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Hey, I spoke with the folks at Peak Fitness. I was informed that the one at Research Triangle Pk was the smallest one in the area. The others have more equipment. Since I'll be near RTP, I called the facility in Chapel Hill near UNC and the woman there told me that they a slew of cardio equipment and free weights as well as Hammer Strength equipment. The lower priced monthly option requires a two year contract. 29.99 a month, 99.00 app fee, 25.00 processing fee and first month are due upfront. I was informed that their new specials will come out in Jan. I don't know, but I hoping that with the new specials they'll wave the app fee. The woman also mentioned that state and federal employees get a discount as well as students. That facility is also open 24hrs a day and some of their other facilities are as well. The lady also said that they offer 3 spinning classes a day, kick boxing classes, swimming and other classes.
Thx for the info on Peak, HSH. I was planning on visiting them tomorrow on a $14.99 special. As far as the processing and app fees, that's so ridiculous in my opinion. I'll negotiate that. Unfortunately, Bally's isn't out here, so they may have a corner on the market. Haven't checked the YMCA, but I heard that even the Raleigh Peak is nice too. And, I want to not only work out where they have high quality equipment and classes, but where interesting and outgoing people visit. We'll see what happens, and I'll report back. However, it's good to know that they'll release some specials in January (even in CA, Jan/Feb is when they start releasing fitness specials).
Thx for the info on Peak, HSH. I was planning on visiting them tomorrow on a $14.99 special. As far as the processing and app fees, that's so ridiculous in my opinion. I'll negotiate that. Unfortunately, Bally's isn't out here, so they may have a corner on the market.
You're right, those high upfront fees are ridiculous along with the two year contract. I was on a month to month at LA Fitness b/c I guess they recognized that people need flexibility. But you're right, Peak does have the market cornered, so it allows them to do all of this stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliBoy
And, I want to not only work out where they have high quality equipment and classes, but where interesting and outgoing people visit.
When I spoke to the lady at Peak I told her the same thing. Everyone that I knew at my last gym were cool and outgoing people. It was a group of about 10 guys who had been working out there for about a year or more and they welcomed me into the fold as if I was part of the family. Those guys and girls became my friends and we hung out when we weren't in the gym. Even the people who weren't part of the clique were still outgoing and friendly. The Peak in Chapel Hill is also getting new Plasmas if that helps. From what the woman told me, she there is a wide cross-section of people and that they seem to be outgoing.
You're right, those high upfront fees are ridiculous along with the two year contract. I was on a month to month at LA Fitness b/c I guess they recognized that people need flexibility. But you're right, Peak does have the market cornered, so it allows them to do all of this stuff.
When I spoke to the lady at Peak I told her the same thing. Everyone that I knew at my last gym were cool and outgoing people. It was a group of about 10 guys who had been working out there for about a year or more and they welcomed me into the fold as if I was part of the family. Those guys and girls became my friends and we hung out when we weren't in the gym. Even the people who weren't part of the clique were still outgoing and friendly. The Peak in Chapel Hill is also getting new Plasmas if that helps. From what the woman told me, she there is a wide cross-section of people and that they seem to be outgoing.
hmmm... well hopefully they will have some REALLY good specials sucks having to go back to paying so much for the gym again... i paid for life with 24 hour fitness so that i wouldn't have to worry about it again, maybe we should petition other clubs to come and open in the area so that peak doesn't have the monopoly!! jk, im sure the people there would hate having another large chain there! well once you guys start trying it out if you do, please keep us posted on what it is like, atmosphere, service and all
p.s. side note... has anyone had any issues with bugs in their home? i just bought a house (8 year old) and i was wondering if i needed to get it fumigated before i got out there or do they mostly just stay outside? what i care about most is dangerous spiders and cockroaches... i can deal with daddy long legs and ants and flies... i've had my share of bites (black widows/wolf spiders) and i'd rather not repeat that experience!! thanks..
