raleigh/durham wildcats

[scathendo]

not sure where this post actually belongs so if the mod's need to move it, please feel free.

my wife is being transferred to Cary, NC and i guess me and my 4 year old son are going with her:big_grin:.

i'd love to here from other cat fans that have lived in the area or live there now. what's it like on the devil's doorstep? i live in nashville now so i'm used to getting some grief from vandy and vol fans.

i love nashville with all the music. i'm the creative type (musician/architectural designer). the firm i work with in nashville is looking to keep me on, remotely. that's a huge relief because it's hard to find a place that really designs and isn't just a technical production house. so now that MY job situation seems to be settling down, i'm actually getting kinda' excited about the move. i've read some really nice things about the area but wanted to hear from some of you about your experience.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. (neighborhoods, schools, music, food, hiking-most anything in the outdoors really).

[UFWildcat]

Your should PM Raleighcat.

[cdrw]

I live in Durham, and have for 25 years. I really like living in Durham, and overall in this area. Cary has grown incredibly in the last 20-30 years, from about 20 thousand to 100 thousand or so. "Cary" stands for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees", or at least that's the joke in this area.

Cary is in the Wake County school district (same as Raleigh), which is overcrowded. I read in the newspaper that lots of children are being transfered to schools that aren't close to home, and many of the schools are year-round now, to try to ease the overcrowding a little. I'm not sure what to advise along those lines.

Because of all the growth, there are some traffic issues. I would not dream of living a long way from where I work because I wouldn't want to drive in busy traffic such as exists frequently in I-40, although I work with people (at Duke) who live in Raleigh and Cary. It's not as bad as the DC area, or LA, of course.

There are a lot of outdoors things to do around here. Several state parks with rivers and lots of trails (I like the Eno River State Park), Duke Forest with lots of trails, several recreational lakes, and the ocean and mountains aren't too far away.

Being a UK fan isn't so bad around here. The rivalries among the local schools (Duke, UNC, and NC State) get most of the interest, so no one really goes out of their way to rag on you. I've been able to see a lot of UK games on television this year (either ESPN or CBS) but sometimes CBS shows a different game in this area. It is a challenge to raise your children as UK fans, when the only question they hear around here is whether they're for Duke or Carolina.

There is a lot going on around here musically (all types). It's not Nashville, though, of course. If you consider all that happens in Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh (you'd be reasonably near all three in Cary) there's really a lot to choose from, culturally.

[scathendo]

we took our first visit of the area last weekend and i was really impressed. beautiful country, nice people. we looked all around but it looks like the cary/apex area is going to be the best fit for my wife's work (i'll be working from a home office) and our price range.

[KY Blue in Carolina]

I work in the Cary/Morrisville area and have been in the area for 20 years. I now live out in Charham Co. along the Rocky River.

I also moved here from Nashville... back in 1988.

I love the area. The Tarhole, State and Dook fans are too busy giving each other a hard time to pay us too much mind.

Send me a PM when you get settled....

Tom

[NC Cat]

We live a little east of Cary (80 miles or so) but have a daughter who has lived in Cary and now lives just outside Chapel Hill. We love living in NC. I don't think there's a better place to live in the eastern U.S. The Raleigh/Cary/Durham/Chapel Hill area has some traffic issues, but it's not too bad most of the time. Way better than DC, Atlanta, or California, to be sure. And the economy in the area is really strong, driven largely by Research Triangle Park and three major research universities. It's one of the few areas in the country where home prices are continuing to go up rather than down.

In terms of hiking and camping there are lots of options. You're kind of in between the mountains and the beach, so you can take your pick. We love the Asheville area, especially in the fall when the leaves are changing. There are also state parks around the Raleigh area and a number of hiking trails. Where we live near the coast there is an extensive network of canoe and kayak trails, extending all the way out to the estuaries of the Outer Banks. Pretty neat to explore.

Music options are plentiful and varied. If you like smaller clubs, Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro is a famous venue that gets some great performers. The performing arts center in Carrboro also has had some good musicians (we saw Nickel Creek there). The area has pretty much everything from huge outdoor amphitheaters, to renovated theaters, to clubs and bars, to small halls. The whole area is pretty into the arts, so you’ll be able to find lots of things to keep you busy.

[justacatsfan]

¿Habla usted español?