21 Ways I’m Still Adjusting (+ Questions)

Since I’ve never left the state of Virginia, I’m finding there are a lot of things I’m still adjusting to and getting used to in Raleigh. So here are 21 ways I’m still adjusting and questions I still have.

1. Realizing I now live in a different area code and need to stop putting “804” before every phone number I type in, which leads to…
2. Having to ask people for their area code before adding them as a contact because Raleigh is full of “transplants” (like myself).
3. Therefore, Raleigh natives are rare people.
4. Also, making sure I say my area code whenever people ask for my phone number.
5. Trying to remember my new zip code (every zip code I’ve ever lived in has started with 2, it doesn’t help that this one does as well).
6. Apple Maps is probably my most used app on my phone at this point.
7. I check Google Maps on my computer at least twice a day now.
8. I have no idea how to geographically explain where I’m living in Cary. In Richmond I used to say “oh my neighborhood is about 5 minutes from Short Pump Town Center” or when I lived downtown “Oh I live on Floyd right where 3 Monkeys and Social 52 are on Main.”
9. I don’t know which Target location is actually closer to me, nor do I know the faster route to get there (even though I’m using my GPS).
10. Harris Teeter is WAY more expensive than Martin’s. I miss you, Martin’s.
11. I don’t know which grocery stores carry all of my favorite gluten free brands & food. Which has led me going to Kroger, Harris Teeter and Whole Foods all in one very long day.
12. Gas is more expensive.
13. And on that note, I don’t know which gas stations are generally cheaper than the others.
14. I cannot for the life of me figure out I-40 and 440. To get to downtown Raleigh I take I-40 West towards Durham and then get on 440? To get to Holly Springs or Fuquay-Varina I take I-40 East? Richmond’s interstates make way more sense to me.
15. Raleigh has a beltline? Every time I hear someone mention it I only think of Washington D.C. (which is technically the beltway).
16. Also, how do people pronounce the “Varina” in Fuquay-Varina in Raleigh? I’ve heard probably three different variations and only one of them is like how Richmond says Varina.
17. In neighborhoods or apartment complexes if you are parking on the street, it doesn’t appear to matter which way your car is facing or what side of the street you’re parked on? (Really having a hard time with this one since people in my neighborhood in Richmond used to literally get tickets for being parked the wrong direction on the street)
18. “Half and half” = half sweet tea, half unsweet tea (never heard this term used in Richmond before)
19. Left turns at intersections have 4 options: red, yellow, yellow blinking left arrow, green. Yellow blinking left arrow = go, but yield to oncoming traffic (instead of all green meaning yield to oncoming traffic and a green left arrow meaning turn left).
20. No front license plates.
21. Networking in Richmond = “Where did you go to high school?” Networking in Raleigh = “So what brought you to Raleigh? Who do you know here?”

Raleigh friends, got any tips for figuring some of this out? Let me know! I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon, but until then, I’ll be using my GPS to get anywhere… and even then will probably still get lost.