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Hello everyone,
My family and I may have the option to relocate from Washington DC to the Triangle. At this point, it looks like we could live anywhere in the Triangle. Despite the fact that we are generally happy about where we live now (Alexandria, VA), there are a number of aspects of the Raleigh area which are appealing to us. Specifically, the primarily the cost of living, highly educated, relative (to the DC area) lack of transience , traffic, generally slower pace, smaller city but has culture, etc.
So my wife and I are intending to spend next weekend (14-16th) in the area. Our main intention is to get a feel for the culture of the region and determine if it might be a good fit for us. So we'd love some advice on how to spend our couple days in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill areas. Our hope is to look at neighborhoods to get a feel for where people actually live as well as to attempt to take in the local food and cultural scene. However, to help out here's some info about us and what we're looking for out of a place to live:
We currently live in the City of Alexandria, VA which is an inner suburb of Washington DC. Our neighborhood is filled with older homes (our home was built in 1922) which are are mixture of styles (bungalow, cape cod, colonials, craftsman). It is definitely a neighborhood where every house looks different. We like that. One of our favorite parts of it is that it is very walkable to a "main" street with shops, restaurants, the elementary school, playgrounds, etc. The community gets together quite often for events, etc and that is something that drew us to this area. Our current neighborhood is also abundant with children which is great because we have two (4 and 1) and one one the way! So obviously neighborhoods that are family friendly is important. Not to mention schools are important and we are more than a 'little' confused as to how the public school systems work.
One other major consideration is that our current neighborhood is very diverse (race, nationality, religious/non-religious, sexual orientation, etc.). We highly value that the community is open minded and accepting of all as they are and something we will be looking to try and replace in NC.
Our initial plan is to look primarily at the neighborhoods inside the beltline in North Raleigh (five points, etc.) as well as Chapel Hill. We are going to look at hte various other suburbs (Wake County, Cary, etc) though our expectations are that those might be a drastic difference than what we're used to. Have we missed anywhere? We were also thinking of talking to a couple realtors simply to get their insights on neighborhoods. Is this a good idea or will we just be wasting our time?
We both enjoy music, enjoy the outdoors, and would like to consider ourselves "foodies". Any great restaurants, activities, etc. that are unique to the Triangle and fun for a couple in their early thirties would also be appreciated because outside of looking at neighborhoods we don't have much planned and a weekend without the kids should NOT go to waste! Of course my wife is 5 months pregnant so no brewery tours (...though she could drive...hmm).
Thank you for all your help and we look forward to touring your wonderful city next weekend!
Well, for starters, it's worth emphasizing that the Triangle area is definitely not the DC area, and there's no place around here that's quite like Alexandria. It sounds like you already know that, but I think it's still valuable to point it out. That's not to say that the Triangle is necessarily inferior to the Washington area (although, frankly, in a lot of ways it is), but just that it's different. And you'll always tend to be happier with a place (or with a person, for that matter) if you can accept it and appreciate it for what it is, rather than dwelling on what it isn't. The Triangle has a lot of what the DC area has, but much less of it, by virtue of it being both a much smaller area, and also much newer, having really only boomed as a major metropolitan area over the past 20 or 30 years. The flip side of that is that it is still quite a bit less expensive to live here than it is around Washington, and it's far easier to get around by car here than it is there. Along with that, it's also a lot easier and faster to get out of the Triangle than it is in Washington. As you know, if you live in the District or the inner suburbs there, it takes quite a bit of driving simply to get out of the built-up areas and into the countryside. Something I like about living here is that, for example, even though I live near downtown Raleigh, I can drive for only a little while and start seeing farms and forests. And there are very appealing and inviting rural landscapes in all four directions from the Triangle: generally hilly and wooded to the north and west, flatter and more agricultural to the south and east of here, but all very nice.
That said, I think there are a number of communities around the Triangle that may offer most or all of what you're looking for. I think you've identified the two most natural fits for what you've described: the "Inside the Beltline" portions of Raleigh, and some of the older, inner portions of Chapel Hill (as well as Carrboro, which is adjacent to Chapel Hill and functions essentially as an extension of it). There are actually a number of other places in the area which might also meet your criteria, including several parts of Durham, a few parts of Raleigh beyond the Beltline, parts of Cary, Wake Forest, Apex, Hillsborough, and possibly some of the other towns around here. And since you'll be here scouting next weekend, and since one of the advantages of the Triangle is that it's still quite easy to get around the region by car, you might as well take a look at many or all of those places. But Chapel Hill/Carrboro and ITB Raleigh probably offer the most of what you're looking for. Again, though, there's really no place either there or anywhere around here that's quite like Alexandria, unfortunately.
In terms of culture, I think you should be pretty happy here. For a region of its size, I've been consistently impressed by the level of diversity and acceptance here in the Triangle. The area has large populations of people from a wide range of racial and ethnic groups, and they're generally pretty well integrated and get along well (certainly much better than in the big Northern city where I grew up). People of different sexual orientations, age groups, religious affiliations, and political affiliations are also well-represented here, and the area tends to be friendly towards all. Like anything else, the level of "open-mindedness" of the local population varies, but it's at least adequate everywhere here, and particularly high in the college, hipster, and progressive-oriented portions of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill/Carrboro. So, I think you'll like the culture, and find it reasonably similar to Washington or Alexandria.
Incidentally, you said that "it looks like [you] could live anywhere in the Triangle." Does your geographic location really not matter at all? Is there no need for you to be close to a main office or to the airport or some other specific place? If not, that's a luxury, of course, but it's somewhat unusual. Also, are you intending to rent or buy initially? What's your price range? Do you have requirements in terms of square-footage or number of bedrooms or anything else? Just trying to narrow the focus a little.
