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Tell me please about North Carolina


Pato del Muerto

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3 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

 


ummm...Duke’s in Durham, NC State is in Raleigh.

but assuming you meant Durham, you did a damn fine job describing it.

 

LOL. Don't drink and text. Yes, I meant Durham. Was there two weeks ago. Went to the Virginia/Duke game. 
There is an unbelievable pizza restaurant in downtown Durham. http://www.pizzeriatoro.com/
The Parlor ice Cceam shop is another great place. The bar scene is limited but still plenty of good restaurants. In a recent city poll, Charlotte topped the US for tech jobs. Raleigh/Durham was 2 and Austin was 3. 

Thnx. 

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LOL. Don't drink and text. Yes, I meant Durham. Was there two weeks ago. Went to the Virginia/Duke game. 
There is an unbelievable pizza restaurant in downtown Durham. http://www.pizzeriatoro.com/
The Parlor ice Cceam shop is another great place. The bar scene is limited but still plenty of good restaurants. In a recent city poll, Charlotte topped the US for tech jobs. Raleigh/Durham was 2 and Austin was 3. 
Thnx. 


pro tip...there’s a bar on campus at Duke that used to serve $2.00 pitchers on Friday for happy hour. face the chapel, follow the sidewalk toward the union, and you’ll pass a building on your left with iron stair railings leading down to a basement. therein lies that den of iniquity.

met my ex-wife there, in fact.

be sure and tell your daughter.
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30 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

 


pro tip...there’s a bar on campus at Duke that used to serve $2.00 pitchers on Friday for happy hour. face the chapel, follow the sidewalk toward the union, and you’ll pass a building on your left with iron stair railings leading down to a basement. therein lies that den of iniquity.

met my ex-wife there, in fact.

be sure and tell your daughter.

 

That's awesome. Will do. Damn, we love that school! 

 

Thanks so much. 

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Durham, Asheville, Wilmington and Chapel Hill would all be awesome towns to got to college in (my brother went to UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington). As an old, I'd really only want to live in Asheville or Durham unless I worked at UNC in CH. I haven't spent much time in Asheville but I would like Chapel Hill more to Austin than Asheville. But to be clear that isn't a knock on Asheville. 

My parents have lived off and on I'm Greensboro for 20+ years following Dallas and they love it. Nice town but a little oldish and, outside of some very limited areas of youth and revitalization, it's pretty sleepy. But the location (like the research triangle) is great vis a vis the mountains and beach being relatively equidistant. 

 

*Caveat: I haven't been to Gboro for 7 or 8 years so it could be a real happenin' joint now, as the kids say (I think?) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I spent my week driving around. Came away very underwhelmed, as was the wife. 

Downtown Raleigh was actually very cool and seemed like a good choice for urban living, which we don’t want. It’s like if Ft worth wasn’t next to Dallas.  The natural science museum was exceptional, and completely free of charge. 

Turned down Brevard job, and now the Mrs is getting a big bump in pay to take on a bigger role where she works, so we are just going to stay in Wyoming and I’m going to chill out and play Susie homemaker until I can find a nice flexible job and coast for a couple of years. 

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19 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So I spent my week driving around. Came away very underwhelmed, as was the wife. 

Downtown Raleigh was actually very cool and seemed like a good choice for urban living, which we don’t want. It’s like if Ft worth wasn’t next to Dallas.  The natural science museum was exceptional, and completely free of charge. 

Turned down Brevard job, and now the Mrs is getting a big bump in pay to take on a bigger role where she works, so we are just going to stay in Wyoming and I’m going to chill out and play Susie homemaker until I can find a nice flexible job and coast for a couple of years. 

Don't blame you. And I'm not really knocking NC, as I do enjoy it, but I wouldn't want to live there. Then again, I wouldn't live in Wyoming either. I require ocean.

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5 minutes ago, G650 said:

Don't blame you. And I'm not really knocking NC, as I do enjoy it, but I wouldn't want to live there. Then again, I wouldn't live in Wyoming either. I require ocean.

The nice thing about Carolina and Va. is you can have both the ocean, and mountains within about 2 hours if you live in the central part of the state.

Me, gimme a steep, bumped up, snow hill any day over water though, but the wife shares your view, so we know who wins that battle.

Y'all are gonna have a damn pretty day tomorrow.

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14 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

What I saw in Asheville looked more like rolling hills than mountains. Spoiled by being around the Rockies, beartooth, gallatin, and Tetons I reckon. 

Oh yeah, using that term loosely, when compared to the Tetons or Rockies (I don't get jealous of much, but you guys getting to live among those giants makes me envious). Just remember, what you're seeing are basically what's left of a chain of mountains wiped way at least 2x, that dwarfed the Rockies... back in the day.

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1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

The nice thing about Carolina and Va. is you can have both the ocean, and mountains within about 2 hours if you live in the central part of the state.

Me, gimme a steep, bumped up, snow hill any day over water though, but the wife shares your view, so we know who wins that battle.

Y'all are gonna have a damn pretty day tomorrow.

