OT: Raleigh, NC

[PhilipNelsonFan]

How's it going, Bobcats faithful? My name is PNF; you may know me from the OT board (I moderate it), Blazers board (I'm a fan) and General Board (I make an ass out of myself on occasion).

I'm a student at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore. and I've just secured an internship with a company in Raleigh for the summer. I leave in the middle of June and I'll come back to Oregon in early September; the internship lasts 10 weeks, but I'm hoping to stick around the state a little while longer. The internship is a big deal to me and I'm really lucky that I was afforded this opportunity.

Now for the caveat: I've never been to the state before, much less Raleigh. The furthest east I've ever been is Nashville, Tenn. I'm going into this sight unseen, which in my opinion just adds to the fulfillment of the experience. But I would like some advice from those who know.

-What exactly is the Raleigh/Durham metropolitan area like? What is the downtown area like?
-How are the highway systems? Is it really confusing for an out-of-towner or fairly navigable? How's the traffic usually? What are the gas prices currently?
-What's that one thing I absolutely must see in town, that every tourist has to see?
-What are the campuses of Duke and NC State like?
-I'm not exactly used to humidity; anything I should pack to combat it specifically?
-We don't have sales tax in Oregon ( ) so I'm preparing to spend a little extra on everything, but what exactly is the rate and are there any specific points of emphasis on the tax that I should know about?
-What exactly is the relationship between Raleigh and Charlotte?
-I will turn 21 over the course of the summer; if you were going to buy me one kind of beer popular in the area, what would it be?
-Anything else you want to add. I don't exactly want to be "spoiled", but there is some practical information that I need to know, as I've mentioned above.

I PMed fatlever initially, and he gave me some responses to questions (and inspired new ones), but I'm curious about everybody's take. Have at it!

EDIT: Also, I have no problem answering any questions you guys might have about me, although I want to keep the job thing a little vague. So don't hesitate to ask.

[fatlever]

hey all you raleigh guys... you better not let me dictate this thread, you all know how i feel about raleigh... dirty downeasterners stealing all of charlotte's road money... j/k.

on the positive side raleigh does have my favorite road name.... jones sausage rd... gotta love it.

[Walt Cronkite]

I'll address this shortly.

[BigSlam]

EDIT: Also, I have no problem answering any questions you guys might have about me, although I want to keep the job thing a little vague. So don't hesitate to ask.

Can you please give us LMA and Roy - heck, we'd settle just for Roy?

[Dexmor]

Youll love Raleigh I think. I am from NY and spent sometime in the midwest and I love it here so far, i have been here for about 8 months now.

4 Seasons in Raleigh and the heat is not like the heat in most places down south meaning it's totally barable.
Roads are easy to navigate except some places in downtown is all one way roads which is confusing to me.
I don't know were to buy you a beer because don't know you and what you like.
Raleigh isnt far from Durham but even though the airport is called RaleighDurham they are 30 minutes away or something like that. Stay out of Durham, it's kind of a bad neighborhood for the most part.
Raleigh is like 2.5 hours away from charlotte. I have no idea what the relationship is like.
Gas is 1.83 a gallon but who knows in june
Got to try the cornbread here. I am a healthnut so I never eat the southern food but you got to try it once and the pizza.
They tried to copy NY pizza with I love NY pizza and since they try so hard they end up being better then NY so thats cool.
I dont know if this is a nc thing or not but they have $1.50 movie theater.
Everybody has dogs here which is awesome for me although there are alot of breeders which is messed up.
Racism exists over here. In NY growing up I encountered racism maybe a handful of times being that it's so diverse from day 1 of life and Im white. Over here you can just feel the racism, it's really messed up.
Since it's a college town and state really it's seems everybody either lies about have a 4 year or they all really do.
It's not nearly as hot or as backwards as South Carolina

[Walt Cronkite]

Work in progress

-What exactly is the Raleigh/Durham metropolitan area like? What is the downtown area like?

The Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are is referred to as the Triangle/Research Triangle Park. I haven't spent much time in Durham, but it's actually undergoing a bit of a change lately, I'm always hearing about how much better it's getting. I've lived for most of my life in Raleigh and lived in Chapel Hill for years as well. The planetarium in Chapel Hill is a must see while you're here, but otherwise there's not much you have to do. If you like going to shows, Cat's Cradle is a legendary venue. Otherwise, Chapel Hill is a college town, so there's not that much to mention, but tons to do, if you follow. Raleigh gets a lot of hate, but it's developed a lot over my lifetime (I'm 23). Raleigh has some really nice museums and parks. The RBC Centre is a pretty nice sports center but I think it'll be the offseason for everything when you're here. Walnut creek is a good amphitheatre and I'm at Memorial Auditorium like once a month--good acoustics. There's a ton to do, I just don't have much of an idea of what you're into. Visitraleigh.com might be helpful?

-How are the highway systems? Is it really confusing for an out-of-towner or fairly navigable? How's the traffic usually? What are the gas prices currently?

The highway is confusing, but the city is in the process of redoing the signage. Time will tell if it helps or not. The major confusion stems around the terms beltline and inner beltine. Traffic is terrible going to Raleigh from Durham/CH or vice versa from 5-6:30 or so. I avoid it entirely if I can help it.

http://www.raleighgasprices.com/

-What's that one thing I absolutely must see in town, that every tourist has to see?
Planetarium,

-What are the campuses of Duke and NC State like?
UNC's campus is really pretty, State's is very...brickish? NC State is traditionally an agricultural and engineering school and there's a lot of red clay in NC soil and I guess whoever decided what to use on the campus decided to run with it. Hillsborough street is the major street on NC State's campus, it's UNC counterpart is Franklin street. State's campus encompasses a lot of landscape while UNC's is tiny. They're pretty much total opposites. Can't really add much about Duke's campus though, I've always avoided the place.

-I'm not exactly used to humidity; anything I should pack to combat it specifically?
Stay hydrated? Find a local pool? Visit the beach?

-We don't have sales tax in Oregon ( ) so I'm preparing to spend a little extra on everything, but what exactly is the rate and are there any specific points of emphasis on the tax that I should know about?

6.75%

-What exactly is the relationship between Raleigh and Charlotte?

It's like 2.5-3 hours away, I don't really get what you're asking.

-I will turn 21 over the course of the summer; if you were going to buy me one kind of beer popular in the area, what would it be?

Do you mean local beer, or what do beer drinkers in the Triangle drink? If it's the latter, whatever is on special and if it's the former, I'll ask around... can't think of many local breweries off the top of my head.

-Anything else you want to add. I don't exactly want to be "spoiled", but there is some practical information that I need to know, as I've mentioned above.