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My fiance and I are coming to check out the Triangle area Labor day weekend and are looking for suggestions of things to do that will give us a flavor of the area, as well as suggestions of neighborhoods we can explore that we might like to move to.
A bit of background: We are 28 years old, no children (yet), 1 small dog. I am a physician assistant and he is an attorney. I am aware we should have jobs prior to moving, so no need to recommend that. Proximity to a hospital is not important for me but my area of specialty is cosmetic dermatology, so any area that is big on elective procedures would be good to know about. Relative convenience to the area court houses would be good for my fiance. We are originally from NY, but have been living in FL since 2008 (and yes, I am aware of the half-back phenomenon). We currently live in the Orlando area. For those familiar with that area, we enjoy living in the Maitland/Altamonte Springs/Winter Park area due to the proximity to a variety of stores and activities, farmers' markets, community events, movie theaters, non-chain restaurants, parks, etc. plus it's convenient to large venues such as the Amway Center (sports and concerts) and Bob Carr (smaller concerts and theater productions), as well as being convenient to the airport. Despite these conveniences, there are a lot of things we don't like about Florida, prompting our desire to look elsewhere. Initially we would be looking to rent to get the lay of the land and make sure we want to settle there prior to buying a home.
Any particular towns/neighborhoods come to mind? Any good farmers' markets, park activities or neighborhood events we should check out that would be going on that weekend? Thanks in advance.
I would check out downtown Raleigh, Cary, Apex, maybe Morrisville. Raleigh has one of the largest farmer's markets in the nation open 365 days a year off of Lake Wheeler Road near downtown Raleigh. There's also plenty of neighborhood farmer's markets on Saturdays. As far as neighborhood events, Labor Day weekend seems to be the last gasp at going to the beach and having cookout parties so I'm not sure of many organized events going on around town. But then again it's still early and those sorts of things haven't been publicized yet this year.
due to the proximity to a variety of stores and activities,
Raleigh has a couple of malls, Durham has a mall, Cary has a mall. All cities and towns have activities.
farmers' markets,
The largest one in the area is in Raleigh, not in a great area, but it's easy to get to from anywhere in Raleigh or Cary. In the summer months, there is a small one in North Hills, an upscale shopping area in Raleigh. It's fun to go to.
community events, movie theaters,
Every Triangle city and town has community events and movie theaters, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill (which is much smaller than Raleigh and Durham), and Cary.
non-chain restaurants, parks, etc.
Durham has more non-chain restaurants, I believe, than Raleigh, but we don't go hungry here in Raleigh. There are non-chain restaurants and, of course, good chain restaurants. As a resident of the Triangle, you can always drive to any area and eat for the evening or weekend afternoon.
plus it's convenient to large venues such as the Amway Center (sports and concerts)
I can't tell you the names of everything because they seem to change all the time. Raleigh has plenty of options as does Durham (Durham Performing Arts Center). There are college sports, too, and there's the Durham Bulls, and Raleigh has hockey.
and Bob Carr (smaller concerts and theater productions),
We've enjoyed productions in Raleigh and in Chapel Hill (Paul Green Theatre).
as well as being convenient to the airport. The airport is in the middle of everything and so is very convenient. (Look at it on a map to see what I mean.)
Someone said something about living in downtown Raleigh. You'll have more choices and more resources (shopping, activities) elsewhere. Most of the Triangle area is suburban in nature.
The best thing to do is to find somewhere central and consider yourself a Triangle resident and take advantage of all the area has to offer.
If you lived in Raleigh or North Raleigh, it would be convenient for your husband to get to downtown Raleigh's courthouses, and there are plenty of hospitals and medical offices around for you. You could also live in Raleigh and work in Cary, or you could both live in Cary and work in Raleigh. (Cary and Raleigh are right up next to each other.) Or live and work in Cary.
There are a lot of doctors' offices in the Lake Boone Trail (that's a road in Raleigh) area, near Rex Hospital.
You have lots of options.
Of course, living in the Triangle as far as things to do pales in comparison to having fun in Orlando. But you can still be as busy as you want to be.
farmers' markets,
The largest one in the area is in Raleigh, not in a great area, but it's easy to get to from anywhere in Raleigh or Cary.
