Calling Raleigh home

Every now and then, we like to highlight the good work of a friend, either a blog they've created or some cool work they've done. This time around, we want to give a little shout out to Calling Raleigh Home, a blog by a Realtor friend of ours, Matt Nowak.

I am an outsider. I was neither born nor raised in Raleigh. Of course, many people who live in Raleigh can also state that fact. (From the year 2000 to 2010, approximately 127,999 have moved to Raleigh.) The one commonality that we share, whether we are a transplant or a native, is this: we are all calling Raleigh home.

Almost ten years ago, after my girlfriend and I packed up all of our belongings, our two cats, and hitched the car to a back of a U-Haul, I thought to myself: I wonder what Raleigh, North Carolina, is like? Will my girlfriend and I be able to start the life together that we want? Will we gain the opportunities that we could never get if we stayed where we are now? Simply put, driving to a brand new place with nervous optimism was easily one of the scariest moments in my life.

A home is more than walls, a roof, and a floor. When a person asks you where you live, you usually don’t state your address. You mention the city. Living in a specific city can define a person. The diversity within this city of ours is not found only in its people, but also its schools, businesses, religions, politics, social causes, sports, hobbies, and anything else you would say is important to you. If a person can’t find what they are looking for in Raleigh, I simply don’t know where else to suggest.

It's brand new, but check it out.