Socalkitti.......greetings from Huntington Beach...we have a few things in common.....specifically.....we leave for Louisburg, NC in 6 weeks. Enough of California! I rejected the first house being built in Durham.....didn't like the area, but found a really nice place in Louisburg......just 12 miles north of Wake Forest. Beautiful ranch with a wonderful big front porch.....and 2 1/2 acres of woods.....we are excited......good luck to you.....all will be well!!
Lizardlips - I hear you!! I live in the Oxnard/Ventura area and I am so fed up with all the gang activity here. Oxnard now has over 1000 gang members. We had a 14-year-old boy shot less than one block from our home and last week when a friend of my daughter's was driving home with his son in the car some jerk brandished a gun at him less than one mile from his home. What is really scary is the gang members out number the cops 3-1. So we have REALLY high priced homes, REALLY bad gang problems, self-serving city council. The only good thing anymore is the weather. My landlord said we lived in paradise - maybe but it is too costly to me.
Hey ya'll.... i finally made it out here, did the drive in 3 days ( i would recommend longer for anyone else ) got here a couple days ago and saw my new house for the first time!! It's beautiful... i finally turned on all the utilities today so everything is up and running... The weather has been absolutely great, 60-70 degrees and sunny this weekend which is perfect since my mom is in town visiting and she gets cold easily... i haven't been around town much, mainly to Home Depot/Lowes and target/walmart to get the basics for now. But i've been able to find my way around pretty easily and there is everything i need pretty close... went to Duke today just to walk around, and look at the Chapel and architecture... its a great campus to just go hang out at, maybe if they let me in, i'll go there for an MBA.
If you have any questions, ask away... i used a moving company so my stuff is on it's way, should be here in 7-10 days... so far i would recommend them, but i'm gonna wait till they deliver and assemble things to give out their name just in case. I dont know what else you would like to know, but im not homesick or anything yet... it's beautiful here, cant wait to make some friends and get out and explore! need to find a job now !! Happy New Year!
Raleigh Metro Area(Socalkitti)and anybody who can help with info
Quote:
Originally Posted by socalkitti
Hey ya'll.... i finally made it out here, did the drive in 3 days ( i would recommend longer for anyone else ) got here a couple days ago and saw my new house for the first time!! It's beautiful... i finally turned on all the utilities today so everything is up and running... The weather has been absolutely great, 60-70 degrees and sunny this weekend which is perfect since my mom is in town visiting and she gets cold easily... i haven't been around town much, mainly to Home Depot/Lowes and target/walmart to get the basics for now. But i've been able to find my way around pretty easily and there is everything i need pretty close... went to Duke today just to walk around, and look at the Chapel and architecture... its a great campus to just go hang out at, maybe if they let me in, i'll go there for an MBA.
If you have any questions, ask away... i used a moving company so my stuff is on it's way, should be here in 7-10 days... so far i would recommend them, but i'm gonna wait till they deliver and assemble things to give out their name just in case. I dont know what else you would like to know, but im not homesick or anything yet... it's beautiful here, cant wait to make some friends and get out and explore! need to find a job now !! Happy New Year!
Socalkitti
I just read all these posts on your move as of today ( Monday Jan8th) , Congrats on the move and your new home.
I'm from NY originally, currently living in " Las Vegas ", hoping to get out of here soon.
You said we could ask away, so here i go.
What part of Raleigh did you buy a home in? What town?
Have you done much driving around the different towns? If so have you come across any bad areas that should be avoided?
How would you say the job market is out there? In general i mean? Many jobs in the newspaper?
I also see that you just arrived, so this next question may not apply fully to you. But I heard so many people say that the North Carolina locals do not really accept people from out of state so well, like they dont show a warm welcome to newcomers, do you feel this is true? Again i'm originally from Brooklyn NY and Long Island NY where so many people say " The New Yorkers are rude and not warm" but in reality i never felt that while i lived in NY, and when newcomers moved into NY from out of state or out of the country i gave them a kind warm welcome.
This question you might not know much about, but is Raleigh in the path of Hurricanes?
Any good shopping malls in Raleigh?
If there are any negatives there, what would you say they are? Crime? Gangs? Traffic?
well thats all for now, congrats again and hope all works out for ya.
