Research Triangle Park - Raleigh, NC

postout wrote:

Might be moving there for a job. Just curious if anyone had some opinions on the campus and area.

Thanks!

Worked there at IBM in the late 70s & early 80s. Great area.

Thanks for the reply! Glad to hear something positive.

bumpinnnn up

We moved to the Raleigh area 6 months ago and really enjoying so far. Good places to run, good schools, lots to do between Raleigh, Durham, etc.

Depending upon the job, RTP could be a great area to work. Depending upon where you live, the commute can suck at times.

The area has good running. Raleigh has a great greenway system. You have the American Tobacco Trail. Umstead Park has great bridle and single track trail and good hills. Loads of runners out there on the weekend.

Where exactly are you planning to live?

Raleigh is a great area to live, but more expensive than the surrounding sprawling areas like Cary, Apex, Garner, etc.

Not sure yet. I have some time to decide so I've been browsing online and talking to others. Hopefully I'll make it down there soon though. I was thinking about getting an apartment right in RTP near the company I'm working for. Maybe just do that for 6 months while I'm house browsing.Any suggestions? I would rather live in a smaller country town outside Raleigh once I'm looking for a house.

litterbug wrote:

Depending upon the job, RTP could be a great area to work. Depending upon where you live, the commute can suck at times.

The area has good running. Raleigh has a great greenway system. You have the American Tobacco Trail. Umstead Park has great bridle and single track trail and good hills. Loads of runners out there on the weekend.

Where exactly are you planning to live?

Raleigh is a great area to live, but more expensive than the surrounding sprawling areas like Cary, Apex, Garner, etc.

Good idea to rent for awhile in RTP while you figure out where in the Triangle works best longer term. It's a big, sprawling area with lots of options in terms of both lifestyle and running routes. Chapel Hill, for example, has a distinctly different feel compared to Durham, which is very different than Cary, etc.

If you're looking for a small country town, I'd check into the parts of Chatham and Wake county along the American Tobacco Trail. South of where it crosses I-40 is fairly rural still, and isn't that far from RTP. Apex for example, and the new neighborhoods near Morrisville Pkwy. The ATT is unbeatable for running.

Umstead State Park is much hillier to run in than the ATT, but equally good on its own terms. Nothing within running distance of it counts as "small country town" though.

The area's newest great running location is the Neuse River Greenway (http://neuserivertrail.com/), which is a flat, paved 28-mile long greenway north and east of Raleigh. It's great for tempo runs and long intervals (and any longer run for that matter). The downside for someone working in RTP is that it's pretty far away, although many people do commute to RTP from the N. Raleigh / Wake Forest area.

Be sure to stop by the local running specialty stores when you get here (Bull City Running, Capital Run-Walk, Raleigh Running Outfitters, Fleet Feet, etc.) They'll help get you pointed in the right direction too.

Best of luck with the relocation and new job!

My whole family lives in Durham and it seems like a really nice town. There are good options for running there as well - Duke forest is extensive and has nice dirt paths, and there are a lot of trails along the Eno river as well. My sister lives pretty much right downtown and she can walk to the farmer's market and a number of bars and restaurants, including one where a running club meets weekly. I could be wrong on this but my impression is that the cost of living in Durham is lower than Raleigh or Chapel Hill.

Out of curiosity, what kind of company are you going to be working for? My parents keep trying to get me to look for a job down there...

Watch out for the cars on your runs. Most of the drivers think they are in NASCAR and let pedestrians be damned.

Make sure you let them know how you did it back where you used to live. They love hearing that type of stuff.

Thanks!! I look forward to the trails and hitting up the running stores. I'm coming back from injury, but would like to find a club with some competitive guys. I'm not that great anymore, but still run 15's for the 5K and 4:20's in the mile. I would imagine there are some post-collegiate guys running around the area.I'll check out Wake County and all of that. Appreciate the feed back. Tim - Sounds like you live right in the area...are you still running on a continuous basis? Any good clubs?To the other poster...It's for a Software Company. It seems like there are many jobs in the RTP area. Not sure what field you are looking into though. I already work for a good company, but while browsing one night, submitted a resume for the heck of it. Funny how things happen...now I'm picking up and moving. Pretty pumped to be honest.

Yeah, I've lived here most of the past 25 years and run all over the area, depending on which group is running where, what my schedule is like, etc. Most, if not all, of the running stores have teams. I'm on the Bull City Track Club, which has everything from weekend warriors to OT qualifiers and all levels in between (http://www.bullcityrunning.com/bull-city-track-club/). There are also a couple of big recreational clubs (Carolina Godiva and NCRC), which sponsor a lot of local races including a summer track series at UNC. With your times though, you'd find more company running with one of the store teams and/or just word of mouth among the competitive post-collegiate crowd (Facebook groups and so on).

Tim - Appreciate the post! This is exactly what I was looking for...pretty excited about the Bull City Track Club.

Thanks again.

I lived in Apex for a year and absolutely loved it! It's on the SW side of Raleigh and the newest area in the city. You have the American Tobacco Trail right there and like someone said Umstead Park across town. I recommend living in Apex or Cary and doing the 25:00 drive North to Research Triangle. Its a great area to live in with lots of greenways and a younger feel.