Mebane, what's it like? Is it Triad Area?

[piedmont]

Mebane has a smaller downtown than Hillsborough, but it is getting more and more lively with independent merchants (the old White Furniture Factory remains a large and empty shell in the downtown area).

There is a nice little grocer/wine shop/lunch/gourmet shop called the Market on Clay. There is another coffee shop too, and a few restaurants and some arty shoppes. There needs to more another street or so of shops/activity to have as much as Hillsborough, but it is growing.

As another poster wrote, the older homes downtown and around the rail road are very cool! There are sidewalks, houses with porches, people out walking. You know, those nice normal small town things! There are tons of new developments popping up around the edges of town, though.

I live 10-15 minutes from Mebane, out in the country (but have a Mebane address). It is very convenient to commute on 85/40 from Mebane to CH, Durham, etc.

I think the town is very much in transition to becoming mostly a bedroom community. There is still nice country north and south of Mebane, but that will feel more pressure in time, too.

Both Mebane and Efland have historically included rural black communities. Some of this is changing with the new developments, which seem mostly white. But there also remain older communities which are primarily African American in northern Orange County. Latinos are smaller in number up here than in some other counties (ex. Chatham, Durham), but are growing, too.

[ausmerika]

Let me add that the Mebane is a very well run town, and there seems to be alot of growth (mostly strip malls and the like). As the other posters pointed out, the best thing about Mebane are the older homes (and thanks to the poster who pointed out how to pronounce Mebane...we just cringe when people say Mee-bane), but it lacks the artsy feel (IMHO) the artsy climate Hillsborough has. Mebane, being on the fringes of both the Triad and the Triangle, can claim both or claim neither....which can be a good thing sometimes! If you are a senior or have children still in the schools, I would lean more to Hillsborough. Also, (y'all correct me if you feel differently) I think Mebane tends to be more conservative than Hillsborough (or any of the Orange County towns, for that matter).

[Dusty Rhodes]

Actually Mebane is equi-distant, give or take a mile, between Greensboro and Raleigh, it is also split by the county line between Alamance and Orange counties (I'm on the Orange county side) There are three coffee shops in Mebane. Yes there are a couple of really good carpenters down here as well, a few good contractors and one really good heating and AC guy (there may be others, but one I know of for sure) Mebane has street fesitivals for all the major holidays, and gatherings (usually with live music) all during Spring, Summer, and Fall. There is a large Lowes for building supplies, or Mebane Lumber, and an Ace Hardware that, if you frequent it more than three times will probably call you by name when you come in. Southern States, a feed store, has the knowledgeable personnel for all planting supplies, not just crops, although they will gladly help with gardens, both food and flower, and shrubs (it is also were I get all of my critter feed, 2 dogs, 2 cats and some chickens) The hardware store has staff that can explain exactly how you fix whatever just went wrong and I have never had them try to sell me anything I didn't need. Sometimes they may suggest an alternate choice as an improvement over the one I have in hand. I moved here several years ago, from Greensboro and have never felt like an outsider, have heard the same from several other people. The Orange County side has the better schools. Land is still reasonable here and my neighbors are easy to get along with, when the last ice storm dropped trees in my drive (I live in the woods, sorta, winding drive, many trees) it took me several days to chainsaw my way to the road, I met my neighbors halfway, cutting their way in to help me get out.

[sliding_into_homebase]

Well we DID buy a place here. Love it. Very friendly. You mention a good HVAC person; mind sharing that info? PM ok. We are in a large community but also in the OC end of it. Feels safe but I fear the lots (woods) around us being sold and built up....so I'm considering looking around. Really, this place is so very nice compared to the coasts I've lived on.

[TanjaRuth]

I live here I don't think it's that diverse though. I could be wrong though perhaps they live in another area of town. I will say this land and home prices have shot up in the last few years (2000-2005) I is definitely becoming a bedroom community for Chapel Hill. You can email me and we can talk on the phone if that would be helpful to you.

Tanja
[email]newmacgirl@yahoo.com[/email]

[squeezed out]

Stupid question.... what does "not that diverse mean"? All one-race? If so, what race is it? Being in a melting pot with others different from yourself is great, but you also don't want to be the "odd man out".

[mm34b]

The City of Mebane is 77.4% White, while North Carolina is 74%.

[caesarsgirl79]

I would say neither. It's in between.

[findinghope]

it's diverse in that there are caucasians and african americans here. it's not "that" diverse because you wont see much else. maybe some hispanic. but not much else. i havent seen any other nationality/race here in this town.