And by the way, you also mentioned that one of the things about the Triangle that appeals to you is the "lack of transience," relative to the DC area. I guess this area is probably a bit less transient than Washington is, but honestly it's not a lot less. Particularly in the portions of the region around the RTP and the three big universities, the level of transience in the population here is nearly as high as it is in the DC area. So, in that respect the Triangle may be a slight improvement from your point of view, but perhaps not a big improvement. For whatever it's worth.
Thanks for the input, well definitely try to make it to as many areas as we can. With regard to my job, I'd initially be telecommuting as my company decides where to build an office site so for the purposes of this trip were looking all around the Triangle.
As far as housing, with three kids I think we're looking at 4br. Price range is a bit coming from the DC area. Haven't done enough of the cost of living analysis. Id say we want to stay under 500k.
The Five Points neighborhood is not considered North Raleigh. It's considered Raleigh, "inside the Beltline," also known as ITB.
I think you'd like that neighborhood and around the Cameron Village and Wade Avenue area. You may find more young families in North Raleigh and Cary, however. And you'd get more for your money in North Raleigh and Cary, although the homes are newer and more homogenous. ITB homes are older, have more character, and are at premium prices.
Oh -- go to Irregardless Cafe for a good meal in Raleigh.
Finding a diverse population isn't too difficult here. People have moved here from everywhere. There are some areas that are less diverse than others -- possibly ITB more than other areas because they are probably less transient -- there are probably more people there with deeper roots than "newer" North Raleigh and Cary. ITB has a large Democratic base, but it was also once the home of Jesse Helms.
City-data (outside the forum) has a lot of info about specific neighborhoods that might be worth reviewing.
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 01-07-2012 at 08:02 PM..
I would certainly concentrate on 4 areas as the most like what Alexandria was like the last time I was there and last time it was described to me. Five Points & North Hills in Raleigh, the downtown Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, and downtown Durham around Ninth St/Trinity Park. North Hills won't have the house architecture you're used to - it is more 60's and 70's ranches, split-levels, and 2 stories, but will definitely have the park, school, shopping you're looking for. You might add FOrest Hills in Durham or Hope Valley, as they will have the architecture and close-knit neighborhood aspects, they're just not going to be stroll-to-shopping friendly
The Five Points neighborhood is not considered North Raleigh. It's considered Raleigh, "inside the Beltline," also known as ITB.
Without wanting to derail the topic, you know in my brief time looking into Raleigh this has def confused me. Typically cities have positional identifiers (n,s,e,w,nw,se,etc.) and while it seems Raleigh adheres to this, calling something " north" Raleigh is a completely different meaning. Is North Raleigh an actual place or is it just meant to refer to the suburbs "North ofRaleigh"?
Without wanting to derail the topic, you know in my brief time looking into Raleigh this has def confused me. Typically cities have positional identifiers (n,s,e,w,nw,se,etc.) and while it seems Raleigh adheres to this, calling something " north" Raleigh is a completely different meaning. Is North Raleigh an actual place or is it just meant to refer to the suburbs "North ofRaleigh"?
Yeah, these terms here are not consistently or universally defined. The phrase "North Raleigh" is most often used by people around here to refer to all of the urban/suburban/exurban areas north of the Interstate 440 Beltline, between about Glenwood Avenue/US 70 to the west and Capital Boulevard/US 1 to the east, and stretching all the way up north at least to Interstate 540, and possibly including all of the developed areas north of 540 with Raleigh mailing addresses. Defining it that way, it's a vast area, covering many square miles and hundreds of thousands of residents, and ranging from fairly dense urban development to quasi-rural settings. And it also includes mostly areas within the city limits of the City of Raleigh itself, but also quite a bit of unincorporated but built-up adjacent land as well.
And if it's defined like that, "North Raleigh" is also quite diverse. Most of it is quintessential late 20th century suburbia, for better or worse. Lots of cul-de-sacs, soccer moms, SUV's, etc. But there are actually a number of pockets within North Raleigh with rather different character. And in recent years, some of the inner portions of "North Raleigh" have begun to resemble the neighboring areas Inside the Beltline. The most conspicuous example is the area around North Hills mall, which BoBromhal referred to. North Hills itself is immediately north of the Beltline, so it might be considered to be part of "North Raleigh." But both the shopping center and the surrounding residential areas have been redeveloped over the past ten years or so in more of a "new urban" style, so it's now thought of as fairly distinct from North Raleigh. These designations are indeed confusing and often arbitrary.
I don't have much to add as a recent transplant, but 2 things stand out - this area is very diverse. People come from all over, including other countries to live here. Second, the area as a whole is very family friendly, but what you seek for housing stock will most likely be found outside the subdivisions of the newer areas. We live in Cary (and love it) but we live in a subdivision and that's what we were looking for - our kids a bit older than yours, and it's easy to make friends in the neighborhood, plus we wanted a neighborhood pool. We did also wanted a newer house after living in a 1938 special (PS - love Alexandria!) I think you won't have trouble finding a house you like in your likely price point.
As far as schools - it is confusing. I suggest you visit the county school's website - www.wcpss.net. There is a "NEWCOMERS" tab at the top; there is also a "student assignment resources" tab on the left hand side. If you click on that, you can follow links to put in any address for its school assignment for the coming years.
The North Hills area is literally just outside the Beltline - it is bounded by it; demographically it's very similar to ITB. It's just the difference in architecture, though still, you're avoiding house homogoneity
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