Looking for Carrboro info. (Raleigh, Durham: apartment complex, trip , work)

[krystil_mist]

I know it's a small town, next to Chapel Hill and college oriented. I'm from close to Boston, and a college town can tend to have a higher crime rate.

Is the town walking accessible? Just mean can I get to a lot of places by walking.

What about bus service? The town I'm in now has some service and a train, but from where I live it's too far to even walk to a bus stop. I have a car, but I want options since cars don't last forever. I'd hate to be in a place where I have to immediately get a new one.

How about taxi's? When I lived right outside of Boston they ran all night and it was so much just to sit in it, then so much per 1/4mi or so. THen I moved 45 min south and found out that the busses don't run after midnight or so and neither do the taxis. Plus I never knew what the cab fair was because they didn't use meters. THe driver would call into the dispatch and he'd tell the driver how much the trip was. And people always paid exact change and never tipped, which was new to me. If you worked 3rd shift you'd be out of luck there without a car.

I guess that's it for now. Anyone live there or spend lots of time there?

Thanks,
Linda

[RaleighRob]

Originally Posted by krystil_mist

I know it's a small town, next to Chapel Hill and college oriented. I'm from close to Boston, and a college town can tend to have a higher crime rate.

Well, neither Carrboro nor Chapel Hill have much of a crime rate, but I like Carrboro a tad better cuz of its sense of community. I'm very jealous of anyone who gets to live there.

Is the town walking accessible? Just mean can I get to a lot of places by walking.

Carrboro (the town core, at least) is probably THE MOST walkable/pedestrian-friendly & bike-friendly city in the entire state, bar none. It doesn't get any better than that. The exception may be a few apartment complexes and neighborhoods along NC Hwy 54. But otherwise, it's a pedestrian's dream come true.

What about bus service? The town I'm in now has some service and a train, but from where I live it's too far to even walk to a bus stop. I have a car, but I want options since cars don't last forever. I'd hate to be in a place where I have to immediately get a new one.

The Chapel Hill/Carrboro Bus system is pretty thorough and free to ride. They have stops all over town...you can easily get around by bus to the few places you don't want to walk to. No worries there.
Also, there is good access to the TTA (Triangle Transit Authority) Bus stops along the way to get access to Durham, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park and RDU Airport, should you need to get to any of those locales.

How about taxi's?

There are VERY few places in NC where you can just hail a cab. However the Triangle area has PLENTY of cab services...you just have to call them to come pick you up. That's pretty easy 24/7.

[krystil_mist]

you make it sound pretty nice there. Calling a taxi is fine, I've never hailed one in my life. Of course I'd end up in the apartment complex that's too far to the nearest bus. Gotta make sure I get my car tuned up.

Anyone know of any sites that show photos of the town?

Linda

[RaleighRob]

Originally Posted by krystil_mist

you make it sound pretty nice there. Calling a taxi is fine, I've never hailed one in my life. Of course I'd end up in the apartment complex that's too far to the nearest bus. Gotta make sure I get my car tuned up.

Anyone know of any sites that show photos of the town?

Linda

Just stay as close to downtown & as far from the 54 highway as possible, and you'd be fine!
Here's a few sites...in a format that won't get the forum mods upset:
Town government: www DOT townofcarrboro DOT com
Local info: www DOT carrboro DOT com
Chamber of Commerce: www DOT carolinachamber DOT org
Others: www DOT carrboroweb DOT com
heck, just put Carrboro into google and you'll get tons.

[krystil_mist]

Thanks for all the help. I've seen a couple of those sites before. I assume you said to stay away from the highway 54 because of the bus situation. Unless it's just not the best place to live. I think I read that a lot of the stores are in that part of town. I'll have to find me a road map of the town,to check out the street names and where they relate to downtown.
Thanks again!

Linda

[RaleighRob]

Actually NC 54 is like a bypass around the town. It has bus stops but it'd be a longer journey to wherever you need to go. And its the only road in Carrboro not pedestrian-friendly. (Which says a lot about this town if you think about it.) I wouldn't even say most stores are on it (minus two generic supermarket-based shopping centers). The main business is downtown...Carrboro is one of the few cities in NC that's never really needed a "downtown revitalization" because everyone there still shops downtown.

Craigslist is a good place to look for homes that are nearby downtown Carrboro. I see several per week listed there.

Also you can look for homes on the Carrboro/Chapel Hill border area, which is extremely close by.
(Literally....you can walk from downtown Carrboro to downtown Chapel Hill in a matter of 10 minutes or less. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen!)

[krystil_mist]

wow, 10 min. that's funny. I live in an apt. complex and it takes me 8 min to walk to one of the main enterances from my building. If I were to walk to the nearest plaza/shopping area it's about 25min. and I"m still in the same part of town.
Thanks for all the info. You've been very helpful

Linda