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Though I'm not particularly familiar with Raleigh, I lived in Durham proper for 4 years, in Durham county for a year, and have lived in downtown Chapel Hill for a year.
I think this area has enough diversity to make anyone happy, though it can be a little hard to find your niche.
Durham is a very poor city with its share of crime problems, but I really do feel it’s improving. When I first moved here I had no reason to come downtown, but now my office is there and there is a lot of other development going on. The area around Duke is great; lot’s of quirky older homes that can be had inexpensively, great dinning (best in the triangle, in my opinion), some nice bars and independent shops. That said it’s really not for everyone, there is crime and the school system is terrible. There are also some nice areas in south Durham near I-40 and Southpoint mall that are inexpensive, convenient to shopping and dinning, close to Durham and Chapel Hill, and can be a good alternative to Raleigh.
Chapel Hill is a great place but very expensive (relatively) to own a home. It has a very young, vibrant feel and many people are connected with UNC. Great restaurants, mostly older buildings and homes, few chains, phenomenal live music, great schools, etc. If you’re working in Raleigh proper, the commute from either Chapel Hill or Durham can be pretty bad; however, if you’re in west Raleigh or the RTP area, I definitely would not rule out Durham or Chapel Hill.
Raleigh is a good place to raise a family and a nice medium-sized city. It’s mostly a professional area, good home prices, but very generic in my opinion. It’s great for a lot of people, but most folk there that I know live in vinyl sided suburban developments or McMansions, commute pretty far to work, shop in the same big chains as everyone else, and generally enjoy a very pleasant lifestyle that those of us in Durham and Chapel Hill really like making fun of.
That’s my 5-minute take on the area anyway. Feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll try to answer any other questions you might have.
Take care,
Craig
'87 9kT 292k
posted by 65.114.26...
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