Relocate Triangle - An Insider's Guide About Moving To The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area

Public Library Cards in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, so if you are new to the area or plan to be coming here soon, now is the perfect time to take advantage of one of the best resources in the Triangle. All the public library systems in the area rank have some of the highest circulations in the state thanks to a well-read, literate population, and many of them are very appealing to children, making them an ideal and thrifty resource for any family to enjoy.

The following is a listing by county of what is involved to obtain a card with the public library system. Sorry, as of yet there is no way to do so online, only in person. Here are more details:

Wake County Library

For a card with the Wake County Library, you must present a photo ID with your current address and an item that verifies it (bill, lease, checkbook, etc.). Any child under 13 needs a parent or guardian to sign for a card. County residents are issued cards free, while non-residents may obtain a card for an annual fee of $25 or for computer use only free of charge. The replacement charge for lost cards is $1. When your register for a card, you will choose your Personal Identification Number (PIN), a four-digit number of your choice attached to your library account. Your PIN allows you to renew your books from home by telephone or Internet and request books to be held for you at your local branch, among other services.

There are 19 branches in the Wake system to get a card. Hours of operation vary considerably, so your best bet is to check on the map detailing info on each one here.

Durham County Library

The Durham County Library features the Smartest Card, its specialized library card available to all residents of Durham County free of charge. (Non-resident can obtain one for $45 per year.) Positive identification (preferably a North Carolina driver’s license or special ID) with a current address is required. Applications for children under 18 must have the signature of a parent or legal guardian.

Two of the library’s eight branches – Bragtown Community Library at 3200 Dearborn Drive and McDougald Terrace Community Library at 1101 Lawson St. – have limited hours and are not open past 6 p.m. weekdays and only from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. Four are open until 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays from 2-6 p.m. – the Main Library at 300 N. Roxboro St., East Regional Library at 211 Lick Creek Lane, North Regional Library at 221 Milton Road, and Southwest Branch Library at 3604 Shannon Road.

Orange County Library

The Chapel Hill Library offers cards to all county and city residents. Proof of identity is required, such as a N.C. driver’s license, Social Security Card, passport, student ID or other government-issued ID. Other patrons may obtain a library card for an annual fee of $60. There is only one library, at 100 Library Drive off Estes Drive in Chapel Hill.

For those in Hillsborough and other parts of Orange County, the Hyconeechee Library System offers four branches in the county including two in Carrboro. Cards are free to county residents, but non-residents must pay an annual fee of $25. To register, you will need to show ID with your current address. A state driver’s license is preferable. If you are new in the county and have an out-of-area/out-of-state driver's license, it may be shown with a piece of official mail (e.g. a utility bill) or official document that verifies your current address. Children may have their own library card provided that the registration form is signed by a parent or legal guardian. Check the Web site for branch locations and hours.

Vehicle Inspection For Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

We have discussed the basics of getting your driver’s license and vehicle registration changed to reflect your new residency in the Triangle (for a reminder of that and all of what is involved, or in case you did not see it the first time, visit the Jan. 28 entry, “I Have to Pay For That Too?”). However, we neglected until now to mention another important cost involved in owning your car or truck in the Wake, Durham and Orange counties – the vehicle inspection fee.

This fee can be a tricky one. Unlike your driver’s license, it occurs under a more frequent annual basis for renewal. And unlike your vehicle registration, you do not get a notice from the state saying your renewal is coming up shortly – it is up to you to check on the sticker on the bottom left corner of your windshield to see if it has reached the month and year of its expiration.

Not all vehicles must have an inspection – those more than 25 years old are exempt, so if you have a classic automobile or two, there is no need to worry about them. Otherwise, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, or DMV requires an annual inspection for mechanical safety be performed within 10 days of receiving a North Carolina license plate or by the last day of the month printed on the inspection window sticker. The annual cost of the sticker is $9.25.

The North Carolina vehicle inspection can be performed at any of the 7,500 licensed inspection stations throughout the state. Most service stations, automobile dealerships and vehicle repair garages are licensed inspection stations – look for the state emblem displayed out front to give you an idea of which ones handle it. Keep in mind that if you plan to have the process done on a weekend, you most likely will have to wait possibly several hours due to a heavy demand for service on Saturdays and Sundays, even if you bring your vehicle to the inspection station at the start of business hours.

