Anyone familiar with Cary, NC?????

[primered54]

My wife's company is opening an office out there and I'm curious how the city is. I've heard the whole Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area is supposed to be cool. I've never been there, but will probably check it out in a few weeks. I'm a SF/Oakland, CA native and not sure how I feel about movin' out East. Are there any:
cool bars?
cool events?
cool neighborhoods?
fun things to do?
helmet laws?
local car scene?
local music scene?

I'm not totally sold on the idea of moving, but willing to take an open-minded approach. I know the $$$ is supposed to go a lot further out there. Any input or cool things to check out when I'm there would be much appreciated!!!

[286merc]

The natives talk funny but there aint many natives left.

[fatassbuick]

Heavy Rebel Weekender is in July in Winston Salem, Elvisfest is in January in Chapel Hell, Goodguys is in Charlotte in October, there's a huge rod run in Pigeon Forge, Tn. in September...Rocket Automotive is in Winston, mrrocket and dollarfordollar will go out of their way to help ya...plenty of car stuff going on with us all the time.

And not too much "gang activity". I've been to Oakland...

[Mike Zenor]

IMO, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is the second coolest per capita metro area in the US, after Austin. Only downside is that there is no real "center", stuff is spread out. Best music areas will be around the college campuses -- Duke in Durham, UNC in Chapel Hill, NCSU in Raleigh. From my recollection Cary is sort of a sleepy "Cube Farm", like Mountain View or Sunnyvale.

[primered54]

Good to hear... I'm a little nervous about it, but the change could be good. The lack of "gang activity" is nice... I probably won't hear whistle tip exhausts anymore! But I love Oakland for it's shitiness and it's glorious taco trucks! I've heard NC is a cool place, but the people that are telling me that are the ones trying to get me to go!

[Deuce Roadster]

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They do have helmet laws......... but South Carolina does not http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just about all the Poker Runs in/around Chearlotte ride over into S.C.

Charlotte has two large auto swap meets, Spring and Fall AutoFair. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gifts of rod runs in the area too.

They also have a world class zoo in Asheboro NC.

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[38Chevy4door]

The local joke is Cary stands for "Containment Area for Relocated Yuppies (some say Yankees, but not me). I'm a middle-aged married guy, so I can't say what cool social things go on, although the local independent news seems to show a lot of music going on. There are a LOT of good colleges, so they should have some places to hang out within 1/2 hr to an hour of Cary...UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, Duke, then the smaller schools, Meredith, NC Central, a couple more. A couple hours away (other side of Raleigh from Cary) is East Carolina...noted by being excluded from Playboy's Party College list, as they were deemed professional!!!

Cary proper can be pricey and the lots small (mostly fractions of acres, but I have seen a couple neighborhoods where the land was referenced by sq. footage), but if you get out of town a bit, you can get some sure enough acreage! Cary tends to be pretty anal, I'd suggest not living in town or the kerchunk-neighborhoods if you want to work on your ride, have friends over, etc. I haven't looked hard for it, but, I haven't found a car scene...few shows that'll have the standards, and what FatAss mentioned is about it. There's also the ECTA at Maxton a few hours away, which I've always wanted to check out.

A few malls for the Mrs., cheap meals are $5, all the way to throwing away $100 apiece at the Angus Barn. Taco Bell burritos are 79c, Grill 57 1/2 lb. burger combo, loaded, is about $5. I'd suggest looking online for the Raleigh News and Observer to check home prices. I haven't looked close, but I want to say about $100/sq. foot for the houses in my area, which is about a 1/2 hour from Cary. You could probably get closer, same or better prices, to the west of Cary.

I hope I don't make it sound too bad, we love it, and plan to grow old and die here, we just don't get out much! If she gets to keep her Oakland salary, I suspect you guys'll think this is the Promised Land...

PM or e-mail me, if you want contact info...
Steve

[Boones]

Let just say that the housing cost is a LOT lower then the bay area. The car scene may not be as good but in general the south is agreat place to live. I moved to SC from the Bay area and would not go back.............

[SwitchBlade327]

I'll be living up around that area in around a year and a half or so. My fiance' is from that area. It's not that bad, but i guess it depends on what your used to, where we currently reside theres is absolutely NOTHING to do, or anywhere to go. So we love it up there.

[286merc]

It can also get mighty hot, humid and smelly in the summer and traffic to the coast is pretty rough. OTOH it is a straight shot West to the mountains and flowing streams.
I used to cover all of NC and SC for a small computer service outfit for a few years back in the 80's. Was based out of Hendersonville which is in the West of the state but made regular runs to Wilmington, Elizabeth City, Raleigh and every other city that had an airport, racetrack or a college so got to do some serious driving.

It was the last state where I saw actual evening cruises thru the center of small towns with real cars and real people. Even in the early 90's the ole boys would come into town in farm fresh 60's 427 Chevy wagons and pickups and everything in between. Them Southern boys sure like big American V8's. I found my 68 Impala SS396 ragtop in NC as well as the 79 Impala 454 powered ex unmarked trooper car.

[fatassbuick]

Carl's right...we have a cruise in on the last Friday of every month that shuts down an entire town. I've heard about 2,500 cars show up, cruise the main drag, do burnouts, etc. I'll tell ya more about it towards the end of October, the weekend of Goodguys. That'll be my first time to the Oakboro cruise.