The State Farmers Market is "not in a great area"? How so? It's right next to the Dorothea Dix campus, Boylan Heights, Caraleigh, and N.C. State's Centennial Campus, which are some of my favorite areas in Raleigh. And it's close and convenient to downtown Raleigh, the Greenway, the Beltline, Pullen Park, and N.C. State's main campus. Seems like a pretty great area to me.
The State Farmers Market is "not in a great area"? How so? It's right next to the Dorothea Dix campus, Boylan Heights, Caraleigh, and N.C. State's Centennial Campus, which are some of my favorite areas in Raleigh. And it's close and convenient to downtown Raleigh, the Greenway, the Beltline, Pullen Park, and N.C. State's main campus. Seems like a pretty great area to me.
ok, if people havent noticed by now i love brier creek, which i think would be the perfect place for you to visit. the only thing you listed that isnt a big thing in brier creek is non-chain restaurants, but there are some good ones in the vicinity such as Angus Barn, Brasa, Trali, and Azitra to name a few. and the traffic is not bad here no matter what people tell you, i've lived here for five years and i've never had any issues.
-20 minutes to the farmers market
-20 minutes to downtown(location of Wake County Courthouse)
-literally 3 minutes to RDU international
-movie theater located in development
-3 or 4 dental offices in the development
-5 minutes to Umstead State Park
-a plethora of stores for shopping in the development but there are 3 malls within 15 minutes away
-development is built around a country club with homes for sale
-check out Frankie's for fun activities
-easy access to I-40, I-540, and I-85 which makes traveling a breeze
I could go on........
Last edited by theedeadmau5; 07-25-2012 at 11:26 PM..
I don't normally recommend Cary (I live there, we have more than our fair share of half-backs already)
In your case, I do recommend it. Cary (especially near Harrison Ave/I-40) is close to RDU, close to downtown Raleigh, and close to several major hospitals AND we have a large selection of plastic surgery practices. Plenty of money. Plenty of elective surgery.
This place might just be for you.
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+1 for the North Hills Saturday Farmer's Market, it's really nice, generally has live music, and an excellent selection of farm goods, cheeses, meats, crafts, pastries.
Other good Saturday markets in the area are at Waverly Place in Cary, off Kildaire Farm and Tryon Roads, right by WakeMed Cary (so you would know where at least 1 hospital is!). It's a newer, smaller market, but the venue is great, and it's nice to grab a coffee at Fresca Cafe). Then there's Western Wake Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings; good sized market, lots of vendors for a Saturday market, but unfortunately, nothing much else in the area that I know of on weekends. No spot to stop and get coffee and get the vibe of the area. I know they've talked about moving this market to a better spot (it's open year-round), but not sure if/when that's happening. Also I'm not sure how to describe where it is. I know how to get there from my house (not that THAT would help you), and I can kinda say it's in an area that I'm not really sure if it's Cary or Morrisville. Anyone have a better description?
The State Farmer's Market, which so many have mentioned, is open year-round, and is very large. However, there are sellers there that are more re-sellers than growers. Yes, there are also many growers, but it just kinda bugs me, going to something called a Farmer's market, and seeing produce that's clearly out of season in this area. I tend to frequent the Saturday markets for this reason. Also, more organic and sustainable produce at the Saturday markets. None that I know of at the State Farmer's market.
Interesting question. Winter Park native here (grew up on Lake Sue in the 80s/90s) so quite familiar with the area you're talking about.
There's no EXACT one location in the Triangle that exactly matches the Altamonte Mall-Winter Park Village axis, so here's some thoughts:
- Farmer's Market: The state farmers' market in Raleigh is very much unlike the WP farmer's market off New York Ave. It's got more of a commercial, big-farmer feel, not quite the community destination that WP's event is and without the charm. Neither Carrboro nor Durham have the cool old railroad station, but both their farmers markets have more community feel, plus some prepared foods and other items (in Durham, at least, from food trucks and a craft market.) Haven't been to North Hills' FM but might be worth checking out.
- Big-box shopping: Thank God there is no 434/436 equivalent in the Triangle. We're a car-centric community, but development isn't sprawled out along 4-6 lane highways as it is in Durham, with a few exceptions (Capital Blvd. in the Raleigh-Wake Forest area comes to mind -- the area around Triangle Town Center will make you think you're near the Altamonte Mall or perhaps the new big-box centers out east on 50.) In areas like Cary/Morrisville, Brier Creek and south Durham, you will find dense nodes of big box shopping but more integrated into local roadways.
