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I just received a great job offer in the Triad area, and my girlfriend and I will be moving within a month from now. We're both 30 and enjoy neighborhoods that are funky/quirky and/or have a good amount of restaurants and nightlife. Looking to rent at least for the first year to feel things out. The job itself is close to being halfway between downtown GSO and downtown WS (about 20 minutes from each). We don't have kids, nor do we have any plans to have them, so school districts are not a concern at this point.
So far, I'm leaning towards Greensboro as it seems to have better nightlife choices. I noticed that decent apartments downtown are quite affordable. With that in mind, what are the safer areas between those two cities that might come close to matching what we're looking for? Anything we should avoid? Would Winston actually be better?
Some background - I grew up in Tampa, and I've also lived in Atlanta, Quad Cities in Illinois/Iowa, and most recently a boring rural town in TN. My girlfriend has lived in the Knoxville area her whole life. Neither of us want something rural/out in the sticks.
I just received a great job offer in the Triad area, and my girlfriend and I will be moving within a month from now. We're both 30 and enjoy neighborhoods that are funky/quirky and/or have a good amount of restaurants and nightlife. Looking to rent at least for the first year to feel things out. The job itself is close to being halfway between downtown GSO and downtown WS (about 20 minutes from each). We don't have kids, nor do we have any plans to have them, so school districts are not a concern at this point.
So far, I'm leaning towards Greensboro as it seems to have better nightlife choices. I noticed that decent apartments downtown are quite affordable. With that in mind, what are the safer areas between those two cities that might come close to matching what we're looking for? Anything we should avoid? Would Winston actually be better?
Some background - I grew up in Tampa, and I've also lived in Atlanta, Quad Cities in Illinois/Iowa, and most recently a boring rural town in TN. My girlfriend has lived in the Knoxville area her whole life. Neither of us want something rural/out in the sticks.
Thank you
-Brian
Honestly if I were both of you I would choose Greensboro instead of Winston. I say that because it is more for people in their 20's and early 30's. There are decent places all over Greensboro but try to avoid the East and SW Greensboro.
I totally get how you feel about rural TN, my best friend moved from the Triad to Knoxville in and almost immediately wished he didn't. I am not saying it ain't nice but it's a small town around UT, and after a year he "dated" almost all the good looking single girls there.
Where in East TN are you y'all living if you don't mind me asking?
Honestly if I were both of you I would choose Greensboro instead of Winston. I say that because it is more for people in their 20's and early 30's. There are decent places all over Greensboro but try to avoid the East and SW Greensboro.
I totally get how you feel about rural TN, my best friend moved from the Triad to Knoxville in and almost immediately wished he didn't. I am not saying it ain't nice but it's a small town around UT, and after a year he "dated" almost all the good looking single girls there.
Where in East TN are you y'all living if you don't mind me asking?
I actually like Knoxville proper a lot, but once you get too far outside of the city, it's a no-go for me haha.
It's actually middle TN where we're at currently. Small town named Loretto (closer to a slightly larger but still boring Lawrenceburg), about 1.5 hours south of Nashville. The people are friendly and housing is cheap....but that's about where the positives end lol. Been here for about 3 years and that was much too long.
Welcome to the Triad, I can give you a few recommendations for Greensboro from the perspective of a 30ish adult. I will say that Greensboro is more optimized to families than young professionals (I have kids myself so I appreciate that), but it is large enough that you can find whatever lifestyle you are looking for.
I'd say check out the following areas:
- the area around the Grasshoppers ballpark is up and coming with good apartments for youngish adults (greenway apts), several craft breweries in walking distance, a food co-op (Deep Roots market), and they are building a new hotel/condo/retail development too. Also, it is in walking distance to other places you may want to visit downtown (ex. Lebauer park, restaurants on Elm street).
- you could also rent an apartment at Cityview, its a big complex and gives you walking access to downtown. You wouldn't be far from the South Elm area which is also coming into its own--Gibbs Hundred brewing, Boxcar "barcade", makerspace, Mellow Mushroom restaurant, Elsewhere (definitely check out Elsewhere, just google it).
Other neighborhoods:
-Westerwood would be up your alley, its just a neighborhood but the folks who live there give it an artsy vibe.
