Raleigh Durham area info (Chapel Hill, Trinity: apartment, to rent, condo) - The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

sccr410 · 08-07-2006, 09:23 PM

My girlfriend (soon to be fiance I hope!) and I are looking to move to the NC area from San Diego. We actually just booked a 4 day weekend to come out in the end of August to come check it out. My girlfriend has been out there once before to visit Duke when she was looking at colleges and said she loved it.

I am a web designer, 25, San Diego native and my girlfriend is a recent college grad, 21, Los Angeles native. For job reasons, we would probably need to stay relatively close to the city since I would need to work where I can provide services for small/medium sized businesses. I don't think farmers really need websites

My girlfriend is ready to just get away from school and work doing whatever at this point.

Since we only have about 2.5 days of being able to actually check things out, we are curious about the areas we should focus. The main reason we have considered this area in the first place is price and the fact that we have heard good things about the area continually. Where we can get a 1br apartment for ourselves for $1300 in San Diego, well, you know what we could get for the same price there.

Anyway, any useful information to help us make the most of our time there would be wonderful!

sccr410 · 08-07-2006, 11:09 PM

Actually, let me update here - we would prefer the slightly older areas. We live around new developments and strip malls, a change would definitely not hurt. Anywhere we could find a place with more than a 10x5 foot patio and actual SPACE to do stuff would be ideal as we have several pets.

RaleighRob · 08-08-2006, 07:42 AM

Ok...I am not sure from your post, are you looking to rent or buy? House, condo, apartment, etc? And do you have a preference which city in particular? If renting, craigslist is the best place to start. The Independent Weekly paper (indyweek.com) has a good classifieds section too.

You say you want slightly older areas and want to be close/in the city. So in the meantime here are neighborhoods in both Raleigh and Durham that fit that bill:
Raleigh: downtown, Cameron Village, Five Points, Boylan, Brooklyn, Oakwood, Mordecai, University Park, Longview, HayesBarton, Glenwood South, Oberlin, Budleigh, Ridgewood, Pullen Park, Woodcrest, Oakdale.
Durham: downtown, West End/Brightleaf, Trinity Park, Duke Park, Old West Durham, Old North Durham, Northgate, Watts/Ninth Street.

sccr410 · 08-08-2006, 11:21 AM

We are definitely looking to rent when we first get there. I don't want to buy right off the bat and regret the area we chose. We are all over Craigslist on a daily basis oogling and drooling at the places we could afford to live at.

More things that are important:

My girlfriend/fiance-hopeful is looking to attend grad school at either Duke (Cognitive Science program) or UNC (Veterinary School). She won't be doing that for at least 2 years from now though. Me, I work as a web designer and would need an area that is closer to a major business center. However, I do hope to eventually work for myself and then location really doesn't matter since I wouldn't have to commute anywhere. Hopefully my current employer lets me telecommute and then I wouldn't have to worry about finding a job in NC.

We ideally would like a small house with a yard, but definitely not a condo. Boy are we completely over the idea of living in a condo. I think to start, a townhouse would be fine to rent from while we learn the area a little more.

We're basically a young couple looking for a place that we could eventually raise kids - who knows.

I've been scouring info websites, blogs, etc looking for some kind of "pros/cons" of the Triangle areas to help us choose a best suit. Before considering the individual areas like Five Points, Oakwood, Duke Park, etc, we are trying to determine if we want to be in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill first. We have no idea at this point. Crime, schools, parks/rec, etc.

RaleighRob · 08-08-2006, 01:10 PM

One nitpick: UNC doesn't have the Vet school...that's at NCSU.

Which city you pick, Durham Raleigh or ChapelHill, to me would be determined somewhat by where you work? Although I think you said you're going to telecommute maybe that's not a factor...except for proximity to clients. Durham as a slight advantage of the big three cities of having the easiest drive into Research Triangle Park, where the majority of the area's big business is. However Raleigh would have a small advantage for smaller businesses.

Of course your fiance's schooling has a factor....for example if she were to go to NCSU vet school, you'd probably not wanna live in Chapel Hill....she'd waste a good deal of time every week driving back and forth to Raleigh. And with gas going up the way it is, no student would want that.

Other factors you mentioned...
Crime: compared to a big city like San Diego, none of NC's cities really compare, I'd imagine. Each city has their good areas and their "bad" ones. (Those neighborhoods I mentioned earlier were all "good" ones of course!)
Schools: Chapel Hill has the BIG advantage there...but you pay for it (in taxes). Raleigh would be second...but overcrowding from the baby-boom in its suburbs are a major concern.
Parks/Rec: Eh...all three are probably equal in this regard...if you don't find a city park you like, there's usually a county park or state park close enough to make up for the difference. (One of NC's largest state parks is right spot in between Raleigh and Durham.)

sccr410 · 08-08-2006, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaleighRob

One nitpick: UNC doesn't have the Vet school...that's at NCSU.

Duh, you're right.

Durham actually gets ranked quite awful when it comes to crime - hence why I ask. Of course, as it goes with San Diego, depends on which area you are exactly.

I still need to get in my head the map of the areas, I always still forget where the 3 are in relation to each other all the time.

Can't wait to get out there in a few weeks (actually only 2 weeks from now, woo!)

RaleighRob · 08-08-2006, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Durham actually gets ranked quite awful when it comes to crime - hence why I ask. Of course, as it goes with San Diego, depends on which area you are exactly.

Yeah, but it's mostly confined to the areas east of downtown. So it's high, but it's concentrated mostly in one spot. Most people who live in the everyday nice neighborhoods with professionals, etc, find no more crime in their daily lives as Raleigh or Chapel Hill people do.

Quote:

I still need to get in my head the map of the areas, I always still forget where the 3 are in relation to each other all the time.

Try this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_of_the_Triangle

sccr410 · 08-08-2006, 01:33 PM

That map looks like a whole other world, but useful - thanks.

I figured as much, in regards to the crime stuff. Same thing happens in San Diego, certain areas are just plain awful while others are great - but they get lumped all into one because of how the communities are named.

sccr410 · 08-08-2006, 01:37 PM

Looks like the areas you listed are too specific compared to the map.

RaleighRob · 08-08-2006, 01:41 PM

Oh the neighborhoods? Sorry, I thought you were wanting to know where the cities were in relation to each other.
Yeah...I've never really found a good map of neighborhoods really.
The best I've ever found for Raleigh was: Moderator cut: realtor websites not permitted here-- A realtor's page, but I find it a useful resource.
Don't know about where to find any for Durham or Chapel Hill though.