Your favorite place (Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham: transplants, for sale, chapel)
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To all the great people in the state of north carolina... What is your favorite town, city, or area of the state and why? Thanks in advance for your comments!
What is your favorite town, city, or area of the state and why?
If price was no object, and I did not have to work, then Lake Lure for the beauty.
if I have to work for a living, then Durham. It has job opportunities, some cultural amenities; it's somewhat progressive, and the housing is not unreasonable. We all have to make compromises in order to work for a living.
You can't go wrong with the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. Durham is a great city in transition and it has a lot going on for it. Great food from local farms, Durham Performing Arts Center, the Durham Bulls and the redevelopment of downtown have really turned the City around without really snuffing out the feel of an old southern tobacco town. And having Duke as one of the main institutions, you have access to world-class medicine, art, academics and so on.
Chapel Hill is a great town too, but it's really more focused on UNC. Not that there's anything wrong with that as people from all over the world converge on Chapel Hill and make it a place that is truly a crossroads of culture, entertainment, education and community engagement. It's not quite as edgy as Durham, but it has great restaurants, sports and people will make you feel very welcome here.
Wilmington and Asheville present an alternative. Charlotte is also nice, but it's quite a bit more Southern and commerce-oriented, while the Triangle, Asheville and Wilmington are easier to adapt to culture-wise. You go to Charlotte for banking jobs and well-attended churches. You come to the Triangle for a more intellectually-stimulating experience.
I really can't say enough good things about Hillsborough, the town just outside Chapel Hill and Durham where we live now. Check it out - Hillsborough is a great place to live and you are about 15 minutes away from both Chapel Hill and Durham. Hillsborough is a small town, about 6,000 residents, very artsy. Matthew's Chocolates, Antonia's, Ayr Mount, Panciuto, Hillsborough BBQ, both Farmer's Markets and The Wooden Nickel Pub make Hillsborough the best small town I have ever known.
Raleigh is a great city too. It's actually come a long way since I first visited. It has a more spread-out feel to it, though there are some really good neighborhoods in the older parts of the City. I don't spend much time there, but I read recently that Fortune or some magazine like that rated Raleigh as one of the top cities to live in in the US because of all the museums, art, restaurants, schools, cultural events and so on. I was actually surprised to hear that Raleigh had so much going on, it seems kind of a sleepy city sometimes.
If you are in the life sciences, software or telecommunications industries the RDU Triangle area has a strong venture funding community as well. While it's not like Atlanta, Silicon Valley or New York, there are a lot of really bright people here doing cool things in technology and life sciences. It's a great place to start a business - the people here work their butts off and are creative and smart.
And then there's the airport - reachable in 20 minutes or less 99 percent of the time from just about anywhere in the general RDU Triangle area. Direct flights to most major US cities, (non-stop service to SFO starting in July) London, Toronto as well. Served by Southwest, Jet Blue, Delta, United, American - all the majors. The new terminal opened about a year ago I guess and it is so easy to get in and out of RDU you won't believe it.
If you are in to sports and can bear to leave your favorite teams behind, you will find common ground with the other gazillions of fanatics here. My seven year-old daughter had to declare whether she was for Duke or UNC, that's how crazy sports fans are here. But you know what - I'm okay with that because it's like having an instant community to join. And watching the 'Canes is great fun too - who'd have thunk they'd do hockey in the South, but it works!
And probably the most important thing I can talk about when talking about the Triangle is the people. Triangle people by and large are tolerant, worldly, patient, kind, neighborly and smart. Sure, you can drive 30-50 miles in any direction outward and find yourself in parts of the country where dental hygiene, running water, medical care and liberals are in short supply, but even then it's not like it's Mississippi or anything. But the people in the Triangle are proud of what they have built from the ashes of the tobacco warehouses, cotton mills and furniture factories that first built the state. Smart people here know that North Carolina is the success that it is because of things like the private-public partnership that built the Research Triangle Park starting way back in the 50's and 60's. Go look up Bill Friday on Google and you will see the kind of soul that North Carolina creates.
