visiting Chapel Hill area

[julesz]

Hi all,

My hubby Eric will be visiting Chapel Hill and surrounding areas on Monday and Tuesday (12, 13) as we are thinking about moving to the area. If he feels like it's a good match, we'll all come down in the near future.

I've posted before and gotten lots of useful information on the area. Now I am wondering about specific places you'd recommend he visit or things to do that will help him get a good sense of the area.

We are a homeschooling family, into nature, natural health, etc. and he is a ceramic artist. (Kids are both girls, 6 and 2.)

Currently we live fairly rurally, about 15 minutes from Ithaca NY, and love much about this set up. However we'd ideally like to be living somewhere we can walk to other homeschooling neighbors, maybe a small town center with resources like a library and a natural foods store.... Of course, if we decide this is the right area we're likely to rent for a while as we learn more about the area before buying a house. However, we'd  like for him to get a good feel for the place.

Anywhere you frequent that might help him get a good feel?

Thanks so much!

Julie

PS Are there any natural food coops there?

[pittsburrito]

I think y'all will like the Chapel Hill area very much.  The homeschool community is big: http://www.chapelhillhomeschoolers.com/  The town of Carrboro sounds like it will be more your style, and it is so close to Chapel Hill that you can't tell when you've left one town and entered the other.  There is a great food co-op in Carrboro, the original Weaver Street Market, and I highly recommend that you eat a meal there to take in the community. http://www.weaverstreetmarket.coop/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=69  

If Chapel Hill / Carrboro housing prices/property taxes are more than you'd like (they are quite pricey) I recommend to you both the towns of Hillsborough (15 minutes north of Chapel Hill) and Pittsboro (15 minutes south of Chapel Hill).  Both of those smaller communities have co-ops (Hillsborough's is Weaver Street Market #3, and Pittsboro's is Chatham Marketplace http://chathammarketplace.coop/).  Pittsboro also has a developed arts scene, and it's a shame your husband will be arriving just one day after the Studio Tours end, because he would probably be very interested in it: http://www.chathamartistsguild.org/about/history.html .  (You can look forward to it next year!)  

If you go to Pittsboro http://www.biolex.com/Japenese%20Website%202004/pdfs/Pittsboro.pdf , you should visit the General Store Cafe http://www.thegeneralstorecafe.com/history.html and/or the S&T Soda Shop (for ice cream!) http://mominchapelhill.blogspot.com/2011/03/s-soda-shoppe.html  

Enjoy your trip!

[juneboymum]

I second the recommendation to sit at Weaver St. Market in Carrboro and eat, have a glass of wine/beer, and just take in the community.  It's wonderful!  We moved from there about 1.5 years ago and I miss it desperately!