Is Raleigh right for me? (Durham, Cary: cheap home, find a job, neighborhood)

[fester600]

Originally Posted by bfhoulihan

Sorry Fester I am pretty much as big a Saawwxx fan as they come

We had 12 hours in mind as being "doable" in a day, so we could at least make it up for the holidays without having to stay over night anywhere along the way.

Where in the Triangle do you live? Raleigh or Chapel Hill are where I plan on looking. Do you have any advice for someone my age as to a good area to live? We are looking for somewhere that is not right downtown but has shops and restaurants relatively close.

And who do people route for in baseball???? Is there any life to the Sox Yanks rivalry down there, I hope so

We have the Durham Bulls, which are the AAA affiliate to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was very cool this year watching the World Series as there were a handful of guys (Baldelli, Longoria, Upton, etc) that came through Durham before making it to the bigs. As for the Sox-Yanks... my neighbor across the street is a Sox fan, so we always go back and forth. Definitely a great rivalry.

I personally would say 12 hours is pushing it, but Newark to Boston is showing 4 hours 5 minutes on google maps, so it is doable. Make sure you get an EZ Pass!

I live in SW Durham, near the Streets at Southpoint Mall. Plenty of shops, food, etc there (http://www.streetsatsouthpoint.com). Convenient to RTP. You may want to check out Briar Creek area in Raleigh (Brier Creek Commons | Raleigh, NC) or North Hills in Raleigh (http://www.northhillsraleigh.com/). I am a Durham homer and would love to push Durham as much as possble, but there are plenty of great locations here.

Feel free to DM (Direct Message) me if you would like any other information.

Congrats on the wedding!
Matt

[joey2000]

Originally Posted by bfhoulihan

"Nah, it's pretty cosmopolitan down here. This is not the old south by any stretch."

That's what I was looking for. I am trying to balance what I read in forums because I see some varying opinions about the area. Most of the negative post I read I don't take seriously though because of the bad nature in which they are written.

There are good and bad aspects about living here, just like any place else. If all you want are sugary "NC is so amazing" posts, you won't have a fair or accurate idea of what the area is like, but to each their own. Housing is generally cheaper than up your way, but I suspect jobs are considerably fewer (esp if you are near any semi-sizable city). There are a LOT of northern transplants here FYI, which isn't good or bad necessarily, depending on your point of view. Personally I think it's sad how this area has seemingly lost most of its Southern personality and become so personality-less in a cookie cutter kinda way, but oh well.

As for Cary, keep asking about it and a handful of groupies will pop up and tell you how it's heaven on Earth IMO there are some really nice areas in Cary but they are gross exaggerations. It's all basically a large series of suburbs FYI, nothing "cosmopolitan" about it. In fact, Raleigh area(s) in general aren't really "urban" much at all. Again whether that's good or bad or neither depends on your point of view.

[bfhoulihan]

Originally Posted by daveraleigh

I didn't say you agreed with it...I was saying the whole idea of the generalization was offensive.

As far as where to live...It kinda depends on if you're buying/renting and what can be afforded...but check out the Cameron Village area of Raleigh...as well as Glenwood South. I've rented all around Cameron Village (before I bought) and love the area. Grocery store, restaurants, etc...and its also close to downtown.
A lot would also depend on where you'll work vs. where you'll live and if you mind traffic/rush hour (again all relative)...

I think basketball pretty much trumps most other sports...but you will find baseball fans (Sox, here!)....I've seen mention of a popular/active meetup.com group for folks from NE that are Sox fans.

Thanks Dave, honestly I was a bit embarrassed at the wording of my original post and I am sorry that I came off that way.

We are looking for something that is roughly $900 a month or lower with two bedrooms. So far I am seeing some nice looking places, now that I am getting some advice on good areas I need to check out apartments in the areas you suggested.

I'm glad to hear that baseball is big

[bfhoulihan]

Originally Posted by bill545

There are good and bad aspects about living here, just like any place else. If all you want are sugary "NC is so amazing" posts, you won't have a fair or accurate idea of what the area is like, but to each their own. Housing is generally cheaper than up your way, but I suspect jobs are considerably fewer (esp if you are near any semi-sizable city). There are a LOT of northern transplants here FYI, which isn't good or bad necessarily, depending on your point of view. Personally I think it's sad how this area has seemingly lost most of its Southern personality and become so personality-less in a cookie cutter kinda way, but oh well.

As for Cary, keep asking about it and a handful of groupies will pop up and tell you how it's heaven on Earth IMO there are some really nice areas in Cary but they are gross exaggerations. It's all basically a large series of suburbs FYI, nothing "cosmopolitan" about it. In fact, Raleigh area(s) in general aren't really "urban" much at all. Again whether that's good or bad or neither depends on your point of view.