It's also great being in between the beach and the mountains. You can go either way depending on what you feel like doing. The NC beaches are the best in the US for clarity, cleanliness and great water. If you surf, Hatteras rocks. If you like swimming in the ocean, NC is the best. If you are looking for the Jersey Shore, sorry, no help for you here. Try the beach megalopolises like Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and go to NC's towns and cities on the shore for a unique and quiet experience. Save Wrightsville Beach for the college kids.....
The skiing in the mountains isn't like New Hampshire or Vermont, but it's pretty good. Asheville is a great town - the Grove Park Inn is probably the best spa I have ever been to and I've been to many! Lots of hippies, yoga, sprouts, veg-friendly lifestyle, arts and so on.
Thanks for listening!
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 07-01-2012 at 10:51 PM..
Reason: tos violation
You can't go wrong with the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. Durham is a great city in transition and it has a lot going on for it. Great food from local farms, Durham Performing Arts Center, the Durham Bulls and the redevelopment of downtown have really turned the City around without really snuffing out the feel of an old southern tobacco town. And having Duke as one of the main institutions, you have access to world-class medicine, art, academics and so on.
Chapel Hill is a great town too, but it's really more focused on UNC. Not that there's anything wrong with that as people from all over the world converge on Chapel Hill and make it a place that is truly a crossroads of culture, entertainment, education and community engagement. It's not quite as edgy as Durham, but it has great restaurants, sports and people will make you feel very welcome here.
Wilmington and Asheville present an alternative. Charlotte is also nice, but it's quite a bit more Southern and commerce-oriented, while the Triangle, Asheville and Wilmington are easier to adapt to culture-wise. You go to Charlotte for banking jobs and well-attended churches. You come to the Triangle for a more intellectually-stimulating experience.
If you are looking to relocate to this area, check out our house - it's for sale and you can see it on Facebook - search for the Daisy Lynch House. I really can't say enough good things about Hillsborough, the town just outside Chapel Hill and Durham where we live now. Check it out - Hillsborough is a great place to live and you are about 15 minutes away from both Chapel Hill and Durham. Hillsborough is a small town, about 6,000 residents, very artsy. Matthew's Chocolates, Antonia's, Ayr Mount, Panciuto, Hillsborough BBQ, both Farmer's Markets and The Wooden Nickel Pub make Hillsborough the best small town I have ever known.
Raleigh is a great city too. It's actually come a long way since I first visited. It has a more spread-out feel to it, though there are some really good neighborhoods in the older parts of the City. I don't spend much time there, but I read recently that Fortune or some magazine like that rated Raleigh as one of the top cities to live in in the US because of all the museums, art, restaurants, schools, cultural events and so on. I was actually surprised to hear that Raleigh had so much going on, it seems kind of a sleepy city sometimes.
If you are in the life sciences, software or telecommunications industries the RDU Triangle area has a strong venture funding community as well. While it's not like Atlanta, Silicon Valley or New York, there are a lot of really bright people here doing cool things in technology and life sciences. It's a great place to start a business - the people here work their butts off and are creative and smart.
And then there's the airport - reachable in 20 minutes or less 99 percent of the time from just about anywhere in the general RDU Triangle area. Direct flights to most major US cities, (non-stop service to SFO starting in July) London, Toronto as well. Served by Southwest, Jet Blue, Delta, United, American - all the majors. The new terminal opened about a year ago I guess and it is so easy to get in and out of RDU you won't believe it.
If you are in to sports and can bear to leave your favorite teams behind, you will find common ground with the other gazillions of fanatics here. My seven year-old daughter had to declare whether she was for Duke or UNC, that's how crazy sports fans are here. But you know what - I'm okay with that because it's like having an instant community to join. And watching the 'Canes is great fun too - who'd have thunk they'd do hockey in the South, but it works!
