Suggestions sites/activities? Summer heat/mosquitoes? (Raleigh, Durham: rental, chapel, new home)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We are coming to hopefully live in Chapel Hill, airbnb booked for all of June, and if we like it then we buy a house or rent a house/. A little concerned coming in peak heat humidity and mosquito season--- what is the length of the mosquito season in the Chapel Hill area? Should we plan to mostly stay indoors, in cars, inside other venues? Any suggested places we should be certain to see, things to do in our first couple of weeks as we decide if Chapel is the area to live? Coming from almost an entire life in northern Minnesota. Done with winters, NC seems close to MN in terms of the outdoors so I hope NC becomes a new home state. Visited NC a couple of years ago-- Asheville (beautiful area but very hilly), then drove to Wilmington (too crowded), then drove down to FL (talk about steamy sauna heat), the emergency brought us back to MN for a couple of years but now we are gypsy free to come try out NC again!
You're coming from Minnesota where people consider the mosquito to be the state bird? You probably won't notice them much here by comparison.
The humidity is another matter. It'll be hot and humid, and air conditioning will be your best friend. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors.
I've never had a big problem with mosquitoes and I've lived in NC for most of my life. If I'm outside on the patio and I notice then, I'll put on some bug spray and maybe light a citronella candle. Now every now and then I'll come across some place with lots of mosquitoes - a campsite or a beach rental usually - but that is the exception, and even then, usually at dusk and not all day long.
I tend to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible from spring to fall. Al fresco dining, drinks on patios, cycling or hikes in the morning, hanging out by the pool. When it gets into the 90s, I try to avoid riding in the heat of the day, mowing until right before dark, etc. But I find I do much better acclimating to the heat and humidity than staying inside all the time. I really can't stand places with the a/c cranked high in the summer. Take the edge off the heat and control the humidity, sure, but don't freeze me out.
I've never had a big problem with mosquitoes and I've lived in NC for most of my life. If I'm outside on the patio and I notice then, I'll put on some bug spray and maybe light a citronella candle. Now every now and then I'll come across some place with lots of mosquitoes - a campsite or a beach rental usually - but that is the exception, and even then, usually at dusk and not all day long.
I tend to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible from spring to fall. Al fresco dining, drinks on patios, cycling or hikes in the morning, hanging out by the pool. When it gets into the 90s, I try to avoid riding in the heat of the day, mowing until right before dark, etc. But I find I do much better acclimating to the heat and humidity than staying inside all the time. I really can't stand places with the a/c cranked high in the summer. Take the edge off the heat and control the humidity, sure, but don't freeze me out.
Awesome information, and I am like you I really do not like high AC, I prefer when possible to have (screened) windows open, fans, smell the natural air. I am just a little worried on the NC humidity; but even in northern MN (Duluth MN) where I lived most of my life we have hot humid summers for a few weeks, sometimes Finnish sauna humidity a couple of weeks where you just can not go outside. But I have HAD it with winters (7 months long in Duluth MN), I hope the brutal heat of Chapel is only a few months, so that I can just do indoors those months if needed, remote starter on my car not for defrosting the windshield but for air conditioning the car lol, and I go into the movie theaters and Starbucks where the air in cool.
Hoping the mosquito situation is tolerable, yeah we have them in MN but I hope NC is not much worse-- i can use high concentration DEET repellent if needed, a headnet if hiking, and drop BTi pellets around a house in moist areas to kill skeeter larvae, and eliminate skeeter breeding areas (old tires with rain water, etc).
Friday’s on the front porch at Carolina Inn, outdoor movies and concerts on the village green in Southern Village, rent a kayak and do a trip via Frog Hollow. Go see the Carolina night sky show at the planetarium. They’ll help give you a sense of the place, apart from the restaurants and stores. Walk slower, in shade, enjoy the Carolina blue skies! It’s very much quieter when the students are out, and that’s something to consider. Not sure if you can still get Day tickets, but most folk are members of a pool, try the YMCA at Meadowmont, they used to sell a block of tickets.
It’s not a big city by any stretch of the imagination but it has its charms, visit Durham, Saxapawhaw, Pittsboro too, Carrboro abuts Chapel Hill so you’ll see that I’m sure.
Raleigh and Cary have big street fairs and the Raleigh museums are great to visit. But if you relocate you’ll want to save some things to explore when you do.
You're coming from Minnesota where people consider the mosquito to be the state bird? You probably won't notice them much here by comparison.
lol, true. I remember moving from Iowa to south central MN as a kid and the first thing I noticed was mosquitoes, pulled my shirt up over my head to hide from them! In the Davenport IA area we just did not have a mosquito issue, I think there are like 3 lakes in all of Iowa lol, whereas MN as 10,000 lakes and then some, including marshes, lots of breeding of skeeters!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hertfordshire
The humidity is another matter. It'll be hot and humid, and air conditioning will be your best friend. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors.
How many months out of the year would you all say the heat index (heat plus humidity) is where it is just plain uncomfortable to be outside in the Chapel area?
I think the mosquito issue in NC tends to be a bit overblown, it's really not like you're in a jungle here. Just take the regular precautions.
As far as the heat index and how tolerable it is, that depends on personal preference, but you'll probably find that there comes a certain point in the year (likely September) when you think "is this EVER GOING TO END" because if you're from up north, Labor Day generally ushers in cooler, drier air, and that doesn't happen here. If you're REALLY from up north, late August may find you needing a blanket at night, never mind AC. But it will eventually cool off - just later than you might like.
That said, fall is wonderful here, dry and warm and it lasts right up until December, and makes up for the loooong summer.
The mosquitos here are different than where I came from in New England. They look different, and for some reason they have no interest in me. I'm a little self-conscious about it too be honest!
Like everyone else said, mosquitoes will be no big deal if you're used to the swarms in northern MN. People complain about them all the time, and they're there, but not in intolerable amounts usually.
What will be different is the humidity. Although you think you've experienced humidity (and you have to a certain extent), you haven't experienced it around the clock, which is what the most humid periods in NC involve. It's always interesting to me when people in the northern Midwest talk about oppressive humidity. It's simply not comparable to the Southeast. Peak humidity in NC is probably in August, not June, and the big difference between northen MN and NC is that it will not cool off much at night. There are weeks when you will not be able to open windows at night. Going out for a walk even well after dark can feel like you're breathing through a heavy wet blanket. Also, if you are prone to allergies, you might see more issues there too (highly individual, of course). Some people tolerate the summer air quality better than others.
Also you'll find the bugs are much larger and more exotic-looking.
Chapel HILL in June is not much like Chapel Hill the rest of the year. Chapel Hill is a college town and when the students go home for the summer it drastically changes the character of the town. It's about 1/3 of the town's population up and leaving, so makes a big impact.
And, please, Chapel HILL. It's like saying Coca instead of Coca-Cola or Milky instead of Milky Way or any number of double-named things. There are other nicknames for the area, but Chapel is not one of them and just sounds _really_ odd.
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