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We are planning on moving to the Raleigh area soon and are visiting for 3 days early April to try and get an overall understanding of the area. Any ideas on which places to explore, things to look out for, things to do? We have 2 kids (3 & 6) so the trip needs to be fun for them too
Thanks.
Can someone help this person? I didn't spend enough time in Raleigh when we were there to know what to recommend apart from a visit to Goodberry's Custard (not sure of the location as we used my GPS a whole lot).
It might help to have a little more understanding of what's bringing you to the area, if it's a job, where you'll be commuting to, what type of neighborhood you're looking for... Also, what is the primary goal of your trip? Are you just trying to decide whether to move here, are you already moving here and trying to decide what part of town to live in?
April is a great time of year, there are tons of great things to do with kids (and adults, too!) In Durham, check out the Museum of Life and Science - make sure to ride the train! A favorite of my 6 and 3 year old! Raleigh has great museums and things for kids to do - Exploris, Playspace... they might be too young for some of the others, though. Also, there are tons of great parks, too. Of course, the Duke gardens are a must see.
Again, though, let us know what the focus of your trip is, and we can direct you to some good spots.
If I were bringing my kids on a house hunting trip (which i'm not doing btw) I would tool around different neighborhoods to get a feel for the family-friendliness of them and stop at a few of the neighborhood parks and let the kids play, and maybe walk around the sidewalks a bit. See who you meet and check out the houses at the same time. I would feel like it was a waste of precious house-hunting time to take the kids to a museum for several hours or whatever, unless you have the time to come back and h ouse hunt on several occasions. We didnt have that luxury.
Good luck! Our boys are 4 & 6. I know how it goes!!!
Sorry, I should have been specific.. We are thinking of moving to the Raleigh area soon and from all our research we think that this could be the area. As we get closer to moving, we'll start looking for jobs. This will be our first visit to Raleigh, so our hope is to see/do as much as we can.
The suggestions from NCHomeFinder mcfamilyof4 were great. I like the idea of open parks/playgrounds to get a feel of the local neighborhoods.
My suggestions based on my recent long-weekend excursion with my THREE small children, all under 6.
* Find a Realtor with a huge car that can drive your entire family around so you don't have to follow in your rental. I can recommend mine Heather Lane @ FM Realty - she's knowledgable, personable, has small children of her own, and has a big Expedition with 3 rows of seating and a built-in DVD player.
* Plan our the restaurants you want to eat at. Note it's not all non-smoking here. It's plenty easy to find chain restaurants everywhere. However, if you want to find a non-chain do your research ahead of time as you won't want to be wasting time on your trip poking-and-hoping for a decent place to eat.
* Give your Realtor a concise list of requirements, likes, and dislikes. I refuse significantly sloped lots. I refuse to live in a house that backs to a noisey road. I demand sidewalks. I desire to be close to shopping. Etc. Helps make sure you don't waste time in your house search.
* Plan your children activities. I personally just took mine to playgrounds in the parks. That's plenty to keep the small ones happy and helps tire them out for bedtime in the hotel. They loved it since they haven't been to an outdoor park in over 5 months in NY.
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They loved it since they haven't been to an outdoor park in over 5 months in NY.
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