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Look to Knightdale for your needs.
Garner is probably too square for you.
Lol! You got to be trolling... k dale and garner? Im sorry, nothing hipsterish about either town... both suburbs of raleigh with a good presencd of nc natives. Though he will get his traffic fix there.
Chapel Hill seems to fit you best from a lifestyle perspective. That commute would be a bummer, though. I know you said you don't mind sitting in traffic and you like it, you're weird. Not that weird- I'm the same way. I kinda enjoy being in stop and go on a 5 lane section of I40 in the capitol city. But every say morning and evening it can get old. I commuted from Carrboro (attached at the hip to CH) to RTP, which is Durham/extreme west Raleigh and it would take, during rush hour, anywhere from 25-50 minutes of stop and go the whole time. Going to NE Raleigh, quite a bit farther, will regularly take you an hour or more. CH is also the most expensive and you will be unlikely to find a decent SFH in that price range.
Durham is the cheapest of the 3 and crime is only a concern if you live right off Alston Ave North of Riddle Rd or anywhere in the area near/behind NCCU. Dowbtown Durham is exploding with new stuff and is "funkier" than Raleigh. I'd recommend south Durham near I-40 perhaps Parkwood or Woodcroft, SoDu is really nice. Driving towards Raleigh in the morning can be a challenge though, that sun glare is legit and slows traffic on the daily. It would take me about 25 mins to get fro SoDu to dt Raleigh when I lived in Woodcroft.
As for Raleigh, obviously that would be the easiest commute. North Raleigh is the most suburban part of the city, but even so it's still relatively built up. Raleigh has the 2nd highest density in the state behind only Carrboro IIRC. Finding a SFH for under 1300 will be a challenge here too, but not completely impossible. It wouldn't be in the hippest or most exciting part of town unless you get really lucky. Cameron Village would be where you want to be, or maybe even North Hills, but both are expensive and there will be no houses in thay price range at all. Right now I commute from midtown Raleigh to RTP and in the morning my commute is 30-40+ mins and in the evening 35-90 mins.
All in all I would recommend South Durham for you. For the record, I've lived in South Durham, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, west Raleigh, North Raleigh and now midtown Raleigh. I moved here in 2014.
The day in and day out of driving from Durham to NE Raleigh would wear me down pretty fast. Then if you have to be at work during ice/snow, you'll start packing and moving to a closer location to work right then.
Start the hipster movement in NE Raleigh. Be the urban pioneer. Use the time saved from not commuting to make your home brew or start an organic farm in the back yard.
While he vibe you are looking for is definitely more prevalent in Durham; personally I'd sooner chop off my own arm than commute to NE Raleigh from Durham every day (though admittedly you would be doing the reverse-commute and going the opposite of most traffic flow).
To each their own!
From your posts it sounds like you are already leaning more towards living in the Bull City regardless. Maybe stay at a long-term hotel there for the first few weeks on the new job and see if the commute is doable for you? If it is...cool! Find a place in a Durham neighborhood that floats your boat (there are plenty). If not; find a place in Raleigh and be a part of growing the hipster movement there.
There are numerous apartments around the NCSU and Avant Ferry Rd area inside the beltline that have reasonable rents, and a short distance from downtown. That's where I'd look, if I were living in Raleigh.
I need others to weigh in on your commute - what about north Durham near the Eno for him?
While it wouldn't be urban, it would be GREAT for your dog, an easy drive to meetups, and downtown Durham is now so expensive you will find your people are buying everywhere.
I would not choose south Durham - though it's lovely, it's not what you're looking for and is very suburban plus seems too far for your commute. If your work was right in south Durham, maybe.
I agree, rent for a while first. Also look in Durham in the South Square area, by the super target (I just remembered you used to live here) - 15/501 near 751.
Raleigh seems so much more expensive...but Durham is catching up there.
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