Socalkitti
What part of Raleigh did you buy a home in? What town?
Have you done much driving around the different towns? If so have you come across any bad areas that should be avoided?
How would you say the job market is out there?
But I heard so many people say that the North Carolina locals do not really accept people from out of state so well, like they dont show a warm welcome to newcomers, do you feel this is true? Again i'm originally from Brooklyn NY and Long Island NY where so many people say " The New Yorkers are rude and not warm" but in reality i never felt that while i lived in NY, and when newcomers moved into NY from out of state or out of the country i gave them a kind warm welcome.
is Raleigh in the path of Hurricanes?
Any good shopping malls in Raleigh?
If there are any negatives there, what would you say they are? Crime? Gangs? Traffic?
Hi there..
well i bought in NW Raleigh, so pretty much smack in between everything in the triangle, 15 minutes to downtown Raleigh, Durham and 20 minutes to Chapel Hill (not during rush hour) The house is a newer cookie cutter, spacious, not my perfect dream home, but awesome for a first home and an incredible location for me since i wanted to be close to all 3 cities. I am close to the Airport, crabtree valley mall and Umsteadt Park, and a couple freeways.
I have driven around quite a bit in the triangle, but not outside of it... coming from California as a single young white female... i personally wouldn't like to live in East Durham or Eastern Raleigh, they are a little more riden down areas and some of the stores have bars on the windows and such, probably to deter from petty theft, may be a good place to live (less expensive) but not for me. Chapel Hill is great little college town, but just that, small, very expensive, clean and pretty. Durham's west side to me seemed to consist mainly of Duke university and a stadium, theatre, downtown still pretty small...
Jobs i haven't gotten too much into yet... but there seems to be enough if you look, but they are there, lots of state jobs in Raleigh, medical/research and teaching jobs in Durham/Chapel Hill/Research Park... and i think IBM/computers too. I applied for 2 and havent' heard back which is a little daunting, but i haven't really started to send out much yet.
when i say im from Cali i kinda get an "oh".... pause.... so i think people have a preconception of us that they dont like, but only a couple people did that, overall everyone has been very pleasant...since i live in a newer area (mostly transplants) i dont have people coming to say hi or bringing me pie... also since i am single in a new home (everyone else around here is married in houses) i think they may not as welcoming but no one has been rude or mean, some are just a little distant... i try to be nice to people and they warm up to me, i think as long as you are friendly and have a good outlook which you seem to, it'll be fine, just dont try to change anyone here
Hurricanes.... since we are 2 hours inland, they dont get hit as hard as the coast... but i hear Fran did quite some damage about 10 years ago... i was here in the summer during Earnesto and they got dumped quite a bit of rain on 8" or so in a day and thunderstorms... it was cool!! luckily i dont think much damage was done... so that's good.
Shopping Centers are abundant, all your major chain stores are here.... i have only been to Crabtree Mall which has Macy's and Hudson-Belk (kinda like macy's/nordstrom blend) and they have most of the higher end stores there like banana and bebe, i hear of a couple other good malls, North Hills is suppose to be higher end and Cameron Village is suppose to have more unique boutique shopping... im sure it's not NY but there is plenty of shopping here...
i haven't noticed any crime/traffic or gangs here at all, maybe in some of the bad "pockets" of town, but not rampant... if you live near Cary that is ranked the 5th safest city... i feel like it would be fine for me to leave my door wide open here or leave my car unlocked.... it does get really dark at night (less street lights) so it may feel spookier but i dont feel unsafe from people... maybe if my car broke down at night or i was running or hiking alone i would be scared of animals just cause im not used to being around that much nature i think the downside and upside here is that there isn't as much to do... there is plenty if you go looking for it, but it is very family oriented so if you dont get out looking for stuff to do, you may feel a little bored, or trapped, but you just have to make some friends and get out and do things... it's much slower paced, but it gives you time to actually pick up a hobby or enjoy the weather a little.