- College Hill seems to have a reputation for being hip, though I'm not very familiar with it.
- Lindley park, specifically the area around the corner of walker and Elam (see Sticks & Stones restaurant) come to mind as another place you might like.
Good luck, feel free to PM me if you have questions!
Have you visited both cities? I think either could do the trick, provided you pick the right neighborhood. Downtown in either city would work. In Winston I’d also recommend West End or parts of Ardmore. In Greensboro, I like Lindley Park.
But seriously, I’d recommend visiting and checking both out on a weekend night. We have kids so we don’t go out like we used to, but the restaurants and bars in Winston are pretty packed on the weekend.
I guess part of it depends on what kind of night life and restaurants you’re into. Any preferences you have could help us make further recommendations.
Welcome to the Triad, I can give you a few recommendations for Greensboro from the perspective of a 30ish adult. I will say that Greensboro is more optimized to families than young professionals (I have kids myself so I appreciate that), but it is large enough that you can find whatever lifestyle you are looking for.
I'd say check out the following areas:
- the area around the Grasshoppers ballpark is up and coming with good apartments for youngish adults (greenway apts), several craft breweries in walking distance, a food co-op (Deep Roots market), and they are building a new hotel/condo/retail development too. Also, it is in walking distance to other places you may want to visit downtown (ex. Lebauer park, restaurants on Elm street).
- you could also rent an apartment at Cityview, its a big complex and gives you walking access to downtown. You wouldn't be far from the South Elm area which is also coming into its own--Gibbs Hundred brewing, Boxcar "barcade", makerspace, Mellow Mushroom restaurant, Elsewhere (definitely check out Elsewhere, just google it).
Other neighborhoods:
-Westerwood would be up your alley, its just a neighborhood but the folks who live there give it an artsy vibe.
- College Hill seems to have a reputation for being hip, though I'm not very familiar with it.
- Lindley park, specifically the area around the corner of walker and Elam (see Sticks & Stones restaurant) come to mind as another place you might like.
Good luck, feel free to PM me if you have questions!
Thank you for the recommendations! Those apartments you mentioned around downtown do look very nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UnderTheLiveOaks
Have you visited both cities? I think either could do the trick, provided you pick the right neighborhood. Downtown in either city would work. In Winston I’d also recommend West End or parts of Ardmore. In Greensboro, I like Lindley Park.
But seriously, I’d recommend visiting and checking both out on a weekend night. We have kids so we don’t go out like we used to, but the restaurants and bars in Winston are pretty packed on the weekend.
I guess part of it depends on what kind of night life and restaurants you’re into. Any preferences you have could help us make further recommendations.
Unfortunately, when I came to town for my interview, I only had time to walk around the arts district in downtown Winston for a little. Seemed really nice, though. I'm planning on spending this weekend in the area looking at apartments and scoping out the area some more.
As for nightlife, we tend to start the night somewhere chill (maybe a brewery or specialty cocktail bar), then progress to more high energy places with dancing as the night goes on. It can be live music or DJ-driven, as long as there's a good dance floor.
When it comes to restaurants, our main thing is to avoid widespread chains. Not looking for specific types of food, just as long as there's a variety in the surrounding area.
Unfortunately, when I came to town for my interview, I only had time to walk around the arts district in downtown Winston for a little. Seemed really nice, though. I'm planning on spending this weekend in the area looking at apartments and scoping out the area some more.
As for nightlife, we tend to start the night somewhere chill (maybe a brewery or specialty cocktail bar), then progress to more high energy places with dancing as the night goes on. It can be live music or DJ-driven, as long as there's a good dance floor.
When it comes to restaurants, our main thing is to avoid widespread chains. Not looking for specific types of food, just as long as there's a variety in the surrounding area.
Yeah, dance clubs might be a dealbreaker. They may exist in Winston, but I don't know where. There are a nice variety of bars, breweries, etc., ranging from upscale cocktails to super weird artsy spots like the Monstercade in Washington Park, but I couldn't tell you, off hand, where to find a good dance floor. (Never was really my thing, even before kids.) I think they may be a few more options in Greensboro, but I'd check them out before I used that as my sole deciding factor.
