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Are you planning to treat it more as a serious "investigate the area for a move" trip or more of a "visit the city and see the sights" trip?
If you really think you might move here, you can skip so many sights (museums and such) and just plan to do those at your leisure later. Focus on exploring the towns and neighborhoods and the things that you'd do on a regular basis. Everything from the morning commutes if you work to jogging or riding a bike or hiking or whatever at parks/greenways/etc. if that is your thing. If you think you'd routinely see live sports or live music, maybe check those out. Maybe check out some downtown restaurants or area breweries.
If I'm showing off the area to someone that hasn't been here, I might take them to the NC Museum of Art or Duke Chapel or various other spots, but those aren't likely to be deal sealers or breakers in deciding on a move. If I had a friend looking to move here, I would probably just take them to various favorite places of mine that I frequent. For instance: Kings to see a band, Bond Brothers to have a beer, Chucks to have a burger, DBAP to catch a baseball game, Umstead to ride bikes or hike, etc. Between that and showing the friend various neighborhoods, I think they could get a feel for the area and whether they liked it and where in the area they gravitate more towards (of course budget and work plays a big role in that).
Please take a look at the sticky Relocation Index post at the top of the forum. There are several links to the existing questions regarding such trips.
Please take a look at the sticky Relocation Index post at the top of the forum. There are several links to the existing questions regarding such trips.
And, OP, how much time will you have on your visit?
How many days?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nobigcityforme
One...maybe two.
One day and multiple Triangle cities is not workable for a scouting trip.
Two is a real whirlwind.
I would suggest you read the linked thread above, decide exactly what you are looking for in terms of housing and location, to help make it an efficient trip.
Some folks relocating get hung up on seeing houses, and miss the cities. That is not entirely helpful for them.
Planning to move to either Raleigh or Durham and want to visit soon. What is the best way to tour the area? What do I not want to miss?
Frankly, there are a lot of online resources that are going to tell you all about the key selling points of the Triangle, including the universities, sports, the arts, cultural festivals, etc. Before even coming to the Triangle, I'd do as much research as possible on any and all of those things that are important to you. Google and YouTube can get you a long way to understanding the Triangle.
What is harder to grasp through your electronic device is the sense of being somewhere, the people, the culture, the pace of life, etc. If I were somewhere just for a couple of days to scope it out, I'd put myself in situations that would give me a sense of what my day to day life might be like. I'd hang out in neighborhoods and places that would be most like what you would seek. For example, I wouldn't spend both days exploring the downtowns if that's not how you'd live your life daily, or if it's not one of your top priorities.
I would get a sense of how places connect to other places, whether within a singular city, between two or among all of them in the Triangle. I'd think about where I might be working and investigate how one gets from that place to where you see yourself living. Some of this can be done online as well. If there is a particular hobby or interest, seek out resources, clubs, etc. that support it or create a community. If you like a particular kind of food when dining out, prioritize visiting those types of restaurants for your meals. Yelp can help you there.
Finally, I'd do some pre-work on costs of living since they can vary wildly from place to place in the Triangle. For example, you might fall in love with a particular part of the Triangle that is double the cost of typical housing in the overall area. Once again, use online sites to study costs of housing and availability.
The Triangle is a large area made up of many suburban cities and towns (the original three points being Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). Most people want to live close to where they will work. Doesn’t make any sense to live in Zebulon or Clayton and work in Chapel Hill or vice/versa. Most folks advise to find the job first, then find the housing
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