Anybody know some groovy digs in the downtown area? It's my second year of grad school at state, and am looking for a young and laid back environment. I'm looking to live solo, and am good to pay like $650/month, any suggestions you ww guys have are appreciated!

7/24/2011 12:12:21 PM

$650/month for a one-bedroom downtown? Yeah, good luck with that Maybe one of the studio apartments in Hue cost around that much.

7/24/2011 12:16:43 PM

yeah you'll probably have to get a roommate

7/24/2011 12:18:06 PM

I am willing to pay 651


Consider yourself undercut, OP

7/24/2011 12:20:26 PM

groovy dude

7/24/2011 12:20:47 PM

I live in downtown in <500sqft and my rent is $1700

7/24/2011 12:22:37 PM

you'll never find a studio in Hue for that. Good luck, I've been looking to do the same with an $800-900 budget and have been coming up short for months.

7/24/2011 12:25:53 PM

Quote :

"$650/month for a one-bedroom downtown? Yeah, good luck with that Maybe one of the studio apartments in Hue cost around that much."

studio at the hue costs like 900 or 1100 or something ridic.

you can DEFINITELY get a place downtown for $650. and yes, a one bedroom. no it won't be in a highrise building. you should drive around bloodworth/lane street/edenton/oakwood area. also st marys and boylan heights.

there are 1bdrms for rent in old houses all the time. they're listed on craigslist a lot too. a really cool one was listed the other day....although i'm sure it is gone now. one i looked at in may was $575 and it was right downtown, not in the ghetto, walking distance to everything. i'd either drive around that area (there are for rent signs up usually) and/or check craigslist compulsively. because they go REALLY fast. like right when they're put up.

^ if you have an $800 - $900 budget i've seen a lot more things. there was a PHAT 1000 sq ft all hardwood place in boylan heights w/ a sweet view of the skyline for $800/mo listed like last week. its gone now though (i emailed like 5 hours after it was posted and it had been rented). there are houses (2-3bdrm) in boylan heights for $850. you gotta drive around yo.

also places like cameron court, boylan apts and those shelton studio things are w/in walking distance to glenwood south AND technically downtown (a little longer, but if you lived in a bigger city you'd be walking that distance easily to go places). you could also look there. same with raleigh apts.


[Edited on July 24, 2011 at 12:30 PM. Reason : .]

7/24/2011 12:26:49 PM

This might fit your bill: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/apa/2506180525.html

7/24/2011 12:27:00 PM

^^Boylan Heights is where I've wanted to live for years. So tough to find a place because like you said, they go so fast even if you have roommates and can afford a bigger place. Right now I have a pretty nice townhouse in Falcon Ridge but I'm thinking Cameron Village area might be my next move. If I can get a damn real job I'm gonna move to a high rise for sure. Thinking The Dawson because they allow any pets. Also been checking on Caraleigh Mills daily. LOVE the exposed brick and beams.

7/24/2011 12:46:05 PM

there are some townhouses for rent right now behind CV off nichols drive. there's also a condo complex over there off st mary's that could have some rentals.

that is still a good area.

i check craigslist multiple times a day and drive around looking for places. i've found some REALLY awesome ones downtown in nonghetto areas for < $700 for a 1bdrm. they're out there. i just don't know what i'm doing right now and am not ready to commit to a year lease

the pet thing is also hard because a lot of the downtown places that are in the older homes have refinished wood floors so they are all anti pets. but i've found several that do allow pets.

i also lived in falcon ridge, and cameron village i lived in the raleigh apartments. they're nice (full right now it is so hard to get in there) BUT no AC. i lived there in the summer. it gets pretty miserable not gonna lie. even with the window units. but if you can tough out july and august then you can make it. plus it makes the utilities a lot lower haha.

[Edited on July 24, 2011 at 12:58 PM. Reason : .]

7/24/2011 12:57:32 PM

shelton (not quite downtown, but close) is a building of nothing but 1 bedrooms for around $650/month. i think cameron court has some 1 bedrooms as well.

you can also definitely find a place in oakwood for that price. that's where i live now, and it's pretty sweet. quiet neighborhood and you can easily walk downtown.

