IWokeUpLikeThis Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Chapel Hill is definitely not more diverse than Durham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Hill,_North_Carolina#Demographics vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham,_North_Carolina#Demographics) but I doubt you'd find much animosity toward mixed-race families there. It's very progressive, partly due to the presence of the university. I'm mixed race myself, and while I felt more comfortable in Durham, I certainly didn't feel uncomfortable in Chapel Hill. Whether you live in Durham or Chapel Hill might be partially dependent on what kind of commute you're comfortable with, as well as what type of city you want to live in. Chapel Hill has more of the small town aesthetic, whereas Durham is more artsy (there's a revival of the downtown area going on right now -- lots of food trucks, repurposed warehouses, art galleries). I've lived in both and liked both. Both Durham and Chapel Hill have lots of great child-oriented places. Check out the Museum of Life and Science in Durham (I loved that place growing up!). There's also the Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, Duke Gardens in Durham, Durham's food truck rodeos (lots of kids there), both cities have YMCAs.... Raleigh, nearby, also has the state-run museums of natural history, etc. Thanks for the info! That's really helpful.
Gambaosaka1 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) What about on-campus living as a grad student? Odum village looks like the option available. Anyone had experiences living there or being there? Looking forward to moving there in August. Edited February 14, 2015 by Gambaosaka1
NYCBluenose Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I'm curious if anyone else could weigh in on living in Chapel Hill vs. Carrboro. As a sheltered and impractical New Yorker, I'm also wondering if it's at all possible to live around UNC without a car
gellert Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 ^ It's totally possible! I did it. Either one is nice. Carrboro is maybe a little more bike/walk-friendly, but there's a great bus system. NYCBluenose 1
esotericish Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 What about on-campus living as a grad student? Odum village looks like the option available. Anyone had experiences living there or being there? Looking forward to moving there in August. I'm not sure how much it costs so I can't comment on that, but it's really not that nice. You can find some affordable places that aren't Odum village and are in cooler parts of the town. I'm curious if anyone else could weigh in on living in Chapel Hill vs. Carrboro. As a sheltered and impractical New Yorker, I'm also wondering if it's at all possible to live around UNC without a car yes absolutely! CH/Carrboro has one of the best bus systems in the country (according to objective ratings and my personal experience). That said, you'll commute will be much easier if you pick somewhere near the more frequent bus lines. I lived in both CH and Carrboro while I was there. There's pros/cons to each. If you live in Carrboro you'll probably not be able to walk to as many places, but you might be able to save some money. I'd say find an apartment you really like and don't worry whether it's in CH or Carrboro, they're really not that much different from each other. NYCBluenose and Gambaosaka1 2
abcaee Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Hi, It's great to learn a lot from the previous postings about UNC. I will be attending UNC for grad school and was looking for a good place. I am looking for an apartment complex that has good security, has coffee shops and grocery stores nearby. Also, I am Korean and if there are some Koreans at the complex that would be great. I was looking at Pointe at Chapel Hill. Would anyone recommend that place? Or any other recommendations?? Thanks.
esotericish Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Hi, It's great to learn a lot from the previous postings about UNC. I will be attending UNC for grad school and was looking for a good place. I am looking for an apartment complex that has good security, has coffee shops and grocery stores nearby. Also, I am Korean and if there are some Koreans at the complex that would be great. I was looking at Pointe at Chapel Hill. Would anyone recommend that place? Or any other recommendations?? Thanks. There aren't many places near campus like that -- although now that I think about it there are some new apartments and condos right on Franklin St that you should look into. I imagine they are very, very expensive. Most everything near Franklin St (which would be the place with the coffee shops and stores nearby) are not apartments, they're houses or town houses. However, there are a couple really cool communities not too far away that are on a bunch of bus lines. Meadowmont and Southern Village are two that come to mind. sc9an 1
abcaee Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 How well done is the public transportation in Chapel Hill?
