Matador Guide to Raleigh-Durham

[yovan]

Well, now I have to move again... Leaving a wonderful city to the land of endless surburbia (at least that's what I heard)

Any suggestions for enjoying life in Raleigh, North Carolina? I've heard of Cat's Cradle, but that's about it.

Other venues?
Restaurants?
Attractions?
Record Stores?
Any Pittsburgh Steeler bars?

Thanks in advance...

[chabysinisterra]

i've lived in chapel hill the past four + years. most shows go down at the cradle (technically in carrobor), though kings in raleigh has shows on occasion, as do local 506 (chapel hill) and wetlands (chapel hill). i'm sure other places do, but those are the only ones i've been to.

in cary, there are a number of nice indian restaurants, a vegetarian one 'udupi' which is really good. i don't know the dining scene too well in raleigh or durham for that matter, but chapel hill has nice places, provided you're not expecting the offerings of a bigger city.

record store= cd alley in chapel hill. good guy, sean, who owns it. good staff: helpful and friendly, not pretentitous. occasionally, i'll buy something as schoolkids records; there's one in chapel hill, one in raleigh.

[kdart91]

Records:
Aforementioned CD Alley and Schoolkids are good
Nice Price Books has some good cheap vinyl and CDs as well...there are locations in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. There's a new record store on Perry (off of 9th St) in Durham as well owned by a Duke student I believe. Just starting out...

Food:
Sitar (Durham), Udupi (Cary) and Royal India (Raleigh) are great for Indian food
Carrburitos (Carrboro, duh) and Cosmic Cantina (Durham, Chapel Hill) for pretty good cheap Mexican eats
Cary has good Thai food
Raleigh has some pricey upscale dining on Glenwood Avenue
Foster's (Durham, Chapel Hill), Weaver Street Market (Carrboro) and two Whole Foods stores are also good locations for eats.

Shows:
In addition to the venues mentioned, The Nightlight (Chapel Hill) has some shows of interest every once in a while.

Bars:
Orange County Social Club (Carrboro) and Hell (Chapel Hill) are two faves, and the Wine Bar (Chapel Hill) is great for a more relaxed atmosphere. In Durham, Joe and Joe's and The Federal are probably the two best watering holes. Can't recommend any Pittsburgh Steelers bars, but if you find one let me know...I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, having live in Pittsburgh myself for four years...

Attractions:
Not as much in the way of attractions, though the beautiful Carolina beaches are only a couple hours away and the Mountains of Asheville just a few of hours to the West.

[mac m]

do you need to move to Raleigh specifically? if you're worried about endless suburbia, you'll find a lot more if it around raleigh than durham or chapel hill. durham would be the place to buy a home these days, as well....

gotta try Udupi, never been there -- Sitar is good though. i mean, it ain't 6th street, but...

[bitterfruit]

I'll be doing leg kicks at the Bob Pollard show on the 27th at the Cat's Cradle. See ya there.

[yovan]

do you need to move to Raleigh specifically? if you're worried about endless suburbia, you'll find a lot more if it around raleigh than durham or chapel hill. durham would be the place to buy a home these days, as well....

gotta try Udupi, never been there -- Sitar is good though. i mean, it ain't 6th street, but...

Well, My work is in Raleigh, so I thought that would be best? Is a daily commute from Durham to Raleigh feasible?

[glenndoring]

I don't necessarily agree that there's more suburbia in Raleigh than in Durham. Inside the beltline in Raleigh is fairly dense and a hell of a lot less crime than in Durham. There's plenty of suburban neighborhoods on the south side of Durham (closer to RTP), just like north Raleigh (but not as big). I'd definitely steer clear of north Raleigh, southern Durham (near South Point mall), Cary, Morrisville, etc. Raleigh (inside the beltline), Durham (around 9th st and around downtown), and Chapel Hill/Carrboro are all pretty nice. They all have their +s and -s.

Raleigh - more options for housing, lower crime, much lower property taxes (if you're buying a place), easy access to Umstead Park and Museum of Art, good restaurants, some decent music venues

Durham - cheaper housing, cool bars, access to Durham Bulls park, very good nice restaurants

Chapel Hill/Carrboro - very expensive, great music venues, lots of good cheap restaurants, college town feel, good record store (CD Alley)

The commute from Chapel Hill to Raleigh would be pretty brutal if your work hours would put you on the road around 8am or between 5-6pm. Durham to Raleigh is a little more doable but is still a hike. Outside of normal rush hour, getting between the 3 places is very easy, but it sucks in the mornings and evenings during the week.

I'd be happy to answer any more specific questions about Raleigh (that's where I live). I'm sure there are others who could provide you more info on Durham and Chapel Hill.