Looking for diverse, friendly for retired active left-of-center political/social activist community (Raleigh: lease, homes)

[Charlton Dude]

Originally Posted by geoff2v

If the OP just mentioned diversity, than you might have a point. But he said he was interested in a left-of-center community, so I don't think the digs at Chapel Hill/Carrboro are really pertinent.

Sorry if you took my observations as a dig geoff, but it is not. The OP put out a bunch of things they would like and has not narrowed down exactly what they are looking for. The diversity thing seems to be in a somewhat grey area, so I clarified all that I could. It is no secret that Chapel Hill/Carrboro is the most liberal area we have around here. It is posted all the time. Anytime anyone asks for a liberal area, everyone lists Chapel Hill/Carrboro at the top of the list. If people are asking to live in the most liberal area with like minded liberal people, that pretty much lets you know that they prefer to have mostly liberal people around them. It's pretty straight forward and on point, so I am not sure what you could have misunderstood.

[frogandtoad]

Chapel Hill/Carrboro might work really for you. It is left leaning, and does have more diversity than you'd expect (racially, religiously, ethnically, etc).People are active, lots of hiking, biking, walking, running, etc. No mountains but plenty of streams! It would be my first choice based on what you posted. Good luck!

[cry884]

I would say Chapel Hill or Carrboro, or ITB Raleigh.

[newswriter]

Originally Posted by newswriter

[SIZE=3]I want to relocate and am looking these criteria for a home. A city of town where there are visibly diverse, retired fairly intellectual, left-of-center social/political activists who are physically active (e.g., tennis, hiking), quiet, welcoming, friendly in affordable community living with walking access to nature (e.g., woods, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, canals, parks).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Does Durham fit the bill, would you say? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Suggestions appreciated. /c/[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]SORRY FOR THE MESS UP in initial message.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Looking for diverse, friendly for retired active left-of-center political/social activist community [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I want to relocate and am looking these criteria for a home. A city of town where there are visibly diverse, retired fairly intellectual, left-of-center social/political activists who are physically active (e.g., tennis, hiking), quiet, welcoming, friendly in affordable community living with walking access to nature (e.g., woods, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, canals, parks).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Does Durham fit the bill, would you say? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Suggestions appreciated. /c/[/SIZE]

[newswriter]

Originally Posted by Charlton Dude

2 things:

1. Go back quickly to edit your post and type it manually, so you can get rid of the font issue. You must have copied and pasted from Word, which results in the font issue.
2. Given the topics on the board recently, is this a serious post or is it meant to be humorous? The reason I ask is that the answer is extremely complicated and long winded, so if the post is meant as a bit of humor then I won't worry about the answer.

Thanks. Sorry I goofed. This was my initial message:

Looking for diverse, friendly for retired active left-of-center political/social activist community

I want to relocate and am looking these criteria for a home. A city of town where there are visibly diverse, retired fairly intellectual, left-of-center social/political activists who are physically active (e.g., tennis, hiking), quiet, welcoming, friendly in affordable community living with walking access to nature (e.g., woods, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, canals, parks).

Does Durham fit the bill, would you say?

Suggestions appreciated. /c/

[newswriter]

Originally Posted by frogandtoad

Chapel Hill/Carrboro might work really for you. It is left leaning, and does have more diversity than you'd expect (racially, religiously, ethnically, etc).People are active, lots of hiking, biking, walking, running, etc. No mountains but plenty of streams! It would be my first choice based on what you posted. Good luck!

Thanks for your response. c

[Charlton Dude]

Originally Posted by newswriter

Thanks. Sorry I goofed. This was my initial message:

Looking for diverse, friendly for retired active left-of-center political/social activist community

I want to relocate and am looking these criteria for a home. A city of town where there are visibly diverse, retired fairly intellectual, left-of-center social/political activists who are physically active (e.g., tennis, hiking), quiet, welcoming, friendly in affordable community living with walking access to nature (e.g., woods, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, canals, parks).

Does Durham fit the bill, would you say?

Suggestions appreciated. /c/

That looks much better.

Your answer = Asheville

[frogandtoad]

Oh, the other place I should have thought of is Hillsborough. That's a great quiet community with many artists, intellectuals, etc. SW Durham might work for you as well, although I like the tighter-knit feel of the towns of CH/Carrboro, and Hillsborough.

[joey2000]

Originally Posted by newswriter

intellectual, left-of-center social/political activists

Make up your mind!

Yep Asheville is for you. It's not here.

[newswriter]

Originally Posted by MrsSteel

Newswriter, it's hard for any of us to make specific suggestion without knowing a little bit more about your needs. Could you tell us a bit about your price range? Also, do you think you'd like to live in an area with a more urban, suburban, or rural feel?

There are a number of universities in the area (Duke, UNC, NC State) and a number of professionals working at Research Triangle Park, so the region is fairly intellectual. The western half of the Triangle - Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough - is generally considered more liberal politically-speaking. Durham is the most racially-diverse town (I think it's 50% white) if that's what you're looking for when you say "diverse". There are also parts of Raleigh that you might enjoy. Many neighborhoods all throughout the Triangle have beautiful walking trails. However, we don't have mountains in this area. Also, we don't have major waterways, but there are a few bodies of water that might suit your needs. Luckily you can be at the beach in about 2 hours & at the mountains in about 3 hours.

Thanks for your response, Mrs. Steel.

Thanks much for all responses. They are most helpful to me. I am an educator (former university prof in print journalism and former Fed at the LOC in Washington). I have lived overseas and in U.S. university towns from Maine to the Midwest to the Southeast, and suburban D.C., which means Northern Virginia, commuting to the Hill. For a time in the late 1970s I lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which I don’t recommend, and somewhere in those years visited Chapel Hill and Raleigh/Durham.

Currently I live in a town (pop. 35,000) along the Erie Canal (where I walk daily) in Western New York (Monroe County) not far from Buffalo and Niagara Falls (will be six years this coming spring). Over December holidays I have walked the park at Niagara Falls-American side, crossed the bridge and walked the Canadian side. I like nature and breathing space but also a sense of community (I miss community since retiring). I was born in the South where people say “hello” but where I live in Western New York that simple utterance seems too painful to make.

As to diversity, I mean that in every respect, I think: people, ideas, ways of being and doing; I prefer variety and energetic civil discussion over the banality of “yeses” and the dreary drone of mass media. I am a “progressive,” an internationalist, self-reflective though not self-absorbed, a writer of news and current affairs, to a degree an activist, a single person who lives simply and prefers book stores to big box stores.
/c/