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Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary The Triangle Area
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Old 01-31-2010, 08:59 PM
 
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My wife and I are relocating from Washington, DC and are choosing between Raleigh and Atlanta. Our primary motive for the move is to relocate to an area with affordable housing, and my understanding is that both cities meet this criteria.

We like Raleigh because the city seems to offer a great quality of life - for example, I would likely work far fewer hours than I would in Atlanta. We are attracted to the slower pace. The flip side to the slower pace is that Raleigh may prove to be too small for our tastes (this is our biggest concern). We think we may become bored with Raleigh. My wife and I are in our early 30s and while we are hoping to start a family soon we may not be willing to give up on the benefits of urban living.

We like Atlanta because it is a bigger city and the downtown feels urban. There are some great museums and we think we would be less likely to become bored. There are also some great parks downtown, which is a plus. On the downside, we read about high rates of crime and awful traffic (we think we may be able to avoid the traffic problem by living in midtown Atlanta).

I would very much appreciate hearing random thoughts about this choice of cities and would particularly be interested in hearing the views of individuals who may have evaluated this same opportunity.

Thanks.
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Old 01-31-2010, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
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Having just moved to Chapel HIll from the Atlanta area I have very strong feelings about Atlanta. I doubt you will find anything "affordable" and not in a high crime neighborhood in midtown Atlanta. I'm not at all familiar with Raleigh but I do know the surrounding areas of Durham and Chapel Hill/Carrboro are not as spread out at metro Atlanta.

We moved here because of many fasctors, the most important being the school system. While we loved the cultural activities in Atlanta, we finally figured out it was not worth losing our lives either through ungodly traffic or getting mugged going from the parking lot to the venue. Even in midtown the traffic is unreal, not just on the interstate. We lived in Atlanta for 30 years and that was about 29 too many.
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Old 01-31-2010, 09:28 PM
 
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There is more to do here than you'll have time or money to do. The only reason Atlanta feels "faster" paced is because the people there spent so much TIME sitting in TRAFFIC that they have to rush around to get anything done.
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Old 01-31-2010, 09:36 PM
 
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Where did you live in Atlanta> We would likely target one of the condo complexed in midtown, which allow me to walk to work. I think we can minimize the craziness of traffic by walking when able and trying to use public bus whenever possible. We hate gridlock. We no longer live in northern new jersey due to awful traffic (and high property taxes). Any thoughts on Atlanta - why are you so negative on the city? Sounds like you main problem is crime. are you concerned about a lack of cultural activities in Chapel Hill?
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Old 01-31-2010, 09:45 PM
 
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I lived in Candler Park and Midtown Atlanta some years ago (hubby and I met there). We've lived in Orlando, Tampa, Boston, Atlanta, St. Louis, Richmond, and now the Raleigh 'burbs. I miss living in the city big time but my hubby is a suburbanite through and through. I loved midtown Atlanta, BUT...you do NOT get out of traffic by living there. It's not as bad as commuting in from Cobb county but it's bad bad bad. Also, crime is pretty bad. We were childless grad students when we lived there and there was so much to do, but it wasn't cheap and it hasn't gotten cheaper.

Raleigh has parks close in (like the one, I forget its name, over near NC State), really big ones, where you can run, hike, picnic, even sail (rent a boat right there!). It has some great arts festivals and the larger triangle area has a decent music scene. There's also a pretty educated population here.

I like both cities but the biggest turnoff for me about Atlanta is that it's just not as genuine as Raleigh seems to be to me. There's a lot of emphasis on appearance and *looking* rich (no necessarily on having wealth). I like living somewhere that people are more concerned about quality of life than the brand name on their clothes.
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Old 02-01-2010, 07:39 AM
 
Location: chapel hill, n.c.
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My wife and I moved to Chapel Hill about 9 months ago having lived in D.C., Silver Spring and Hagerstown MD because her children live in the Raleigh/Cary area. Raleigh has developed beyond a provincial city in recent years and though not as cosmopolitan as D.C. has an active urban environment. Chapel Hill is similar to Georgetown in D.C.

Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 02-01-2010 at 09:02 AM..
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Old 02-01-2010, 07:42 AM
 
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Thanks Annesg - your post was extremely helpful. I have lived in big and small cities (e.g., New York City, Eugene, Charlottesville, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Washington, DC). I love the convenience of living in the city. My wife and I are each walkers - I have not owned a car since 1998... Can you tell me more about what you miss most about living in the big city? Again, this is our biggest fear about Raleigh. I cannot see us living in the suburbs. If we move to Raleigh, I see us living near a park (perhaps Oakwood Park) within walking distance of downtown. We're just trying to identify precisely what we would be forfeiting by living in Raleigh. I think there is a performing arts center in downtown Raleigh - is this decent?

