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I am looking for opinions and comparisons of Chapel Hill and Davidson. We are mid-50s active retirees. We are interested in pretty college towns, near larger cities for what they offer (medical, shopping, airports, entertainment). We like nature, hikes, lakes, fishing, maybe some boating, as well as quaint downtowns and decent retail. These two seem to fit the bill. How do they compare? What are the differences that may not be obvious...? thanks
Well it is an obvious difference but UNC at Chapel Hill is many many times larger than Davidson. Mainly due to the university and the hospital you don’t really have to leave Chapel Hill (and Carrboro) for the things you mentioned. We have excellent medical care in town, fabulous restaurants, excellent entertainment (check www.carolinaperformingarts.org), fishing and boating and hiking at Jordan Lake and University Lake, fun downtowns in both Carrboro and Chapel Hill and a variety of local retailers as well as a few chains (urban Target) lots and lots of grocery choices.
Also look at Hillsborough, near CH. Historic, on the Mountains-to-Sea trail, not much boating. There is a hospital in Hillsborough but no movie theater. Not sure what you consider decent retail.
It would be a tough call for me. They both have a lot to offer. For boating I'd give the edge to Davidson (Lake Norman) and only Lake Norman has waterfront restaurants and other amenities.
Davison is a smaller version of CH. It also boils down to what you like better - Charlotte or Raleigh. If you really care about college sports though UNC is going to top Davidson. Also, healthcare in Raleigh is going on be much much better than Charlotte. If you care about living in a bigger city, Charlotte is going to be much better than Raleigh.
Davidson is a smaller version of CH. It also boils down to what you like better - Charlotte or Raleigh. If you really care about college sports though UNC is going to top Davidson. Also, healthcare in Raleigh is going on be much much better than Charlotte. If you care about living in a bigger city, Charlotte is going to be much better than Raleigh.
Perhaps but more importantly in Chapel Hill there's UNC Hospitals and 20 minutes away in Durham you have Duke University Medical Center. Raleigh is 30-40 minutes away and does have a good hospital or two but nothing at the level of Duke or UNC.
Either would work IMO, the growth around Lake Norman has pretty much blended Mooresville,Davidson,Cornelius & Huntersville so shopping etc shouldn't be a problem nor health care. You would be closer to the lake & mountain s
It's about 3 hrs from Chapel Hill to the mountains and about 2 hrs from Davidson to the mountains. Conversely it's about 2.5-3 hrs to the beach from Chapel Hill and about 3.5-4 hrs to the beach from Davidson.
The extra hour wouldn't be that big of a decider to me, but all things considered I think Chapel Hill is a little better placed for day trips to the beach. We do them a couple of times a year and take the dog with. We have a family house in Boone, so don't do day trips as much to the mountains since we have a place to stay there, but you certainly could do it if you wanted to. For my money 3 hours one way is about my limit for a day trip. Two hours is more comfortable, so Davidson would have the edge on the mountain trips there, but I think it wouldn't really be worth it to do a day trip to the beach from Davidson.
Chapel Hill is also closer to Washington DC if you want to have a weekend there. Davidson is closer to Atlanta.
It's about 3 hrs from Chapel Hill to the mountains and about 2 hrs from Davidson to the mountains. Conversely it's about 2.5-3 hrs to the beach from Chapel Hill and about 3.5-4 hrs to the beach from Davidson.
The extra hour wouldn't be that big of a decider to me, but all things considered I think Chapel Hill is a little better placed for day trips to the beach. We do them a couple of times a year and take the dog with. We have a family house in Boone, so don't do day trips as much to the mountains since we have a place to stay there, but you certainly could do it if you wanted to. For my money 3 hours one way is about my limit for a day trip. Two hours is more comfortable, so Davidson would have the edge on the mountain trips there, but I think it wouldn't really be worth it to do a day trip to the beach from Davidson.
Chapel Hill is also closer to Washington DC if you want to have a weekend there. Davidson is closer to Atlanta.
Which part of the mountains you talking about? Boone is like a 1.5 drive from Davidson & as the state makes improvements to 73,150 & US 321 that time will improve even more
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