People are moving to North Carolina for its natural beauty and country vibes, but finding it doesn't offer a lower cost of living or diversity

• North Carolina ranked third in population growth from July 2021 and 2022, adding 133,088 residents.
• Recent relocators to North Carolina cite job opportunities and a more affordable lifestyle as draws.
• Five people who moved to the state share a few of the pros and cons to living in North Carolina.

After 62 years in California, Tara Theden-Hart decided it was time to live somewhere new.

She and her family considered places like Tennessee and Florida, but ultimately chose North Carolina because of its hands-off government and lush scenery.

"We fell in love with how it's full of space, the freedom, and the cost of living. It's absolutely beautiful here," Theden-Hart told Insider.

In October of 2022, Theden-Hart bought a three-bedroom home in Salisbury, North Carolina — a 35,760-person town in between Greensboro and Charlotte — for $350,000.

She has yet to receive her property tax bill, but she expects it to be significantly lower than her bill in California.

"My property taxes aren't going to be anything," she said. "They're certainly not going to be what they were in California, which was about $5,000 to $6,000 a year."

Theden-Hart isn't the only person who's choosing North Carolina.

According to Census data, North Carolina had the third-highest population growth, behind Texas and Florida, from July 2021 to July 2022, adding 133,088 new residents.

"We have definitely seen a lot of movement to North Carolina," Jackie Smith, a broker at Charlotte's Finest Properties, told Insider. "The weather's great, it's close to the mountains and the beach, and we have a wonderful airport here so it's accessible to get all over the United States and the world."

Five recent movers highlight what stands out about North Carolina, from its natural scenery to its lack of diversity.

A Californian claims the weather is better in North Carolina

Usually people move to California for better weather, but after living in Big Bear, where snowfall averages 67 inches a year, Theden-Hart found the weather in North Carolina to be more enjoyable.

"It's very different," she said. "You don't have to shovel rain and you don't have to shovel sunshine. So we picked a place where it did not snow. That was a big deal for us."

Theden-Hart, who is a semi-retired real-estate agent, described herself as an American history buff and was drawn to Salisbury's connection to the past.

"The Civil War and the amount of civil rights history that started here — it's just really a beautiful place," she said. "Everyday I just go, 'Wow, I can't believe I live here.'"

Theden-Hart also pointed out the beauty of the houses in Salisbury, and the history associated with them. She paid $350,000 for her three-bedroom home in North Carolina, and said it's about 75 years old.

One thing she's had to get used to in North Carolina is the lack of diversity in food.

"There are some things that I'm used to eating that just aren't here," she said, "like an artichoke. Those are everywhere in California. Here, they're hard to find."

Starry skies rival city skylines for this relocator

Rochelle Woodruff, a coding manager, also made the cross-country move from California to North Carolina.

Woodruff, a fourth-generation Californian, moved last May from Newcastle, a small town about 30 miles up the interstate from Sacramento. She settled in Caswell County, a Virginia-bordering town 45 miles north of Greensboro.

"City life is not for me," Woodruff said. "I love the country life. I do really like being out here where there aren't a lot of people or traffic, and all that fun stuff that goes along with it."

A key reason for leaving California was politics, Woodruff said. North Carolina has characteristics that better align with her values, like "parental involvement in schools, the ability to have a voice in your community, and being more free, honestly."

Woodruff, 53, traded her three-bedroom, 900-square-foot house in California for a 2,500-square-foot house, also with three bedrooms, in North Carolina. Her mortgage payment is about $100 more in North Carolina, she said.

One of her favorite things about North Carolina is the natural beauty.

"Even though we were far away from the city in California, you still got that light filter in the middle of the night so it was never really dark," she said. "When it's dark here, it is absolutely incredibly beautiful. The stars are just amazing."

The forgiving winters call for more year-round activities

Alexandra Shaw was also drawn to North Carolina's natural beauty.

"I remember the first time I came in early October 2019," Shaw told Insider. "It was so green. I'd never flown into a city that had trees everywhere."

Shaw, 33, is originally from the UK and works in digital marketing. She and her husband, who works in pharmaceuticals, moved to the Raleigh suburb of Cary in April 2022.

The mild winters in North Carolina encourage Shaw to engage in more outdoor activities than she would in the UK. She said winters there are essentially a lost cause.

"It's been nice to be able to feel like you're making more of the whole year, not just always like, 'When is summer going to get here?'," she said.

At the moment, Shaw and her husband don't have any credit history and are unable to buy a home. They're renting a three-bedroom house and, according to Shaw, their rent is five times more expensive than their mortgage in England, where the couple moved from.

Still, Shaw has fallen in love with North Carolina.

"The way the community has grown where it's a mix of locals who've seen its growth and then there's also people like us — it just creates a really nice diversity of community," she said. "It's my first time in my adult life feeling part of a community."

An Ohio man liked North Carolina so much he moved there twice

John Yuschak first dipped a toe in North Carolina in 2012 after moving from Columbus, Ohio. Five years later, he moved back to Ohio, but found he missed North Carolina's weather.

"After three more winters in Ohio, we said, 'Nope, we belong back to North Carolina,'" Yuschak told Insider. "So we've been down here since then."

Yuschak, 53, made his more recent move to Lillington, a small town about 30 miles south of Raleigh. He bought a three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot house for $259,000 and also took out a $65,000 improvement loan.

Yuschak is an engineering manager, and noted that Raleigh's tech scene was a major factor in his decision to return to North Carolina.

"If you work in the technical sector in any way, this is a very forgiving area," he said. "You can lose your job today and you can be working somewhere else within a week or two."

Yuschak tried out Charlotte during his first stint in North Carolina, but found that the Raleigh area was more his speed.

"It's a lot more open and inviting than Charlotte," he said. "Charlotte is a lot more guarded. It just didn't have the open feel to it."

A couple came to North Carolina expecting a cheaper lifestyle, but are leaving after only a year

Cielo De Jose and William Scott moved to Charlotte in February 2022. They won't be staying long.

De Jose, 37, and Scott, 50, moved from Riverside, California, in an attempt to escape its expensive cost of living and experience different weather.

They were pleased with the four seasons North Carolina has to offer, but anticipated higher savings.

"The cost of living out here is not as low as it seems," Scott told Insider. "The only things that are cheaper out here are the price of rent or real estate — which is quickly rising — and the price of gas."

The couple also noticed that wages were significantly lower than they were in California, which did not provide any cost of living relief.

"I'm a hospice nurse at one of the biggest hospitals in Charlotte," De Jose said. "I made over $100,000 in California, but here as a nurse in the same specialty, I'm going to be making about $70,000."

De Jose and Scott gave it a go, but ultimately decided to move back out west.

"We're finding that the experience of living in Charlotte is very different from how it looked on paper," Scott said. "So in truth, we're not going to stay here too much longer."