esotericish Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 It's phenomenal. There are tons of buses with overlapping lines. The buses are very nice and, when I was there at least, they were free. You really don't need a car if you live in off of a good bus line (although I very much enjoyed having mine). NYCBluenose and DancingHeel 2
efs001 Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 It's phenomenal. There are tons of buses with overlapping lines. The buses are very nice and, when I was there at least, they were free. You really don't need a car if you live in off of a good bus line (although I very much enjoyed having mine). I think the buses are good for what they are...free transportation to UNC. However I wouldn't go so far as to say that you don't need a car depending on where you live. I live in Carrboro and can take 3 different bus lines. But none of them run particularly late and where I live there is no night bus. And the CW which goes through downtown Carrboro comes so infrequently that I would never want to rely on it to do my grocery shopping or run other errands. I still recommend having a car even if you live on a good bus line. It gives you the luxury of doing the things you want or need to do and not leave you at the mercy of the bus schedule. mop 1
esotericish Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 I think the buses are good for what they are...free transportation to UNC. However I wouldn't go so far as to say that you don't need a car depending on where you live. I live in Carrboro and can take 3 different bus lines. But none of them run particularly late and where I live there is no night bus. And the CW which goes through downtown Carrboro comes so infrequently that I would never want to rely on it to do my grocery shopping or run other errands. I still recommend having a car even if you live on a good bus line. It gives you the luxury of doing the things you want or need to do and not leave you at the mercy of the bus schedule. Agreed! But I think you can live strategically enough that it's possible to avoid paying for a car. I know plenty who didn't have a car in CH/Carrboro. I did though and I loved it.
slpchica Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 Hello everyone, I will be attending grad school at UNC and am lost on where to live. Can anyone give some specific housing places in CH/Carrboro that are safe and somewhat affordable? I know there is a bypass right around there and do not want to be living right off of that. I want somewhere within either town, where I can walk to stores or little coffee/food places. Thanks!
esotericish Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 You will be very hard-pressed to find an unsafe place in CH/Carrboro. Also, there aren't really specific neighborhoods so it's hard to give you exact locations to look. If you want to live in prime walking distance to everything, living as close to Main St in Carrboro is your best bet. Few undergrads make their way that far (it's not far at all, though) and it's a great location overall. However, it'll be more pricey. Southern Village a bit south of campus off 15501 is also a nice place, though i can't comment on the price. Basically anywhere in Carrboro is nice, but it gets residential very quickly. Chapel Hill is where you're more likely to find undergrads if you stay close to campus. But if you get a bit further out you'll get more for your money. It's really difficult to live within walking distance of coffee shops and restaurants unless you live near Franklin St in Chapel Hill or Main St in Carrboro -- and it gets quite expensive the closer you are to those places. If you do some searching on your own and have specific questions about locations I'm happy to give my thoughts!
BiochemMom Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Is it possible to find a single family detached home for rent under $1500 in this area? Willing to commute ~30 minutes. I'm not sure if it's too early for places to be listed yet or if every place I've ever lived has spoiled me.
esotericish Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Is it possible to find a single family detached home for rent under $1500 in this area? Willing to commute ~30 minutes. I'm not sure if it's too early for places to be listed yet or if every place I've ever lived has spoiled me. Yes absolutely, especially if you're willing to commute a bit. You can probably even live in Carrboro, though a bit further out, for that much. Do you have kids? if so you should make your decision based on school districts. there are a lot of REALLY cheap areas around chapel hill once you get out of the immediate town limits. again happy to answer questions if you have specifics on locations!
BiochemMom Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Yes absolutely, especially if you're willing to commute a bit. You can probably even live in Carrboro, though a bit further out, for that much. Do you have kids? if so you should make your decision based on school districts. there are a lot of REALLY cheap areas around chapel hill once you get out of the immediate town limits. again happy to answer questions if you have specifics on locations! She'll be enrolled in a private Montessori school as she is now so we don't mind where we're districted for in terms of public schools. I feel like every single place I've scoured on padmapper, heels housing, and chapel hill rent is either a duplex or town home or a 3000 house. :/
esotericish Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 In that case, I'd definitely recommend getting out of the Chapel Hill area. Also, I don't know how much padmapper will be of help. I'd check Zillow for sure. Places I know are really cheap and within 20 minutes or so of Chapel Hill: pretty much anywhere in Orange County, especially towards Mebane and rural Carrboro. East of chapel hill you have western Cary and Morrisville which are very nice areas especially for families. You can easily get big townhouses out there for around $1200 so I imagine there are some small separate homes available as well. The thing about Chapel Hill is it's in a bit of an island. It's closish to Durham, but if you go any other direction than Durham there's not a ton in the immediate area. Hillsborough comes to mind as well as Pittsboro. Both are nice, quaint places and very affordable to live in. Like very affordable. Houses for less than $150k.