 

Totally. The whole 'We have the mountains and the sea" is basically my grandma's motto. She brings it up in every conversation ever, usually as a non sequitur. 

 

I've been eyeing the weather for awhile, been to fucking scared to say it out loud, but it looks gorgeous tomorrow and Sunday. 

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  • 1 month later...
Just got back from four days in Charlotte.   Stayed at an Air BNB in NoDa.  Drank copious crafties at Salud Cerveceria.  Many crafties at various breweries across town: Catawba, Free Range, Heist, Legion, Resident Culture.  Cool little town.  We didn't venture very far.  


I live within a 5 minute walk to 10 minute drive of all of those. You picked a fun part of town


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  • 1 month later...
On 10/28/2018 at 6:39 PM, Hook1997 said:

Asheville is awesome, very pretty, the breweries and restaurants are great.  Very young vibe in the city.    White trash Redneck and rural??   Not so much.

Flying into Asheville for a weekend business meeting at the end of April.  Most of the time is already scheduled, but will have time for one supper in Asheville- any recommendations?  Staying at the Grand Bohemian on this particular evening.

Edit- Since all of the flights to Asheville stopped in Charlotte, we're flying into Charlotte and driving a rental car to Asheville- never been to North Carolina and figured we could see some more country that way.

Edited by Kennythetiger
OU sucks- did I do that right?
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Weekend meeting? Getting out of town past CLT on a Friday evening is brutal.

Red Stag at the Grand Bohemian is the best thing in that area of town.

The Asheville James Beard semifinalists for this year- 

Katie Button - Curate and Button's Bagels.  If you're a Tapas fan Curate is very good.

Meherwan Irani - Chai Pani, Spicewalla, and  Buxton Hall. Haven't eaten at any of his places but will next trip.

Ashley Capps - Pastry Chef at Buxton Hall

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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1 hour ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Brevard is 45 minutes outside Asheville. 

Look for white squirrels.  Brevard is one of two places in the US with a white squirrel population. 

Also a substantial hippy infestation.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...
Bump. Headed to Kure beach south of Wilmington for a big family vacation this weekend, mainly because it’s convenient for my son and his wife to meet us from Ft. Bragg.

Any recommendations?


I haven’t lived there for over a decade, but that’s near my hometown

Kure is at the south end of “Pleasure Island” (dumb name)

The Northern side of the Island (as you cross Snows Cut bridge) is Carolina Beach, which is rougher around the edges but has some nice beaches and more of the usual amenities like grocery stores, the ABC store, and the Boardwalk. The marina is there if you’re interested in deep sea fishing or evening river cruises (Cape Fear river runs on the backside of the island)

Most bars are on this side of the island. The Fat Pelican is unique to say the least and has a huge selection of beer in the walk in refrigerated trailer. If you have a capable 4WD (not AWD), you can buy a permit to drive out on the North End.

If you like seafood, in descending order of how casual:

1) Michael’s is a long standing favorite for locals.
2) Cape Fear Boil Company is new but comes highly recommended
3) Shuckin Shack has been around for a long time and is great for bar vibes + seafood
4) Hang Ten is another good option for casual

Other popular spots: Flaming Amy’s Burritos (but that may piss you off as a Texan), Island Bagels, and Island Burgers & Bites

I would avoid Buzz’s Roost and Pleasure Island Tavern. I won’t go into specifics, but I’m not a fan of the owner

In the middle of the Island (Wilmington Beach), you will find Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar. Solid food, but even better to head out to the tiki bar for live music and drinks. It gets packed but is worth the crowd for the music and scenery.

Kure is much more residential and family oriented. There is a fishing pier with several restaurants nearby. I’d highly recommend Ocean View for breakfast/brunch, and Freddie’s for dinner

At the far south end of the island is Ft Fisher. There’s a Civil War museum that is set to be demolished and replaced, so this may be your last chance to see it in current form, and the NC Aquarium

At the south end, you can also catch a ferry to Southport, NC, which is a charming beach town

If you get sick of the island, Wrightsville Beach is much more upscale, and Downtown Wilmington is packed with awesome restaurants and breweries, as well as a ton of history

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I’ll do my best to answer
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Wilmington is a great area and worth driving into for a meal/beer/day trip/whatever. We’ve been looking pretty hard at heading that direction for another beach house as we’re not really feeling buying again in FL right now. Oldest is also looking at Wake/UNC, so it would make sense to do something that direction if she ends up in NC.

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If I didn't have so much anchoring me to Austin for the foreseeable future, I'd consider moving to Wilmington.  I haven't lived in that area since 1992, but I love that part of the country.  My fiance's daughter says she might want to go to college near a beach, so I've mentioned UNC-Wilmington to her.

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  • 4 months later...

We went to North Carolina for a long Thanksgiving weekend and really enjoyed it. Aside from a forced layover in Charlotte a couple years ago, we had never spent time there.

My wife has always wanted to go because she thinks it could be a reasonable option to move to if we ever reach our breaking point on Texas heat and/or politics. I don’t entirely disagree, but we know very little about NC and we just need to feel it out.

