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After weeks of searching, obsessively looking at stats online, weighing pro's and con's, and visiting places, I have decided Carrboro is the right fit for our move. I was set on not being landlocked, but as far as safety, cleanliness, values, schools, this is it. We will be relocating late summer/early fall! Now, the narrowing down process begins...
I have a few questions, if you guys would please chime in!
We will be renting a one bedroom apartment/duplex initially. I realize I'll be competing with students for this type of housing. Is there a better time of year to look for housing and plan the move? I hear competition for housing can get pretty fierce, with places being reserved far in advance?
I could really use some help selecting a neighborhood. Safety is my very top priority, over convienence, etc. Is there an area where young families tend to reside? I am not looking for a subdivision or a "planned community" because of the type of housing we'll be looking for (apartment/duplex/carriage house).
What are the "bad", less safe areas of town? I need to know where to steer clear of. Where would you recommend for your daughter or sister, and her kiddo??
Are there good parks in the area? I am familiar with the one where the farmer's market is held, but are there others for kids and picnics?
Are people accepting of new people in town? Is it easy or difficult to make friends? Where I'm from if someone is new to town and shares common interests or is involved Witt the same group or school, they would be invited to dinner in nothing flat!
How is winter? I'll be honest, I'm a winter wimp. Do you guys get a lot of snow? Lots of school closings? How long does the cold last?
Lastly, question about demographics. Is there a good mix of people in the area? Younger, older, various races, hippies, punks, conservative, liberal, etc? So many places I've found that tend to be low crime also tend to be pretty monotone in this regard. Not a deal breaker, but I'm curious.
Thank you all so much. I am really looking forward to this new leaf in your beautiful community!
Stay away from Collins Crossing apartments. They have had problems with maintenance and unresponsive management for years.
I'd suggest looking the Fidelity Street area. I seem to remember you had a low budget. It's very close to the farmer's market and usually has some budget options.
New people, no problem. Tons of them all the time.
This was a bad winter, but winter is usually not too bad. One or two snows. Maybe two or three snow days off from school if the kids are lucky. We had a lot this year, but that's not typical.
Somewhat on the mix of people question. Yes to younger, older, various races, hippies, punks, liberal, but not really to conservatives. It's a very progressive/liberal area.
Around $700. I may be able to stretch $800. I didn't add that to the original post, because I would rather know the good areas and then figure it out from there, as opposed to compromising in the area because of my budget. I usually live in tiny places in areas that are way over my budget, because I feel safer, but that may just be my town
Thanks, poppydog! yep, I think my budget is low for the area, although I'm seeing options on various real estate sites...just unsure about the neighborhoods.
You'd probably be better off using a crime mapping website to check for actual crime data rather than relying on anecdotal information here when it comes to specific neighborhoods.
Note that there is often a correlation between higher property crimes and high concentrations of students.
Carrboro (and Chapel Hill) are incredibly safe. Even the "bad" areas of town are generally safe, with the greatest worries being car break ins, and those almost always happen when someone leaves valuables in their car with the doors unlocked. Violent crime is almost unheard of, and what little does occur is almost always between people who know each other.
With that said, I will poppydog's concerns about Collins Crossing (formerly Abbey Court). I also would recommend against anything form GSC property management. Their properties seem to have the greatest problems with property crimes, noise, poor maintenance, etc... I also would steer clear of anything on Pritchard Ave Extension (one of the few parts of Chapel Hill where I did not feel safe walking to/from my car late at night).
As for timing, right now is the busy time for rental applications. The market really is tied closely to the academic calendar, with people moving in/out in May-August. If you are committed to a summer/fall move, then you should start looking now. If you have some flexibility and can wait until September or October to move in, you may be able to find a better deal because property managers would rather have some in the apartment at a lower rate than let it sit empty until January (or worse - July!).
I also would steer clear of anything on Pritchard Ave Extension (one of the few parts of Chapel Hill where I did not feel safe walking to/from my car late at night).
Don't know if you've been on Pritchard in the past several years, mpheels, but it's been greatly gentrified and most of the small cinderblock bungalows have been turned into two story mcmansion-esque student rentals. We walk up that way a good bit and I don't think anything about it. I probably wouldn't walk alone there very late at night, but I always think it's a good idea not to do that.
Crime is low, most crime is property crime, but some random violent crime does occasionally occur. There was a much publicized murder of Eve Carson, the UNC student body president in 2008 that was random and very tragic. You'll hear about it when you come because there are memorial events, like a 5k, etc. But that kind of thing is unusual, thank goodness.
I do plan to check out areas more specifically on a crime map when I start looking at places, CHTransplant...I think that'll be best, but direction from locals is sometimes more accurate!
Be open to apartment rentals in homes. I don't think a well behaved child should be a problem. Westwood neighborhood has some very large homes where the owners have apartments they rent. In a univeristy town like ours you will find this is not at all uncommon. Also be aware that most people are not aware of where Chapel Hill ends and Carrboro begins so don't automatically exclude Chapel Hill when you say Carrboro is for you.
most university town have a tremendous mix of people. on my street alone we have Russians, irish, Puerto Rican, English and down the street are a couple of Indian families. My whole neighborhood is a wonderful mix of ethnicities and you will find this all over our community.
If you find something you need to be able to put a deposit down immediately. i own some duplexes and I know I have vacancy notices for June or July and people wanting to move in the next day. Or they are willing to pay rent for a month or two on an empty unit just to guarantee it will be theirs when the fall semester starts. But my units are in walking distance of the hospital and that is a very big draw.
The one bedrooms will go fast at the end of summer way before school starts. it is a mistake for anybody to wait till a few weeks before school starts to look for a place.
There are some good parks in the area. some better than others. Right now buses are free all over the area but there is some talk of charging soon.
Winter isn't too bad most years but this past winter was terrible all over the country.
Acceptance is not a problem. new people moving in every day. Here it is the last few months of school and my girls have new kids coming in every day.
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