[SwitchBlade327]

i was at the oakboro cruise this past friday, there was alot of pretty nice cars, but ALOT of your run of the mill stock Bel Airs (i stopped counting at 20). There was one super nice merc (besides it's billet wheels it was damn near perfect) Give me a heads up to when your going out there and I'll meet ya there, it's the last friday of the month right?

[fatassbuick]

Yeah, I'll be up there Friday October 24, I have the whole day off.

[SwitchBlade327]

ok my fiance' says you don't want to live in cary if you plan on having old cars sitting around the house, or even plan on working on your cars in your yard/driveway. Every Neigborhood has has little coucils to give people that don't follow their rules a hard time. Not trying to discourage ya, just a heads up. She says Garner, Clayton, anywhere in Wake County in general is cool, just not Cary. It's where all the stuck up ass rich folk live.

[SwitchBlade327]

hey fatass, if ya wanna come early my grandma's house is right at main St. in oakboro, we can hang out and have some beers and shit. She always stays with my mom or some of her other kids so we could be obnoxious with no worries.

[fatassbuick]

I may stop by but I won't drink beer and drive the Ford. I'm not that tough yet. The obnoxious part is no problem at all, however.

[luckystiff]

where is oakboro. did i pass thru there on my way to your place switch? i may take that day off to, but it may be to get the plymouth ready if it's that possible. if not maybe i'll fuck with the buick for a few days and drive it. been working and lossing time on the plymouth lately covering a coworker. that ends sat. i'll be taking some of that time back between now and then. i want to get the car finished paint wise while it's all apart. i don't want to put it together for goodguys in primer to tear it back down right afterwards for paint. who knows what will happen...ken....

[stealthcruiser]

get the hell outta' there(ca.)
you will love the humidity there in the summer.
all kidding aside,i love just about all of n.c. that i have seen.the wife is from there,and her mom still lives there(in chatham county).
go for it!

[SwitchBlade327]

Naw, you didn't pass it when you came out to my place, but you came pretty close. It's next door to albemarle, Yeah, it'd rock if you were able to get the plymouth down, maybe i"ll be able to get the poncho together enough to drive out, but it's looking doubtful...

[primered54]

Thank you to all of you guys for providing the great insight! My wife should be making the same salary, if not better, out there... so it very well may be the "promise land". I know their office will be in Cary, but it sounds better to live just outside of it. I appreciate the tip! I should be out there tentatively 10/24-10/27 to take a look at the city. If there's anything happening during that time, let me know!!!

I am sure I will have a certain level of culture shock being a Bay Area native, but it sounds like a shock for the better in terms of livelihood. Especially for trying to buy a house, since there's no way in hell I could afford one where I live now. Everyone seems to says NC is a great place to live. Not sure about the Hurricanes, but I'm used to earthquakes...

Thanks again!!!!

[fatassbuick]

Goodguys in Charlotte is that weekend. You oughta have a good time out here...and buying a house is CHEAP!

[38Chevy4door]

Switchblade's sweetie's right...outskirts are good.

FatAss is on it! Goodguys Charlotte that weekend, about 3 hrs. away...don't know if you want to drive that far, after flying about 12 hours, but, if you need directions or want to hook up...

Steve

[Rocknrod]

Got a lets talk cars thing in Highpoint NC

SCCA chapters all across the state
Vette/corvair/mustang groups...
Car shows within driving distance of where ever you are at least every other weekend during the summer...

Winter isnt freeze your buns off, and Summer doesnt truly cook ya most years...

We've got the 316-319 turn road up in the mountains called tail of the dragon...

Richard Pettys shop is down here near the Zoo...

Some great fishing off the coast, and in cary your withing half an afternoons drive to the ocean. The outerbanks are spectacular! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Kinky6]

Hey, Raleigh is my hometown; I get up there once or twice a year. Cary used to be a sleepy little town out in the county when I was in H.S. Since then, it has become a rapidly growing suburban town, mostly due to its proximity to the Research Triangle area to the west.

Most of Cary is going to be a little too upscale for a serious home hot rod builder. You might consider looking for a more rural place south of Apex along Hwy.55 or U.S.1 towards Holly Springs, also Hwy.64 towards Lake Jordan and Pittsboro. Any or these would allow good commuter access to Cary, and keep you away from the 'burbs with use restrictions and zoning problems.

Lots to do in the area, plenty of arts and culture, concerts, very competitive ACC basketball, some brew pubs. You won't find any funky downtown at all in Cary, although some parts of Raleigh haven't been completely yuppie-fied. There never has been a big car scene there, but there are some small towns to the east and south, like Dunn and Smithfield, that were known locally for their weekend cruising scene.

A couple of hours west of Cary, along the I-85 and I-77 corridors leading north from Charlotte, is the heart of Carolina car craziness. Lots of NASCAR teams are based in this area, lots of automotive shops, aftermarket suppliers, and other related businesses are here. There are a lot of local cruise nights in this area, both during the week and weekends.

Anyhow, hope this helps, Kinky6 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[roadstar]

One word for ya boy(use strong southern accent here).

NASCAR.

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Please note: No offence to the south was intended or implyed here.

[Rocknrod]

We dont have no steenkin accent!

Its yall westners an nurthners... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif