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I am moving from the philly suburbs(Cherry Hill NJ) to NC and I need advise if you would be so kind. I started looking at NC back in Feb. and have made a few trips since them. I would like opinions on places/areas to check out. I have another 4 day trip down coming up and would like to settle on a place to rent if possible.
What we are looking for:
1 Bed 1 Bath and Rent under $1000 a month
*Most important is Safety and the ability to walk/bike around.
Commute to RTP with in a hour. I am use to sitting in rush hour traffic for that long and I am fine with driving that long as long as its not sitting bumper to bumper on 295.
Having a small downtown or even just a decent local watering hole in walking distance would be nice.
Areas-
Carrboro - Right now I will have to say I enjoyed Carrboro the most. I spent a 4 days in the Carrboro/Chapel Hill area and I enjoyed Franklin St. but we do not want to live in a college town, thou the area is wonderful and an area outside would be nice. I like the option of being able to walk down Franklin St and liked the food scene. We both loved the farmers market. We enjoy and like to support local farmers when we can.
When I first went to Raleigh I was surprised at how rural and open the city was. Great city and I enjoyed the smaller feel then a big city like philly. Northern Raleigh was nice but was big and was a lot of area to cover. Downtown Raleigh was nice but I do not need to live in a downtown. We liked Northern Raleigh a lot but its a lot of area to cover and would need some advise on where
Checked out Charlotte for a night and it reminded me more of a philly city style then Raleigh. Nice city and one night is not enough to judge it. I have read a lot of good about Charlotte and the suburbs but have not seen much of it.
Drove around Apex and Holly Springs. We walked around Bass Lake and enjoyed the area a lot.
Near a lake would be nice. I am lucky enough my lady likes fishing as much as I do and we enjoyed how clean they were.
We are looking to rent for 6 months and I have $20k for a downpayment on a house and would like to have a mortgage at or under $1000 a month. So renting in an area that could meet that or close to it would be good. I prefer to rent and feel out the areas first before buying.
I saw the thread asking why people are leaving the North East so I will give a few of mine.
Leaving because of cost of living for one, 2 bed 2 bath condo worth 150k with property taxes of $4450 a year.
Population density is awful. We try not to drive anywhere not work related between 4-7pm because rush hour is awful.
Safety is a big consideration in where. My lady come from a town voted one of the best to live and right down the road from us is Camden NJ, which has made #1 worst city, and rightfully so it is a scary place. I don't have to live in the best but surely not near the worst.
I'm not even sure why Charlotte is on the list; you do know you can't commute from Charlotte to Raleigh? It's over 2 hours under non-rush circumstances. It would be like saying you're going to commute from Cherry Hill to NYC.
Based on my 15 years in the business, and also being a native and seeing how growth has occurred....never say "as long as the commute is better than what I have now...". Always find something within 30 minutes of work. There's a highway full of people coming from Johnston County every morning whose daily attitude is affected by the traffic report.
You are trying to leave the tri-state area where 1.5 hour commutes are viewed as not that bad. It is rare here to have a one hour commute, it is not necessary so people try to keep commutes under 30 minutes. Once living here you will find your tolerance for a long commute is gone.
The other thing you need to factor is this area is growing at a rapid pace so increases in traffic are inevitable. Commutes that are 10 minutes now could go up to 20 in a few years.
If you liked Carrboro, but not the college town, you might want to check out Durham. It's got a great creative vibe and fantastic food scene. Some really great venues like the Durham Performing Arts Center.
If you liked Carrboro, but not the college town, you might want to check out Durham. It's got a great creative vibe and fantastic food scene. Some really great venues like the Durham Performing Arts Center.
I was also going to suggest Durham. There are plenty of medical facilities, and the house prices are somewhat cheaper than Raleigh/Cary. The OP does not mention plans to have kids, so I assume schools do not matter. There plenty of safe and bikeable neighborhoods, and great wilderness biking in Umstead Park.
Grace Park Morrisville. Its an "Urban Village" with Pubs, Restaurants etc.
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