North Carolina

Anonymou

Hey all,

Looks like I'll be studying in Raleigh for a year heading over in August, looking to find out a bit more about the place and also North Carolina in general. Anyone here who has any experience of the place I'd love to hear from ye!

Anonymou

Anyone?

ProudDUB

Have your tried using the search function for posts about Raleigh & NC in general? I'm pretty sure I've seen a few threads about them. They are from J1ers mainly, but they should have some good info.

jimmurt

Anonymou wrote: »

Hey all,

Looks like I'll be studying in Raleigh for a year heading over in August, looking to find out a bit more about the place and also North Carolina in general. Anyone here who has any experience of the place I'd love to hear from ye!

I lived in Raleigh near the airport for a year a loved it. Raleigh itself is a lovely city with loads of nice bars and restaurants.

It's part of the Triangle along with Durham and Chapel Hill and the 3 universities from each have big rivalries (especially Durham and Chapel Hill in basketball).

Both Durham and CH are worth regular visits if you get bored of Raleigh.

NC itself has plenty to do. Plenty of mountains, countryside and beaches.

The weather is decent. It can get a bit humid in Summer but not too bad. It's not sunshine 365 like it's more southern neighbors but really nice nonetheless.

Anonymou

jimmurt wrote: »

I lived in Raleigh near the airport for a year a loved it. Raleigh itself is a lovely city with loads of nice bars and restaurants.

It's part of the Triangle along with Durham and Chapel Hill and the 3 universities from each have big rivalries (especially Durham and Chapel Hill in basketball).

Both Durham and CH are worth regular visits if you get bored of Raleigh.

NC itself has plenty to do. Plenty of mountains, countryside and beaches.

The weather is decent. It can get a bit humid in Summer but not too bad. It's not sunshine 365 like it's more southern neighbors but really nice nonetheless.

Thanks for that! Nice to hear a personal opinion of the place, even though from what I've read before it does seem like a really nice place in general, and like you said there's a great mix of things to do!

For traveling over what route would you take/recommend? I'm guessing Dublin to NY or Boston and then on to Raleigh? Also for travelling in-state what would be the best way to go about it i.e buses/renting a car etc?

jimmurt

Anonymou wrote: »

Thanks for that! Nice to hear a personal opinion of the place, even though from what I've read before it does seem like a really nice place in general, and like you said there's a great mix of things to do!

For traveling over what route would you take/recommend? I'm guessing Dublin to NY or Boston and then on to Raleigh? Also for travelling in-state what would be the best way to go about it i.e buses/renting a car etc?

I mostly flew via Boston, but also New York and Orlando one time.

There's a direct flight to Charlotte - you could maybe fly there and get bus to Raleigh.

NC would be best enjoyed with a car or at least a motorbike. Maybe buy a cheap car for the year. Buses would be a right pain, especially if you want to get around the state and up to the mountain areas.

Btw where are you studying, NC state?

Anonymou

jimmurt wrote: »

I mostly flew via Boston, but also New York and Orlando one time.

There's a direct flight to Charlotte - you could maybe fly there and get bus to Raleigh.

NC would be best enjoyed with a car or at least a motorbike. Maybe buy a cheap car for the year. Buses would be a right pain, especially if you want to get around the state and up to the mountain areas.

Btw where are you studying, NC state?

Cheers for that, never knew about the direct flight must look into that further anyway.
That's handy to know, would like to sample a good bit of the outdoors while I'm there, seems like NC has a lot of great scenery and such to offer.
Yup NC State is the one.

bpmurray

I've visited Raleigh a number of times on business, although never stayed longer than a week, so my viewpoint is that of a transient. My flight routes have been via NY, Atlanta and Heathrow so getting there usually involves at least one stop.

NC is quite varied. The coast is really nice - Cape Fear (yes, the place in the movie) has some great beaches and there's a long pier with good fishing. And then you have inland Greenboro area, and everything in between. The Raleigh-Durham area is like any other American city, except there are some great barbecue places.

You absolutely do have to get a car - it's the USA and it's just not possible to survive without one.

ProudDUB

Anonymou wrote: »

For traveling over what route would you take/recommend? I'm guessing Dublin to NY or Boston and then on to Raleigh? Also for travelling in-state what would be the best way to go about it i.e buses/renting a car etc?

Raleigh Durham has an international airport. Am pretty sure there are direct flights to it from London Heathrow. It's not a route that there would be a lot of competition on (unlike flights into JFK for example) so odds are you'll pay a good bit more to fly into Raleigh, than you would other US airports. You also won't get to pre clear customs & immigration in Dublin. If it were me, I'd just go with who ever is cheapest into Boson, New York or Atlanta etc etc and then just take a domestic flight to Raleigh. I avoid Heathrow like the plague.

Re transport in NC. Get a car. No question about it. Public transport is crap.

Anonymou

bpmurray wrote: »

I've visited Raleigh a number of times on business, although never stayed longer than a week, so my viewpoint is that of a transient. My flight routes have been via NY, Atlanta and Heathrow so getting there usually involves at least one stop.

NC is quite varied. The coast is really nice - Cape Fear (yes, the place in the movie) has some great beaches and there's a long pier with good fishing. And then you have inland Greenboro area, and everything in between. The Raleigh-Durham area is like any other American city, except there are some great barbecue places.

You absolutely do have to get a car - it's the USA and it's just not possible to survive without one.

Haha is it bad that I had to google that movie? :pac: Cheers for the reply, nice to have an idea of a few more paces to visit!
Getting a car seems to be a recurring theme, although as a student I'll have to look into how viable it would be, especially seeing as 4/5 days a week will be spent on campus anyway.

Anonymou

ProudDUB wrote: »

Raleigh Durham has an international airport. Am pretty sure there are direct flights to it from London Heathrow. It's not a route that there would be a lot of competition on (unlike flights into JFK for example) so odds are you'll pay a good bit more to fly into Raleigh, than you would other US airports. You also won't get to pre clear customs & immigration in Dublin. If it were me, I'd just go with who ever is cheapest into Boson, New York or Atlanta etc etc and then just take a domestic flight to Raleigh. I avoid Heathrow like the plague.

Re transport in NC. Get a car. No question about it. Public transport is crap.

Was checking earlier and Aer Lingus going DUB-BOS-RDU seemed to be the best option, cheaper than I though and frequent enough.
Would it be difficult for a foreign student to get a car in the US, or is there much procedure to it at all, as regards licencing etc?

ProudDUB

If you hold an Irish license, you can drive on that, if you are driving rental cars, or if you go on someone elses policy. But if you want to buy, register & insure your own car within the state of North Carolina, you have to have a NC license. So you'll have to do lessons, pass a theory test, sit an actual test etc etc, just like here.

If you are in the state legally, you should be able to apply for a license without any issues. They may or may not give you a proper full one, or they may just give you one that is valid for your time in the US (it varies from state to state) but as long as you can prove that you are in the US legally, you should be able to apply for one.

NC DMV license deets here.

http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/moving/

Anonymou

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you hold an Irish license, you can drive on that, if you are driving rental cars, or if you go on someone elses policy. But if you want to buy, register & insure your own car within the state of North Carolina, you have to have a NC license. So you'll have to do lessons, pass a theory test, sit an actual test etc etc, just like here.

If you are in the state legally, you should be able to apply for a license without any issues. They may or may not give you a proper full one, or they may just give you one that is valid for your time in the US (it varies from state to state) but as long as you can prove that you are in the US legally, you should be able to apply for one.

NC DOT license deets here.

http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/moving/

Will look into that, appreciate the help!

InTheTrees

ProudDUB wrote: »

So you'll have to do lessons, pass a theory test, sit an actual test etc etc, just like here.

If its anything like Washington State or California, a quick scan of the manual is enough to pass the Theory.

And the practical takes about 20 minutes.

You can get the whole thing done and be walking out with a license in an hour or two.

Its why Americans are such deplorably bad drivers...

:eek:

ProudDUB

..........and the horrible heat and humidity and the OP won't be able to set foot outside their front door from May-September....

....you forgot that part ITT .....

:P

spideog7

A car is great but mightn't be worth the hassle for you if you're staying around campus and only want to do weekend trips. I'm sure you could easily make friends with a few students who have cars, join a car share program like zip car for day trips to shops and just rent a car for a few road trips.

Anonymou

spideog7 wrote: »

A car is great but mightn't be worth the hassle for you if you're staying around campus and only want to do weekend trips. I'm sure you could easily make friends with a few students who have cars, join a car share program like zip car for day trips to shops and just rent a car for a few road trips.

Ya I'd say something like that would be a bit more realistic alright!

GatsbyGal

You are going to a beautiful state. I'm more familiar with Charlotte in the south but saw a lot of the state while living there.

A car will definitely be a requirement. I hike a lot so was very happy living there for a while as the scenery and mountains there are so pretty. The blue ridge parkway is a sight to behold in the autumn. The array of colours in that area will blow you away. They have lovely skiing pistes. They wouldn't be to the level of Vail/Telluride or Aspen but nonetheless very very adequate for the average skier.

Make sure to check out Ashmont in West NC. The Vanderbilts have an amazing Estate with a vineyard in this area. It is totally worth checking out. The wine is decent. They are very generous with samples so make sure you aren't driving.

Another area to check out are the Outer banks of the coast. These are barrier Islands, they stretch for miles (over 200). Again amazing beaches here. Be careful not to be there during hurricane season. The sea is unbelievably rough which we saw first hand. A lot of the houses are built on stilts to protect them from the worst of the extreme weather that comes around often to these parts. I highly recommend this place. Truly unique.

You'll be spoilt for choice with beaches and the water is lovely and warm. Watch out for sharks though. You'll usually be warned ahead of time the days you visit.

Do you suffer from allergies? A word of warning, they will act up here if you are prone to things like sinuses etc. Bring your meds if so.

Enjoy!

dave2pvd

GatsbyGal wrote: »

You are going to a beautiful state. I'm more familiar with Charlotte in the south but saw a lot of the state while living there.

A car will definitely be a requirement. I hike a lot so was very happy living there for a while as the scenery and mountains there are so pretty. The blue ridge parkway is a sight to behold in the autumn. The array of colours in that area will blow you away. They have lovely skiing pistes. They wouldn't be to the level of Vail/Telluride or Aspen but nonetheless very very adequate for the average skier.

Make sure to check out Ashmont in West NC. The Vanderbilts have an amazing Estate with a vineyard in this area. It is totally worth checking out. The wine is decent. They are very generous with samples so make sure you aren't driving.

I was wondering when someone would bring W NC up!

1st off: Asheville, not Ashmont. You won't find many foreign tourists here. Which is one of the best things about the region! In my opinion, the Appalachians are the best part of NC. Asheville is a college town and chock full of cafes, restaurants, bars and breweries. There's a big arts scene and lots of people ride bikes instead of driving cars (you can tell which ones; they're fitter). Things to see: Biltmore and its grounds, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, try ziplining, go whitewater rafting,.... Also, Chimney Rock is not far away (Last of the Mohicans filmed there). Definitely worth seeing.

GatsbyGal

dave2pvd wrote: »

I was wondering when someone would bring W NC up!

1st off: Asheville, not Ashmont. You won't find many foreign tourists here. Which is one of the best things about the region! In my opinion, the Appalachians are the best part of NC. Asheville is a college town and chock full of cafes, restaurants, bars and breweries. There's a big arts scene and lots of people ride bikes instead of driving cars (you can tell which ones; they're fitter). Things to see: Biltmore and its grounds, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, try ziplining, go whitewater rafting,.... Also, Chimney Rock is not far away (Last of the Mohicans filmed there). Definitely worth seeing.

Ha! Yes you're right. Knew the name didn't look right... Too lazy to check.. Sorry. :-). Yes the restaurants and cafes are great there, one particular noodle restaurant on the edge of town stands out, hopefully it's still there for when I return. Thanks Dave2pvd.

Are you still in Atlanta? Or do I have the wrong person?

Anonymou

Wow guys cheers for all that, really do appreciate it!

The range of things to do and places to see in one state is pretty impressive, sounds like I'm in for a fantastic time!

While I'm over I'm hoping to do a few weekends/breaks out of state along the East coast and into the more Southern states, any recommendations? I know realistically you'll probably be flying to most spots. One place I'd definitely like to see is Nashville, open to anywhere else, the more obscure the better!