Studio apartments? Commute?

[poppydog]

Those are not normal prices and are on the low end. I'd expect more along the lines of $11-1300 for a 1-2 bdrm studio apt in Carrboro/Chapel Hill. There are a lot of smaller little apartments and duplexes that aren't part of big complexes (plenty of those too) that might work for you.

There aren't 4 streets that are the boundaries of places to avoid. You'll just have to come see.

[NatureYogi]

Just wrote a post with specific numbers but accidentally deleted it before posting, dang. Oh well, the gist was I added up total populations of last 3 areas I lived in and compared them to total combined population of Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Hillsborough and Durham (those 3 areas are 20-30 minutes apart from eachother by car).

Those 4 Triangle cities' combined population is like 5 times bigger than Santa Cruz, CA (after 2 years Santa Cruz area felt too small but I also didn't have car yet and didn't roadtrip elsewhere often enough and also wanted more diversity and jobs).

Or is 60ish% the size of the inner SF East Bay Area I frequent most living there past 2 or 3 years (Berkeley, Oakland minus Deep East Oakland due to crime, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Albany, Kensington). Would be nice if Triangle is less population-dense than SF Bay Area.

Or I forget now how much smaller than Austin (lived in Austin several months then moved mainly for a work reason) but that's okay cause Austin is bigger than I really "need." And I had lots of fun experiencing big city living several years in DC area and a couple years in Chicago and playing in Brooklyn, but don't need that huge or dense of places as homebase anymore.

Anyway am thinking Triangle sounds big enough for me to meet enough similarly-minded community especially cause I have car now. Can also roadtrip to friends in Asheville and Virginia, etc. And don't want or need to only be around people too exactly like me.

And found this kinda cute article though I would have used different criteria:
These Are The 10 Best Cities For Hippies In North Carolina - HomeSnacks

Maybe I sound like a stereotypical Goldilocks millenial, hahahaha...oh well, just trying to keep up a cozy nest

[NatureYogi]

Originally Posted by poppydog

Those are not normal prices and are on the low end. I'd expect more along the lines of $11-1300 for a 1-2 bdrm studio apt in Carrboro/Chapel Hill. There are a lot of smaller little apartments and duplexes that aren't part of big complexes (plenty of those too) that might work for you.

There aren't 4 streets that are the boundaries of places to avoid. You'll just have to come see.

Cool. Sounds like it'll all make more sense when I arrive. But looking online am getting impression normal price for a 1-bedroom unit (no housemate, just a 1-bedroom with private full kitchen and private full bathroom) in Triangle is more like $700-900/month though...I hope?! Would be great. Duplex, cottage or in-law sounds better than apartment.

[Mcginty74]

Cool. Sounds like it'll all make more sense when I arrive. But looking online am getting impression normal price for a 1-bedroom unit (no housemate, just a 1-bedroom with private full kitchen and private full bathroom) in Triangle is more like $700-900/month though...I hope?! Would be great. Duplex, cottage or in-law sounds better than apartment.

My apartment (one bedroom, very spacious) in Raleigh is $805 per month.

[Atony]

If you do choose Durham I think you would be happiest living around 9th st and I would recommend checking out places there.

Definitely Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Durham are the places here that offer you the best fit for what you are trying to find.