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If the idea is to be closer to healthcare, that isn't downtown. Mostly, this area is suburbia! Hard to get too many places without transportation. Walking sounds good but you can only walk so far. I think that is why the 55+ communities have become such a big hit.
Vicki
Yeah... I don't get the obsession with quaint little walkable downtown areas around here because most of them aren't particularly exciting. I do get in in New England. Those are more substantial and really adorable.
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
All of these smaller towns are newer, filled with newer neighborhoods. Some have cute small downtowns but really, how much time does anyone spend downtown???
I'm not sure I understand the fascination with the downtowns area. I'd love help in understanding this.
Vicki
I can only speak for myself, but I am obsessed with walkable downtowns. It doesn't have to be cute or quaint, although that is a bonus. To me, it is all about convenience, non-reliance on a car for every little activity, getting more exercise, not feeling stranded with nothing to do (especially for older children).
For example, I think downtown Hillsborough is a great downtown. If you live within 3-4 blocks of the downtown, you can get most of your grocery shopping done at Weaver Street, if necessary, can go to the library, use the bank, walk to the farmer's market, go out to eat at restaurants, walk to the community center for classes, buy things at the hardware store, and attend church, among other things. I'm not sure if they have doctors and dentists downtown. If so, those are more to add to the list.
Does that mean you will do ALL of your activities walking downtown? No, probably not. But it means you CAN do some of them if you need to or want to. That might mean a stay-at-home mom can be without a car during the week. It might mean a person who cannot drive can still function without relying on others to drive him places. It can mean some self-sufficiency for an older person. It can mean giving older children independence to walk to activities. It also gives a community a foundation.
I know Apex's downtown isn't quite the same scale as Hillsborough's is, but I am sure it has at least some of the same features. I've never seen F-V or Wake Forest's downtown areas, so I don't know how they compare.
I live in a "fake" downtown in Southern Village in Chapel Hill. I know a plethora of people here who do not have a second car. They chose this neighborhood specifically for the "downtown." Without a second car, they can still pick up groceries, get a cup of coffee, walk their kids to a gymnastics class, watch a movie, go out to eat, take their kid to the pediatrician or the dentist, walk their child to school, walk to the park, play tennis or swim, listen to concerts, or lastly catch a bus to another part of town.
It gives some people freedom, saves some people money, gives some people independence, gives some people exercise and gives everyone a sense of community.
I can only speak for myself, but I am obsessed with walkable downtowns. It doesn't have to be cute or quaint, although that is a bonus. To me, it is all about convenience, non-reliance on a car for every little activity, getting more exercise, not feeling stranded with nothing to do (especially for older children).
For example, I think downtown Hillsborough is a great downtown. If you live within 3-4 blocks of the downtown, you can get most of your grocery shopping done at Weaver Street, if necessary, can go to the library, use the bank, walk to the farmer's market, go out to eat at restaurants, walk to the community center for classes, buy things at the hardware store, and attend church, among other things. I'm not sure if they have doctors and dentists downtown. If so, those are more to add to the list.
Does that mean you will do ALL of your activities walking downtown? No, probably not. But it means you CAN do some of them if you need to or want to. That might mean a stay-at-home mom can be without a car during the week. It might mean a person who cannot drive can still function without relying on others to drive him places. It can mean some self-sufficiency for an older person. It can mean giving older children independence to walk to activities. It also gives a community a foundation.
I know Apex's downtown isn't quite the same scale as Hillsborough's is, but I am sure it has at least some of the same features. I've never seen F-V or Wake Forest's downtown areas, so I don't know how they compare.
I live in a "fake" downtown in Southern Village in Chapel Hill. I know a plethora of people here who do not have a second car. They chose this neighborhood specifically for the "downtown." Without a second car, they can still pick up groceries, get a cup of coffee, walk their kids to a gymnastics class, watch a movie, go out to eat, take their kid to the pediatrician or the dentist, walk their child to school, walk to the park, play tennis or swim, listen to concerts, or lastly catch a bus to another part of town.
It gives some people freedom, saves some people money, gives some people independence, gives some people exercise and gives everyone a sense of community.
I do love Hillsborough. That's my definition of a cute, walkable downtown that has enough to do/see that it would be worth it to live nearby.
