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Which has the closest vibe to Asheville, NC? Unfortunately, there isn't much employment aside from the hospitality field in Asheville. Would Durham or Chapel Hill/Carbarro be best for an individual, who is 21, in the tech field who loves food and jam bands? Any vibrant/artsy/foodie/live music areas in particular? Bigger city is better than small. I've heard of 9th St in Durham?
Which has the closest vibe to Asheville, NC? Unfortunately, there isn't much employment aside from the hospitality field in Asheville. Would Durham or Chapel Hill/Carbarro be best for an individual, who is 21, in the tech field who loves food and jam bands? Any vibrant/artsy/foodie/live music areas in particular? Bigger city is better than small. I've heard of 9th St in Durham?
I think Carrboro does, but you'd like Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Durham. There's a great music/artsy/foodie scene here spread out among those towns (near downtown Raleigh too, I just don't know it as well).
Ninth street used to be THE place but now it's more like downtown Durham - Motorco music venue is directly across the street from Fullsteam brewery, and that whole area is a great place to be. The Pinhook is good too.
On Saturdays during the summer there are farmers markets and live music at Saxapahaw.
Lots of interesting tech in Durham - check out American Underground American Underground
All of these towns are fairly small, at least by my estimation. Raleigh is bigger.
Google has a Chapel Hill office, I think - maybe look for jobs there?
I would say Durham simply because it is bigger. Both areas have the vibe you are looking for, and as another poster noted they are a very short drive from each other.
Durham is bigger, has a lot of new downtown growth, and is cheaper to live in than Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
Very true. When comparing Durham to Asheville, Durham is more racially diverse, less hippy, more hipster... Just to use tag words. Carrboro is more hippy if you understand what I'm saying. I love all these towns, but I'd say for ease of access to everything without the modern sprawl of Raleigh, Durham is your place.
Is there a good central location to stay to check out both places?
The LaQuinta on 15/501 would be a good central location - it's at 4414 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707 - I stayed there before my house closed and it's a good place. Good luck and have fun!
Staybridge Suites would be good, too. It's in Durham right outside Chapel Hill at Patterson Place at I-40 and 15/501. Very strip mall-y there, but centrally located.
Can I just say that seeing CARRBORO mispelled in the title of this thread makes me wince every time I glance at it. It's CARR-BORO. BORO like GreensBORO, AsheBORO, GoldsBORO, PittsBORO, WilkesBORO, etc. CARR and BORO. Simple.
Okay, I'm done.
I think you actually would love Carrboro. You might also check out Saxapahaw if you like itty bitty teeny tiny hippie hamlets. Durham is good for bigger city, but has a grittier, more urban, more academic vibe than Asheville. Carrboro has a very academic hipster/hippie vibe, too, but as others noted it will be more expensive than Durham or Asheville.
I don't know about jam bands here. I think there are a few, but I get more of an indie vibe. You'd love Shakori in October. It's this area's LEAF. Hopscotch music festival is coming up in September in Raleigh, and might be worth checking out, too, but it's more rock and less hippie.
Since you're only 21, you might actually like the "college town" vibe of CH/Carrboro more, though it is more expensive there than Durham as mentioned. But they are so close together (some places in CH actually have a Durham phone exchange and probably vice versa), just investigate both, for Durham you'll want to look at the area near Duke East Campus and Brightleaf Square as well as downtown (all contiguous) for the "vibe" you want. No need to consider East Durham, as that is the "slum" area.
Chapel Hill has free buses all over town, which is a big benefit--but again, higher COL. Really you'll need to check them both out, and while La Quinta is centrally located, it's not as if the two places are far enough apart that that really matters.
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