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Walk Score rates two towns in the Triangle "somewhat walkable". Pittsboro at 55, and Hillsborough at 58 (top score is 100).
Which town would you say has more interesting things to walk to - Pittsboro or Hillsborough (I know they are both pretty small)? Which town do you like better, and why?
Which town has the better location - i.e., easy access to everyday things like grocery stores, banks, parks, CVS, shopping, doctors, vets, hospitals, restaurants, entertainment (movies) etc., (not taking into account an outside job)?
Note that the WalkScore's for the major towns/cities are for the whole municipality totaled up. For the smaller towns, it's just a location score (if you search Pittsboro, it'll give you the walk score for the location where Google Maps takes you when you search Pittsboro - aka downtown. If you included all of Pittsboro, their score would be much lower).
Both are really nice towns, historic with nice main streets.
Pittsboro has an "artsy" flair with several galleries and shops. Also has a cute "soda shop" straight out of the 1950's. More remote but still doable.
Hillsborough is just outside of Durham so I would say it has better access to stores, banks, shopping, doctors etc.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Both are nice. I prefer Hillsborough. The downtown area is much bigger. There is a good sized Weaver Street Market as well as a large public library in addition to restaurants/bars, banks, hardware and other stores, an adjacent river walk with a park, a farmer's market (weekly?), and a community center with activities such as basketball. I'm not sure where the doctors are. No movies nearby that I am aware of.
Pittsboro is quaint and walkable but not as big. There is a Chatham Marketplace Co-op as well as a Piggly Wiggly off the main drag but it's small and not that nice. There are restaurants/bars, banks, a used bookstore, other stores. No movies nearby that I know of. Not sure where doctors are.
You can do a Google walk to check them out. Hillsborough's main street is called Churton Street. Pittsboro's is Hillsboro St., I think.
Both are nice. I prefer Hillsborough. The downtown area is much bigger. There is a good sized Weaver Street Market as well as a large public library in addition to restaurants/bars, banks, hardware and other stores, an adjacent river walk with a park, a farmer's market (weekly?), and a community center with activities such as basketball. I'm not sure where the doctors are. No movies nearby that I am aware of.
Pittsboro is quaint and walkable but not as big. There is a Chatham Marketplace Co-op as well as a Piggly Wiggly off the main drag but it's small and not that nice. There are restaurants/bars, banks, a used bookstore, other stores. No movies nearby that I know of. Not sure where doctors are.
You can do a Google walk to check them out. Hillsborough's main street is called Churton Street. Pittsboro's is Hillsboro St., I think.
Which town has the better location - i.e., easy access to everyday things like grocery stores, banks, parks, CVS, shopping, doctors, vets, hospitals, restaurants, entertainment (movies) etc., (not taking into account an outside job)?
I don't know much about Pittsboro, but wondering if the score for Hillsborough is for the downtown historic area? The S. Churton St. area of Hillsborough has the businesses you mention (though no movie theater) but isn't really walk-able to a lot of neighborhoods. Though from the new Cates Creek development you could walk to the hospital or the DTCC campus.
If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Hillsborough. It's near Durham for access to amenities of larger cities and it isn't in any certain danger of having it's character changed as Pittsboro is from Chatam Park.
Not looking for walkable from a neighborhood - although that would be really nice. Just a traditional downtown area where one can park and walk to lots of things - bank, library, shops, restaurants. Didn't know Hillsborough has a Weaver Street Market. That's nice.
Yes, Walk Score is a bit strange in their algorithm. You'd think Apex, since it has a traditional walkable downtown, and Chapel Hill for the same reason, would have similar walk scores.
Not looking for walkable from a neighborhood - although that would be really nice. Just a traditional downtown area where one can park and walk to lots of things - bank, library, shops, restaurants. Didn't know Hillsborough has a Weaver Street Market. That's nice.
Yes, Walk Score is a bit strange in their algorithm. You'd think Apex, since it has a traditional walkable downtown, and Chapel Hill for the same reason, would have similar walk scores.
My mom's house is about as walkable as you can get in DT Apex. The rear gate from her backyard opens right up into the parking lot of Blistered Pig. Apex's downtown, while very charming and nice, is a fraction of the size of downtown Chapel Hill. It is literally a block and a half of Salem Street with a cool pub, a few nice restaurants (Anna's Pizza and La Rancharita FTW) a few boutique shops, a cigar dealer, and a pizza hut.
Franklin/Rosemary in Chapel Hill continuing into Main/West Main Street in Carrboro is about two miles of built up/walkable residential, dining. entertainment, and retail/services with many more residential neighborhoods connected to it.
Hillsborough would be my recommendation over Pittsboro as well. Nicer/slightly bigger town now more likely to retain it's current character. It's also a very easy drive into Durham or Chapel Hill and is right off 40/85.
I recall that some folks have mentioned Hillsborough to you on other threads. That is still my recommendation, too. I think you'll really like it. It's a small historic town with a nice river walk and quick access to other areas of the Triangle. You can be in downtown Chapel Hill or Durham in 20 minutes. There's not a movie theatre in Hillsborough, but there are some music venues and art galleries and many good restaurants. 20 minutes isn't too long to drive for a movie.
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