Should we move to NC? (Raleigh, Durham: loft, condo, chapel)

[kafoki]

We currently live in NYC and want to live somewhere less financially draining. We have family in Cary, Raleigh, and Durham, so we would want to be near those areas. Would any towns or cities meet these criteria:

-walkable town center
-great schools (some of the NC public schools sound like they have problems, so we'd consider private school)
-very safe
-some culture (movies, art, music, etc.)
-liberal
-nice people
-good place for a stay-at-home mom
-nice community feeling
-some diversity would be nice

Someone suggested Carrboro - any thoughts? Where else should we consider?

Thanks!

[findinghope]

i thought carboro was nice when i saw it online. then i saw it in person toward the side of chapel hill and i was not so impressed.
i think the thing throwing everyone off is the walkable town...this area is not like NYC in that way. you kind of have to drive everywhere.
Raleigh and Durham have downtown areas, they have culture, there is diversity--and you can find good schools.
if you are looking for a little bit of NYC, i would stick to those bigger cities.

[rnc2mbfl]

I'd look in Cameron Park in Raleigh. It's just Northeast of NC State University, adjacent to Cameron Village (all walkable) near the Glenwood South Entertainment district and just West of Downtown. This area is primarily bounded by Oberlin Rd. on the West, St. Mary's St. on the East, Hillsborough St. on the South and Clark/Peace Street on the North. It's an old school established neighborhood of charming homes that range from modest in size to quite large. It's not cheap but won't be anything compared to NYC.

Walkable to that neighborhood is the following:
1. Cameron Village Shopping Center (the oldest in the city and one of the oldest in the South. It's 6 blocks of mid-upscale shopping
2. NC State University
3. YMCA on Hillsborough (brand new family ymca...very nice)
4. Large new public library in Cameron Village
6. Harris Teeter (grocery) and Fresh Market
7. Post office
8. Restaurants
9. Drug Store
10. Bars and Clubs on Glenwood South (2 blocks East of the neighborhood)
11. Via Hillsborough St., even the downtown museums, Fayetteville St., Performing Arts Center, etc. are within a 10-15 minute walk on nice weekend days are with your kids on weekdays. (you can take a "for tips" pedicab in the evenings to get around downtown)
12. First Friday's Art Walks downtown.
13. Elementary and High School
14. Pullen Park (the best park in Raleigh with lots of children's activities)
15. Aquatics Center

I live between this neighborhood and Glenwood South in a condo and this neighborhood is the only one I'd consider if I ever decided to take the leap into a single family home. It's next to everything but quaint, contained and quiet for an in-town neighborhood. Many of the University's faculty live there so there is a liberal vibe.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by kafoki

We currently live in NYC and want to live somewhere less financially draining. We have family in Cary, Raleigh, and Durham, so we would want to be near those areas. Would any towns or cities meet these criteria:

-walkable town center
-great schools (some of the NC public schools sound like they have problems, so we'd consider private school)
-very safe
-some culture (movies, art, music, etc.)
-liberal
-nice people
-good place for a stay-at-home mom
-nice community feeling
-some diversity would be nice

Someone suggested Carrboro - any thoughts? Where else should we consider?

Thanks!

I don't know if you should move to NC, but you can certainly find what you listed above here in the Triangle. This is a large area with many different citites, towns, and ways of life. Where you find a job may play a large role in which area works best for you.

I would schedule a time to visit your family in this area and make an exploritory trip out of it to see if the area is to yor liking.

Good Luck.

[jln69]

From you thread, I would suggest starting in Chapel Hill. They have great public schools, although the triangle area isn't walkable you might find that you can walk downtown Chapel Hill a little more than you can some other areas. It is liberal. There is some culture their due to UNC influence. You can always take a drive to Raleigh on the weekends. Overall, it is safe despite the the tragedy that just happened the UNC student. I would suggest starting here. You will be closest to your family in Durham, then followed by Cary or Raleigh depending on where they live. Good luck.

[SP2SCV]

Originally Posted by kafoki

We currently live in NYC and want to live somewhere less financially draining. We have family in Cary, Raleigh, and Durham, so we would want to be near those areas. Would any towns or cities meet these criteria:

-walkable town center
-great schools (some of the NC public schools sound like they have problems, so we'd consider private school)
-very safe
-some culture (movies, art, music, etc.)
-liberal
-nice people
-good place for a stay-at-home mom
-nice community feeling
-some diversity would be nice

Someone suggested Carrboro - any thoughts? Where else should we consider?

Thanks!

YES!!!!!!

My top 5 recommendations would be:

1. Cary
2. Cary
3. Southwest Durham
4. North Raleigh
5. Certain parts of Chapel Hill

[MrsRosencranz]

Either Cameron Village In Raleigh or Five Points in Raleigh but I'm thinking Cameron Village is what you are looking for.

[hts]

The *problem* (I use that term loosely) with Cary is the public schools of course. It's bad enough that they're Wake Cty, but even worse is that the school board promotes bussing.

Chapel Hill schools have a national reputation for academic excellence and you don't have to worry about bussing. CH is also much more liberal then the rest of the Triangle (good or bad, you decide). When we lived in CH (Southern Village), we were proudly informed by our neighbors that there are more NY Times subscribers per capita in CH then any other city in the US outside NYC. In the end, it was a little too left-leaning for us. We moved to Phoenix.

[CaliBoy]

Originally Posted by kafoki

-walkable town center
-great schools (some of the NC public schools sound like they have problems, so we'd consider private school)
-very safe
-some culture (movies, art, music, etc.)
-liberal
-nice people
-good place for a stay-at-home mom
-nice community feeling
-some diversity would be nice

I echo NRG's thoughts when I say that an exploratory trip is absolutely necessary and that any information you gain here is one taken for reference, and not necessarily a perspective that will necessarily work for you (it might, who knows).

We came from Los Angeles and found, through living expense only, that we have gained a leg up on our finances just being here. Stress wise, it has increased in some facets for us (local politics, laws, taxes, etc), and decreased in others (less traffic, nicer [for the most part] people, etc). And although we do enjoy living in our home in Durham, I think our personalities would have been best suited for downtown Raleigh living (we love urban loft living) or somewhere, in general, around Cary or Morrisville (since we shop and visit the Cary area often).

As for schools, definitely do your research and contact various schools directly. We do not have any children in the school system here, but the school system is constantly in the media for one thing or another (the bussing issue is such a nonsense one the continues to infect the system, apparently). I'm sure the quality of education varies from one neighboring town to the other, so it pays to talk to people (when you visit and find areas you like, you might want to stop by some of the schools and simply ask questions there).

This is a big move. Plan for a nice stay and investigate the area first hand. If you find an area you like. Get out of the car and walk around a bit. Talk to people and you'll eventually find what you're looking for. It's definitely not NYC here as much as it isn't Los Angeles. But it's definitely no small town either. Other than a few missing niceties, we've not been left wanting when it comes to dining, culture, and entertainment (with exception to the beach, I miss the Pacific Coast terribly).

Good luck!

[saturnfan]

Raleigh is no LA or NYC. Since we lived in both of these cities, we call that a plus, but it could ba a minus for some folks.

The main thing we miss is good public transportation.