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Have you ever moved to new city or state because of a job opportunity or to attain higher education, and immediately felt as though you had to settle on the location because of the opportunity? Well, we’re pretty confident that you won’t be regretting the decision and will actually be quite pleased with everything that the Triangle has to offer. In fact, you may soon finding yourself settling in.
“Other than having a great location on a statewide level (right in between the mountains and the beach), our area features the best of the best from schools to employment opportunities,” said Julia Reinert, visitors center manager for Toll Brothers Inc. “Wake County’s school system has a reputation as one of the best and brightest in the nation, and the Triangle features three of the biggest and most prestigious universities in the country (the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State).”
These major universities, as well as many other schools and community colleges in the Triangle, are major draws to residents and newcomers because the opportunities to attain higher education are endless.
“The Triangle boasts of a small-town feel with a city lifestyle,” said Patty Sloan, marketing manager for K. Hovnanian Homes in Raleigh. “We offer top-ranked healthcare facilities and universities. Many students who enroll at one of our numerous universities decide to remain in the Triangle area after graduation.”
“Research Triangle Park is well known for its contributions to the area regarding the quantity and quality of employment opportunities and is the leading factor of why the Triangle continues to climb the charts in medical and technological research and products,” Reinert added. “All of these attributes (plus many others) result in a quality of life that is becoming very rare. While we offer great opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs, the Triangle is still a place where the values of family and education are still recognized and held in high regards.”
The Triangle definitely offers something for everyone—the State Fair, Walnut Creek Pavilion and the RBC Center for concerts and major events, a variety of museums, Broadway-style theatre productions, top-notch professional hockey action, ACC basketball and football, the North Carolina Symphony, great restaurants, and comedy clubs.
Housing
One thing that you’ll quickly find out about the area is that there are many great neighborhoods in each city of the Triangle.
“Brier Creek has been our crown jewel community since it opened in 1999 and has proven to reward the market with continued high appreciation,” said Reinert. “We now have communities popping up all over the Triangle from The Regency in Raleigh, The Oaks in Meadowridge in the Cary area, Olde Carpenter and Green Level Crossing in Cary, Triple Crown in Chapel Hill, and The Hills at Southpoint in Durham.”
When it comes to cost, Reinert said the prices range widely from the $200,000s to approximately $2 million.
“Our average selling price is in the $500,000s, and the sizes of homes range from 1,400 to 8,000 square feet,” said Reinert.
“Providence Place in Morrisville features townhomes, single-family homes, and estate homes and is just minutes away from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Research Triangle Park,” said Sloan. “It is truly a place to live, connect, and grow.
“Our newest community is Four Seasons at Olde Liberty,” added Sloan. “This community is for active adults 55 or better. It offers an active lifestyle and will have a golf course, private clubhouse, pool, and a full-time activities director. Our Rockbridge community in Knightdale features six model homes available for touring.”
The good news for potential home buyers is that the prices are wide ranging, making the dream of home ownership more of a reality.
“Providence Place ranges from $190,000 to more than $400,000, and Four Seasons ranges from $260,000 to more than $300,000,” said Sloan. “Rockbridge prices range from $200,000 to more than $300,000. There is also a wide range of square footage that we offer in these and all of our communities. Townhomes range from approximately 1,600 square feet to estate homes with more than 4,000 square feet.”
If you’re interested in building a home, you can personalize it by adding customized touches to the home, such as choosing a brick front, hardwood and tile floorings, and granite countertops.
“Our local design center also offers many different options for a buyer to choose from including, but not limited to, countertops, plumbing and lighting fixtures, cabinets, and flooring,” said Reinert. “It is these choices that are made which put the home owner’s own personality into the structure, turning it into a home. Each combination of interior options personalizes that specific house and distinguishes it from the rest.”
“If a buyer is looking to maximize their square footage, they can add bedrooms, bathrooms, and guest suites to their base floor plans,” said Reinert. “Basements are a very popular option, especially with our buyers from the north who are very comfortable with this feature. Our options include anything from enhanced molding to upgraded deck and patio features.”
Durham offers everything from trendy downtown loft-style apartments to horse farms in the country, and from new suburban developments for family-style living to historic neighborhoods in the heart of the city.
And Durham’s housing offerings are about to expand even further with many new construction projects.
One of these projects is the Renaissance at Durham Centre, which will be located on West Morgan Street and Foster Street. The luxurious high-rise condominiums will be offered in one, two, and three bedrooms, and pre-construction prices range from the $200,000s to the $700,000s, according to the developer’s Web site at www.therenaissancedurham.com.
Occupancy at the Renaissance at Durham Centre is scheduled for mid-2009, and once the project is complete, it will feature a lavish health club and spa, a heated Jacuzzi, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, around-the-clock security, and concierges and doormen will be available 24 hours a day to greet and assist residents.
