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Hello!! I am a young professional, looking for apartments in the area. I'll be working just outside downtown Chapel Hill, but I'm having a hard time finding decent apartments for the money. I've see other places, where I'd get more out of my money, in towns like Cary, Morrisville, and Durham. Although Google says it would be 30-40 minute commute to work, do you think it would be worth it? Essentially, what is more important-- distance from work or quality of apartment? What's the daily commuting population like? In other words, do people in the area have quite the commute to work, or do they generally live where they work?
personally i think chapel hill is a neater place for young professionals, so given both the commute time and the extra money you'd be spending on gas every day i would try to find something close to work. have you checked out carrboro?
I just hope that Chapel Hill won't be too crowded with loud, obnoxious college students. I've been looking at Carrboro, as well.
from what i remember there is really just one main street of "college student" bars (franklin st) and anywhere a few streets off from that or more should be fairly calm. you're not going to want to live in that stretch anyway bc everything will be either too expensive or student housing. when you get to where franklin meets main there are a bunch of hipster bars and things leading into carborro. the whole area might not be your thing, though. thats up to you of course. durham would be a more realistic option than morrisville or raleigh with the commute. there are a few decent spots in the area between durham & chapel hill along 15-501 as well. during my last year living in durhm my roommate was a senior at unc and it took her about 45 minutes to get there with traffic in the morning and stuff. we lived right by duke. some people our age like durham but personally im not a huge fan.
i will add that durham is CHEAP, though. we had a decent 2 bed/2 bath for 675 a month. again you're back at the original question- commute vs. apt. i know chapel hill apartments are more expensive but i couldn't give you a number range.
Essentially, what is more important-- distance from work or quality of apartment?
Only you can answer which of these is more important for YOU. There are people in either camp.
Quote:
I just hope that Chapel Hill won't be too crowded with loud, obnoxious college students. I've been looking at Carrboro, as well.
Well, it is a college town and uptown Chapel Hill is full of the 20somethings, but they aren't loud or obnoxious except on weekends or after ball games (definitely avoid downtown CH after big basketball games. In case you didn't know already, college basketball is a religion in this area). But there is definitely plenty of Chapel Hill that's not the university, and a lot of retiree wealth there.
Carrboro is more hipster/Bohemian and a lot of grad students live there. At one time, it was known in the alternative music scene as a "little Seattle", and it had the first openly-gay mayor elected in NC, way back in 1995 (which is still a very rare occurrance). It is right on the border with Chapel Hill and perpetually serves as CH's "redheaded stepchild" as far as recognition, but many like the vibe better there. It would be cheaper than CH, but like any exurb of a fast-growing area, housing prices are rising there as people are priced out of Chapel Hill and other parts of the Triangle.
Of note: The Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system is generally presumed to be the best in NC, and with that comes a premium in cost of living. If you don't have children, it might not be worth it to you to pay the higher COL right now. There are still parts of Orange county that are not CH/Carrboro but are close enough in to CH for commuting. Hillsborough is a nice "artistic" town north of CH with a lot of commuters--though I wouldn't be surprised if the COL is rising there, too.
You might look into Mebane (pronounced "Mebbin") which really is still a "small town" (for now) and not a horrid commuting distance.
Again it will come down to your personal preference of being near work vs home vs play.
I wonder if anyone else has an opinion on Carrboro?
If it were me, I would look at the Crest at Westend. It has a heated indoor pool, workout room, billiards room, indoor racquetball court, BBQ areas, etc. Rents are advertised at $581-659/month. (The ratings aren't that good however, but the price per square foot is great.)
Last edited by goldenage1; 06-21-2012 at 11:56 AM..
Bookish, although it pains many to say it, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are essentially the same town. I think most people who don't live in the area really wouldn't notice the difference. I live in Chapel Hill (have for almost 30 yrs), but am in Carrboro pretty much every day. The distinction is pretty much irrelevant for everyday living. There are different municipal governments, but the same school system, etc. I don't think your rent is going to vary much from one to the other. And, yes, I would rent in Chapel Hill or Carrboro over other areas in the Triangle. If I had to rent elsewhere I would probably look at Durham, and definitely not Raleigh or Cary or Morrisville—just too far. Carrboro is almost like a borough or neighborhood of Chapel Hill as far as living in either town goes. Combined they still make a small town.
A lot of people choose to live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro and commute to RTP, Durham, or Raleigh to work, but few people live in Raleigh or Morrisville and commute to Chapel Hill. You might not make as many connections if you did it that way.
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