A pretty good variety of food in both cities. Some of my favorites in Winston:
Mary's Gourmet Diner
The Porch Cantina (hipster tex-mex)
Nawab (Indian)
Mission Pizza (wood-fired Neapolitan style. Not your standard pizza joint.)
Sweet Potatoes (upscale soul food)
Slappy's Fried Chicken (dipped hot chicken. Similar to what they do in Nashville, but there's a separate hot chicken tradition in NC.)
Mooney's (Mediterranean)
Cin Cin Burger Bar
I could name more, but those are among our go-tos.
In Greensboro, we like Hops Burger Bar, Crafted (they're a taco place that has a location in Winston too, but we like their "street food" spot in Greensboro), Bahn Mi Saigon (best spot in the state, as far as I know, for bahn mi, which I have an unnatural love for), Smith Street Diner, Iron Hen, Sticks and Stones, Fishbones, and Print Works Bistro or Green Valley Grill (the last two for special occasions).
Winston's breweries of note are Foothills (est. 2004, so it's kind of the old man in town these days, but their beers are among my favorite widely distributed craft brews in the state. Jade IPA is a gem.), Wise Man (opened within the last year. Great beers and a cool tasting room/bar), Fiddlin' Fish (brand new, across the street from Wise Man, haven't been yet but I hear great things), Hoots (very good beer, quite small, in a funky little development in the West End that they share with The Porch Cantina, a distillery, a yoga studio, a Muay Thai studio, and a glass blowing studio. I think there's a chocolate factory and a wedding venue in the building next door. It's a small scale Brooklyn over there.), and Small Batch (not my favorite beer in town, but they have a good bar with fun pub trivia and adjoin a restaurant called Burger Batch by the same owners that's good for fancy burgers and shakes).
Greensboro's got some great breweries too. My favorite is probably Gibbs Hundred, but there are quite a few others.
Welcome! I'm a bit older and have a young child, so I don't get to get out and experience a lot of the nightlife, but Greensboro has quite a bit to offer just about anybody. I have a feeling an apartment closer to downtown would probably be right up your alley. As others have said, downtown provides a lot of nightlife, shopping, restaurants, and breweries. And then, when you get older and maybe wanting to settle down into a nice, slower paced area, the northern area of Greensboro is usually highly sought after. So having said that, I think G'boro is a great place to live and like I said before, offers a little bit of everything for everyone.
I have some dear friends who live in Knoxville, TN. They live very close to the university. I love the Knoxville area, and if my wife and I no longer had family living close by, we'd probably consider moving as she loves snow but being very close to her best childhood friend.
Thank you both ^ & ^^ above for the suggestions!
So far, downtown GSO is winning, although Winston seems to have a bit more going for it than I originally thought.
I've run into a slight dilemma in my preliminary search; I'd prefer to rent a place with a garage (I like to do my own maintenance on our cars), but downtown options are close to non-existent in this regard. I've found several apartments with optional garages and townhomes on the west side of town (kind of closer to the airport). Are there any areas around there that we should avoid? Or is it just bland-ish suburbia?
I'm now 50/50 on living walking distance to downtown vs having a garage; I'm sure the visit this weekend should help decide.
Thank you both ^ & ^^ above for the suggestions!
So far, downtown GSO is winning, although Winston seems to have a bit more going for it than I originally thought.
I've run into a slight dilemma in my preliminary search; I'd prefer to rent a place with a garage (I like to do my own maintenance on our cars), but downtown options are close to non-existent in this regard. I've found several apartments with optional garages and townhomes on the west side of town (kind of closer to the airport). Are there any areas around there that we should avoid? Or is it just bland-ish suburbia?
I'm now 50/50 on living walking distance to downtown vs having a garage; I'm sure the visit this weekend should help decide.
I don't think the choice is either/or. You can find a little house or duplex in an area like Lindley Park (in Greensboro) or Ardmore (in Winston) with a garage. We lived in two houses in Ardmore (a rental and a home we owned and later rented out) and both had garages. Granted, some of the garages you'll find are older freestanding ones, but they still do the trick and I never had a problem maintaining our cars in either house.
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