Moving to Raleigh, Need Apartment Suggestions!

December 12, 2008 11:35 AM

What districts/streets/apartment buildings do you suggest I check out on my mini-vacation to Raleigh, North Carolina. I plan on moving there in the near future and I want to find a place that's in the middle of the action.

Hi there. My girlfriend and I are planning on moving to Raleigh, NC this spring when she gets done with her Masters of Architecture. We are both 23 years old. We’re looking to move to Raleigh for a few reasons:

•We’re sick of Ohio
•I can’t find work in Ohio (I graduated 7 months ago with a degree in marketing)
•Raleigh is within driving distance from home (9 hrs)
•It’s supposed to be a great city to live and work
•We need a little more excitement (but a city like New York or Chicago would probably be too overwhelming) I grew up with a cornfield in my backyard, and she grew up in the burbs.

I’ve done quite a bit of research on Raleigh and the surrounding communities so not much input is needed regarding the character of those places. My main question resides on what area/district street/apartment complex would be right for me? I wish to live INSIDE the belt line.

1)I want to be able to literally walk out of my apartment and grab a bite to eat or go to a nice music bar. In other words, I’d like to find a spot that’s SAFE but in the middle of everything Raleigh has to offer. So far Glenwood South sounds about ideal.
2)We don’t have a lot of money now, but we’re willing to pay the extra cash to live in the downtown area if it fits our budget (preferably 1 bedrooms under $800).

We’re going to take a mini vacation to Raleigh in a few weeks here, so any suggestions as to apartments or areas that you would recommend living at/near would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

PS. I found a lot of affordable apartments located at 740 Small Wood Dr. They include Wedgewood, Raleigh Apartments, and Glenwood Gradens... are these worth checking out?

posted by my_impermanence to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

Glenwood South appears to be where it is happening as far as the bar and restaurant scene. It mostly seems to be condos in that area. There are some condos on Person St. that were affordable to me when I was condo/townhome hunting a few years ago, maybe something for rent there. Person Pointe: about 2/3 of the way down this page.

The Smallwood Dr. places are probably worth checking out, that is a good neighborhood, close to Cameron Village shopping center, downtown, and NCSU. Raleigh Apts are a huge brick pile that looks like it was built to house returning vets in the 1940's. Not sure what they are like on the inside, could be very charming or horrifying. There are some apartments and condos for rent usually on the other side of Cameron Village around Daniels, Smedes, and Woodburn.

Email in profile if you have questions or if you need a contact when you're here.
posted by marxchivist at 12:29 PM on December 12, 2008

A bit more, I would definitely check out Glenwood Gardens and St. Mary's Apartments. Looking at them on the web I recognize, the neighborhood seems pretty nice.
posted by marxchivist at 12:32 PM on December 12, 2008

You should consider the Cary area.
posted by arimathea at 1:00 PM on December 12, 2008

Thanks for the help so far marxchivist! Armathea, everything I heard about Cary made me not want to move there, namely "mcmansions, stripmalls, and soccer moms". I will make sure to drive through the area though and check it out first hand.
posted by my_impermanence at 2:52 PM on December 12, 2008

Cary sucks for all of the reasons you have discovered, and more.

There are apartments all around the Cameron Village area, but I've lived near Cameron Village on and off for a couple of years, and it's a pretty mixed blessing.

I used to live in historic Boylan Heights, and it mostly meets your needs. Probably more than some of the icky places around Cameron Village, and it's closer to downtown. We had a very conscientious landlord, and a nice apartment. The neighborhood was comfortable and safe, as well. They were actually a bit more full of "togetherness" than I'm used to -- always having art walks and neighborhood gatherings and stuff.
posted by Coatlicue at 3:48 PM on December 12, 2008

This thread has a lot of where to live in Raleigh info.

Also, obviously, have you considered Durham? Because it's awesome.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:27 PM on December 12, 2008

Since nobody else has said anything, I will say that one great advantage of living in Durham of which you might not be aware is that the commuting is much easier. So many people live in Wake County and commute west to RTP, Durham, and Chapel Hill, that the rush hour traffic predominately follows that pattern. Living in Durham and commuting south or east is much, much less awful. Since you don't know where you'll be working yet, it's at least worth thinking about.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:07 PM on December 13, 2008