Hi all - I work for the state of NC and plan to retire soon (target date is 2/28/25). The state offers "retirement counselors" but I have received no response to my emails or voicemails regarding fairly straightforward questions. Maybe the state doesn't want us to retire ?

If you recently retired from a state job in NC, can I ask you a couple of questions ? Either here (so it's searchable) or via DM. TIA.

I went to DMV to renew my temporary certificate because I never got my card due to "production delay" on card. However, I wasted an hour to visit the DMV because they needed my greencard and I didn't know I'm supposed to bring it, it didn't say anything about bringing greencard to renew the certificate. Why do they need my greencard? Like they made my certificate, I can show then my proof of residency, other form of ID such as insurance card, old driver license, etc. But they want my greencard. Is this normal?

Hard to find a solid answer on this or maybe I’m not looking in the right places?! I have the Leon release document.

Want to make cocktails for out of staters, need some advice!

Eastern North Carolina must be the big soft salty biscuit capital of the world. The worst diner might serve every other food out of a can, but there's a good chance their biscuits are homemade and big and soft and delicious and full of hoop cheese.

But nevertheless, they're still gonna ask you: "toast or biscuit"? Who would answer toast? It sure as hell isn't homemade bread toast! My theory is that good biscuits are so common that turning one down is low stakes: you can get one any other time.

WARNING/DANGER/ACHTUNG/PELIGRO: WESTERN CAROLINA RENTALS SYLVA, NC. I don't know where to start really. This realty company caused an extreme amount of stress and hardship on my family.

You will be lied to your face, or be told excuses for actions that are not excusable. As a realty company, it's their responsibility to ensure the buildings they have on market are up to code and habitable for tenants, along with fulfilling obligations stated on the lease. This company started a lease on bad faith with me and my family and failed to uphold their arrangements.

As far as I'm aware, they only have one maintenance technician (only one name I've heard from them) to fulfill all the work orders for the properties WCRentals leases out to. If this is the case, work orders will not be accomplished in a timely manner to ensure the tenants are able to remain in livable conditions.

They tried to get us to pay for a delivery of gas to the house before our tenancy even began. We weren't asked beforehand and the realty company assumed we were responsible before even beginning our tenancy there, stating they would bill us. This violates the lease drawn up, which stated we were responsible for returning the gas to the same levels as move in. One might argue the company was doing us a "favor" however this is not the case. It was our responsibility only to return the gas to the same level at move in.

The lease stated the property would have carbon monoxide detectors before move in. There wasn't a single carbon monoxide detector installed. My family was put in danger without the carbon monoxide detectors installed, as per stated they would be installed before move-in(on the lease). This violates the lease.

There was a whole list of work orders put in for the property that were supposed to be complete before move in. Not a single work order was fulfilled and instead we got excuses from the company (seems to be a common rhetoric with them). Excuses don't make the property habitable. This violates the lease.

They stated that the house was deep-cleaned before showing the property, along with an additional cleaning by the maintenance technician (the only maintenance technician, as far as I'm aware) would be done before move-in. It was filthy and nothing was cleaned. The excuse we were told for this was that the movers who came to replace the fridge and stove made the mess. I've never heard of movers creating cobwebs in all the corners, dust in the cabinets, and dead bugs everywhere.

The heating system in the house is not livable for any tenant to stay there. It has one small gas heater on the downstairs, and a heated fireplace that worked half the time. Tenant laws state the landlord/realty company have to provide heat to make it livable. It was not.

This house has old pipes because of the age, we were told the gas would be turned on and the water faucets left on drip so the pipes would not bust. When we arrived, there wasn't a single faucet on and the heat was not turned on. In turn, this caused a severe liability problem.

This company also has multiple business accounts with a slightly different spelling; I'm unsure if this is to dodge the Google Review algorithms or not. Suspicious none-the-less.

We expected to move into a place we could call home and start our lives here in Sylva, NC, instead we got 4 walls a roof.

In the end, we had security deposit refunded, first months rent, application fees, and they reimbursed us for the cleaning products we bought to make the place somewhat livable for the 1 day we stayed, until making contact with WCRealty and dissolving the lease.

Be very careful if you choose to do business with this company. Don't be naive, take pictures of everything before move-in, document all contacts with the company, record videos, record conversations. Protect yourselves and don't be taken advantage of. We were careful and took the steps necessary to protect ourselves from being taken advantage of. Please do the same so this doesn't happen to you.

Since then, the realty manager has called my husband multiple times, note, we've been done dealing with this company for several weeks now. A few days ago he called and asked about the 1 star reviews we left on the website (in order to inform others to be careful) and tried bringing family and children into it, saying he has a family too and the way he makes money is through his business and saying it was unfair; my husband told him not to be calling him with that, and that if he was a business owner, to make sure the business was within the scope of the law and that he deserved the review.

