My husband and I took a quick 4 night trip to Raleigh. We got a quick "taste" of the area, but of course, I don't presume it is nearly enough time to make a decision to move to Raleigh. I think it is someplace we could move to in 5-10 years depending on where our life situation is at that time. For now, we just bought a house in CA and are starting a family so we'll be staying here in the meantime. Anyway, onto the trip report...
We were able to use our airline miles for airline tickets, and decided to stay in 2 really nice places. We stayed in the Umstead in Cary for 2 nights and Cameron Park Inn in Raleigh for 2 nights...you can see my reviews for those here:
StandingRoomOnly - Member Reviews - TripAdvisor.
Our first day we drove a little around Cary and down into Apex and Holly Springs, where we then stopped at Bass Lake. There were a handful of people fishing, and a family that had just rented a canoe to go out on the lake. Driving through those areas the impression was of a typical "midwest small town" (from my experiences living and traveling in the midwest - WI, MO, NE, IL, etc)--quiet, laid back, lower-mid income neighborhoods (that we drove though), chain fast food joints. We drove to look at some homes in Cary, but we didn't see much of Cary. Neither of us were impressed with what we
did see in Cary, other than loving all the trees in the area (it was that way during our whole trip though). There were nice houses (in that they looked newer and were big), but found a staleness about them (at least in Cary).
We did eat at a good Italian restaurant in a shopping center on Harrison Ave off of Highway 40 in Cary. I can't remember the name, but it was very good. In fact, we ate at some great places while in the area. I used citysearch a lot to make sure we were eating at places with great reviews, but for those worried about the quality of food--we found what we ate to be very good.
Cafe Luna in downtown Raleigh was excellent too--the cheesecake there is amazing! We also ate at The Pit and got to experience some NC bbq. I really liked the vinegar based sauce. We walked around downtown one of the days while staying at the B&B. We went to the history museum and checked out the pirate exhibit (not very big but decent and some interesting info about pirates we didn't know before). We noticed a handful of eclectic stores, art galleries and restaurants on our walk downtown. I was tempted to check out the Marbles Museum even though it's for kids, but we didn't get there.
One thing that really surprised me about everywhere we went--not all Caucasian people! Now, I think mostly because in the Bay Area where we are living, there are very few African Americans, but tons of Asians and Hispanics and Caucasians. There are African Americans in the Bay Area, but tend to be in large pockets/areas like Oakland or Richmond or SF and only sporadically seen around other suburban areas. While in the Raleigh area it sometimes seemed like a 50/50 split between black and white. Positive thing is I didn't get the vibe of much racial tension or segregation. We saw more interaction among black/white than in the SF Bay Area. I don't think we were expecting that, but from first impression, I think it's a good thing. Either way, I'm sure we didn't get the full picture, but it was a surprise to us.
Overall, our impression was that people were very friendly and much more willing to strike up a conversation than those in the SF Bay Area (who mostly like to keep to themselves). This was really refreshing being able to break this barrier and talk to random people.
We drove to Durham another day to see Duke University (very beautiful!) and the beautiful gardens near the campus. The gardens were absolutely gorgeous. I recommend checking it out.
Our favorite area (that we would love to live if we move to Raleigh area) was around Park Ave in Raleigh (Cameron Park subdivision). The homes are unique, older style and neighborhoods just had a good lively (but still laid back) vibe to them. Granted, this is an expensive area, but our fave nonetheless.
One thing I will say after checking out house prices in the area and actually seeing the homes in person--IMO the area as a whole is overinflated in price. I do think prices will be coming down some (eventually)--at least in certain areas.
Overall, it was a relaxing trip and glad we got to check it out for future-potential as a place to live. We weren't head-over-heals, but by the end of the trip, it definitely felt "comfortable" and like we could be happy living there to raise our family.
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