Cary becomes hot spot for millennials moving from out of state

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- In 150 years, the town of Cary has managed to become the type of place where people want to live.

"When I moved to Cary, what people would say to me is, 'Hey, how you doing? And where'd you come from?'" Dan Ault said. He's now the Assistant Town Manager.

SmartAsset.com recently ranked Cary in the top 10 of places where millennials are moving to and putting down roots. At number seven, it has the smallest population of any city on the list, but it also has the biggest jump in percentage of millennials moving in from out of state at 9.41 percent.

"Our success in this area of attracting millennials comes from two different things-it comes from changes in planning and also changes in desire from folks in that generation," Ault said.

WATCH: Cary woman reunites with brother after more than a year of separation

A Cary woman who went more than a year without getting to see or hug her brother due to COVID-19 restrictions had him over for dinner last weekend.

Ault-a millennial himself-moved to Cary in 2016 from Illinois.

"I noticed right away the trees in the area were a big thing. Growing up from Wisconsin, it was something I hadn't noticed. And the traffic versus Chicago was significantly different," Ault said.

Those differences-coupled with things like a booming technology industry and some of the top universities in the country-have made Cary a prime destination.

"The common theme seemed to be like everybody has done something in their life to get here almost. It was like they had their previous job to get to a place like this," Ault said.

On that top ten list from Smart Asset, Cary is only one of two cities on the east coast. The other is Cape Coral, Florida.