And probably the most important thing I can talk about when talking about the Triangle is the people. Triangle people by and large are tolerant, worldly, patient, kind, neighborly and smart. Sure, you can drive 30-50 miles in any direction outward and find yourself in parts of the country where dental hygiene, running water, medical care and liberals are in short supply, but even then it's not like it's Mississippi or anything. But the people in the Triangle are proud of what they have built from the ashes of the tobacco warehouses, cotton mills and furniture factories that first built the state. Smart people here know that North Carolina is the success that it is because of things like the private-public partnership that built the Research Triangle Park starting way back in the 50's and 60's. Go look up Bill Friday on Google and you will see the kind of soul that North Carolina creates.
It's also great being in between the beach and the mountains. You can go either way depending on what you feel like doing. The NC beaches are the best in the US for clarity, cleanliness and great water. If you surf, Hatteras rocks. If you like swimming in the ocean, NC is the best. If you are looking for the Jersey Shore, sorry, no help for you here. Try the beach megalopolises like Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and go to NC's towns and cities on the shore for a unique and quiet experience. Save Wrightsville Beach for the college kids.....
The skiing in the mountains isn't like New Hampshire or Vermont, but it's pretty good. Asheville is a great town - the Grove Park Inn is probably the best spa I have ever been to and I've been to many! Lots of hippies, yoga, sprouts, veg-friendly lifestyle, arts and so on.
Thanks for listening!
What an ignorant, unfounded comment. Sure, the small towns are conservative, but the majority of that comment shows your ignorance. Next time, try not to paint with such a broad brush. It's not very becoming of you. Have you ever spent any time in Mississippi?
Other than that, it was a good write-up of NC.
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 07-01-2012 at 10:01 PM..
Reason: the quote was edited
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HillsboroughHome
Hillsborough is a small town, about 6,000 residents, very artsy. Matthew's Chocolates, Antonia's, Ayr Mount, Panciuto, Hillsborough BBQ, both Farmer's Markets and The Wooden Nickel Pub make Hillsborough the best small town I have ever known.
And probably the most important thing I can talk about when talking about the Triangle is the people. Triangle people by and large are tolerant, worldly, patient, kind, neighborly and smart. Sure, you can drive 30-50 miles in any direction outward and find yourself in parts of the country where dental hygiene, running water, medical care and liberals are in short supply, but even then it's not like it's Mississippi or anything. But the people in the Triangle are proud of what they have built from the ashes of the tobacco warehouses, cotton mills and furniture factories that first built the state. Smart people here know that North Carolina is the success that it is because of things like the private-public partnership that built the Research Triangle Park starting way back in the 50's and 60's. Go look up Bill Friday on Google and you will see the kind of soul that North Carolina creates.
To me, Hillsborough has a very important place in NC's history. When I think of Hillsborough, I think of the Regulators.
What a pompous thing to post about people who live beyond the suburbs. My mother taught me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Oh, yes, & I'm a transplant. . .
Charlotte is also nice, but it's quite a bit more Southern and commerce-oriented, while the Triangle, Asheville and Wilmington are easier to adapt to culture-wise. You go to Charlotte for banking jobs and well-attended churches. You come to the Triangle for a more intellectually-stimulating experience.
Sure, you can drive 30-50 miles in any direction outward and find yourself in parts of the country where dental hygiene, running water, medical care and liberals are in short supply, but even then it's not like it's Mississippi or anything.
Thanks for listening!
Thanks for being a dolt!
What an awful thing to say. Your post was a good rah-rah for all the activity and people-oriented aspects for the state, but not everyone goes for that. Personally, I take my motorcycle and topo maps and hit the backroads and non-busy parts of the state - especially the western and northern part. The parts you denigrate. Gawd While the folks are conservative, for sure; politics and social issues I don't bring up; they are certainly nicer, more polite and display more of that "slow southern lifestyle" that transplants yammer to find and smear as soon as they land.
As for the rest of what you say - it isn't even to be dignified with a response.
Don't let appearances fool you. Some of these slow-talking rural folks are multi-millionaires.
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The Triangle is the place to be!
Oh, yes, & I'm a transplant. . .
While the folks are conservative, for sure; politics and social issues I don't bring up; they are certainly nicer, more polite and display more of that "slow southern lifestyle" that transplants yammer to find and smear as soon as they land.