If you’re looking for a spectacular place to live in Chapel Hill, then Governors Club might just offer what you’re looking for in a new home. Governors Club features everything from quarter-acre home sites with homes from 2,500 to 4,000 square feet up to large estate home sites with larger homes in a more private setting. The cost for Governors Club homes also vary greatly, ranging from $400,000 up to $4 million.
Plus, this private, gated community offers a lengthy list of amenities, including a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course; tennis, fitness, and aquatic facilities; and nearby shopping centers, entertainment venues, and outdoor parks and recreational facilities.
Boomtown for Business
The Triangle region’s strong business community and plentiful and diverse opportunities for employment make it one of the top places to live in the country, and many Triangle companies and medical centers are consistently receiving kudos.
For instance, the U.S. News & World Report ranked Duke University Medical Center in Durham as seventh best hospital in the country, Forbes named Raleigh the No. 1 and Durham the seventh best metropolitan area for business and careers in the nation, and U.S. News & World Report ranked six medical specialties at University of North Carolina Hospitals among the top 50 programs of their kind nationwide.
And if you think that only locals are paying attention to these accolades, you may want to think again. Many new businesses are clamoring to move into the Triangle because of the huge pool of highly-skilled local professionals, the cutting-edge healthcare, the wonderful schools, and the quality of life.
Plus, the Triangle is very unique because there are a lot of partnerships between academia and business. In fact, Research Triangle Park, which was founded 50 years ago, still serves as a model on how to create a successful research park.
Just some of the major companies that are located in Research Triangle Park include IBM, Cisco Systems, SAS, Nortel, GlaxoSmithKline, RTI International, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Credit Suisse, DuPont Electric Technologies, Talecris Biotherapeutics, and Bayer CropScience.
And the business community is about to expand even further because a few new businesses recently announced plans to move into the Triangle.
Cheminova, which is a Danish manufacturer of insecticides, is moving its headquarters from Wayne, N.J., to Research Triangle Park in August. In anticipation of the move, officials have leased 9,494 square feet of office space, according to the News & Observer.
Construction is currently underway in Research Triangle Park on the United Therapeutics Corporation’s new $100 million, 200,000-square-foot facility that’s currently under construction. The company also plans on hiring 250 employees.
Existing businesses are thriving as well. Merck officials announced plans for a 100 million, 110,000-square-foot expansion project at its existing Durham vaccine manufacturing facility. The project is expected to be complete in 2010.
Network Appliance Inc., officials announced plans to expand its Research Triangle Park operations and will add 646 new jobs, according to Wake County Economic Development’s Web site at www.raleigh-wake.org.
Quintiles is currently building a 252,000-square-foot, 10-story office tower, which will serve as its new corporate headquarters, and an eight-story, 207-room Westin Hotel in the Imperial Center Business Park at the intersection of Interstate 40 and Page Road.
Large businesses aren’t the only ones that are booming in the Triangle. The region has welcomed many new businesses into the region, from coffee shops and restaurants, to big-box franchises, to entrepreneurial ventures.
Although many people from all across the world relocate to the Triangle because of an existing job or employment opportunities, they soon discover all of the wonderful things that it has to offer, so they don’t want to leave the region. In fact, the chances are pretty good that they won’t have to, thanks to such an amazingly diversified business community, which includes banking, healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals, and information technology.
Things to do
No matter what you like to do in your spare time, the chances are pretty good that the Triangle’s offerings will strike a chord with you.
The Triangle offers every possible cultural activity you can imagine throughout the year, from many art galleries, museums, indoor and outdoor concert venues, a planetarium, and theatre productions to ethnic festivals and other events. Plus, the North Carolina Symphony and the North Carolina Ballet offer top-notch entertainment.
The region’s temperate climate makes it possible to enjoy year-round sports, but if you prefer to sit on the sidelines and cheer for your favorite team, then the offerings in the Triangle will definitely fulfill your love of the game.
Sports fans will feel right at home in the Triangle because it’s home to collegiate and professional teams.
The RBC Center in Raleigh is the home ice for Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the region is also home to the Carolina RailHawks, which is a United Soccer League expansion team that entered the USL First Division in April 2007. Plus, the Carolina RailHawks recently announced the formation of a USL W-League women’s soccer team called the Carolina RailHawks Women. The women’s team will play seven home games in the Atlantic Division of the USL W-League at SAS Soccer Park in Cary during the 2008 season.
The Triangle’s sports offerings also include a nod to the all-American past-time of baseball, with two minor-league baseball teams, the Carolina Mudcats and the Durham Bulls.
One thing you’ll quickly learn about the Triangle is that the residents are passionate about college sports. In fact, don’t be surprised if you see many flags proudly displayed in car windows on game days.
If you prefer to be a part of the action, the Triangle is a virtual playground for those who like hiking, biking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and water skiing. And many towns and cities throughout the region have Parks and Recreation Departments that maintain parks, swimming facilities, community centers, and soccer and baseball fields.
Moving to a new city is daunting, but we’re pretty confident that once you see what all the Triangle has to offer, you’ll be happy that you moved here.
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