Looking to move to NC from MA- please help! (Raleigh: transplants, chapel)

[katsap]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are looking to move down to NC in the next year or so from MA. The areas I am looking at are Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary.

We are looking to move someone within a 45 minute drive to Raleigh but are not interested in living directly in the city. Currently we are living outside Boston, MA and that seems to be working for us.

We are looking to move down South from MA for several reasons- the people, jobs, the weather, and housing. We enjoy the small town we are living in now and are looking for something very similar.
It has a small movie theater, which from my research would be similar to the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill or the Carolina Theater in Durham, I think.
There are many local restaurants within walking distance including Thai, Indian, a steakhouse, a coffee shop, an ice cream parlor, and a pizza house.
Also in a 15 minute drive are a museum, a small zoo, lots of hiking trails, and a mall.
Now we don't know a whole lot about the NC towns I've mentioned because I've only been able to do internet research on them. Do they have similar areas to what I've mentioned?

I am looking for somewhere safe where we can buy our first home. We are in our early twenties so we are not looking for a big family neighborhood nor are we looking to be surrounded by college students.

If anyone has any information they would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Ugh!!]

Originally Posted by katsap

Hello, my boyfriend and I are looking to move down to NC in the next year or so from MA. The areas I am looking at are Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary.

We are looking to move someone within a 45 minute drive to Raleigh but are not interested in living directly in the city. Currently we are living outside Boston, MA and that seems to be working for us.

We are looking to move down South from MA for several reasons- the people, jobs, the weather, and housing. We enjoy the small town we are living in now and are looking for something very similar.
It has a small movie theater, which from my research would be similar to the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill or the Carolina Theater in Durham, I think.
There are many local restaurants within walking distance including Thai, Indian, a steakhouse, a coffee shop, an ice cream parlor, and a pizza house.
Also in a 15 minute drive are a museum, a small zoo, lots of hiking trails, and a mall.
Now we don't know a whole lot about the NC towns I've mentioned because I've only been able to do internet research on them. Do they have similar areas to what I've mentioned?

I am looking for somewhere safe where we can buy our first home. We are in our early twenties so we are not looking for a big family neighborhood nor are we looking to be surrounded by college students.

If anyone has any information they would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

If you want to live within walking distance to anything, I would not reccomend Cary. Although it is a decent town (clean, quiet, good schools), nothing is really walking distance. Cary is the definition of urban sprawl and suburbia. There's no "small town feal". Also, good luck finding a "local" restaurant. The majority of what you will find are corporate owned chain restaurants.

I would go with Chapel Hill. Much nicer!!!

[ljd1010]

Originally Posted by Ugh!!

If you want to live within walking distance to anything, I would not reccomend Cary. Although it is a decent town (clean, quiet, good schools), nothing is really walking distance. Cary is the definition of urban sprawl and suburbia. There's no "small town feal". Also, good luck finding a "local" restaurant. The majority of what you will find are corporate owned chain restaurants.

I would go with Chapel Hill. Much nicer!!!

Sorry - have to disagree! As a Cary resident, there are MANY walkable areas. Cary is a large town (130K) and quite spread out, however, within the town there are certain areas within walking distance to shopping and eateries. I live in Stone Creek, around the corner from Harris Teeter (grocery store), dry cleaners, Planet Smoothie, Walgreens, Chic Fil A, gift shops, boutiques, and several restaurants. I can walk to any of these in less than 5 minutes! You will also find this in older Cary, near our small downtown area.

I don't disagree that Chapel is a lovely town BUT the OP said they didn't want a college neighborhood and it is quite expensive for a first time homebuyer. Having grown up in RI, undergraduate and graduate school in Boston, I think I understand the type of small MA town she is referring to. I'd say Hillsborough might be perfect!! Whatever you choose, good luck.

[eloyfan]

katsap, welcome to this great forum! What town are you guys moving from? I can help you with some suggestions if you indicate where you are now in MA, as my wife and I only left the Boston area 4 years ago. Also say what towns/areas of MA you LIKE that may be comparable to places here and we'll drop some ideas here for you.

