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Obviously, not all of those people came here without work. Some move for a specific job. A few could work anywhere, again, largely because of the Internet and its link to a global economy. Others start businesses. Retirees arrive and might do consulting or part-time work.

Gene Norton, manager of the state Employment Security Commission's Wake County office, said areas such as the Triangle, with its low 3.6 percent unemployment rate, traditionally have attracted unskilled and semiskilled workers. And a steady stream of skilled workers has long been attracted by university and high-tech jobs.

Diversity of applicants

Norton gets three or four e-mail queries a week from skilled workers attracted, at least partly, by the quality of life; many plan to move without jobs.

"We're actually seeing professional people come in with degrees, people with work histories that include management," Norton said. "In 2003, we didn't see as much of it."

Other cities with lower taxes and home prices, such as Charlotte and Richmond, Va., are enjoying the same trend, said Ray Owens, senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond.

"People no longer feel they have to hang on to that job or live in an area they become disenchanted with, because relocating now is less costly," Owens said.

People once were forced to stay where there was work, because there wasn't consistent job creation, and workers had to congregate in the pockets where jobs were, Owens said.

But that changed with decades of prosperity and accompanying job growth, along with soaring home appreciation and favorable tax laws. Since 1998, laws have allowed couples to keep gains of up to $500,000 tax-free after selling a primary residence where they have lived two of the previous five years.

In addition, soaring home values in markets such as California, Florida or the Northeast have allowed transplants to sell their homes at a profit and move to the Triangle, where home prices are lower.

With money in the bank, they can take time to find a job.

A slumping national housing market could slow the trend, but the migration isn't likely to stop.

"They are taking more control of their lives," Owens said. "Societies generally do that when they become richer and can afford to do that. I think the phenomenon is increasing."

When Bryan sold his house in Queens and moved to North Raleigh last year, he briefly looked for a programming job.

Bryan had owned duplexes in Newark and enjoyed dabbling in real estate, so he decided to switch careers as well.

He enrolled in the J.Y. Monk real estate school, got his license and went to work selling houses for Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston in January.

"It's much more than I thought it would be," he said. "The people are nicer. We just had a winter, and I didn't even need a hat."

There's one drawback. The Bryans miss relatives in New York. One brother refuses to visit. He "thinks it's total country down here, and they feed chickens in the backyard," Bryan said.

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