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To me, when the mayor of the town acknowledges there's a problem...there's a problem.
Sure, a couple with two good incomes can live there.
But to push aside the issue of the single person with or without children having a rough time there IS a bit elitist and counter to the liberal ideals that are so prevalent in the town (I am a liberal so I am not liberal bashing).
I love Chapel Hill but to vehemently deny there's a problem is frankly laughable.
I agree its largely the tax rate that makes chapel hill so unapealing
This is ridiculous. The top chapel hill rate is 1.68%, and Cary has the lowest in the area at 0.86. That means on a $300K house, you'll pay $420 a month in Chapel Hill and $215 in Cary. Anywhere else the difference is less (Durham at 1.38% would be $345). I don't believe that this difference in taxes is what will lead people to choose one town over the other.
The type of house available at a given price is by far the biggest issue, and that is driven by the controlled growth policy of Chapel Hill vs uncontrolled growth of Wake Co, which leads to older, smaller houses in chapel hill being priced similar to newer, bigger houses in wake.
no where near the kinda action happening in downtown durham or raleigh
And I think most residents of Chapel Hill are fine with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hey_guy
Unless you work at the universirty or wanna put your kid through chapel hill schools. There just isn't a reason for a working professional to be in Chapel Hill
No jobs
No houses
Then why is CH seeing faster home price appreciation that Durham?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hey_guy
Do you guys even go to Chapel Hill? Do we wanna start talking about the business turnover on franklin street? It's economy is unsustainable. Period.
Do you? You're focusing on small stretch of one street. Did you also notice this part of the article:
"If there's a bright spot for downtown Chapel Hill, it's West Franklin Street. The section, once the forgotten, dimly lit wing of Franklin, now bustles with activity.
West Franklin boasts nationally recognized restaurants such as Elaine's on Franklin and Lantern Restaurant; rambunctious, graffiti-stained rock clubs in The Cave and Local 506; a newly opened Greek restaurant in Kipos; and in West End Wine Bar, a swank hangout for wine lovers.
"Some folks need to be reminded," says Kleinschmidt. "They need to check what their memories really were, because in a lot of ways, particularly on the west end, it's a lot better.""
Quote:
Originally Posted by hey_guy
A city needs a diversity of residents to strive.
I assume you meant "thrive". And you're wrong, it doesn't. Lots of thriving places are economically or demographically homogeneous.
To me, when the mayor of the town acknowledges there's a problem...there's a problem.
Sure, a couple with two good incomes can live there.
But to push aside the issue of the single person with or without children having a rough time there IS a bit elitist and counter to the liberal ideals that are so prevalent in the town (I am a liberal so I am not liberal bashing).
I love Chapel Hill but to vehemently deny there's a problem is frankly laughable.
But rents in CH don't seem to be out of line with the rest of the area? That's what I'm getting at. I don't see where CH rents are any higher than what you see in Raleigh. They are higher than what you see in Durham, but then when you dig into it a bit more to live in a comparable part of Durham to CH the rates equal out.
IMO if all you got to show is more restaurants and bars while one side is crippled at the loss of students your community doesn't have much
And yes I'm sure the university employees and retirees enjoy things exactly as they are but the proof will be known when Chapel Hill's neighbors eclipse her on all accounts and the city can only survive on its absent student population
If you remove the university aspect chapel hill is basically a tourist town and has no real plan for growth and development. Bars and restaurants don't strengthen the community economically.
You can't remove the University!! That's ridiculous. Chapel Hill wouldn't be here at all without the University. The University is the engine. It was here first. That's like saying if you took away RTP nothing would be there — well duh, it's a business park. Chapel Hill is a college town. The university is what it's all about. UNC and UNC Healthcare are two of the Top Ten largest employers in the state!
Quote:
According to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the 10 largest employers in the state of North Carolina are universities, hospitals, public schools, and banks. Duke University in Durham was the state’s largest employer in the 2nd Quarter of 2014, followed by Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital and Wake County Public Schools. The Triangle’s other major research institutions—UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University—were the 4th and 8th largest employers in the state, respectively.
I think more affordable housing is an important goal for Chapel Hill and to be clear I never suggested otherwise. I just took issue with the idea that a family with two professional incomes could not find housing in town. That's just an exaggeration.
the oversimplified reality is that Chapel Hill has an even more activist and controlling government. The Indy article mentions quickly how they made zoning changes in the 80's that restricted growth. Now they're finding out that the individuals don't truly aspire to the utopian community they envisioned and a few long for today.
The undertone here seems to be "nobody wants what you're selling Chapel Hill, you failed". As a real estate professional I'm sure you actually know better than that.
Chapel Hill's population has also doubled since 1980. That might seem like small peanuts compared to Western Wake but nationally that's well above average population growth; and IMO a much healthier and manageable growth rate. I grew up in Western Wake with the constant building and population growth (hell, my dad is a luxury homebuilder). Chapel Hill's development seems much more sustainable and realistic to me. It's not like everything is 1950's Levitt houses either for crap's sake. You have a lot of pre-WWII homes immediately surrounding UNC/Franklin Street/DT Carrboro; a lot of mid-century-1980s/90's homes in the "core" from about Estes to Homestead to the north, Manning to 54 to the South, and 15-501 to 54 bypass east to west....and then newer modern suburban type developments on the fringes; Southern Village, Meadowmont, Lake Hogan Farms, Ballentine, Clairmont, etc. No, it doesn't expand out rapidly with new developments popping up every few years like you see in the 55/540 corridor; but that doesn't mean it's choked or stagnant growth that's being "hindered".
This is ridiculous. The top chapel hill rate is 1.68%, and Cary has the lowest in the area at 0.86. That means on a $300K house, you'll pay $420 a month in Chapel Hill and $215 in Cary. Anywhere else the difference is less (Durham at 1.38% would be $345). I don't believe that this difference in taxes is what will lead people to choose one town over the other.
The type of house available at a given price is by far the biggest issue, and that is driven by the controlled growth policy of Chapel Hill vs uncontrolled growth of Wake Co, which leads to older, smaller houses in chapel hill being priced similar to newer, bigger houses in wake.
I disagree. I looked at houses in Chapel Hill and yes I would be getting less house for my money then in Wake but that was fine. However, I could not afford the taxes so that is the exact reason I did not buy there.
The undertone here seems to be "nobody wants what you're selling Chapel Hill, you failed". As a real estate professional I'm sure you actually know better than that.
I didn't say there was anything wrong with Chapel Hill, per se. I said the socio-political experiment of restricting growth, yet now longing for a "community" that "all classes of people could afford" was overlooking reality.
I've got clients who own homes in Chapel Hill, and they are happy there. Some have kids in the school system, some don't. Some even live in Orange County, and some in Chatham County.
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