TCBITW will be eleven this summer. Totally a tween.

DOES NOT COMPUTE. SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT.

And while Duke may be pricey as a school, living there is less pricey than Chapel Hill/Carrboro in many cases, and the two towns are totally within commuting distance. Most of my friends who own live in Durham, regardless of whether they work/go to school in Durham or Chapel Hill. And Durham is a fun town.

Wait, what's in Greensboro?

UNC-Greensboro.

You know... we have colleges in Seattle too.

::blinks innocently::

Ah, okay. Sorry, between lack of caffeine and deadline pressure, I'm a little ditzy today. And really should not be procrastinating by thinking about nice places to live with excellent people I could play with in person.

For what it's worth, UNC-Greensboro is only about an hour or so (or has the drive time gone up in the past few years?) from Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

You haven't lived here since they finished the interstate and upped the speed limits, dude! I'd say more like 35 minutes to CH, 45 to Durham.

I was also going to recommend UNCG if UNC-CH doesn't turn out to be an option. It's one of the smaller and more, hmm, college-y feeling UNC system schools, and I've known a lot of people who have done edu-related degrees there and had good experiences. Back in the day, it used to be the top-of-the-line women's school in the system, and when they integrated the sexes system-wide, they made UNCG into a liberal-arts focused school (as opposed to the various tech schools, for example).

Wake County is also respected

Not any more, they're not. The whole "getting rid of desegregation" thing is really hurting them reputation-wise, and (maybe more to the point) nobody has any idea what's going to be going on next year in any given school zone.

Durham schools run the gamut from among the best to really not so good. There's a county-wide system of magnet schools at all levels (and they tend to be very good and much loved. There are great non-magnet schools because of a lot of parent and neighborhood involvement. And there are schools where people in the particular neighborhood really, really want to get their kids into the magnets. Durham is urban and minority-majority with a stupid wide income range, and having some excellent schools and some bad ones comes with that. (See smonster's comment about housing prices in Durham vs. Chapel Hill.)

Oh, dear lord I has opinions.

I can't move that far away from family, Barb. Although my dad keeps talking about moving himself and my mom to Spain after my grandmother dies.

I can't move that far away from family, Barb.

I know, babe. But a girl can hope...

Amy, i got my creative writing MFA at UNC-G if you have questions about it (it's been 12 years though and evidently the program has sobered up since I've been there.)

If Durham is a serious option, I can tell you all about the school issues, and help you navigate that system (there are magnets and walk zones and neighborhood schools). I know elementary really well, and have watched neighbors deal with HS. (Middle school is a tricky one - as I gather it is in many many cities.) If I were moving back to the Triangle, I would definitely pick Durham.

I also attended NCCU for my MLS, which is in Durham and is - okay. It's no UNC-CH, but it's a lot easier to get into, too. They have a school of Ed and I know a woman who is a professor there, if you would like a contact.