downtown living in Raleigh? (Five Points, Cameron: appointed, rental, condos)

[DC resident]

In-laws are looking at moving to Raleigh so we thought we would take a look too. My wife and I are in our early 30s and currently living in DC, in 100 yr old row house smack in the middle of town. We love the feel of living in a city..older homes with modern insides but historic facades, walking around, being close to work, eating out, using public transportation, etc. I think we are planning a trip to visit Raleigh in April. Any suggestions on where to look? Preferably homes (older/historic), no condos. Price range maximum $900K. Not afraid of renovations and or dilapidated properties in need of restoring. In DC a lot of the row houses have English Basements used a completely separate rental units. Are there places in Raleigh that incorporate a owners unit with a rental unit?

[cary_nc]

Raleigh is significantly less urban that DC. Some historic neighborhoods include Five Points, Oakwood, Hayes Barton, Country Club. I think you will find that the majority of homes in your price range are in the northwest section of Raleigh (within the beltline). I think you may be disappointed by the public transportation system here. However, a numberof the neighborhoods mentioned above have retail and restaurants closeby. Good luck!

Joyce

[MikeJaquish]

You might consider being near Cameron Village, where you can walk to most of what you want. It's a great neighborhood, with a range of housing options, and "close to everything." Your $900K max buys a LOT of home in Raleigh.
But, yes, public transportation is less effective than you are used to.

[RaleighRob]

I think for your price range you can live virtually in any neighborhood in and around Raleigh's downtown that you'd want to.
Oakwood, Mordecai, Oakdale, Pilot Mill, Boylan Heights, Brooklyn, Glenwood South, Cameron Park, Oberlin, Cameron Village, Longview, Hayes Barton, University Park, Roanoke Park, Sunset Hills, Budleigh, Fuller Heights, Lakewood, Pullen....the list goes on.

For the really nice historic ones, I'd say start your search with Oakwood, Boylan and Cameron Park, then on to the others.

As others have said, Public Transport here isn't all that, but it is easy to find a good place in your price range within walking distance to just about everything there is to do here.

For more info about what our downtown is like check out downtownraleigh.org and downtownraleigh.com --you can find listings of most services in the area.