How does Chapel Hill, NC compare to Madison? (Verona, Nashville: university, to live)

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Harpoon

Try Boulder, Colorado. Great college town, close to Denver, snows a bunch but melts quickly as well, mountains are pretty, and a very liberal town.

This wouldn't have been terrible advice to the OP for the most part, however, housing costs you'll note for her are a major consideration, and Boulder is an extremely pricey town to live in. If Austin is out of her range, Boulder would be too.

[MassVt]

..of Madison, I could suggest Charlottesville, VA as an alternative. My hometown of Burlington, VT would be a good alternative, but it's just as cold as Madison, and with more snow (over 120 inches this past winter).Charlottsville is only a few hours from WashDC, but, for me, the long, humid summers would be difficult to endure.

You might already be in Paradise right where you are.

[Megan1967]

Charlottesville, VA and Asheville, NC both came up as suggestions on the CH\R\D forum.

I guess no place is perfect, but I'm already having panic attacks, nightmares about the upcoming winter season (we had over 120 inches this last winter as well - though that was unusual).

It's already getting dark noticeably later....

[nanannie]

You will never escape winter in the midwest. If it bothers you that much, then you have wonderful options. Yes, what you experienced WAS UNUSUAL in snow totals, but winter in Wisc is not for the faint of heart. Go visit your option towns,one of them will speak 'home' to you. Good luck.

[Megan1967]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

It's already getting dark noticeably later....

I meant getting dark earlier.

But on that note.... I notice that North Carolina currently has an earlier sunset than we do right now. It's already completely dark there right now at 8:07pm.....

Austin is still sunny and bright.

I don't know what I'm going to do...........

[Harpoon]

Try Omaha, it has a very low cost of living, job market is great, there is a construction boom right now in the downtown and midtown areas, and the winters are decent. Temps in the summer are in the high 80's and into the 90's. However, it is a very right-leaning state.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

I meant getting dark earlier.

But on that note.... I notice that North Carolina currently has an earlier sunset than we do right now. It's already completely dark there right now at 8:07pm.....

Austin is still sunny and bright.

I don't know what I'm going to do...........

You will know when you visit these towns.

[rekuci]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

I meant getting dark earlier.

But on that note.... I notice that North Carolina currently has an earlier sunset than we do right now. It's already completely dark there right now at 8:07pm.....

By the way...hate to tell you but this is kind of how the earth works. The closer you are to the equator, the closer the day is to being 12 hours light/12 hours dark year-round. This means that more southerly locations have shorter days in summer than further north, but longer days in winter. NC won't catch up to the length of our days until sometime near the fall equinox. You can't have it all!

But really, there is not much of a latitude difference as far as the sun goes anywhere in the continental US. We're talking 36 degrees north vs. 42 degrees north in NC vs. southern WI. Specific sunset/sunrise times are affected more by where in a time zone a state is located, or terrain.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ay_length.jpeg

[bobjsim]

I'm kind of in the same boat. I am looking at Madison vs. Raleigh/RTP area. I work in biotech, and the RTP area of North Carolina is a biotech hotbed. Madison has some biotech as well, but on a smaller scale.
I live in NH, about an hour north of Boston, so we suffer from the same high cost of living, although we are not so jammed together like rats-in-a sewer like in Mass...

I checked out Raleigh/RTP a few years ago. To be honest, I didn't like Raleigh at all. It appeared run-down and dangerous to me. And outside of downtown it was gross urban sprawl. I did like Chapel Hill. Durham--forget it. All the businesses I saw where either boarded up or had those roll-down steel shutters. Granted, I was only there 3 days, but those were my impressions. Before making any choice I will definately visit Madison, and probably give Raleigh another chance. (More likely Chapel Hill).
And yes, I have lived in urban areas before: Montreal, Seattle/Tacoma, Providence, greater boston area. So I was not a complete rube from the hills seeing the big city for the first time. But it is possible I brought my Northeast bias to it....

One of my disapointments about Raleigh is that the area did not appear bicycle friendly AT ALL. Its all about the car. Chapel Hill a bit more suburban/rural, with bike baths and bikable roads. For years, I have read in every cycling magazine extolling the virtues of Madison's bike/eco-friendliness. I spent time living in near Burlington, VT as well, and I would bet good money that Madison and Burlington are VERY similar in terms of politics, climate (both kinds, lifestyle, demographics. etc..

What I want is to live in a smaller, affordable city with enough culture to make it interesting, a variety of different foods/restos/cuisines, bike friendly, etc...all the things Madison is well know for. The RTP area has some of those same things going for it as well.
But I'm going nowhere until next spring at least. Except for hopefully visiting Madison in the Fall.

[Megan1967]

Thanks for sharing your impressions (everyone). Sounds like Chapel Hill might be a bit more expensive than I can afford and perhaps a bit more conservative that I would like. On the CH/R/D forum someone showed pictures of the sprawl in the R/D area and ours doesn't even begin to compare. It is truly ugly. The closest we come is that area west of Verona road and south of PD (McKee Road).

So I'm back to focusing on Athens or Asheville, GA. Asheville sounds a little isolated, but we shall see....

Oh, and from my experience, Madison is all of the good things you read about. Love it here except for the winter months. I think it is worst having the short days combined with the cold, bleakness of winter than paired with really hot weather. Actually, having the sun set earlier might be a blessing in a really warm climate during it's hottest months.