Job in Greensboro -- where to live? (Charlotte: lease, living in)

[wahoograd]

I just accepted a job in downtown Greensboro, and I was wondering where I should live. I initially considered only Greensboro, but upon talking to some friends, I have started looking into living in Winston as well. I am 25-years-old, not married, socially liberal, and have lived in Charlottesville, VA for the past 7 years. I am ideally looking for somewhere with somewhat of a city feel (I'm aware that neither choice is a large city) with things to do but still smaller in nature with some distinguishable culture to it. I realize how amorphous that sounds -- I mostly just want to get a feel for how common it is for people to live in Winston and commute to Greensboro and whether it would be worth it.

Thanks!

[arbyunc]

The commute between W-S and Greensboro is very common--lots of people do it. That said, I see little reason to commute if you don't have to. Both cities are very comparable regarding amenities and things to see and do. And they're close enough that you can easily get from one to the other to take advantage of all both have to offer. Some people prefer one over the other for different reasons, so you should really try to spend some time in both places to see for yourself. You may find some strong attraction to W-S that would make the commute worth it to you. But it's lots of additional wear and tear on your car, not to mention the fuel costs and wasted time, which are strong reasons to live where you work in my opinion.

[MysteryMT]

I'm 28; I've been living in Greensboro now for 2 years and I work off of I-40 Exit 211 (west side of Greensboro). Since you're mostly looking at commute and "is it worth it information," I can make the following statements:

- Downtown W/S to Downtown Greensboro is 28.8 miles on Google Maps
- Drive time is estimated at 35-45 minutes. Typically traffic isn't bad but an accident on 40, plus assuming you'll work normal hours, you can run right into rush hour.
- Gas cost: Let's say you get 25 miles to the gallon. Stop, start, waiting time, I'm going to guess you'll use 2-3 gallons just commuting per day. Gas is about $3.50/Gallon.

Daily Cost for living in Winston is 75-100 minutes of time plus $8 to $12 in gas.
Weekly Cost for living in Winston is 6h 15m to 8h 20m of time plus $40 to $60 in gas. (5 day work week)
Yearly Cost of living in Winston is 14 days to 18 days of time plus $2,080-$3,120 in gas.

I'd say spend the first year or at least sign a short lease in Greensboro and scope out W/S in your free time. Then if you think it's worth it make the move.

[drrckmtthws]

Honestly in my opinion I would just stay in Greensboro and if I had a job in downtown Winston I would stay in Winston, both cities have nice things going for it, and it's really like a coin toss of who you ask of which city is better. As far as where to live, I don't know if you are opposed to living and working in the same area but if you are not you can check out city view or greenway at fisher park which are right downtown. If you do end up going with Winston, if you ever get tired of driving back and forth you can take the PART bus, but it will ad an extra 30 minutes or so to your trip.