I'm sorry, but if I had a business I would make sure it fell within the scope of the law so my family wouldn't be jeopardized by shady business practices. Damn right my husband was upset. I guess he thinks his family is more important than ours. After the ending the conversation, he continued to harass through text, where my husband just blocked him without anything else said.

Keep in mind, this company has 2 separate business accounts, with slightly different spellings for the same business, listed on Google Maps for the same location, address etc. they got reviewed on both business accounts by my husband and myself.

After reviewing them on Google Maps, Western Carolina Rentals kept flagging the reviews to Google and trying to have them taken down.

Stay safe out there. Avoid this company at all cost.

**edit: Google merged both their business profiles into one for violating Google Policy.

What will they store in the bank vault?

We are in search of our forever home (moving out of Florida, so skipping the entire state) and could use a bit of input to help narrow areas we could visit and research. I feel these are qualities everyone wants, but here goes. We want to be within 20 minutes of a decent beach, and we love a nearby walkable area with bars, restaurants and shops. It doesn't need to be an epic downtown area like Charleston or Wilmington (we currently leave near Tarpon Springs/Dunedin Florida, and those downtowns are perfect). Bonus if these walkable areas are on the water. We enjoy a tiki bar with live music. We enjoy a healthier lifestyle so access to healthier eating is a must (vegatarian or seafood). We also enjoy access to other activities, such as really good hiking (cannot be found in Florida), and maybe museums or other interesting sites, even if they are an hour or so away.
Things we are not fans of are snobby people, or having to get anywhere by a massive highway system (like Tampa, California or San Antonio).
We are considering Wilmington, NC, Calabash, NC, Charleston, SC, or North Myrtle Beach SC (not necessarily the heart of these areas - suburbs are great). Would love to hear about these, or anywhere around these areas, or other places we may not be aware of.
A cardiac hospital nearby (within 30 minutes) is also a need (for now), HUGE bonus if someone knows of a surgery center that has cardiac services in a suggested area.
Tall order, I know, but hoping you all can help us save a lot of exhausted effort visiting areas that aren't what we are looking for. TIA

I was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations for doctors in the Smithfield/Clayton area that are willing to do a bilateral salpingectomy with no bs. I'm 27 and have been thinking about it for a while due to current affairs, along with many other reasons. Is my only chance for finding a good doc in the Raleigh area?

I am looking for a swimming pool near Charlotte that I can rent out for my next short film.

Preferably something 15-20 feet deep.

Filming in summer 2025.

Please reach out if you know of anything!

https://workersrightsnc.carrd.co

if you guys could just watch the video and maybe leave some comments I would really appreciate it.

youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8lqhc4QAOg

P.s. yes this is for a school project, and they are looking to see the impact of this post, so making comments would really sell this "authentic audience" that my teacher requires.

i know, i'm working on getting my tags done, but my license is about to expire. can i renew my license still? how much will it be? any tips for going to the DMV for a walk in?

On my refrigerator

Was traveling down 117 last night in Wayne County as part of my job. It was raining pretty hard off and on. The back tires lost traction and the vehicle fish tailed into the middle area and collided with the small wire fence in the middle. No other vehicles involved, no injuries to myself either. Back end of the work vehicle had the bumper and exhaust hanging and the driver’s side was scraped up but overall still operable.

The responding highway patrol officer issued me a citation for “unlawfully and willfully operating a motor vehicle at a speed that was greater than was reasonable or prudent for the conditions existing.” The speed limit was 70 and I told the officer I was traveling maybe 60-65 at the time before braking further when I began to lose control.

Confusingly he listed the condition as “rain” in the citation description but listed the weather as being “clear” elsewhere. He informed me it’d likely get dropped but if not to file some sort of “intent” form that I for the life of me can’t remember what he explained about. I’ve never had this sort of citation or situation happen so if y’all could please offer some advice I’d appreciate it.

Looking to see if anyone owns land with a shooting range or has one in their backyard I could use, between 3-500 meters of length. I’m aware of the gun and rifle clubs around the area but it takes a while to get approved to even become a member. If anyone can help let me know 👍🏼

Help me out, NC. I drive I40 eastbound on the way home from work and there is a lane closure sign for the right lane. The actual lane closure is 3 miles further down the road, and traffic stops 4 miles back because people merge left and slow everyone down.

My Question: are we supposed to merge as soon as we see a lane closure or do we go to the actual merge and zipper-merge?

Secondary question: are the people who drive on the line or slow down in the right lane to prevent people using the right lane doing the right thing or are they being a-holes? I could honk but wanted to make sure it was based in truth or if I’m being unreasonable. I just want to get home to my family.

Also- I’m not actively speeding or being an aggressive driver. Just frustrated that jerks don’t follow the rules. (Or if I’m the jerk)