Thank you! This is a great area, but not for everyone, so if you have any more questions ask!
well i bought in NW Raleigh, so pretty much smack in between everything in the triangle, 15 minutes to downtown Raleigh, Durham and 20 minutes to Chapel Hill (not during rush hour) The house is a newer cookie cutter, spacious, not my perfect dream home, but awesome for a first home and an incredible location for me since i wanted to be close to all 3 cities. I am close to the Airport, crabtree valley mall and Umsteadt Park, and a couple freeways.
I have driven around quite a bit in the triangle, but not outside of it... coming from California as a single young white female... i personally wouldn't like to live in East Durham or Eastern Raleigh, they are a little more riden down areas and some of the stores have bars on the windows and such, probably to deter from petty theft, may be a good place to live (less expensive) but not for me. Chapel Hill is great little college town, but just that, small, very expensive, clean and pretty. Durham's west side to me seemed to consist mainly of Duke university and a stadium, theatre, downtown still pretty small...
Jobs i haven't gotten too much into yet... but there seems to be enough if you look, but they are there, lots of state jobs in Raleigh, medical/research and teaching jobs in Durham/Chapel Hill/Research Park... and i think IBM/computers too. I applied for 2 and havent' heard back which is a little daunting, but i haven't really started to send out much yet.
when i say im from Cali i kinda get an "oh".... pause.... so i think people have a preconception of us that they dont like, but only a couple people did that, overall everyone has been very pleasant...since i live in a newer area (mostly transplants) i dont have people coming to say hi or bringing me pie... also since i am single in a new home (everyone else around here is married in houses) i think they may not as welcoming but no one has been rude or mean, some are just a little distant... i try to be nice to people and they warm up to me, i think as long as you are friendly and have a good outlook which you seem to, it'll be fine, just dont try to change anyone here
Hurricanes.... since we are 2 hours inland, they dont get hit as hard as the coast... but i hear Fran did quite some damage about 10 years ago... i was here in the summer during Earnesto and they got dumped quite a bit of rain on 8" or so in a day and thunderstorms... it was cool!! luckily i dont think much damage was done... so that's good.
Shopping Centers are abundant, all your major chain stores are here.... i have only been to Crabtree Mall which has Macy's and Hudson-Belk (kinda like macy's/nordstrom blend) and they have most of the higher end stores there like banana and bebe, i hear of a couple other good malls, North Hills is suppose to be higher end and Cameron Village is suppose to have more unique boutique shopping... im sure it's not NY but there is plenty of shopping here...
i haven't noticed any crime/traffic or gangs here at all, maybe in some of the bad "pockets" of town, but not rampant... if you live near Cary that is ranked the 5th safest city... i feel like it would be fine for me to leave my door wide open here or leave my car unlocked.... it does get really dark at night (less street lights) so it may feel spookier but i dont feel unsafe from people... maybe if my car broke down at night or i was running or hiking alone i would be scared of animals just cause im not used to being around that much nature i think the downside and upside here is that there isn't as much to do... there is plenty if you go looking for it, but it is very family oriented so if you dont get out looking for stuff to do, you may feel a little bored, or trapped, but you just have to make some friends and get out and do things... it's much slower paced, but it gives you time to actually pick up a hobby or enjoy the weather a little.
Thank you! This is a great area, but not for everyone, so if you have any more questions ask!
Wow that was a quick, great response. Thanks for all that helpful info. You answered so many questions that I'm not sure what we didn't cover yet. Ha
Did you register your car? Is car insurance or registration pricey there?
Do you know much about Wake Forest?
Best of luck with the hunt for a job.
When you said its dark at night, do you mean there are no street lights on your street? If so , are all the new homes built without streetlghts in the neighborhood?
I would ask much more but I'm running late for work.
Thanks again
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sucks having to go back to paying so much for the gym again... i paid for life with 24 hour fitness so that i wouldn't have to worry about it again, maybe we should petition other clubs to come and open in the area so that peak doesn't have the monopoly!! jk, im sure the people there would hate having another large chain there! well once you guys start trying it out if you do, please keep us posted on what it is like, atmosphere, service and all 
I'm in Raleigh!! Finally...
