Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am moving to Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary area and I will be working at around RTP. I'm looking to rent a small apartment or a room but I have no idea about that area. I would really appreciate if the local can give me some suggestion which area to look and which area to avoid (if any).
It would be very beneficial if you gave some details on what your primary wants are regarding location. If your main concern is commute time than knowing exactly where you'll be working would help too. However, if you really need to be within walking distance of local restaurants, local shops, live music, etc than that would be a completely different recommendation than based on commute time. Or, if you like being near chain restaurants, malls, and suburbia than that would also yield completely different recommendations. Of course, this will all depend on your budget, so knowing that would be pretty much essential.
j-mart77, thanks for the reply. I will be working at Patriot Science Center on Patriot Dr and S Miami Blvd. I don't mind spend around 20 to 30 minutes on one way commute time. I don't have preference on being near to anything because I am used to drive to everywhere but I am more concern about the safety in the neighborhood cause I will be working late. On the Budget, my hard cap is 800 for either an apartment or a room and of course the lower the better. Thanks again.
Thank you admin for changing the thread title.
Last edited by anestacom; 12-08-2012 at 12:50 PM..
anestacom, since your primary concern seems to be expense, I really don't think you'll have any trouble finding an apartment within your budget. There are lots of apartment complexes around that area, especially near Brier Creek, and I'm pretty sure that there are a number of them with 1 bedrooms < $800.
I've never personally been anywhere in the Triangle where I felt unsafe. I'm aware that there are small sections of Raleigh and Durham where the neighborhoods are considered to be unsafe, but you won't be looking in those areas and they aren't very close to your work anyway.
If you don't care about being close to anything in particular, then I would just suggest finding the apartment closest to your work that has good reviews and is within your budget. This way at least you'll save on gas. The apartment finding sites should be a great deal of help for this.
Since you are looking at renting, maybe sign a shorter lease to start. Settle into your job, see what the area has to offer & then you can move again when the lease is up.
In terms of safety, there are websites out there (RAIDS is what we use) that let you review areas for what is going on. I like RAIDs since it differentiates between what the type of crime is. I'm more worried about breakins than say office embezzling .
Seems to me from reading the paper there are some blocks on Holloway, Miami & S. Roxboro that can be a little "iffy" but then again, you go a few blocks away & it seems fine. Any place you think about renting be sure & visit first.
If you can avoid Route 40, you probably want to do that. From what I hear (both from co-workers & the morning traffic reports) it is usually a big ole' mess. So along with distance to your office, look at the route you would drive.
You say "I" so I assume no significant other or kids, so schools/activities/etc. probably aren't a concern for you. If so, you may want to look at Durham. The school system has a bad reputation (no idea if that is accurate or not, just the impression folks seem to have). But that bad reputation means folks with kids are looking for other areas (like Cary) which means more demand & higher prices. I don't know how true that is for appartments but we definately saw that when house hunting. I have to imagine there would be a simillar effect on rental prices.
j-mart77, thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into that area.
ZimaCheryl, thanks for the RAIDS website! I will definitely use it a lot! And thanks for the tips to avoid Route 40. I look up on Google map for the traffic and it always show the whole triangle as green. Yes I am fresh out of college so I'll be heading there by myself. I didn't see a whole lot of differences between rental prices, I guess the distance to the colleges and RTP kept the price up.
Thanks again for the help!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