Flew into Raleigh and drove to New Bern on the coast where we have extended family. Spent Thanksgiving there and liked the area, but time was mostly tied up with family stuff. Quaint little town though and pretty scenery.

Drove down to Wilmington for a couple of extra nights, which seems like a cool place. Found a cool restaurant called Seabird that I can’t recommend enough. The downtown area looked fun but perhaps a tad touristy, although that suited us for a short visit.

Drove to Wrightsville Beach which we liked. Also drove to Carolina Beach which felt more like Panama City Beach or South Padre. Went down to Kure Beach which was nicer, but if we go back in the summer, we’d probably pick Wrightsville out of those three. It wasn’t great beach weather but at least we saw it and it was our daughter’s first time seeing the ocean, so that was cool.

We both want to go back and see Asheville and the western side of the state. I struggle with the idea of the eastern U.S. having “mountains” after spending so much time in Colorado over the years. Maybe as a lifelong Texan, I’m in no position to be a snob when it comes to their geography.

Not sure if I could ever move to NC. The biggest drawback for me is that Charlotte is their best airport and it’s nowhere near the coast. If I ever leave Texas, I want to be close to the coast without losing my easy access to a good airport. There’s some other criteria (good weather, moderate politics) that makes that Venn diagram very complicated for us.

But we enjoyed our time there and plan to return.

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50 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

We went to North Carolina for a long Thanksgiving weekend and really enjoyed it. Aside from a forced layover in Charlotte a couple years ago, we had never spent time there.

My wife has always wanted to go because she thinks it could be a reasonable option to move to if we ever reach our breaking point on Texas heat and/or politics. I don’t entirely disagree, but we know very little about NC and we just need to feel it out.

Flew into Raleigh and drove to New Bern on the coast where we have extended family. Spent Thanksgiving there and liked the area, but time was mostly tied up with family stuff. Quaint little town though and pretty scenery.

Drove down to Wilmington for a couple of extra nights, which seems like a cool place. Found a cool restaurant called Seabird that I can’t recommend enough. The downtown area looked fun but perhaps a tad touristy, although that suited us for a short visit.

Drove to Wrightsville Beach which we liked. Also drove to Carolina Beach which felt more like Panama City Beach or South Padre. Went down to Kure Beach which was nicer, but if we go back in the summer, we’d probably pick Wrightsville out of those three. It wasn’t great beach weather but at least we saw it and it was our daughter’s first time seeing the ocean, so that was cool.

We both want to go back and see Asheville and the western side of the state. I struggle with the idea of the eastern U.S. having “mountains” after spending so much time in Colorado over the years. Maybe as a lifelong Texan, I’m in no position to be a snob when it comes to their geography.

Not sure if I could ever move to NC. The biggest drawback for me is that Charlotte is their best airport and it’s nowhere near the coast. If I ever leave Texas, I want to be close to the coast without losing my easy access to a good airport. There’s some other criteria (good weather, moderate politics) that makes that Venn diagram very complicated for us.

But we enjoyed our time there and plan to return.

We spent a few weeks in the mountains during peak Covid and really enjoyed it.  Drove up and back from DFW to a little cabin one of the wife’s cousins owns.  A little too small town for me, but it’s a lovely place to spend a week or two.  Wouldn’t move there.  Our Venn diagram is also complicated.  We don’t know what the fuck we are doing at this point, but it’s not Texas.

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We went to North Carolina for a long Thanksgiving weekend and really enjoyed it. Aside from a forced layover in Charlotte a couple years ago, we had never spent time there.

My wife has always wanted to go because she thinks it could be a reasonable option to move to if we ever reach our breaking point on Texas heat and/or politics. I don’t entirely disagree, but we know very little about NC and we just need to feel it out.

Flew into Raleigh and drove to New Bern on the coast where we have extended family. Spent Thanksgiving there and liked the area, but time was mostly tied up with family stuff. Quaint little town though and pretty scenery.

Drove down to Wilmington for a couple of extra nights, which seems like a cool place. Found a cool restaurant called Seabird that I can’t recommend enough. The downtown area looked fun but perhaps a tad touristy, although that suited us for a short visit.

Drove to Wrightsville Beach which we liked. Also drove to Carolina Beach which felt more like Panama City Beach or South Padre. Went down to Kure Beach which was nicer, but if we go back in the summer, we’d probably pick Wrightsville out of those three. It wasn’t great beach weather but at least we saw it and it was our daughter’s first time seeing the ocean, so that was cool.

We both want to go back and see Asheville and the western side of the state. I struggle with the idea of the eastern U.S. having “mountains” after spending so much time in Colorado over the years. Maybe as a lifelong Texan, I’m in no position to be a snob when it comes to their geography.

Not sure if I could ever move to NC. The biggest drawback for me is that Charlotte is their best airport and it’s nowhere near the coast. If I ever leave Texas, I want to be close to the coast without losing my easy access to a good airport. There’s some other criteria (good weather, moderate politics) that makes that Venn diagram very complicated for us.

But we enjoyed our time there and plan to return.

Wilmington has a perfectly good airport as well, direct flight to DFW.
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