- Community shopping: Lots of popular local stores but you need to find the right destinations to get away from the big-box. Areas around Duke and UNC, Cameron Village/downtown/Five Points/North Hills in Raleigh are good examples. For theater, Durham's performing arts center was #1 in the US and #2 worldwide in single-site ticket sales in the most recent Pollstar report; downtown Durham's Carolina Theatre was #88. There are plenty of good community theater and arts activities particularly in Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill.
- Non-chain restaurants/cultural activities: Again, the core cities will have a surplus of these and more. Out in the distal suburbs like Holly Springs/Fuquay-Varina, these haven't arrived yet. Durham and Chapel Hill were named America's foodiest small cities a couple of years ago, and there are some chefs in Raleigh doing wonderfully. Parks and greenways are terrific throughout the Triangle; Cary is best known for them (and has some of the best), but the core cities all have useful greenways and there are assets like Umstead State Park in Raleigh and the Eno River parks in Durham.
- Cosmetic surgery: All the scions of Long Eyeeeland move to Wake Co. suburbs, it seems, particularly the Cary-Wake Forest axis. 'Nuff said. Though, you have upscale areas in all of the major Triangle cities that support this.
Where to live? You've got a tough one. The work-proximity would tend to make one recommend Cary/Morrisville, but on the other hand, I think you'd find them more Lake Mary/Longwood than Winter Park/Maitland. They're boom-'burbs which veer towards the chain-restaurant life, though "living is easy" in a suburban sense.
If you're looking to be closer to culture and more traditional communities -- in the Maitland or Winter Park sense -- inside-the-beltline neighborhoods of Raleigh, the areas around downtown Durham, or Chapel Hill are where I would look.
Chapel Hill: Think Winter Park except the genteel bankers and financiers are replaced by left-leaning college faculty. No one will confuse Franklin St. with Park Ave., though Franklin St. in some ways reflects Park Ave. back in the late 80s/early 90s, when landlords held the rents too high and mid-scale national chains stepped in for a while until the street's renaissance. Franklin is known more for great dining than great shopping these days, but CH's core has wonderful character. OTOH, if your husband is working more in Wake and Durham Co., it's the longest commute to a courthouse, and the Orange Co., NC courthouse is in Hillsborough.
Raleigh: easy commute out to Cary and other 'burbs for work, great near downtown neighborhoods. The Cameron Village area sort of reminds me of Maitland -- relatively dense, closer to the downtown/urban core, lots of shopping, access to arts -- and the neighborhoods throughout downtown Raleigh have a lot more character than you will find in the suburbs.
Durham: no easy parallels to central Florida. Personally, I love it here, because of old industrial spaces, a very entrepreneurial community with locally-owned businesses, educated public, progressive politics. Some of the neighborhoods around downtown very much resemble Edgewater/College Park in Orlando; others will remind you more of Parramore, sadly, a consequence of the loss of an industrial base of tobacco and textiles. The presence of Duke adds lots of faculty/staff/students and a stable economic base. Coming from Winter Park, I actually prefer Durham because of the strong sense of community, something I always found lacking in the gentrifying WP over the past decades.
Cary/Morrisville/Wake Forest: As noted above, think northern Seminole Co.
Clayton/Mebane/other far out points: Think Volusia Co. Drive-till-you-qualify exurbs for the Pinterest set (sorry, it has to be said) or mid-market retirees' havens. Lots of chain shopping, tough (and growing tougher commutes), more affordable.
The good news? There is no Kissimmee here.
As a Florida refugee who would never live in his home state again -- as much as I miss the brick-lined streets and Mead Gardens and the Cady Way Trail and so forth -- hope you enjoy your NC visit!
I don't normally recommend Cary (I live there, we have more than our fair share of half-backs already)
AND we have a large selection of plastic surgery practices. Plenty of money. Plenty of elective surgery.
This place might just be for you.
hah true. My mother-in-law could help fund the OP's career alone.
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As a resident of the Triangle, you can always drive to any area and eat for the evening or weekend afternoon.