I'm looking for something that is somewhere in the middle of city and suburb.

In your opinion does Raleigh fit that description at all?

[bfhoulihan]

Originally Posted by fester600

We have the Durham Bulls, which are the AAA affiliate to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was very cool this year watching the World Series as there were a handful of guys (Baldelli, Longoria, Upton, etc) that came through Durham before making it to the bigs. As for the Sox-Yanks... my neighbor across the street is a Sox fan, so we always go back and forth. Definitely a great rivalry.

I personally would say 12 hours is pushing it, but Newark to Boston is showing 4 hours 5 minutes on google maps, so it is doable. Make sure you get an EZ Pass!

I live in SW Durham, near the Streets at Southpoint Mall. Plenty of shops, food, etc there (http://www.streetsatsouthpoint.com). Convenient to RTP. You may want to check out Briar Creek area in Raleigh (Brier Creek Commons | Raleigh, NC) or North Hills in Raleigh (North Hills Raleigh - Shopping, Dining, Movies and Events). I am a Durham homer and would love to push Durham as much as possble, but there are plenty of great locations here.

Feel free to DM (Direct Message) me if you would like any other information.

Congrats on the wedding!
Matt

Thanks for the links. Yea Ez - pass is a must, especially on the Jersey Turnpike, I always forget to bring change

[daveraleigh]

Originally Posted by bfhoulihan

Thanks Dave, honestly I was a bit embarrassed at the wording of my original post and I am sorry that I came off that way.

We are looking for something that is roughly $900 a month or lower with two bedrooms. So far I am seeing some nice looking places, now that I am getting some advice on good areas I need to check out apartments in the areas you suggested.

I'm glad to hear that baseball is big

I think $900/month is doable...but it might take some research. The last place I rented was a TH in Mordecai (historic neighborhood near downtown) and was 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath for $900. And with the economy the way it is...I'm guessing you'll do fine (but I'm no expert)
I've always steered clear of complexes and found all my rentals via The News and Observer's online/paper ads.

This Cameron Village link doesn't describe much of the area...but will give you an idea of the shops....it's surrounded by historical homes, apt/townhouses...

http://www.shopsofcameronvillage.com/index.cfm

[NC man]

I have to say the biggest concern I have is when some one posts that they are wanting to move here and dont no anything about this place. The fact that people would even consider a real move from heresay and blog sites from people whom may or may not have an agenda. I will tell you from experience growing up in all parts of NC this state has always been a good place to live and raise a family, has every thing any place up north or out west has or had. Some had called it the best kept secret, some think its chickens cows pigs and rednecks. I have seen more of that in upstate new york then here. The problem has been the mass movement of translants over the last couple of years. the area has really changed from what it was and not always for the better. Transplants read blogs of this fairy tail city with cheap home and jobs every where. The fact is the jobs are not here and this whole thing is now snow balling. people from all over the country looking for the better life using up what equity they had left from selling over priced homes and now cant find these famed jobs and cheap life. This is the tip of the iceburg for this area and the real condition of this growth spurt will show its true effect very soon, unfortunatly. People must adjust the behavior of the old days, sport moving will be a thing of the past and moving for survival will be the future, that said with all the outsiders that have already flocked here it will be very hard for the area to come out of this in a good condition. My advice find a job and let that determine whether you need to move away from your comfort zone ,not by what you assume is where the grass is greener, cuss its not. And research research research, feel out the area know the costs and different cultures that could effect your life, and dont use the blogs to make your choice. travel and spend the time or you could truly regret it. You can take this as a negative post if you wish or just a beam of common sense to think things out the right way. 39,000 people moved here last year, so what do I care if you move here. Just hate to see people make life changing moves with out having the real knowledge.. Good luck to you.

[fester600]

Wow, you people are crazy!

It is called research:

Originally Posted by research

re·search
ri-surch, ree-surch
noun
1.diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.

When I lived here for over seven years and was looking to move from Cary to someplace closer to RTP (Although Cary was great, I hated the traffic!) and UNC-Chapel Hill I used this site (City-Data).

