I have spent the last year living with my fiancee down in W-S (She is a grad student at WFU). Despite its relatively large population, W-S is the definition of a sleepy southern city. In fact, the Triad area (That is Greensboro, W-S, and High Point) ranked in a research study as the second oldest area in the country in terms of health. You will absolutely feel this, as on the busiest night of the year so far - last friday - the downtown area was empty by 1am. Part of this is due to the area being relatively suburban and spread out, the truth of the area is that it is NOT at all a college town like Boulder, CO, Chapel Hill, NC, or Austin, TX. Due to its suburban spread and central NC location, a car is absolutely necessary for living in W-S - but everything good is within a 15 minute drive from anywhere in town - and traffic is almost non-existent.
Aside from that negative, W-S is a pretty nice place to live. It is nestled at the bottom of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and offers plenty of outdoor activities within an hour or two drive. There are state parks with nice hiking close by - check out Hanging Rock State Park and Salem Lake, along with relatively close skiing and rafting opportunities. If you want to get away from the city area easily - join the Outdoorsing Club - they run all sorts of cheap activities during the year.
The W-S area itself is beautiful, as is the Wake Forest campus. It is not uncommon to spend a few hours walking around campus, picking up some organic fro-yo from the lounge and heading over to the "grove" area of campus to sit on the old-school wooden swings and ultimately simply take in the fresh air. However, the pollen count here is extremely high, so if you have bad allergies bring some medicine.
Wake Forest, unlike many other universities, is not at all connected to the surrounding community or the downtown W-S area. Wake is instead a literal gated community - most like a prestigious country club in appearance and feel. While the faculty is fantastic and diverse, the student body is not. The vast majority of students are rich, white and Republican - essentially following in their parents' stead. Unfortunately, the university administration (different from the faculty) shares this mindset, and the general consensus among many students is that University officials are slaves to their incredibly large endowment. The administration even has gated faculty and staff housing on campus, and this past year has been rumored to provide several frats and sororities with under-the-table parties and alcohol. Wake students generally rarely leave campus unless it is to go to Football or Basketball games, or to head to the mall. With that said, the graduate student population is very diverse, with many Asian and International Students and professors. And, as a grad student, you will not care much about the undergrads, as you will all quickly learn the oft-repeated expression that "Work" Forest students never sleep.
The professors here have sterling reputations as leaders in teaching before research, and are usually extremely helpful despite being tough. If you put in the work here, you will learn and grow exponentially. Class sizes, especially grad, are small - and there are almost no TAs to deal with. The library looks better than it really is, and is FREEZING 100% of the time. There is free coffee in the library, and during finals they have free pizza and hot chocolate delivered to late night studiers. Unfortunately, the University puts more of its endowment towards its athletic recruitment department instead of campus improvements - there are almost no public computers on campus and minimal multimedia help or support for students as well. Still, the environment of the university is studious and quiet, which makes it easy to learn effectively.
Living in W-S is CHEAP and safe if you stick to the West of Downtown. The East part of town is dominated by a low-income population, withseveral specific areas being notorious for crime. In general though, stick to the areas close to Wake, and always visit potential housing before you commit. For specific apartment complexes with good reputations, check out the Crowne owned properties. For houses, you need to drive around the community to look , but the Stratford rd, Coliseum Dr, and Polo Rd areas are nice and may still have houses for rent. Expect to pay between 400-600 per bedroom for an apartment and 500-700 per bedroom for a house, but utilities are ultra cheap here. Get a roommate - most grad students are easy going and study all of the time - to control costs.
There is not much International diversity in Winston Salem, despite a decent number of Asian restaurants. Greensboro has a huge Vietnamese communities and is your best bet for an Asian grocery store. For regular grocery stores, check out Whole Foods on Stratford Rd - great selection and cost effective if you shop for things on sale, and The Fresh Market on Robinhood Road - similar to Whole Foods but cheaper. Don't bother with Lowe's or Harris Teeter - both are big box stores with bad produce, fish and meat departments. The only redeeming quality of Harris Teeter is the one off Cloverdale has the best Thai food in North Carolina inside of it- cheap for lunch and delicious too.
The nightlife in W-S is hit or miss. During the winter, people don't frequent the Downtown area as much. During the Spring and Summer, it can get crowded. Wake students generally don't go off campus unless they go clubbing in Greensboro or rarely in W-S. For cheap alcohol, check out Tequila Mexican Restaurant off Reynolda Road - on Monday and Tuesdays they have 99 cent Margaritas and 2 dollar 32 ounce Dos Equis mugs - on other days they have good drink specials too. Good nachos too, and 10% off entire bill with your Wake student ID. On Thursday nights, hit up Sixth and Vine - they have 1.50 draft beers and 5 dollar martinis - along with great live music and an outdoor bar and patio area. Rec Billiards has free Darts in the basement as well as pool up top. There are several "clubs" in W-S that are decent, but consistently change names and management every year or so - most students go to Greensboro if they want to go clubbing. Also, Wake Forest has a dive bar on campus - Shorty's. Most students drink and party in frat houses or other house parties, which can be difficult to get into if you aren't well known with the house members. If you love movies - check out Carmike Cinemas off Reynolda Road. This theater has 4.25 Student movies every day, and 1 dollar popcorn and sodas on Tuesday nights. It shows newly released films, and even has a 3-d theater too.
Overall, living in W-S is safe, quiet and cheap. Still, its not exactly NYC in terms of excitement or activity - and the area can be incredibly frustrating if you are a minority or a progressive minded thinker. The local public school administration is loosely affiliated with the Tea Party, so that should give you an idea of the general mindset of the community. One last thing - be careful driving here - the roads are big but there are tons of very old drivers who need and use that space pretty freely.
