Deco's Ill-planned Urgent NC Thread!!!!!!!!

[decodelighted]

Hey NC P-scopers!

If you've managed to see this thread - I am in your state right now. Attempting to "get the vibe" of the Research Triangle area. Would be extremely grateful for any suggestions of particular places to see if we wanted to fall in love with CHAPEL HILL/CARRBORO .... RALEIGH .... DURHAM. (Or other areas if you know about some fab pocket in the vicinity that we clearly DON'T know about.)

DURHAM suggestions most urgent as we're heading there n-o-w. RALEIGH tomorrow. Back to CHAPEL HILL/CARRBORO for day two of there Thursday? We're here through Saturday morning so might have time to explore further.

We're just trying to get a sense of

a) can we live here in general (personality-wise, sensibility-wise etc)

b) which of the areas is most "us"

Thanks in advance if y'all have any particular suggestions. If not .... no worries & BTW so far we really like your cute/clean/green DIGS here North Carolina!

xxoo
deco

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm gonna bump this for you, Deco. I'm far south of there & don't know that area real well -- maybe somebody who does will see it. Is Winston-Salem a possibility for you? I've been there to visit friends a few times & think it's nice.

Hope you find a town that grabs you & hugs you! Look forward to hearing about your impressions & your trip.

--- Laurie

 

[iLander]

University towns, if the school is the major employer, tend to be more liberal. Try those first.

Can't help much, I usually zoom by those towns on I-95.

 

[Gypsy]

Several people recommended Wakefield to me as a nice area. It's an area of Durham near Wake Forest.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

PinkJewel is the one who lives closest to that area. Your realtor is going to know the area the best and they are often very good at matching people to the right areas. It is a very large area, so I hope you get a great realtor! Wish I were closer and I'd come see you for dinner or something! Good luck! (All I can tell you is that my son-in-law's brother is very liberal and he absolutely loves the Chapel Hill area. He and his almost fiancee just bought a house in that area in the past week.)

 

[decodelighted]

Thanks, friends! We need to stay near Research Triangle area for tech job prospects for DH. And haven't consulted a realtor yet as our move is at least a year or two (or five) away. This trip is mostly just to rule IN or rule OUT NC for our *next* stop in life.

We'll see!!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ahhhh! In that case, I think so much would depend on exactly where the new job was located as to where you'd actually want to live. So you might just consider this an informational trip and cover a lot of territory like you are planning anyway. I am sorry the weather is a little cold so far this week, but I guess it is slightly better than a blizzard.

 

[zoebartlett]

Maybe find the local Chamber of Commerce and ask for a relocation package? They should have a list of Realtors' in the area, and/or their business cards and general information on display. Even though you're not looking to move right away, I don't think it could hurt to check it out. Also, I'd recommend going to city data's site and checking out the forum for the area(s) you're considering.

Have fun Deco!

 

[pinkjewel]

Oh, wow, sorry- I'm just now seeing this thread or I'd have answered earlier. Are you still in Raleigh? - Wakefield that I mentioned to Gypsy is in northern Raleigh, not Durham. I don't really know the neighborhoods in Durham. Good performing arts center there now and the Durhan Bulls play there, too. You may want to take a quick drive around Duke University's west campus. The gothic stone buildings are impressive and Duke Chapel is amazing. The gardens, especially the rose gardens there are just beautiful- but not right now of course.

If you're still in Raleigh head over to Cameron Village- nice little outdoor shopping area with lots of restaurants. This is the heart of "inside the beltline" area. You should also check out the Glenwood South area- some of my favorite retaurants are in this area, and within the actual city center there are several breweries, a couple of museums, etc.
North Raleigh would also be a good area as long as it is close to 540 since that will take you right into RTP. Lots of nice neighborhoods up that way.
Cary is another area you may want to look at- good access to RTP. Jokingly called " the containment area of relocated yankees"-lol.
Lots of very nice neighborhoods in Cary which is very spread out! Prestonwood is a nice area with easy access to RTP.
OK- Chapel Hill- I grew up there in "The Oaks". Nice older neighborhood (now) where the country club and golf course is located. Next to it is Meadowmont- might want to drive thru there. You need to wander down Franklin Street (main street in town) and around Rosemary Street there, too. Either street will also take you into Carrboro. Check out Carr Mill Mall while in Carrboro- kind of a neat little place. Good little lunch place that opened recently on the Weaver Street Market side- I just can't remember the name of it- seems like maybe Venable bistro or something like that. Caprese sandwich is to die for. Great dinner place is La Residance on Rosemary street- expensive spot for romantic diners. If you want to stop into a jewelers check at William Travis who has recently relocated from downtown to University Mall-only entrance is from outside the Mall-no entrance to his shop inside.He's won several awards. Can't help to much with Durham. I graduated from Duke, but really only spent time on the campus. If you want to meet for lunch tomorrow (Thursday) I could probably do that- already have appointents on Friday. I'm Pinkjewel on loupe troop if you want to send me a message there.
What else are you interested in and I can make suggestions!!

eta- Oh- if you're at University Mall in Chapel Hill wander thru Southern Season- great little gourmet food shop. Local coffee roasters coffee, etc.

 

[Gypsy]

Deco... you may want to check this out: http://www.yelp.com/biz/state-farmers-market-raleigh It's in Raleigh and it looks nice.

 

[decodelighted]

Hey Pink Jewel!
Thanks for the great scoop & kind offer to meet for lunch. It's a good thing we didn't see that message until too late - as it's the same day I realized I had a cold & would NOT have wanted to pass that onto you for sure! I think we stayed very close to where you grew up. And ended up getting some cold medicine at the Kerr Drug DIRECTLY across from The Oaks! Small world! We did a quick buzz through Southern Season and were intrigued by their cooking class series & giant classroom upstairs. Did not make it to CARY but cracked up afterwards at your acronym. Maybe we'll be legally required to live there! If our trip hadn't been cut short we would have had more time to explore your other suggestions. Thanks so much for weighing in. Overall we had a very nice trip -- and made it home just in time for DH to start recovering from the cold he caught from me before he goes back to work. We look forward to returning some time closer to a potential move and I swear I will give way more warning this time. (This trip was so sudden because we were called down as far as Tidewater, Virginia for a funeral and somewhat spontaneously decided to extend a few days since we'd be within striking distance of NC while there.)

 

[decodelighted]

Deco... you may want to check this out: http://www.yelp.com/biz/state-farmers-market-raleigh It's in Raleigh and it looks nice.

Thanks Gypsy! We did a quick drive by as my cold was really setting in on this leg of our drive. I think it might have been the wrong time of year because it was a bit sparse right now. And kind of a weird set up. Was hoping to be able to compare to the Carrboro & Durham local farmers markets but we had to leave on Friday. I hear there's a good Flea Market at the State Fairgrounds as well but no dice as that too was on Saturday. Gah!

 

[decodelighted]

Maybe find the local Chamber of Commerce and ask for a relocation package? They should have a list of Realtors' in the area, and/or their business cards and general information on display. Even though you're not looking to move right away, I don't think it could hurt to check it out. Also, I'd recommend going to city data's site and checking out the forum for the area(s) you're considering.

Have fun Deco!

Thanks Zoe -- checking City Data again while on site really helped a lot. We weren't at the realtor stage yet & didn't want to waste anyone's time but will do that when we're closer to acting.