scarvesandcardigans Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Is it possible to find a single family detached home for rent under $1500 in this area? Willing to commute ~30 minutes. I'm not sure if it's too early for places to be listed yet or if every place I've ever lived has spoiled me. I would add checking out Apex to the list. It's roughly 30 minutes if you take 64, and it's a pretty drive, and from my experience less crowded than I-40. As far as realty/renting goes, inventory is down in the area, and turnover is occurring rapidly (I work in Triangle area real estate), so I wouldn't say it's too early for places to be listed, but checking frequently is a must. Best of luck!!
abcaee Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 could someone provide me a list of good apartments around the UNC campus that are mostly for graduate students and are good residential complexes around the price of 800? Thanks.
esotericish Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 You'll be hard pressed to find apartment complexes that are just graduate students. There is a graduate student housing complex on campus - called Odum Village I believe - but I never thought it was very nice. Most graduate students in my experience lived in Carrboro or north of campus off of MLK, which is a pretty convenient area due to the frequent buses. I'd just take a look at all the apartment complexes off MLK (avoid Chapel Ridge and the one right beside it). There are also some in Carrboro. I'd just take a look at reviews. As is the case with housing in most areas, the cheaper it is the worse it is. But either way, most complexes will have a mix of undergrads, grad students and working professionals. If you have questions about specific places I'm happy to provide input.
krizzle Posted April 5, 2015 Posted April 5, 2015 You'll be hard pressed to find apartment complexes that are just graduate students. There is a graduate student housing complex on campus - called Odum Village I believe - but I never thought it was very nice. Most graduate students in my experience lived in Carrboro or north of campus off of MLK, which is a pretty convenient area due to the frequent buses. I'd just take a look at all the apartment complexes off MLK (avoid Chapel Ridge and the one right beside it). There are also some in Carrboro. I'd just take a look at reviews. As is the case with housing in most areas, the cheaper it is the worse it is. But either way, most complexes will have a mix of undergrads, grad students and working professionals. If you have questions about specific places I'm happy to provide input. Do you know anything about Town House Apartments. There are only 3 reviews online. The place is cheap and close to campus though.
esotericish Posted April 6, 2015 Posted April 6, 2015 Do you know anything about Town House Apartments. There are only 3 reviews online. The place is cheap and close to campus though. Yeah, they're terrible. Went to many parties there as an undergrad. It's filled with undergrads and is really depressing in general. Everything is cheap and old and cinderblock.
rack_attack124 Posted April 8, 2016 Posted April 8, 2016 On April 6, 2015 at 9:41 AM, esotericish said: Yeah, they're terrible. Went to many parties there as an undergrad. It's filled with undergrads and is really depressing in general. Everything is cheap and old and cinderblock. I second this. My friend lives there and I can only surmise the reason why is because they are cheap and close to campus. Once I slept over there after we went to bars and it isn't nice. Remember when it's cheap, sometimes you get what you pay for! And also @esotericish Odum Village was nicknamed "scrotum" village when I went to UNC lol. I have been to those apartments and I don't think they're really any better than dorms. A lot of new places have sprung up in Chapel Hill like Shortbread Lofts or Lux.
HiFiWiFi Posted February 10, 2017 Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) I will likely be attending UNC-CH in the fall for a 2.5 year Masters program. I'll have a car but am hoping to cut down on my commute as much as possible, and I can move any time between now and August. My question is about housing. From the website it looks like the Mason Farm Graduate Housing is an interesting option, but I'm curious about 1) if it's actually a good option, 2) if it's actually available to grad schools without family, and 3) if there are better off-campus options? I definitely want to live alone with no roommates. I'm a minimalist and don't need much space so a studio is fine, but I do need a kitchen with all of the normal appliances, and living in a quiet-ish (non-party, basically) environment is a must. Safety, obviously, is something I very much care about as well. W/D in-unit is a major plus. Edited February 10, 2017 by HiFiWiFi
newent777 Posted February 13, 2017 Posted February 13, 2017 Has anyone lived (or now live) in Baity Hill graduate housing? I thinking of attending UNC this coming fall and would appreciate some info. Thanks!
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