I don't get the deal with Apex, though. As cute as that little stretch of street might look (when I don't blink and miss most of it), I don't think there's enough there to attract me to live anywhere near it or visit it regularly. Downtown Cary is the same way and it's more spread out.
I'd rather live in a manufactured "downtown" like yours. At least they've set up plenty to do.
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I can only speak for myself, but I am obsessed with walkable downtowns. It doesn't have to be cute or quaint, although that is a bonus. To me, it is all about convenience, non-reliance on a car for every little activity, getting more exercise, not feeling stranded with nothing to do (especially for older children).
For example, I think downtown Hillsborough is a great downtown. If you live within 3-4 blocks of the downtown, you can get most of your grocery shopping done at Weaver Street, if necessary, can go to the library, use the bank, walk to the farmer's market, go out to eat at restaurants, walk to the community center for classes, buy things at the hardware store, and attend church, among other things. I'm not sure if they have doctors and dentists downtown. If so, those are more to add to the list.
Does that mean you will do ALL of your activities walking downtown? No, probably not. But it means you CAN do some of them if you need to or want to. That might mean a stay-at-home mom can be without a car during the week. It might mean a person who cannot drive can still function without relying on others to drive him places. It can mean some self-sufficiency for an older person. It can mean giving older children independence to walk to activities. It also gives a community a foundation.
I know Apex's downtown isn't quite the same scale as Hillsborough's is, but I am sure it has at least some of the same features. I've never seen F-V or Wake Forest's downtown areas, so I don't know how they compare.
I live in a "fake" downtown in Southern Village in Chapel Hill. I know a plethora of people here who do not have a second car. They chose this neighborhood specifically for the "downtown." Without a second car, they can still pick up groceries, get a cup of coffee, walk their kids to a gymnastics class, watch a movie, go out to eat, take their kid to the pediatrician or the dentist, walk their child to school, walk to the park, play tennis or swim, listen to concerts, or lastly catch a bus to another part of town.
It gives some people freedom, saves some people money, gives some people independence, gives some people exercise and gives everyone a sense of community.
This is good information.
So, it makes me think...would I want to live downtown Raleigh so I could walk to some of these shops, grocery store, etc.
Probably not. I don't like downtown Raleigh except for going to a restaurant. Glenwood South has a good amount of nightlife but I've over that!
Living near Cameron Village (west Raleigh) might be good. Plenty to do there, with grocery store and shops, banks and some doctor offices are very close by.
Hillsborough has a cute area but I wouldn't want to be that far from other things so the downtown wouldn't entice me enough to give up the convenience of being able to drive to RDU in 20 minutes.
I'm close enouigh to walk to many things but I'm in North Raleigh. I have walked to the grocery store and Starbucks but don't really make a habit of it. When I go to the grocery store, I get a good amount of things so I'm not walking back with all those bags! Doctor offices are close...maybe l/2 to 3/4 mile but when I need a doctor, I am not walking there!
Brier Creek would be a possibility but again, the shops are spread out enough that I'm not sure you'd want to walk from Target to Petsmart.
Downtown Apex and downtown Cary are cute. Again, not enough to spend every day walking around.
Sounds like a very small town might be the answer. A self sufficient small town. Keep in mind that most of our small towns are bedroom communities that have grown.
When y'all find what you are looking for, I'd love to know what you found that worked for you, if you don't mind sharing!
Well, let me first start by saying we are NOT in any way trying to replicate what we have here. We enjoy each place we visit for what IT offers and we are looking forward to different things.
But I did want to respond to VickiR's question about the "fascination" with downtowns and what that's all about. It appears to be a New England thing perhaps, though I have enountered a few downtowns that I love outside of New England - Zionsville, IN, Carmel, CA, St. Helena, CA, Healdsburg, CA, Sonoma, CA, New Orleans, LA, Williamsburg, VA, Denver, CO, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA. And have also been to Southern Village years ago and liked it, as well as Daniel Island (part of Charleston) and love that - although they are "manufactured" towns. Williamsburg isn't really a "normal" downtown, but it's a hub of activity as all of these are.
