Where do/did the Californians call home? (Durham, Cary: credit, neighborhood)

[DebbieF]

I also have clients from Calif that bought off New Light and also in Creedmoor for the peace and quiet. Not only Calif but busy area's like Manhatan, Boston, Chicago, NJ I have clients from all these area's that when they came or on they're way here are looking for a less hectic area to live in. Even though they may have to drive into it to work, they want to go home at the end of the day and feel a little peace and quiet. Some people to be right in the middle of everything and some really don't mind the drive.

Originally Posted by kwalk65

We bought in Wake Forest off of New Light road in a subdivision. We wanted land and peace and quiet and have definately found it here!!

[kwalk65]

Originally Posted by NedB

Where do/did the Californians call home?

Well, California, of course.

If you lived in North Carolina, well then you wouldn't be Californian would you? You'd be a Tar Heel.

Yep, once a Californian usually always one --- but I live in NC now and love it!! BTW we're Duke fans here and were in California too!!

[Rincoln]

From Sata Barbara, CA to N.Raleigh. Close to the beach without the High price ticket. Close to downtown...restaurants, Great highschool... Personality (I think Cary lacks it...sorry...) Diversity in population. Pretty neighborhoods. So far very nice people that we have met. Better commute. Beautiful, clean, new streets. Wish there were more street lights at night though and toilet seat covers...( I'll have to stock up at
smart & final)

[starla]

I moved from West LA to Carrboro for 1 year, and finally settled down in downtown Raleigh near Glenwood South. Carrboro has a very northern California feel (I mean way northern California) and is a very liberal little town. But I eventually got bored with the same 1.5 mile strip of shops and restaurants, and found myself having to drive to Raleigh or Durham to get a lot of things done. Plus, it was really dark out there. My little spot in downtown Raleigh was chosen for it's convenience and vibrant feel. I can walk to upscale shopping, a few restaurants, and two grocery stores in Cameron Village, or to a multitude of bars and restaurants in Glenwood South. Even Fayetteville Street is a reasonable walk from here, and Crabtree and North Hills malls are short drives away. Though if I'm going to be completely honest, I bought my house where I did because I like to drink, but am strictly averse to drinking and driving, and it's also within walking distance of TWO Starbucks, one of which is only two blocks away, which is the standard of living I grew accustomed to in CA.

[ljd1010]

I'm not from CA (from New England) but wanted to add that I don't feel that Cary lacks diversity or charm. Our little downtown is great, awash with several great shops and restaurants. My neighborhood is quite diverse - we have neighbors from India, Viet Nam, China as well as many parts of the US. The shopping is great; we have Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Aldi's plus almost every type of retail store you can imagine.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by smithiekat

There's lot of great places in the triangle which will remind of different Bay Area cities. DM me if you'd like more comparisons and please bring me a Jamba Juice and a Pancho Villa burrito when you move here!

Ok you got me wanting a Jamba Juice for breakfast. My kids and I both miss Jamba. So I did a little search. Website says there is one in Chapel Hill. Sounds like it's on campus:
36 Lenoir Hall, CB #1500, Chapel Hill

Anyone know what the deal is w/ this one? Also there is one in a Target in Kannapolis and one in the Charlotte Airport. For those of you who travel that way.

I could really go for a Strawberry Surf Rider or a Razzamatz right now. Yum!!

[cynwldkat]

We moved to NC near Charlotte a year and a half ago from the San Fernando Valley CA. Why? There are many reasons: CA is so expensive that you only work to survive--not to live. To much crime, to crowded, unfriendly, and not much greenry left---a concrete jungle! The pace of life is crazy fast in CA! We will never go back and I was born and raised in CA!

[smithiekat]

Originally Posted by PDXmom

Ok you got me wanting a Jamba Juice for breakfast. My kids and I both miss Jamba. So I did a little search. Website says there is one in Chapel Hill. Sounds like it's on campus:
36 Lenoir Hall, CB #1500, Chapel Hill

Anyone know what the deal is w/ this one? Also there is one in a Target in Kannapolis and one in the Charlotte Airport. For those of you who travel that way.

I could really go for a Strawberry Surf Rider or a Razzamatz right now. Yum!!

It's on UNC's campus. . . in the Lenoir Dining Hall right off the Pit. FYI: they only take cash or UNC student card thingies. I've ventured there twice. They do tend to run out of certain smoothies though, which I never encountered in No. Cali.

[ncitgal]

Originally Posted by LilWorld

So many great answers. Thanks Californians.

@smithiekat - I'll try to get the Pancho Villa burrito. Jamba juice - hmmm - guess the good people at the airport won't let that through

One common thing I noticed was that nobody (among the responders here), chose Cary. Just curious as to why.

I can tell you that we didn't choose Cary because it was too "master planned" for us...we had enough of that in CA! We really wanted something different...our goal was to find a place in the "country", which ended up being Holly Springs, but close enough to a real city that it wasn't inconvient. For us HS has been exactly that. We moved from Garden Grove, CA in 2005.

[Grateful Grace]

I moved from Mountain View (SF Bay area) to Carrboro mostly because I was moving without visiting here first and wanted a place that I thought was safe for a single woman. I didn't know about this forum then and searched University web sites for recommended apartments. I found an apt. complex here that let me do all the transactions on line.

Now that I'm here I have to agree with the previous poster that politically it's very similar to Northern California. Schools in Carrboro/Chapel Hill are like Palo Alto. People pay top dollar for houses so they can send their kids to school here. It makes it expensive for a single person to buy a home, so I'm now looking elsewhere.

There are nice bike trails here and some good restaurants. I'm used to having a lot more choice with ethnic restaurants and I miss that a lot. My friends have raved about great ethnic restaurants here but in my experience most don't compare well to South Bay restaurants. It's not really a fair comparison though because of the sheer number of people in the Bay Area. I've heard other areas have better ethnic restaurants.

I still have a Jamba Juice card with about $15 left so I'd appreciate it if you could get them here too. Trader Joe's just moved in and there's a Whole Foods here. I like Weaver Street Market a bit better for the atmosphere. I like Carrboro a lot and will be sad to move, but with the help of forum members I'm sure I'll find something terrific in other areas.

For me, Carrboro has more of a community feel than the SF South Bay. I like the sense of pride people have here about their communities.

I have a good friend who lives in Hillsborough, so I've been there a lot. It's a nice small town with a good feel to it. There are apparently a lot of artists and writers who live there. One of the down sides for me is that Hillsborough has a Walmart and there's not much else for shopping (no offense to the smaller shops). The restaurants there are pretty limited and you get tired of them after a while. Durham seems to have more to offer in that respect.

You have a good opportunity to choose what you want here. Good luck!