Moving to Raleigh? Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. There’s a joke that almost nobody living in Raleigh is from here, or even from the Triangle. So just like everybody that moved here before you, you have to learn how to do Raleigh right. Living the lifestyle of a typical new Raleighite includes things like learning your way around, making friends, learning the local culture, and, the most important part, finding your new home. Most people that are new to town find themselves living in an apartment for a few years; it’s a great way to ease yourself into a new city. Living in a house provides obstacles like making it more difficult to meet people and you tend to be farther away from places you want to be. If you want to learn why living in an apartment home fits the Raleigh lifestyle best, especially for a newcomer, and learn a little bit about Raleigh and the Triangle along the way, read on.

Photo courtesy of Camden Lake Pine

Choosing The Right Raleigh Location To Live In

Remember how I said almost nobody living in Raleigh is from here? It’s true. When you come to visit Raleigh to tour apartments, make sure you ask your leasing consultants how long they’ve been living here. You almost certainly won’t meet any that have lived in the Triangle their whole life, and if you do, they’re the only one you’ll meet. If you ask them where they live, it’s probably at a Camden apartment.

For me, one of the biggest reasons I live in an apartment is for the convenience of location. Getting a house in a premium location like Village District, downtown Durham, or right along the greenway is going to cost way too much, but if you live at Camden Village District, Camden Durham, or Camden Manor Park, you can, respectively, live in these locations.

Living in an apartment means you aren’t glued to one spot for longer than the length of a lease (and if you want to move mid-lease, ask your local leasing office about transferring with Camden). If you like living in Apex at Camden Lake Pine being able to walk around the lake every day but you fall in love with downtown Cary, you can easily move in a few months when your lease is over to Camden Asbury Village or Camden Westwood to be just seven minutes away.

Meeting People In Raleigh

Living at an apartment community makes it much easier to meet people than living in a single-family housing neighborhood! When you have people in your hallway that you see all the time, it makes it so much easier to greet them and eventually strike up a conversation (see my blog entries for help doing that here).

Living at a Camden you also know that you’ll have a well-maintained gym and being at the gym at the same time every day you’ll quickly come to recognize the people that you see. After a few days of nodding when you see them, you can ask their name then from there you can eventually have a real conversation which can be about something as simple as how long they’ve lived there and where they’re from!

While this can be done at a gym that isn’t part of your apartment community, it’s nice to do it at your community’s gym because you know they live near you and you’re more likely to recognize them.

The pool is an easy way to meet people, just head out to your Camden Community pool on a nice summer day and you can easily find some of your neighbors lounging around.

If you’re a little shy, try posting on mycamden.com to see if anybody wants to go to a nearby sports bar like Woody’s or Carolina Ale House to watch the next Carolina Hurricanes game, or UNC/Duke/NCSU, just make sure it’s something people in your area follow! Your community also likely does social events, even if just the occasional food truck, that you can go to and meet your neighbors participating in the event, even just gathering to stand in line at a food truck! This doesn’t often happen in a neighborhood. Next time there’s an event, don’t skip out!

Photos courtesy of Camden Asbury Village

Dog Culture In Raleigh

One omnipresent aspect of living in Raleigh is dogs. They’re everywhere, and people deeply care about their dogs. It seems just about every restaurant and bar has outdoor seating so people can bring their dogs to dine with them.

One of the great things about renting or owning a house is that you have a backyard you can let your dog run around in, but the problem is that, in Raleigh, most rentable homes have cramped backyards too small for even a medium-sized dog. There are plenty of dog parks around, too, like at Downtown Cary Park, Oakwood Park, and Dorothea Dix Park, these are all a short drive away from where you’d live.

But if you live at a Camden apartment community, you’d have a dog park right there where you can easily walk to, let your dog run around in plenty of open space, and even meet some people while you’re there. Maybe even bring a few drinks and have a Yappy Hour with your fellow dog lovers!

If you’re looking for a change in life but are not sure where to go, Raleigh is happy to accept you! Fortunately, we take it slow in the South, so if you come from the North it may be an adjustment. Just make sure you’re amenable to the lifestyle.

If you’re moving to Raleigh and don’t know much about the area yet, here is a list of a few things you should know to be ready!