And Why? Because the triangle area is HUGE. The triangle area is comprised of "two Metropolitan and one Micropolitan Statistical Area"

Primary cities:
Raleigh Durham Cary Chapel Hill

Suburbs with more than 10,000 inhabitants:
Apex Carrboro Clayton Fuquay-Varina Garner Holly Springs Morrisville Smithfield Wake Forest

AND then throw in the Suburbs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants:
Angier Bahama Bear Creek Bennett Benson Bonlee Bonsal Buies Creek Bunn Bynum Carbonton Centerville Cleveland Coats Corinth Dunn Efland Erwin Fearrington Feltonville Four Oaks Franklinton Friendship Goldston Gorman Gulf Haywood Hillsborough Hurdle Mills Kenly Knightdale Lillington Lizard Lick Louisburg Mebane Micro Moncure New Hill Oxford Pine Level Pittsboro Princeton Rolesville Rougemont Roxboro Saxapahaw Selma Siler City Silk Hope Timberlake Wendell West Smithfield Wilson's Mills Youngsville Zebulon

This data is from 2005 and we are in the top 30 of overall combined metropolitan population, Imagine where we are now, 4 years later!
1 New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 21,903,623
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 17,629,607
3 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI 9,661,840
4 Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV 8,125,656
5 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH 7,427,336
6 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 7,168,176
7 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 6,372,799
8 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 6,171,301
9 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 5,428,000
10 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 5,380,661
11 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL 5,249,121
12 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 3,806,453
13 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI 3,467,108
14 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 2,931,774
15 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO1 2,869,377
16 St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 2,840,179
17 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA 2,478,883
18 Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Truckee, CA-NV 2,187,694
19 Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC 2,120,745
20 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN 2,113,011
21 Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS 2,015,282
22 Orlando-The Villages, FL 1,997,437
23 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 1,958,453
24 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH 1,936,351
25 Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump, NV 1,751,028
26 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI 1,708,563
27 Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT 1,586,740
28 Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC 1,509,560
29 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Columbia, TN 1,498,836
30 Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC 1,490,886

Research from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tri...North_Carolina)

You cannot visit and see everything in one weekend. I applaud the people who get online and do their research before they come down.

How many of the "39,000 people moved here last year" actually did some extensive research. I would bet a small percentage.

As I step off my soapbox , let's not bite the heads off of the people who are trying to better their lives and doing their research. You CANNOT control where you are born, your parents chose that for you. But when you are old enough, you CAN choose where you live.

Best Regards,
Matt

[saturnfan]

Originally Posted by NC man

I have to say the biggest concern I have is when some one posts that they are wanting to move here and dont no anything about this place. The fact that people would even consider a real move from heresay and blog sites from people whom may or may not have an agenda. I will tell you from experience growing up in all parts of NC this state has always been a good place to live and raise a family, has every thing any place up north or out west has or had. Some had called it the best kept secret, some think its chickens cows pigs and rednecks. I have seen more of that in upstate new york then here. The problem has been the mass movement of translants over the last couple of years. the area has really changed from what it was and not always for the better. Transplants read blogs of this fairy tail city with cheap home and jobs every where. The fact is the jobs are not here and this whole thing is now snow balling. people from all over the country looking for the better life using up what equity they had left from selling over priced homes and now cant find these famed jobs and cheap life. This is the tip of the iceburg for this area and the real condition of this growth spurt will show its true effect very soon, unfortunatly. People must adjust the behavior of the old days, sport moving will be a thing of the past and moving for survival will be the future, that said with all the outsiders that have already flocked here it will be very hard for the area to come out of this in a good condition. My advice find a job and let that determine whether you need to move away from your comfort zone ,not by what you assume is where the grass is greener, cuss its not. And research research research, feel out the area know the costs and different cultures that could effect your life, and dont use the blogs to make your choice. travel and spend the time or you could truly regret it. You can take this as a negative post if you wish or just a beam of common sense to think things out the right way. 39,000 people moved here last year, so what do I care if you move here. Just hate to see people make life changing moves with out having the real knowledge.. Good luck to you.

I've been here 20 years from New Orleans and agree fully with your analysis.

When the great tech jobs bust out, we'll see the yuppies running home with their tails between their legs.

[NC man]

If you read the thread it stated they had already planned a move here already with a date. Which is crazy,would you set a moving date to a place you have never been then ask on a web blog were a good apt is, no job no area knowledge no clue all based on what you've heard. Its not like a having some one recommend a place to eat, they tell you its great you go and it stinks, then you just dont go there again. This kinda thing could do all kinds of damage to a young couple making a bad choice. My advice was to do the research, and alot more then bloggin, did not say not to move here did not bash them for not being born here simply made the point in the most drastic economic down turns in the history of this nation, moving to a totally unkown place without a job or good information and the tremendous pressure that now is here do to large growth from other states and are not represented by the unemployement numbers, all looking for work in area. This real view is mostly hidden on these blogs. To have an open mind and make better informed moves is what was presented. I would rather present a little doubt to a predetermined unverified veiw then allow them to just feel warm and fuzzy then move here and crash and burn. and this is already happing more then you would think.