If a vehicle fails the safety inspection, it cannot be operated beyond the expiration date on the current sticker. However, the owner will have 30 days to repair any safety defects and qualify for a re-inspection at no additional cost, provided the owner repairs the defects and presents a receipt of the initial inspection at the same inspection station. If the inspection sticker expires after the initial inspection but before re-inspection, the owner may request a single-trip permit from the DMV to drive the vehicle to the inspection station for re-inspection.

The inspection checks the motor vehicle’s brakes, lights, horns, steering mechanism, windshield wipers, turn signals, tires, rear view mirrors, exhaust system and window tint. Regarding the latter, vehicles with after-factory window tinting must pass the 35 percent visible light requirement during an annual vehicle safety inspection. In addition to the annual safety inspection fee, there is a $10 charge for any vehicle that has an after-factory tint.

Residents of the Triangle also must have their vehicles, except for diesel-powered vehicles and motorcycles, pass an emissions test due to air quality concerns (nearly half the counties in the state now require this test, and you must get it if you live in the Triangle – no going to another county that does not require this test). Vehicles that fail the initial inspection qualify for re-inspection within 30 days at no additional charge, provided the owner repairs the defects and presents a receipt of the initial inspection. If your motor vehicle fails to pass an emissions test within four months of the existing inspection sticker, the vehicle owner is subject to a civil penalty and will be unable to renew the registration until the vehicle passes an emissions inspection.

It all sounds intimidating, but really the process is not that difficult. Most cars and trucks that you keep in routine shape should pass inspection easily, including the emissions test, and the biggest cost you will have probably will be the time spent getting the inspection completed. Just remember to do it on time, because if you are spotted with an expired sticker during any routine traffic stop by a law enforcement officer, the cost of the ticket will be much more than what the inspection would have taken out of your wallet.

Hot-Humid-Hazy In Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Although it has taken a little longer than usual here in the Triangle, we finally are in what makes it the dog days of summer, with high temperatures at or above 100 degrees with a high level of humidity accompanying them forecast this entire week. If those predictions hold true, they could set record highs for the area this week.

The combination of hot, humid and hazy weather brings along certain challenges to Triangle residents to adapt to the circumstances, chiefly because of the resulting air quality. With little wind to circulate the air, few clouds to block the sun and only a small chance of precipitation, the stagnant air will trap pollutants easily. That has led to state officials ordering the Triangle and surrounding areas to be under a Code Orange ozone alert, based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, or AQI.

The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health concerns you should recognize. The AQI focuses on health effects that can happen within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA uses the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect against harmful health.

A Code Orange AQI means that the outdoors air is unhealthy for sensitive groups primarily because of ground-level ozone and should be avoided. Sensitive groups are defined as including people with lung disease (such as asthma), as well as active adults and children. Those persons are encouraged especially to cut back strenuous outside activities, such as go for a walk rather than a jog, or reschedule them when air quality is better (generally early morning or late evening).

What exactly is ground-level ozone anyway? Well, ozone is a colorless gas composed of three atoms of oxygen, one more than the oxygen molecule we need to breathe. Ground-level ozone is formed by a chemical reaction between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen in the presence of sunlight. Sources of VOCs and oxides of nitrogen include transportation vehicles, large industry and combustion sources such as utilities, small industry such as gasoline dispensing facilities and print shops, consumer products such as paints and cleaners, and off-road engines such as aircraft, locomotives, construction equipment, and lawn and garden equipment.

To keep the air cleaner during a Code Orange ozone day, it is recommended that you conserve electricity and set your air conditioner at a higher temperature, share a ride to work or use public transportation, bicycle or walk to errands when possible, defer use of gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, refuel vehicles after dusk, combine errands and reduce trips, limit engine idling, and use household, workshop, and garden chemicals in ways that keep evaporation to a minimum, or try to delay using them when poor air quality is forecast.

The forecast calls for the temperatures to go down somewhat by the weekend, along with a better chance of rain. However, as long as the Triangle keeps growing and the heat remains every summer, having Code Orange days will be a fact of life here, so get used to them and understand what you can and should not do to cope with them.

New Statistics For Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

As more data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau regarding recent population changes in the Triangle from 2000-2006 (all counties increased their number of residents in the period, as we have noted), there are a few other tidbits of fascinating facts coming out regarding Wake, Durham and Orange counties from the recent survey that we thought we should share with you. They indicate how reflective and at the same time the counties are in comparison with North Carolina and/or the rest of the United States. Such similarities and differences are what help to make the Triangle, well, the Triangle. So here goes:

Wake County

Wake County’s percentage of people ages 65 and older is 7.6 percent, a surprisingly much lower figure than the 12.1 percent for North Carolina in general. Other demographic breakdowns are more in line with the state, give or take 2 percentage points, except for the percentage of Asians (4.4 in Wake versus 1.8 statewide), languages other than English spoken at home among ages 5 and up (12.2 vs. 8), persons age 25 and up with who are at least high school graduates (89.3 vs. 78.1) and persons age 25 and up who have at least a bachelor’s degree (43.9 vs. 22.5). Similar disparities exist in Durham and Orange counties for the latter two categories – the Triangle population overall has a better educational record than most parts of North Carolina.

Residents of Wake County also have somewhat of a lower home ownership rate than the rest of the state (65.9 vs. 69.4), though that could be explained by the considerable concentration of institutes of higher learning in the area. Two remaining statistics indicate how strong Wake is doing in comparison with the state – it has a higher median household income ($57,846 vs. $40,863) and a lower amount of people living below the poverty level (9.2 vs. 13.8).

Durham County

As with Wake, Durham has fewer people 65 and over than the state (9.5 percent), more Asians (4), languages other than English spoken at home among ages 5 and up (13.9), high school graduates ages 25 and up (83) and college graduates ages 25 and up (40.1). The big difference with state demographics is ethnicity, however – Durham has fewer Caucasians (56.2 vs. 74.1) and more blacks (38 vs. 21.8) and Hispanics (11 vs. 6.4).

The home ownership rate here is significantly lower even than Wake’s, at 54.3 percent, while the median household income is not as high but still better than the state average, at $44,048. There is a discouraging note, though, in that the percentage of persons below the poverty level is slightly above that of the state, at 14.9.

Orange County

Orange’s ethnic demographics contrast sharply with Durham’s as well as the state’s – 79 percent of the population is Caucasian, and just 13.3 percent is black. Other stats stay in line with the general trends, however – there are fewer people 65 and over than the state (9.3 percent), more Asians (5.7), languages other than English spoken at home among ages 5 and up (11.9), high school graduates ages 25 and up (87.6) and college graduates ages 25 and up (51.5). Medium household income is higher too, at $46,621, while the number of persons below the poverty level is slightly lower than the state at 12.6.

If you are interested in reviewing these statistics and others, check out FedStats, which includes a wealth of government demographic data broken down into states, counties and even cities. Note that some data has been suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information – we will try to dig up the dirt and enlighten you on it in a future entry.

Grocery Shopping In Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

If you are arriving in the Triangle, particularly from outside North Carolina, there are certain chains of supermarkets, grocery stores or food stores, whatever you care to call them, that are indigenous to the area and may take some time getting accustomed to them. Yes, we have plenty of Wal-Marts and Super Targets here, but there are several regional options that also do strong business, and we are not talking about the convenience stores such as Circle K or Kangaroo either. (We covered the latter previously – see our May 3, 2007 blog.)

For example, Harris Teeter is one of the top choices among us here, but unless you live in one of the nine cities outside North Carolina serviced by the company from Maryland to north Florida, it is a complete unknown to you. Harris Teeter (or as some call it, “the Teeter”) has done a strong job in keeping its stores clean and updated with the latest conveniences, including some very nice deli departments and easy-to-use self-checkout lines. It also has excellent discounts for those of us who have a “VIC” (supposedly meaning “Very Important Customer”) card with the chain, and as far as we can tell, the company does not abuse the information it receives when you apply for the card, sending you updates only when there are big specials occurring. There are 11 stores in Raleigh, five in Durham and five also in Chapel Hill – a large number for the latter town.

Food Lion may be a more familiar name to you, as it ha some 1,200 locations in 11 states, mostly in the Southeast. It has similar features to Harris Teeter (although its “MVP” discount card does not come in a shape you can use on a keychain the way the “VIC” card does), but it has struck us as having less variety than the other chain, and its magazines are not always the most up-to-date issues on sale. Nevertheless, it certainly is ubiquitous – it has approximately 27 stores in Raleigh, 12 in Durham and three in Chapel Hill.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, used to have more of a presence in the Triangle, but the competition in the area has been somewhat daunting. Nevertheless, it has rebounded somewhat and opened stores in a few of the newer shopping centers, such as Patterson Place in Durham. It is similar to what Harris Teeter and Food Lion offers, and you may prefer it if you live close to one or plan to do a lot of shopping on trips outside North Carolina, as Kroger has many more locations than the other two. There are eight Krogers in Raleigh, seven in Durham and none in Chapel Hill.

Lowes Foods is also a strong name in the Triangle, with offering similar to the stores previously mentioned. Almost all the stores are located in North Carolina, but since it is a relatively new chain, its stores generally have solid amenities. When asking someone about it, remember to include the Foods part after it, otherwise most people around here will assume you are talking about the Lowes home improvement stores. There are four Lowes Foods stores in both Cary and Raleigh and one apiece in Chapel Hill and Durham.

For the more socially conscientious shopper, Whole Foods Market is the leading name in organic foods. Its stores in the area are nice and wide, but parking can be a problem, particularly at the Durham and Chapel Hill locations. Also, be prepared to pay more and have less selections for certain items – with the emphasis on organic foods, most if not all major brands are excluded from its shelves. There are two stores in Durham and one each in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Cary. A similar store with a more local angle is Weaver Street Market in Carrboro.

A nice eclectic “specialty” grocery store, if you will, is Trader Joe’s, a California-based chain that opened its first store in the Triangle in Cary last year and aims to have its second one in operation in Chapel Hill by this October. Another “specialty” one is The Fresh Market (http://www.freshmarket.com/), a chain emphasizing an Old World-Market layout that is pretty cool to visit. It has one location in Cary and two in Raleigh.

All of these grocery stores are considerably diverse in ethnic foods, but you may be disappointed by the lack of variety provided by them. Fear not – there are plenty of specialty food stores in the Triangle providing, shall we say, nontraditional offerings. In particular, there are a sizable number of stores catering to the Hispanic population in each city. For an excellent listing of what is available, click here.

Happy shopping to you wherever you decide to go, and remember to tell them whether you want paper or plastic, although at Whole Foods or Weaver Street, they probably will be upset it you do not bring your own reusable bags to carry items home.

Moving Companies

For some people, packing up their furniture, clothes and other household items for their move to the Triangle is not nearly as stressful as trying to find the right way to move them from their previous address to their new one.  Unless you are a nomad (CHECK), you will need some way to transport your “stuff,” as George Carlin likes to call it, using more than just your own vehicle(s). 

Depending where you live currently, you may choose to use a local moving company or service for your relocation experience, or you might be better off using one in the Triangle.  Here are your best options to do so locally:

There are two main options for people whose materials to be transported are small enough that family and/or friends can drive a rental vehicle designed to move goods.  The first is the well-known U-Haul, which has so many locations throughout the Triangle that you would be best off visiting the Web site to find which one would be most convenient for you to use as a pickup and/or dropoff location.  When planning to use U-Haul, keep in mind that not all locations offer the same equipment, storage and hours of operation.

The other big name in doing the moving by yourself is Penske. The company has five locations in the Triangle, but the ones in Cary (Packaging Depot at 963 N. Harrison Ave.) and Raleigh (Public Storage #29117 at 6291 Glenwood Ave.) do not accept inbound business, so you cannot return your borrowed vehicle.  However, you can return one as well as check out any vehicle at two locations in Durham (Packaging Express Inc. at 4711 Hope Valley Road, phone 919-493-6131, and Public Storage #28067 at 3600 Kangaroo Drive, phone 919-286-9855) and one in Morrisville (Penske Raleigh at 204 Trans Air Drive, phone 919-467-8211).  The Morrisville one is near the airport, which may be a consideration for you, and it is open at least till noon every day, while the Public Storage one in Durham is open every day until at least 2 p.m., and Packaging Express is closed on Sundays and unlike the others has no dropbox to leave your key(s) after hours.

Bekins Van Lines is another established name – it is the one with the trucks that used to have an image of a guy sleeping comfortably on a pillow painted on their sides.  The Bekins service representative for the Triangle is based in Smithfield, however, which may dissuade you if you are living in Orange or Durham counties particularly, since that is a one-hour drive from parts of those areas and can be aggravating if you have to visit it in person for a problem with the van or whatever reason might crop up.  You can fill out a request online or contact the local representative at 919-938-0013.

Allied Van Lines, like Bekins, also offers free online ballpark prices for its services, and it too is a venerated name in the moving industry, with more than 75 years of experience.  The Triangle’s designated Allied agent is Excel Moving and Storage, Inc. 2612 Discovery Drive, Raleigh, NC 27616, phone 919-873-9235.  To find another agent in your area for service to the Triangle, call 1-800-823-0755.

United Van Lines offers similar service to Allied and Bekins and has four agents in the Triangle, each with a toll free number:  Armstrong Relocation Co., Inc. at 4227 Surrles Court, Ste. 110 in Durham (800-473-9869), Lawrence Transportation Systems at 10320 Globe Road in Morrisville (800-336-9626), McCollister’s Transportation Systems at 900 Aviation Parkway, Ste. 100 in Morrisville (800-934-1174), and Hilldrup Moving and Storage Company at 2539 Noblin Road in Raleigh (800-756-0127).

Finally, there is the relatively new PODS, which uses portable storage containers delivered to your doorstep that you or their employees pack, then its vehicles’ patented hydraulic lift system brings the containers on top of the wheel bed and carries it away, saving everyone involved a lot of stress and strain associated with packing.  In addition, the storage containers can be dropped off at the new residence, or contained at one of the PODS warehouse to be opened later if a customer prefers.  Of course, for a convenience like this, the cost is considerably more than what you would pay for the other services, yet many people believe it is worth it in the final analysis.  The PODS warehouse serving the Triangle is at Greater Raleigh Metro Warehouses, 8701 Fleet Service Drive, Raleigh, NC 27617, phone 1-866-767-PODS.

A final word of warning:  Fuel costs will have a definite impact in your move.  Calculate them as part of whatever service you are doing, and realize it can take a significant chunk, because these moving vans and trucks are anything but fuel-efficient.  Gas prices in the Triangle currently are in line with the national average, however other parts of the states as well as locations in other states may cost more than that.

Triangle Real Estate Market Update

Is the housing market weakening in the Triangle?  Somewhat, but not as much as many other places, according to a recent article in the Triangle Business Journal. 

The article used data and analysis about real estate activity in the Triangle during the first quarter of 2007 from Metrostudy, a Houston-based firm that boasts it keeps the largest database in the country of primary housing marketing information and updates it every 90 days.  According to Metrostudy, construction and sales of new homes dropped in the Triangle during the January through March period of 2007 when compared to the same period in 2006 (3,712 new houses in 2007 versus 4,097 in 2006, down 9.6 percent) and does not appear to be improving anytime soon.  (Metrostudy defines Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Johnston, Granville, Franklin and Vance counties as the Triangle market.)

Even so, Ed Dunnavant, director of Metrostudy’s North Carolina division, told the Triangle Business Journal that the slowing of the local market does not have as big an impact when compared to other areas where speculative investing dominated their markets.

“It’s a much more stable market than the markets that have a lot of investors,” he said.  “We just haven’t seen the investors in here.  We haven't had the 15 to 20 percent appreciation that was driven by the investors.”  He predicted that housing rates will be flat but very high.

Dunnavant also noted that the Triangle’s low unemployment rate (3.5 percent versus 4.5 percent for the state and 4.4 percent nationally) increases job growth and in turn stimulates demand for homes.  For those coming to the area, it is indeed now a buyers market.  The Triangle’s single-family inventory, including units under construction, finished vacant units and model homes, stood at 10,283 units during the three months surveyed this year, up from 9,906 during the same period last year.  The Triangle has a 2.9-month supply of finished but vacant units alone for the first period of 2007, up from a 2.4-month supply at the end of the same quarter last year.

Interestingly, a few days before the study results came out, the conducted an unscientific poll and found that at least 85 percent of its readers knew of one or more “For Sale” signs in their neighborhood.  The comments to the survey regarding people’s observations of the local real estate market ranged the gamut, including the following:

“You can’t sell a home in this area. Homes sit on the market for months on end. They are overpriced for what they are worth.”

“Inside the Beltline continues to see higher appreciation rates than anywhere else in the city or greater metropolitan area.”

“One sign went up, but the home sold in a week.  Another home went up for sale a month ago and also sold within a week.  Both sold at asking price.  The slowdown in the real estate industry does not appear to be affecting sales in the North Raleigh area.”

So there you have it.  The Triangle real estate market may not be as strong as it was in the recent past, but it still has considerable clout that can benefit buyers particularly.  Housing prices do appreciate here, but not at the ridiculously inflated levels they have in other markets that are now making considerable adjustments in response.  With encouraging signs like this for prospective homebuyers in the Triangle, to paraphrase the old song “I Got Rhythm,” who could ask for anything more?

Triangle Terms

It is time for another edition of terms you may not hear anywhere else except in the Triangle.  So with no further ado, here we go …

The Piedmont is the part of North Carolina that lies roughly between the mountains (obviously, for those who know their French realize that Piedmont is taken from the language and means “foot of the mountain”) to Interstate 95.  Some may argue about the actual eastern boundaries, but generally once any land in North Carolina becomes relatively flat, as it does in the coastal plain, it is no longer considered part of the Piedmont.  The Triangle lands within this boundary along with many other major cities in North Carolina such as Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Charlotte.  With a few exceptions, this hilly region contains the most populated parts of North Carolina (nearly two out of every three state residents live in the Piedmont), and it appears in the names of many businesses and organizations in the Triangle to signify identification with the area.  In fact, before it became part of US Airways, the major name in flying for the Triangle used to be Piedmont Airlines.  Though some claim the area has been called the Piedmont Crescent as well, good luck in finding anyone around here who will use that phrase on you.

An ABC store stands for Alcohol Beverage Control, as the state regulates the sale of “spirituous liquor,” as it calls it (basically any alcohol beyond beer and wine), for distribution only at these sites.  There are some counties in North Carolina that are “dry” and have no ABC stores, but the Triangle has no problem with such restrictions and as a result has plenty of ABC stores to supply you with all the booze you can purchase within the limited operating hours (note to lushes: all ABC stores are closed on Sundays).  There are nine ABC stores in Orange County, eight in Durham and a whopping 20 in Wake, including one in every incorporated community in that county except Holly Springs, Rolesville and Wendell, which may make you think twice about moving to those locations.

A Tar Heel is the name given to any supporter of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  The exact derivation of the term is unknown, but it is known that in the 1700s North Carolina settlements became an important source of tar and pitch, especially for the English navy.  At the time, tar was created by piling up pine logs and burning them until hot oil seeped out from a canal.  North Carolina was nicknamed the "Tar and Turpentine State" because of this industry.  Somehow, these terms evolved until “Tar Heel” was used to refer to residents of North Carolina and gained prominence during the American Civil War.  People who attended UNC decided to attach the nickname for its sports teams and other endeavors, and as a result most UNC memorabilia involves a foot with light blue paint on its heels.  Some opponents of UNC claim it is not really tar but something else on those heels, but we are a family blog, so we will not get into such disparagement.

Finally, the official slogans promoted by the major towns in the Triangle are “The City of Oaks” for Raleigh, “The City of Medicine” for Durham, and “The Southern Part of Heaven” for Chapel Hill.  Actually, most people have nicknamed them more prosaically as “The Capital” (Raleigh), “Bull City” (Durham) and “The Hill” (Chapel Hill), so you probably will hear those phrases invoked more often.

Self Storage in the Triangle

OK, you move to the Triangle but you find out you do not have enough room for all of your possessions in your new place, or maybe you are having to stay at a temporary location before moving into your new residence, and it does not have enough room for your belongings.  What should you do?  Well, unless you know someone here willing to hold onto your personal items and guarantee their safety, your best bet is to use a self-storage service.

When looking for a good self storage service, you should consider one that has heating and air conditioning to maintain an appropriate room temperature for your property, and most importantly, examine how securely it limits access to the facility after business hours.  Some also have a minimum amount of months that you must reserve the space and pay them for it, even if you want the space only a month or so – take that into consideration as well.

There are dozens of these buildings throughout Wake, Durham and Orange counties, too many for us to list here in this blog.  In the interest of giving you convenience and options, we will tell you that among the businesses available that have the most locations in the Triangle are the following:

Public Storage, an international name in the business (it has offices in such locations as Germany), offers spaces ranging from 5-by-5 to what they call a “parking space” at its locations, which include 6220 Creedmoor Road in Raleigh (phone 919-786-0505), 8733 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh (919-782-7505), 620 E. Club Blvd. in Durham (919-220-4093), 3393 Duke St. in Durham (919-471-8833), 9907 Chapel Hill Road in Morrisville (919-460-9510).  The smaller units are air conditioned and indoors, while the larger ones have their own spaces.  Not all Public Storage branches offer the same dimensions for storage, so check with each one to make sure they have the size that you want for your belongings.

Security Self Storage boasts that it has a free rent coupon with first month’s payment at two of its locations (see its Web site for more details).  Its Triangle locations are at 1945 E. Cornwallis Road in Durham (919-544-3969), 5755 Cleveland Road in Garner (919-773-4111), N.C. 55 and Holly Springs Road in Holly Springs (919-557-6685), 3628 Tryon Road in Raleigh (919-835-1919), Sunnybrook Road in Raleigh (919-231-2220) and 877 Old Knight Road in Knightdale (919-266-8999).

Cardinal Self Storage crows about the fact that it has neither a security deposit nor a minimum stay requirement (in other words, you can rent from month to month).  It has four Triangle locations, at 1307 Old Oxford Road in Durham (919-220-7777), 519 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Durham (919-572-6777), 4200 Columbus Drive in Raleigh (919-255-3699) and 6120 Westgate Road in Raleigh (919-786-4525).

A final word about self-storage spaces:  Some apartments and condominiums do have their own units available for residents to use, so if you are moving into one of them, check on their status to see if you can use them.  And whatever self-storage facility you use, make sure to check ahead of time what hours they are in operation if you want to install or remove large or bulky items – it can be inconvenient having to wait to go through security systems entering and leaving there at other times, and the lighting on the property at night may be insufficient for you to see too well what you are loading and unloading and where you are putting it.

Celebrities in the Triangle

You may already know that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards lives in Chapel Hill (actually in rural Orange County, but he has a Chapel Hill address there).  But he is not the only person of national fame to have a connection with the Triangle.  You can boast to your friends that you are arriving or have arrived at an area whose other residents include:

Clay Aiken – Yeah, the geeky guy who did not win American Idol but nevertheless became an idol went to school in Wake County and has returned here to buy his own home.  We know people either love him or hate him for whatever reasons, so we will just stay out of the dispute and go on to our next person of fame.

Bill Cowher – The former coach of the 2006 Super Bowl winning team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, relocated his family to Raleigh this year after retiring from his job.  He attended N.C. State University in the late 1970s, and there are rampant rumors that he will be involved with the university sports program now that he is back in town, but as of this writing all he has agreed to do so far is co-host the CBS sports show The NFL Today in the fall of this year.

Kristi Yamaguchi has skated her way into being a Raleigh resident thanks to her marriage to Bret Hadican of the Carolina Hurricanes.  The 1992 Olympics winner of a gold medal, she has cut back on her professional ice skating career in favor of spending more time with her husband and two children.  Good for her.

Matthew Laurence – This is one of those “Where have I seen that guy before?” people who will catch your eye if you are watching the sidelines of a Duke basketball game.  There is a good reason you will have that reaction, since not only Matthew but his identical twin brother Mitchell Laurence have been acting on TV and movies since the 1980s, with Matthew perhaps best known for playing Mel Silver on Beverly Hills 90210.  Anyway, since the late 1990s he has moved his family to Durham in order to cover Duke sports, but he still acts occasionally, including a few recent episodes of One Tree Hill, which should have been easy for him to do because it is filmed just a couple of hours’ drive away in Wilmington.

Lewis Black – The hysterically funny ranting comedian, seen occasionally on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart in the “Back in Black” segments, attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill years ago and has returned often to lead comedy festivals on campus since then.  He now is moving back into town as his base, though he plans to continue to tour and make TV appearances.

KC and the Sunshine Band – Actually, only KC (full name: Harry Wayne Casey) has a place in Orange County, having fallen in love with the area when he attended the Duke weight loss program in the 1990s.  He and his 1970s hits band are based in Miami when not on tour, but he is known to pop up occasionally to visit his house in the Triangle.

There are more we could mention, but we think you get the idea.  So do not be surprised if you bump into someone famous around here – just be friendly and gentle with them, so we do not scare them off, OK?