[katsap]

Thank you all for your feedback so far!
Eloyfan- Currently we are living in Maynard and I love the surrounding towns- Concord, Stow, Bolton, Natick, Wayland. I also liked Newton and Southboro as well. Some places I've lived that I highly disliked were Worcester, Milford, Framingham (most of it), and places too close to Boston for us such as Allston, Brighton, and Jamaica Plain.
Also, just to be a little clearer, I don't dislike the college towns for the area, but more so for the crowds attracted to them. There are some college towns that I do like such as the Brown University area in Providence, RI.
I hope some of this helps! Thanks!
Also, the weather is one of the main reasons we're moving further South- is it really a lot nicer all year?

[eloyfan]

Originally Posted by katsap

Thank you all for your feedback so far!
Eloyfan- Currently we are living in Maynard and I love the surrounding towns- Concord, Stow, Bolton, Natick, Wayland. I also liked Newton and Southboro as well. Some places I've lived that I highly disliked were Worcester, Milford, Framingham (most of it), and places too close to Boston for us such as Allston, Brighton, and Jamaica Plain.
Also, just to be a little clearer, I don't dislike the college towns for the area, but more so for the crowds attracted to them. There are some college towns that I do like such as the Brown University area in Providence, RI.
I hope some of this helps! Thanks!
Also, the weather is one of the main reasons we're moving further South- is it really a lot nicer all year?

Okay, that's a great start! I used to work part-time at Maynard County Club and we moved down here to Cary from Wayland, where we lived for 20 years. I now know more specifically what you are looking for.

Milford/S. Framingham/Worcester= more industrial/blue collar towns. Maynard/Stow/Concord/Lincoln/Sudbury bucolic New England towns.

With these characteristics in mind, many folks here have steered potential transplants with your wish-lists to places like Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. I personally have not yet been to Carrboro, but Chapel Hill/UNC area is very similar to the character of Brown U. I know you would agree. Hillsborough is somewhat quaint and retains much of its historic charm but is not lost in time like more remote older NC towns. We love to visit Hillsborough but I don't think there is the proximity to most amenities you are used to. As far as JP/Brighton/Allston, you will only find bits and pieces of that around Raleigh and Durham. I don't see you living there.

Regarding the weather, we've had several 70-80 degree days in Feb. and March, it is much milder here in the winter but summer gets brutally hot from now through early Sept. We get bad allergies which last much longer too. But we haven't had to shovel but once or twice in 4 winters!

There are numerous areas we can refer you to. Go ahead and DM me and we can exchange email info. Will be away for the weekend but back Sunday night. You have a friend in NC...........

[Francois]

It has a small movie theater, which from my research would be similar to the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill or the Carolina Theater in Durham, I think.

Chelsea, yes, Carolina, no. The Carolina Theatre is a large complex of three theatres, one a huge "performance hall" with two balconies. But, it does get the Indy films and has most of the film festivals that occur in this area.

You might like Pittsboro, Hillsborough or Carrboro, but the latter may be too close to the "college crowd" you disdain.

[Charlton Dude]

Originally Posted by Ugh!!

If you want to live within walking distance to anything, I would not reccomend Cary. Although it is a decent town (clean, quiet, good schools), nothing is really walking distance. Cary is the definition of urban sprawl and suburbia. There's no "small town feal". Also, good luck finding a "local" restaurant. The majority of what you will find are corporate owned chain restaurants.

I would go with Chapel Hill. Much nicer!!!

This is incorrect. Cary is very large, but has multiple activity centers where you can walk and/or bike ride to lots of things. Cary also has many local restaurants, as well as the standard chains. There is much more to Cary than some people may be aware of. Also, Cary blows away Chapel Hill in terms of beauty, political diversity and location. Cary wins hands down.

[KellyCrash]

We drove through Hillsborough one day & I commented to my husband that it reminded me of Massachusetts. That may be what you're looking for.

[NonsenseLion]

Hi, my husband and I just moved to Raleigh from the Worcester area. We are living in Brier Creek, which is about a 20 minute drive from downtown Raleigh and also about 20 minutes from downtown Durham. It is also extremely close to the Research Triangle Park. Pretty good central location to be accessible to different areas. Umstead State Park is also very close by. Chapel Hill is also a very nice area!