We have the same concerns as you cite about Atlanta. My brother in law and his wife and son live in midtown Atlanta. We love their neighborhood (old homes, near a park, etc.) but my sister in law told us that their neighborhood has gotten 'hammered' (her words, not mine) by crime in the past year or two - a high number of break ins and even a few cases of violent crime. This frightens me to death. We also have listed on our pro/con list the same point you made about "genuineness", although we have been referring to it as an "over-emphasis on materialism". I think Raleigh has its issues too (as does most places in the US), but the living beyond your means problem seems more acute in Atlanta.

Thanks
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Old 02-01-2010, 08:11 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
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I lived in the DC area (Northern VA) for about six years before moving to Raleigh. We moved for the same reasons plus the chance to be closer to family. In terms of affordability, housing is cheaper, but other things are not. When you add up all the state, local, property, and sales taxes, it feels like taxes are higher here than in VA (although we haven't actually added it all up). Oddly, I also pay a bit more for car insurance here. We also found that housing isn't as cheap as we thought. If you want to live anywhere that is walkable, say near downtown Raleigh, then housing prices start to seem DC-esque. Additionally, a lot of those inexpensive, large, attractive new homes you may have seen on realty sites are out in the boonies on moonscapes.

Another thing to consider is that there are nowhere near the jobs here as what you'll find in DC. The ones that do, in most cases, pay less than what they will there. Your house will cost less, but if you look for a job in the area, I wouldn't expect an increase in pay. It sounds like many have taken a pay cut. Also, given that the Triangle has popped up in one too many magazine best of lists, you'll be competing with people from all over the country for positions.

In terms of cultural activities, the universities draw in a number of concerts, exhibits, etc. but it's nothing like what you find in DC. Everything is an order of magnitude smaller. So, no neighborhood areas like Georgetown, Dupont, Old Town, etc. There's still some really cool spots and nice neighborhoods, but there's just a lot less of it. In all, the area feels like a small city, or one big suburb rather than a major city in itself. Imagine if you took out DC and just left Bethesda, Arlington, and Falls Church. In terms of restaurants, the Triangle is a shadow of the DC scene.

All that said, I still like it here. I just like the vibe of the place. I like the people - it's very similar in many ways to where I grew up. I like that it's a mix of southern culture and funkiness (looking at you Chapell Hill and Carrboro), conservative and progressive, etc. We've found a number of fun places to eat and drink - and there are some very good restaurants. We enjoy the Farmer's markets, the surrounding small towns, the relative ease of traffic (everything is relative). I feel like my blood pressure has gone down since moving here. So, the area has some great things to offer, but just be sure that you go into it with open eyes.

Last edited by Clever User Name; 02-01-2010 at 09:28 AM..
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Old 02-01-2010, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
355 posts, read 955,217 times
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I just noticed that you said that you're a walker and have not owned a car for some time. Being car-free simply is not an option here. Public transit is not well developed and many areas do not even have sidewalks. Also, there are less than a handful of areas where you can reasonably and safely (without crossing major roads without crosswalks) walk to all your basic needs. Also, many people here seem to view walking or biking is seen as a strange thing (there's been quite a number of threads). Some are openly hostile to walkers or bikers.
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Old 02-01-2010, 06:32 PM
 
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Thanks. We are moving from northern VA (Arlington) as well. If we end up in Raleigh, we would want to live inside the beltway, but appreciate that homes are smaller and more expensive inside the beltway than outside. In your opinion, have house prices inside the beltway come down at all over the past year or two? I would think that this would be the case. The homes in this area that we have looked at so far seem to be priced in between $350-400K.

Regarding jobs, I am far enough along in my job search to agree with your comments. The job picture in NC and GA generally is horrific - there are tons of out of work folks in my field and not much demand from employers. Fortunately I have an offer in hand in Atlanta and one that should arrive soon from a Raleigh based employer. In either case, I will be taking a significant pay cut - I suppose this is the price that must be paid in order to secure a better quality of life.

I hear you on your "vibe" comment. My wife and I were in Raleigh this past weekend and we both agreed that folks in Raleigh seem very grounded and focused on things other than money - this is very refreshing. I am still alarmed by the number of people who cite the square footage of their homes when describing to me why they like Raleigh, but oh well.

Given how much you and your spouse have moved around I am wondering where and when you might be moving next.
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