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This website has been extremely helpful. Thank you all! I am strongly considering moving to the area from Ann Arbor, MI for the weather, real estate market, mountains, beach.... However, there is so much about Ann Arbor that I love and I'm hoping to find those features in NC as well. So far I'm thinking Chapel Hill is the best fit, but would love to hear thoughts from you all:
-good/great schools
-very safe
-walkable or at least bikeable, busable community
-location with strong sense of community, downtown
-tend to like older homes
-college area would be a plus
-SFH -wide price range ($200,000-$400,000)
-family friendly area
This website has been extremely helpful. Thank you all! I am strongly considering moving to the area from Ann Arbor, MI for the weather, real estate market, mountains, beach.... However, there is so much about Ann Arbor that I love and I'm hoping to find those features in NC as well. So far I'm thinking Chapel Hill is the best fit, but would love to hear thoughts from you all:
-good/great schools
-very safe
-walkable or at least bikeable, busable community
-location with strong sense of community, downtown
-tend to like older homes
-college area would be a plus
-SFH -wide price range ($200,000-$400,000)
-family friendly area
Thank you for any input!
Yep! you're right! Chapel Hill sounds like the place for you!
Honestly, I'm not positive you can find all this in one place - I'll respond to each with a few nominees in my opinion and explain why others wont work:
-good/great schools
Chapel Hill is the easy choice here - particularly with the problems many have with Wake County redistricting and the general growth of the area which makes it harder to choose a neighborhood based on schools
-very safe
This is relative. EVERYWHERE save for a few pockets in Durham and Raleigh is "very safe" to me, being from LA - this may be different for you. Nowhere is immune from crime.
-walkable or at least bikeable, busable community
Tough to find - Raleigh and Durham are not so much, unless you are ITB in Raleigh...Cary definitely not, Chapel Hill perhaps...the triangle is spread out and you may find a small neighborhood thats bike-friendly with a local strip of shops, but certainly not as your primary form of transportation.
-location with strong sense of community, downtown
People like downtown Apex, Cary doesn't have much to speak of - Wake Forest is decent, not so much Durham or Raleigh if by downtown you mean "Main Street USA" and not buildings/warehouses/congestion downtown. Chapel Hill has Franklin Street, but it's more college-y than Americana
-tend to like older homes
You can find these everywhere
-college area would be a plus
The best "College areas" around the triangle are Chapel Hill and Durham - the area around NC State doesn't really excite me.
-SFH -wide price range ($200,000-$400,000)
This will REALLY limit you in Chapel Hill...bigtime...unless you are looking for sub 2000 square feet - but you wont find a "dream house" for this price in CH...
-family friendly area
This is again relative, but areas like CH, SW Durham, North Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex, Clayton all qualify by many definitions. All of these except CH and parts of Cary you can get a beautiful big home (if size is important) under 400k.
I live in Chapel Hill p.o and town of Carrboro and really like it since moving here 2 years ago. Good schools we walk to, near fun college downtown but it is very pricey here. As the previous person stated, you will be limited in your choices at your price range unless you want a small house. HTH!
Any idea what average SFH prices are in Chapel Hill and Carrboro are? Would love a fixer upper in a neighborhood with upward potential. I invest in real estate, so this kind of work is fun to me.
I would love more detail on Carrboro as well. Is there a downtown / town center type area?
Are year round schools being considered in these areas as well? I would prefer to avoid that I think.
Thanks!
Also, what is the "college downtown" area or other downtown-like areas like? Are there restaurants, businesses, shops? Would it be comfortable for families? Or more just condom shop / bar / coffee shop college area?
Yes, Carrboro would have more house for the money and has it's own little downtown that is very cool. My husband and I prefer it to Chapel Hill for going out and hanging out. But both of the towns are so close that they are connected by a main street and flow into each other.
In Carrboro, there are many good restaurants, shops and live music and art.There is a farmer's market every Sat morning and Wed. and other stuff to do.
Check out Town of Carrboro, NC
and Welcome to Carrboro.Com - Your hometown website
Everyone brings the family to Weaver Street Market- a co-op grocery food store to
buy dinner and wine/beer and sit outside and eat while the kids run around on the lawn and play. It is definately a nice mix of families and students from UNC and other people.
There is no mention of year round schools here.Our taxes are too high for that!
EVERYWHERE save for a few pockets in Durham and Raleigh is "very safe" to me, being from LA - this may be different for you. Nowhere is immune from crime.
Hmmm, please bear in mind that most people don't use "safer than LA" as a benchmark for "safe"! Just like those who are always saying "Well, the traffic isn't as bad as Boston/DC/Atlanta"--not exactly a glowing recommendation! While these things can be relative, I don't think "Not as bad as [major city known for X]" is usually what someone is asking for when they ask about safety, traffic, etc.
That said, it's true that the only areas known for being "possibly unsafe" are in Central East Durham and Southeast Raleigh; Cary and Apex are very suburban, Chapel Hill is a college town, and Carrboro is a great "funky" town with a grad student vibe; I'd say Carrboro may be your best bet for what you seek.
Amy- Thank you so much for all the insight! I'll have fun exploring theses links and hopefully visiting the area soon. Sounds like what I'm looking for.
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