Raleigh Area tour questions (Durham, Cary: houses, neighborhoods, theatre)

[seanpat50]

COming to Raleigh for three days. We are trying to find the area/town most desirable to us with access to good restaurants, movies,theatre/shopping etc. Schools not an issue. WHich towns or suburbs should we concentrate on? We will look at houses after we find the specific locale or part of town we like is decided. Based on this web , it appears Cary, North raleigh is our prime choice but open to other venues since we are clueless at this point. Specific locations that give you a feeling for the towns and area would be greatly appreciated by these travelers.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by seanpat50

COming to Raleigh for three days. We are trying to find the area/town most desirable to us with access to good restaurants, movies,theatre/shopping etc. Schools not an issue. WHich towns or suburbs should we concentrate on? We will look at houses after we find the specific locale or part of town we like is decided. Based on this web , it appears Cary, North raleigh is our prime choice but open to other venues since we are clueless at this point. Specific locations that give you a feeling for the towns and area would be greatly appreciated by these travelers.

Whoops, I thought I answered this one last night...

Focused on in-town which leads to older and even historic homes:

North Hills near the mall... 60's and 70's homes, super location.

Boylan Heights.
Historic Oakwood
Cameron Village area and surrounding neighborhoods
Ridge Road area, with access to downtown, Crabtree Valley area, and Lake Boone Area.

Glenwood South/Brooklyn

There is some new construction in-fill in North Raleigh but closer into I-440. However, the price tends to float upward rapidly

[starla]

If schools aren't an issue, Durham has some great restaurants, decent nightlife, and lots to do. Downtown Raleigh is great, but kind of pricey. If you can afford it, I'd suggest Downtown Raleigh (Glenwood/Brooklyn, Boylan Heights, Cameron Park, and Oakwood are all nice, but prices there are getting stratospheric), but if you're on a budget, Durham is a little more affordable. Watts/Hillandale and Trinity Park are nice Durham neighborhoods, though they're still expensive by Durham standards.

I'd say Durham has the better restaurants, but Raleigh has more nightlife. However, you can eat well and party in either place.

[MrsSteel]

Definitely check out Durham. I live in southern Durham just one mile north of Southpoint Mall & we love it here. We're centrally located for the entire Triangle & very close to I-40, so driving is a snap. There are plenty of restaurants, both locally-owned and chain restaurants. And there is a large movie theatre at the Streets of Southpoint, as well as Nordstroms, Macy's, Sear's, Penny's, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Super Target, Best Buy, Babies R Us ... the list goes on and on and on. And it's all within 5 minutes of our front door. Also, downtown Durham & Duke are 10 to 15 minutes away, offering even more opprtunities for dining and performaing arts performances (there are arts spaces downtown plus a new performing arts center will be opening in downtown Durham next year). But the best part is that our neighborhood is super quiet and thick with trees. We have the peace and quiet of the countryside, yet we enjoy the convenience of living in town. It's fabulous!