Although most are, not all of these are "quaint". Denver is not quaint, but we had a great time. It's got a fairly big pedestrian mall, a couple of different shopping areas, a free trolley to get you around, a HUGE bookstore that we spent hours in, a great brewery, and it's all very walkable if you don't want to take the trolley.
As someone said - you go, park the car, and can walk around and be entertained for a couple of hours. We've had a great time walking around most of these towns, just ambling about, going out to lunch, poking in the stores. We're definitely more laid back types - not mall or giant shopping area types.
I guess the common thread for me now that I think of it is the social and entertainment aspect a vibrant downtown offers, and shopping, but not "necessity" shopping - that's done in strip malls outside of the downtown, or a bigger mall outside of the actual town.
Now that I think of it, it's the restaurants, and strolling window shopping, and the community aspect - concerts on the green, movies on the green, parades, festivals, art shows, the farmers market. Many a time when we're bored, we just walk into town and walk around. There's usually stuff going on, and plenty of people out and about. We might grab a gelato, or pop into the bookstore, or grab a bite to eat at a place we can sit outside and people watch, or pop into the library, or go listen to some live music at one of the pubs, or see a movie at the independent movie theatre. Lots of times there's music by street musicians, or a concert on the waterfront green.
We're not doing our grocery shopping, or going to the vet, or the wine store, or the hardware store, or the doctor or the dentist in town, or buying necessities. The stores are mostly art galleries, jewelry shops, the running store, antiques, artisan stores, etc. They're fun to poke around in but we rarely buy anything other than books at the bookstore unless it's a gift.
Especially when you don't have kids, so you're not meeting people that way, and your non-work time not being taken up with kid's activities, it offers a "center" to go and eat, walk, see other people, browse, etc. Don't know if that makes sense.
It would be a "wish" to have something like that, but it's not a necessity. Other factors like better weather and lower real estate prices are what is driving this move.
Perhaps a smaller "town" would fit better - but we've found in our travels the things we value - good healthcare/hospital, 24 hour vet, etc., aren't available. It's all a tradeoff.
We're excited to come and and see what each of these towns offer. We're very short on time, so not sure if we should add Wake Forest to our list to check out. Thoughts?
Vicki, just curious. What is you don't like about downtown Raleigh?
I too think Hillsborough is adorable. Haven't been for years, but remember it being cute. What's up with the crime though? Seems high for such a small town.
Will definitely report back when we get home. Thanks to everyone for all the help along the way.
Yeah, Savannah was definitely pretty - could imagine living in one of those houses on one of the squares. It didn't seem as vibrant to us as some of the other places we like and crime is extremely high there. But loved visiting.
Yeah, Savannah was definitely pretty - could imagine living in one of those houses on one of the squares. It didn't seem as vibrant to us as some of the other places we like and crime is extremely high there. But loved visiting.
It's quite vibrant, but the crime is higher than what you've indicated you'd like.
I mean, a place where you can go on guided tours of haunted mansions while drinking a martini in the middle of the street is pretty much what I'd have to call "vibrant."
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I think there are two distinct things that people consider when they think of walkable. First, there is a cute little downtown where you can stroll through boutique shops, cafes and trendy restaurants. That is all nice and cute, but to ME, a walkable core means an area where I can live and actually WALK to every thing I need!
Groceries, health care, shopping, schools, entertainment, church, the post office, a farmer's market, preschool, parks and recreation, sports, banks, bus stops that connect me to local places I need to go and can walk from the bus stop.
I like to ask myself this: "Could I enjoy living in this area if I didn't have a car?"
I live in central Cary and we back up to downtown. This area is getting more and walkable in MY definition of walkable. I can actually walk to pretty much everything and often do when they weather is nice. I work 1.5 miles away and have started walking almost every day. I'm forcing myself to walk to things when they are 2 miles or less away (which is basically a 30 minute walk) and I can pretty much do all of that where I live now and I can do it safely (there are sidewalks, cross walks etc). Sometimes I can't but it's mostly limited by a hectic schedule.
That's not to say that central/downtown Cary is anything "vibrant" or even quaint, but it IS becoming more and more walkable, which I find myself really enjoying!
Anyone have thoughts on whether Wake Forest is worth checking out?
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