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I loved Richmond's Fan, and I adored Carytown even more! Are there places in Raleigh like this?
Mainly I mean walkable convenience... I'd love to spend a Spring evening walking along the sidewalks, window-shopping the various and eclectic shops, experiencing a delectable diversity in restaurants (yum!), as well as visiting venues for the fine arts (music, dancing, theatre, art, etc.).
I'm sorry you never got a response. I grew up in the fan (and, later, over by UR), and I've yet to find a "real" comparison here. There are places with a somewhat related vibe like Cameron Village, but the fan is an early 20th century creation and there aren't many of those around here. Maybe in Chapel Hill?
I loved Richmond's Fan, and I adored Carytown even more! Are there places in Raleigh like this?
Mainly I mean walkable convenience... I'd love to spend a Spring evening walking along the sidewalks, window-shopping the various and eclectic shops, experiencing a delectable diversity in restaurants (yum!), as well as visiting venues for the fine arts (music, dancing, theatre, art, etc.).
I am embarrassed to say that as a recent college grad ten years ago, I lived in Richmond and spent all my time in... Short Pump. Made it to the Fan once in a year's time. Sad, especially given that those are the kind of neighborhoods my wife and I love!
Best bets: check out downtown Durham area, downtown Raleigh area, Carrboro, parts of Chapel Hill near downtown. Not sure you'll find an exact match, but all these areas have awesome walkable neighborhoods and local stores.
Glad to have some replies on this one. I've visited the Triangle a few times and never quite found anything like the Fan. Next time, I'll give Carrboro and the other places a try.
I loved Richmond's Fan, and I adored Carytown even more! Are there places in Raleigh like this?
Mainly I mean walkable convenience... I'd love to spend a Spring evening walking along the sidewalks, window-shopping the various and eclectic shops, experiencing a delectable diversity in restaurants (yum!), as well as visiting venues for the fine arts (music, dancing, theatre, art, etc.).
TerrahMother, we live in downtown Apex and love walking to all the stores and restaurants downtown, as well as the Halle Cultural Arts Center and Town Campus (many outdoor concerts). Plus there's a farmer's market every Saturday, and many downtown festivals during the year.
oops - i just saw this today, as well. sorry you didn't get any replies to your initial post. i am a born & raised VA girl (midlothian, here) who did her fair share of visiting in the carytown area especially (& just a bit in the fan).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bull City Rising
Best bets: check out downtown Durham area, downtown Raleigh area, Carrboro, parts of Chapel Hill near downtown. Not sure you'll find an exact match, but all these areas have awesome walkable neighborhoods and local stores.
the triangle area really does not have the larger citywide area that offers a chunk large enough to be like the fan & carytown districts in richmond but
i would agree with bull city rising that there are really no areas that i would truly consider comparable to the fan or carytown area. i think that downtown durham, perhaps some of downtown raleigh (glenwood south & warehouse district) could be close, as well as some of carrboro & chapel hill (though i don't know either of those areas well, just the general flavor of them).
I loved Richmond's Fan, and I adored Carytown even more! Are there places in Raleigh like this?
Mainly I mean walkable convenience... I'd love to spend a Spring evening walking along the sidewalks, window-shopping the various and eclectic shops, experiencing a delectable diversity in restaurants (yum!), as well as visiting venues for the fine arts (music, dancing, theatre, art, etc.).
Not that I have seen. I lived in Richmond in the 80's where you got mugged, shot, and raped in the fan. They say it's all nice and family oriented now, the same for Church Hill which was gangbanger heaven in the 80s- - but to me, it's like lipstick on a pig - memory of the not-to-distant past is etched in my brain.
Richmond is a much older and denser than Raleigh (or any city in the triangle for that matter), and as such has much more to offer when it comes to window shopping in urban neighborhoods.
Downtown Apex is probably the best, most family-oriented downtown in the triangle. It's nice to visit and very quaint, but it's not very big so you can probably do most everything there is to do inside of a day.
Hillsborough and Fuquay-Varina also have walkable little downtowns definitely worth visiting but their shopping areas are smaller still than Apex.
Cameron Village has some fancy boutiques. It was built around 1950 and it feels like a cross between an urban shopping district and a 1950s strip mall. It is organized in blocks but there is a row or two of parking between each block. It is pretty quaint and fairly pleasant to walk around in. There's a lot of stuff to explore here.
Downtown Raleigh is excellent for restaurants and nightlife, but the shopping opportunities are limited and somewhat spread out.
Can't speak much to Durham or Chapel Hill
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