Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi there. My husband and I are moving to the area this Fall and trying to figure out where to look at house rentals. We really need a walkable area (walk to shops and restaurants) with a park closeby (dog! plus baby!). Is CHapel Hill about it for us? Or are there other options you'd recommend?
If your budget allows, look in Cameron Park area of Raleigh. It's a historic neighborhood near downtown that is sandwiched between 6 blocks of shopping at Cameron Village and Pullen Park: both are Raleigh treasures. Most of the houses are large and any rental would probably be pricey. But, if you were considering Chapel Hill, this area just may be in your budget.
For daily doggie walking and exercise, Cameron Park even has some integrated park land in the neighborhood where you can toss tennis balls and frisbees for games of fetch. Good Luck!
Also the Woodcroft and Woodlake neighborhoods in Durham, which would have lower-cost rentals than most of the areas already mentioned. Piney Wood Park across from Woodlake has a nice playground for babies/toddlers plus a dog park. Shops and restaurants in Sutton Station; somewhat farther walk down the American Tobacco Trail to the grocery stores, etc at Fayetteville and Highway 54.
I second Old West Durham, Watts Hillandale, and Trinity Park. Much older historical type neighborhoods. Broad St and 9th St are very close and free bus gets you quickly to downtown, Brightleaf, ATC, DPAC, Durham Bulls, and the Golden Belt. Oval Park is nice in OWD and Duke Park in Old North Durham is beautiful.
Woodcroft is good too. The homes are much newer. More subburban feel. Your walkable shops are in strip mall type buildings and quite a bit far from some areas in Woodcroft. They do have pool and playgrounds.
Hey OP! You will definitely hear many different opinions on the best places to live that are walkable and/or convenient to "everything" but its all relative. I would suggest downtown Durham (personal bias) or surrounding neighborhoods mentioned above. Downtown Durham is the upcoming area in the Triangle and has alot of momentum behind it. Within downtown Durham or the surrounding neighborhoods you are within walking distance of some the top restaurants in the area and in the US for that matter. Also, the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC), Durham Bulls, American Tobacco, Golden Belt, Ninth Street, great music venues, and nice boutique shops. The energy downtown is just great. Well that's my two cents. Good luck.
A lot depends on exactly what businesses you want within easy walking distance and what your budget is. There are places in the 'burbs that have lots of businesses and parks right there at the front of the neighborhood and there are places right in/at the downtowns that don't have a grocery store anywhere close, so it just really depends. You can find areas that work in every town in the Triangle.
If you'll be working in Chapel Hill, there's some pretty easy bus service between Durham and CH. Triangle Transit operates two bus routes that end up leaving every 30 minutes or so during the morning and afternoon. UNC gives free bus passes to all of its employees and students that commit to not buying a parking pass. There's also the Robertson Scholars Bus, which is operated by Duke. This bus leaves every 30 minutes during the school year and is a direct route between Duke and UNC. I know quite a few people that ride their bike/walk from the neighborhoods mentioned above (as well as Burch Avenue, Walltown, Duke Park, and others) and then take the Robertson.
Chapel Hill has some lovely walkable neighborhoods (eg for walking a dog) but relatively few neighborhoods where you can walk somewhere (coffee, the grocery, a movie) safely and enjoyably. Meadowmont, Southern Village, downtown Carrboro are all mixed use and very walkable. Try the walkability site Chapel Hill, North Carolina Neighborhoods on Walk Score .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
