[jacoblyles]

Wake Forest class of 2005 here, now working in the Valley. I can't help but be jealous of my college friends when I go back home and see their humane cost of living. Everybody I know in NC owns a home that would cost seven figures in Mountain View, CA. Everybody I know in California rents and lives dorm-style with roommates.

Making a Silicon Valley salary remotely in Winston-Salem would let you live like a king.

Besides, the Carolina skies are just breathtaking, and not available at any price. I recently visited Winston with my California native girlfriend, and we were both charmed by the beauty and open space of Carolina.

[nwatson]

I also think North Carolina is beautiful. A drive through the countryside on a two-lane road is amazing. The epitome of evil here is to not mow your lawn or keep up your landscaping or to not apply that coat of paint, so everyone's place looks great. And the city of Winston Salem itself has improved in the last fifteen years tremendously from what I've heard. Many old-timers shun downtown for what it used to be, but 4th Street is busy every single night of the week. And for good work/hangout places, Camino Bakery is awesome, and Krankies Coffee beats any coffee shop in SF Bay Area hands down for atmosphere -- and coffee. SF would go nuts if the place were transplanted into The Mission.

But on my first visit to the San Jose area in six months I was struck by how beautiful the place I left really is, too. In NC the trees are a bit suffocating. I like seeing the hills around the bay. And the NC trees are all the exact same shade of green during the summer. The hike I took at Purissima along Skyline Blvd was beautiful. And even the crowded housing everywhere has its charm.

We made our choice and moved on to NC, but I'm real glad to be working for a bay area company again.