Post # 1
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
I need opinions on where to move in North Carolina. I’ll be finishing up my Master’s in Spr 15′ and my partner and I want to move there. I’ll most likely be persuing another Master’s at East Carolina University while working full-time. My partner and I are 26, no kids just pets and most likely looking for a town home or apt until we decrease my loans/finish my 2nd masters (2 yrs). I’ve been looking at opinions online all day and I’m overwhelmed. We prefer to live in an area that is around our age group, not too far from Raleigh, reasonable home prices and not too rural. Cary and Apex are out because they are too expensive, but I was thinking somewhere in North Central North Carolina. Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Post # 2
Member
322 posts
Helper bee
- Wedding: October 2014 - Restaurant
Hi, I live in Raleigh, NC. Everyone I ever met that went to ECU and lived in Greenville HATED IT and said it’s super creepy there! They like the school though.
What about Garner? It’s cheap to live there and very close to downtown Raleigh. There is a lot going on for 20-ish age people in Raleigh, I really love it here.
Once you get out to Clayton, Zebulon, Smithfield area, it just gets more country and rural, and there isn’t as much to do. I don’t know much about Rocky Mount area, sorry.
Post # 3
Member
3241 posts
Sugar bee
ny88: Are you planning on commuting to ECU or are you looking at online classes? I used to live in Durham NC and liked the area. Plenty to do and housing was reasonable. Durham doesn’t have the best of school districts, which is why housing is cheaper. But it’s maybe 100 miles from ECU. There are also some areas of Durham that are not so safe, so you’ll want to be careful. If you are going to commute to ECU you might want to look East of Raleigh (Knightdale, Zebulon)-although I have no idea what those areas are like to live in. Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs might also be options.
Post # 4
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
StarryNight2011: I plan on commuting. I read horrible things about Greenville. I really mixed reviews for Durham, more bad that good actually. So far I’ve checked out Knightdale, and Wake Forest and those seem to be what I’m interested in. I will definitely have to check out HOlly Springs. According to a list I’m looking at it’s #2 for job seekers.
Post # 5
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
lucygirl1: I’ll have to look in Garner. I’m still sort of interested in Raleigh, but I’ve reading that it’s so congested and the traffic is horrible. That’s why I started looking into cities that were nearby, so it’ll be a quick drive to downtown. Do you ever think that Raleigh is too overpopulated?
Post # 6
Member
3241 posts
Sugar bee
ny88: What are you planning on studying for your Master’s degree? Is it a program that’s not available in the RTP area? Once you establish residency in NC both UNC and NC State have really good reputations and tuition is lower (well lower than say Duke). Working full-time and commuting to Greenville will be tough. I lived in SW Durham (Woodcroft was the development) and never felt scared, but other parts are not so safe.
Post # 7
Member
1495 posts
Bumble bee
Even Wake forest would be too far to commute unless you were only going once or twice a week. Holly springs would be waaaayyy too far. You are going to have to either live in garner or greenville. I believe garner is still a 45m commute and there’s not much more in garner then greenville.
Why ECU though? There are tons of great colleges in the triangle and I can’t imagine you can’t fine the same program at one of them.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by
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Post # 8
Member
808 posts
Busy bee
I live in Morrisville which is between Raleigh and Cary. I LOVE where I live. As far as more affordable options, I have to agree with those who say Garner. We have friends who live there and they paid a bunch less for their house than we did. (And theirs is bigger.) Knightdale has really grown in the past few years. Still close enough to Raleigh, but closer to ECU.
Post # 9
Member
3011 posts
Sugar bee
ECU typically offers a ton of great masters’ programs online. Obviously I don’t know what you plan to do your degree in so it may not be available, but I would not recommend commuting to Greenville on a regular basis from anywhere around the triangle. I am an online student at ECU and have to go to campus once a semester. The drive is not terribly long, but it is boring and I would hate to drive it regularly. Once you get outside of Raleigh there is nothing until you hit Greenville.
I agree that Holly Springs is a good area, it is going to be the new Apex. I have a coworker who just bought a house there and was able to get way more house (3 bedrooms plus a bonus) for his price range than Apex or Raleigh. Morrisville is also good if you prefer to be nearer to Cary. I like Durham, it has a lot of character, but property taxes are high and there are definitely some unsavory areas. The thing about Durham is that it’s hard to get away from the unsavory areas no matter where you buy – the “bad” places are spread out. I say this as a Durhamite. That said, I like Durham way better than Raleigh. It is very ecclectic and fun, not a big bar strip with dancing clubs and such, but I’ve outgrown that anyway. Lots of great food and “culture”. Every police officer I have ever known has had one piece of advice about living in Durham: get a dog.
Personally I think Garner is a terrible town: boring and small town-ish but really spread out and you still have to deal with the traffic congestion from Raleigh. I’m not a big fan of Knightdale either. Wake Forest/east Durham might be better but it’s still going to be way out there with not much to do. And the commute from Wake Forest to Raleigh if you wanted to go into the city to shop or go out for the night is a PITA.
Post # 10
Member
262 posts
Helper bee
Garner and Clayton is a good area. I’m in Wilson; not quite as busy as the other cities but I like it.
Post # 11
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
StarryNight2011: Well, I’m finishing up my counseling license Spr 15′ and after looking at the job availability in NC, I realized my pickings will be slim to none without going to get my Phd. I don’t want to cousel for my entire career because I know I’ll burnout, so I decided to also get my occupational therapy license for more marketability and stability.Winston-Salem and UNC-Chapel Hill offers both but more requirements are needed for those schools. Reading the comments I might have to suck it up though. lol
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This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by ny88.
Post # 12
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
Lolasmomma: Are there people in our age group there? Or is it more family oriented? Also, how far would you think it’d be from Raleigh?
Post # 13
Member
3011 posts
Sugar bee
ny88: Morrisville is essentially an extension of Cary at this point. It is very “yuppy” as my S/O says so lots of families, but there are a lot of people in all age ranges, IME. There’s starting to be more and more restaurants and bars (although more sporting bars than dance clubs). It’s 20-30 minutes from downtown Raleigh depending on where in Morrisville you are.
Post # 14
Member
5002 posts
Bee Keeper
I live in South Durham and love it!!! There are some sketchy parts of Durham about 10 minutes North of us, but our neighborhood looks like Pleasantville. We forget to lock the doors all the time and it’s no biggie. I’ve lived in bigger, busier cities, and I think it’s lovely here!! It’s also really cheap, at least for someone who has lived in SoCal 
Check out a map of the area- Morrisville, Durham, Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Carrborro are all within 10 minutes of each other. They seem more like neighborhoods, not really separate cities.
Post # 15
Member
1856 posts
Buzzing bee
We’re in Durham and it’s fine – and we’re in an area that isn’t necessarily the best. We’ve lived in different parts of the city and haven’t been concerned about our safety. Do I like it here? Not really, but that’s more because it’s very quiet and I don’t personally find there’s a lot to do, although it’s great for kids (and we have one, so that part is good). This area is pretty cheap, although certain towns are less so. Personally, if we didn’t have to be here, we wouldn’t, but there are a few good things about the general area.
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