Our Weekend Trip to North Carolina: The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

This weekend we vacationed in North Carolina with my family! Why North Carolina you ask?  Well, it has great weather, tons of awesome museums, parks, and things to do, amazing food, it’s family-friendly (and just friendly in general), and it’s one of five states that can boast both beaches and mountains.

 

Does it sound like I’m trying to sell you on it?  Well sort of.  DJ and I were actually pretty sold on it ourselves; not just as a place to vacation, but potentially as somewhere to finally settle down.  Ever since the age of 14, I’ve moved every 3-4 years, so needless to say, I’m ready to stay put.  In addition to all of the above, housing prices and property taxes  in North Carolina are particularly affordable, and the economy is growing exponentially!  All of that being said, we kind of used this family vacation as a chance to take a look around at houses as well.

 

And boy did we see some amazing houses.  One in particular stood out as “The House.” This was the one that would be our forever home, where we would set down roots, grow old, and have the kids and grandkids come by to visit one day.  It had close to 10 acres of land (for my imaginary horses and the stable I one day hope to own lol), a huge wrap-around porch, and a nice big kitchen for all those homemade meals I’d whip up.  Hubby and I were absolutely in love.

 

After finding our dream home, we had an awesome time with family visiting a local park where Micah (and dad) enjoyed their first carousel ride! Funny enough, after knowing my husband for ten years now, I’m still learning new things about him.  I didn’t know he had never been on a merry-go-round lol!

We also visited a local church, shared lunch with friends in the area, and spent some time in nature afterward.  The walking and hiking trails down there were so serene.  Micah primarily enjoyed being able to walk around and finding a pet rock!

 

 

 

The next day, we went out for Sunday brunch, and after Micah had his nap, we all went to Dave & Busters for some last-minute relaxation before leaving the next day.

 

All-in-all, it was a fun trip, and DJ and I fell even more in love with North Carolina than ever before.  So, are we moving there?  Probably not.  Over the course of the weekend, we prayed that God would show us if this was where He wanted us to be, and we asked for specific signs to point us in that direction.  However, He did just the opposite.  He actually pointed us back to where we came from!

 

While at the church we visited, my husband ran into someone who had recently moved to the area, and was familiar with our home church in Illinois.  During the course of their conversation, she said something to the effect of, “It’s great down here, but you’ll never find a church community like the one you have.”

 

Well, that pretty much summed it up.  The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and even though somewhere else may have all the “nice and shiny” things, you can never replace people.  So for now, as far as we know, Illinois it’ll be.  We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next!