Greensboro advice needed (Charlotte, Raleigh, High Point: transplants, apartments, established neighborhood)

[anonymous]

Hello all. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about relocating to the Greensboro area.

Particularly, what are the best areas, and what are the areas to stay away from? I'll be working just north of downtown, kind of near the Greensboro CC & the hospital. Looking at a map, High Point and Summerfield look reasonably close, but I'd just as soon live in Greensboro.

Quality of schools isn't a priority. I'm more interested in avoiding high-crime/low-income areas, and avoiding bad traffic if possible. I apologize if this has been covered in previous threads.

Also, is there any nightlife to speak of? I know UNCG is there, so it can't be any worse than where I currently am (rural SC). I'm in my early 20's, so feel free to tell me about anything else you might find relevant.
Thanks!
-Matt

[Niki]

I would look around NW Greensboro and surrounding communities like Oak Ridge, Summerfield, Pleasant Garden, Colfax, Level Cross (country), Julian (country), Climax. Not sure how far you're willing to drive to get to work though.

Areas around W. Friendly Ave., W. Market St., Battleground Ave. (going away from downtown, cross over Wendover), and Benjamin Parkway are pretty good.

I wouldn't live in High Point. Archdale's okay. Or at least it was 10 years ago. That's the last time I went through there.

Wendover Ave. and High Point Rd. are high traffic areas. Avoid living near them if at all possible if you don't want to live where there's heavy traffic. Battleground Ave. can also have a lot of traffic, but the neighborhoods nearby are nice from what I've seen.

I'm not all that familiar with the nightlife. I'm pretty sure we have a few night clubs, one or two comedy clubs (they may have closed down the one that was downtown), sports bars.

There are also parks (if you like jogging or biking), museums, and a water park.

[JAS]

I wouldn't live in High Point - schools stink. The schools in north HP are pretty good, but they have been part of a rezoning controversy for a few years.

There are some nice, established neighborhoods to the west of downtown GSO, but I'm partial to NW Greensboro and the NW part of Guilford County since that's where I live (Oak Ridge, Summerfield, etc).

[anonymous]

I appreciate the advice from you both. I just returned from a weekend-long excursion through North Carolina. I spent a few nights in Charlotte w/ friends, then drove up to Greensboro today, looked at apartments, and came back to SC. I think G'boro is a good fit for me.

Greensboro really reminded me of Greenville, SC. It didn't seem so foreign, like Charlotte does. It doesn't seem like 75% transplants, is what I mean. It had a small-town feel. When I was in Charlotte (S. Charlotte, Pineville area) I felt like I was on some other planet. It was well-manicured and seemingly safe, but it was extremely generic. It was almost disturbing, to be honest.

Y'all are right about Northwest Greensboro. It does seem nicer than other areas. I drove around downtown a bit. It wasn't too ghetto, but I wouldn't want to live in South Greensboro. I'm looking at an apt complex near the Military Park near the corner of Battleground & New Garden.

Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll probably be moving sometime this week.

[Niki]

I'm glad you like Greensboro. That area you're looking at moving to is a good one. Not far from there (across from Brassfield Shopping Center) is a really good Mexican restaurant called Monterrey's. It's in a shopping center (I forget the name of it) where there's a Wendy's and I think a Food Lion and a Big Lots. My family and I love Monterrey's. We drive 20-30 minutes from our side of Greensboro just to eat there. lol So, if you like Mexican food, you should like Monterrey's.

All the best with your move and settling in.

[JAS]

That would be a nice area to live - as Niki said, you are close to a lot of shopping/restaurants, and you are also close to the Guilford Courthouse Park (a great place to walk or ride bikes). Bur-Mil park a couple of miles north of there also has hiking trails next to a lake, a swimming pool, golfing, etc if you are looking for those kinds of activities.

You pointed out one thing I've said all along about GSO - it has a different "feel" than Charlotte and Raleigh. I live in NW Guilford County and both of my next-door heighbors and one across the street are from the Greensboro area.