw the projects out and decided we had something in common. Due to my job, I moved to just outside of Raleigh about 8 years ago. I work a lot of hours so don't get out and about, but I normally have one of my projects sitting in the driveway as I'm working on it. In all 8 years, I've had 1 person stop and take interest - and that was an 18 yo kid wanting to learn. My few experiences in the area is that it's rife with 1-800-hot-rods type guys. Not saying that is everyone, but I think the scene is much livelier (and friendlier) in the Greensboro to Charlotte corridor.
The Jalopy Journal
