Chapel Hill, NC Reviews

Great college town, but not cheap - 1/2/2021
Between my wife and I, we've lived in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and it's Chapel Hill we prefer. Franklin Street is always lively with an eclectic mix of shops, cafes, and restaurants, and UNC brings arts, sports, and top-tier healthcare. For anything else you might need, the other triangle cities are within easy driving distance. It is an expensive town though, with high housing costs and property taxes. The local economy also revolves around UNC, but there are many commuters into Read More

Bert's take on Durham Metro Area - 10/1/2015
I am not sure if Bert has actually been to the Triangle, but for starters, Durham, as Chapel Hill residents know and envy, is and has been for 5 yrs now a vibrant revitalized downtown that Chapel Hill mayor envies and is publically trying to emulate. Durham, is home to RTP (THe reasearch Triangle area), which is home to many international Pharma like Merck and Bomerieux, Glaxo... and others such as Credit Suisse. Companies and executives relocating here all know the best restaurants are all in Durham, and so says ANTHONY BOURDAIN HIMSELF, his favorite quoted being VIN ROUGE, also in Durham.

Durham downtown is home to GOOGLE, and to DPAC, and home of the AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL and FULL FRAME International Film Festival. Durham is also known for attracting what published economists call "the creative class" for it's entertainment, music festivals, art and foodies hotspot.
Durham is also progressive and is where many of the area's liberal academics chose to llve. It Read More

cooler summer in hills nearby? - 10/26/2014
someone told me they live in the hills/mountains right near chapel hill, and the summers are much cooler there, while the town itself is easily accessible. is this true? if so, where exactly would i be looking to buy? i'm a poet and musician and i hear great stuff about chapel hill's creative community, although it's all second or third hand, but i'm interested in moving there. however, i hate hot and humid Read More

good place to send your kid to college? - 1/4/2013
thank you for your posts about Chapel Hill. What I've read on this site precludes my son from applying to go to college here. he won't apply.

My son was applying to public schools as his Safety schools: NC Chapel Hill and U Dub(Washington State) and UCberkeley and UCLA as his four 'safety' (Cal Berkeley isn't a safety being right up their with Most Selective privates) but these are the publics he's applyikng or was til reading your posts.

he's applying to privates in MN, VT, NH, NJ, NYC, D.C.,PA, SoCal,and we let one college in from the South, Emory in Atlanta GA. We found there is too much racism, and Greek life, and quietly, ever polite, uppity white people (I'm White,very White blonde blue) left over in the South for our CA, NV tastes. And specifically why Vanderbuilt is a big NO.


We nixed these three VA schools after another college website convinced us. We liked three in VA: U VA (public), William and Mary, and Washington and Lee Read More

Hit or miss - 2/3/2011
Chapel Hill is definitely a change of pace compared to my home city of Durham, NC which is nearby. The advantages of Chapel Hill to Durham are that there is not as much serious crime (murders, rapes and armed robberies) compared to Durham and that there are some things to do if you are artistically inclined(me being a musician) and a free public bus system. The disadvantages are a serious homeless problem everywhere (not just one Franklin St), a highly competitive job rate with little jobs besides the hospital and university and a high mentally ill population which often coincides with the homeless problem. Also gangs and young people getting into trouble is another problem as well as a not so secret drug use scene, as well as people with nothing else to do but cause trouble. Chapel Hill has fair share of the them nearby Carrboro seems to be full of those types of people. Also the buses don't run on Sunday and you have to sign up for Shared Ride, carpool or hire a taxi to get to Read More

Lack of backyards in Chapel Hill, NC - 7/14/2009
Can anyone answer the question as to why there is virtually no backyards in residential neighborhoods in Chapel Hill, NC. You get a nice deck but no playable grass in the backyard. Makes is tough on folks that have small children who like to play in the backyard. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Robyn Read More

Stuck Up educated liberals - 5/5/2009
I lived in Chapel Hill for several months, the good points are the area is very clean, well educated population, safe, and you actually see folks walking to stores, nice jogging/walking trail; Folks here are abit more active,unlike the rest of the Triangle area where people drive everywhere. What I find disturbing is that large influx of northeasterners from NY,NJ,DC,and PA who are bringing in their rude/ unfriendly ways to the area. The triangle area is much like an urban sprawl, lots of traffic, terrible roads, no side walks, hardly no public transportation, overprice and overated homes; every home in this area has vinyl sidding and they all look the same; just like the people who live in NC. This area is great for families with kids, for singles and the young at heart its a pretty boring place to Read More

Good And Bad - 8/19/2008
First the good:

Schools are great, the town is beautiful, well-educated population, funky, academic, a sense of managed and responsible growth. Mainly due to the university, the town is very diverse, compared to most of the rest of the South. Crime rates are generally low, though there's a serious homeless problem downtown (they know where the money is, I guess). Depending on your political views, the local political climate is very wealthy-left wing, which may or may not be a virtue. There is a strong tradition of progressive politics, though that has largely been swallowed up by money during the last decade or so.

Then there's the bad:

Cost of living is way out of whack with NC, and the rest of the metro area. Most people who work in town can't afford to live here, and I would wager that many of the people who have put this place on the map (namely, the creative types that spearheaded a very dramatic renaissance here during the 1980s and Read More

weather - 7/24/2007
Lovely, early spring. Long, pretty fall. Mild winter. Horrible, hot, humid summer. Great climate September to Read More

Nice Town But... - 6/28/2007
The town must do something about the increase in gangs in town, this county, and in Durham. My child tells me that her high school has several gangs in there and that other local high schools also have seen an increase in gangs. There are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and all girl gangs increasing all over town and making there way into the lives of residents here. Crime is on the increase and at times it does not feel as safe as it once was.

Also, there should be a little more control on those students from Carolina that love to urinate and abuse our property on Franklin Street on weekends and before and after football games. Police should crack down more on alcohol and drug use among those students and limit the hours that students can get drunk before they have football games on campus. Students need to respect the community more and business owners on Franklin Street more. Each year, you get these lude wannabe gangsters and more and more rude students with Read More