7/24/2011 1:18:30 PM

you guys need to be providing links, I cant be googling all this shit, I'm a busy person

7/24/2011 1:21:14 PM

I own a condo in Brooklyn Heights area (next to Fletcher Park) and the going rate to rent in the area is from $800-$1200 depending on the neighborhood (then condo, townhouse, size, etc).

7/24/2011 1:26:25 PM

GROOVY DIGS!!

7/24/2011 2:36:40 PM

groovy? not at that price range.
for $650 be prepared to live in the hood or to have some kind of substandard housing. Your best option would prob be the Oakwood area, but it will have to be in the ghetto part of it. The neighborhoods around there are getting better, but I still see hookers and drug dealers all the time.

I got lucky about 3 years ago and got a 2 br 1000sft unit with a two car garage. It is not the nicest place(old windows, no nice finishes on anything, old AC unit) but it is by far the best deal I have seen on something this size. I am up western blvd in the kent/kaplan area in a neighborhood that is fairly nice. I found it through MLS renters listings.

I have been looking for another place anywhere near DT for the same price or maybe a bit more, but it is not possible. Your best bet is going to be to rent directly from a owner. Any management company is going to know how much the property should rent for, and will price it accordingly.

you also need to consider your bills if you have never lives alone. My big kicker is my power bill. Anything in your price range is going to be old, have old windows and insulation, have an older AC, if not window units and this will send your power bill sky high. Add in internet and TV if you want it, water bill, etc then you are looking at over $200 a month in bills. Im not sure of your $$ situation, but you should focus on grad school and not living somewhere "groovy"

7/24/2011 4:21:13 PM

Quote :

"Your best option would prob be the Oakwood area, but it will have to be in the ghetto part of it. The neighborhoods around there are getting better, but I still see hookers and drug dealers all the time."

i live in oakwood and never see this.

7/24/2011 7:13:04 PM

Quote :

"groovy? not at that price range."

7/24/2011 7:25:11 PM

I live in oakwood. Most of the hookers are gone, the 2 left are strung out meth whores and a couple transgendered ones but they walk very infrequently now. I don't see drug dealers much but there's always a few shady looking characters on jones

[Edited on July 25, 2011 at 7:40 AM. Reason : I own my home though, and would be tempted to rent one of my 4 spare bedrooms for $650...]

7/25/2011 7:36:11 AM

Quote :

"but it will have to be in the ghetto part of it"

State St/Jones St area is where my friend lives. Saw two hookers and a drug deal last night while sitting on the porch. Sat and watched a crackhead put his face against the windows of my van to see what was inside of it. I know the area is getting better, but parts of it are still bad off.

point being that for $650 and living by yourself, do not expect anything "groovy"

7/25/2011 7:49:20 AM

the corner apartments? that is indeed hood living on a lotta days.

7/25/2011 7:55:27 AM

Not to sound naive, but what's the reason for the high expense of living downtown? I realize downtown areas cost more, but this isn't Chicago or Boston we're talking about here, and it seems like most places are charging those rates like it is a big city. Is there just a scarcity of housing downtown that results in this?

7/25/2011 8:23:49 AM

I'd suggest Cameron Court or Shelton Arms (on Hillsborough, across from Meredith). Not "downtown proper" but close enough, you could walk to Fayetteville St. in about 15 minutes. You can also walk to campus in about the same time frame, which might be handy. Brick buildings, hardwood floors, big windows, nice courtyards. I looked into Cameron Court back in 2004 and they wanted 575/month back then, so I'd think it would be in your price range.

7/25/2011 11:51:36 AM

grant haze has a condo open

7/25/2011 11:56:11 AM

Quote :

"I live in downtown in <500sqft and my rent is $1700 "

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang. I've got ~750 sqft and only shell $325/month. In Clinton

But I'm one block off down town, can walk to work, and have a variety of restaurants within walking distance.

7/25/2011 12:32:46 PM

Sure, but it's Clinton. Most people don't even know where that is

7/25/2011 12:38:20 PM

There are also options to explore based on your income. The Prairie Building is on the same block as Sitti/Gravy and the rents are something like $550 for a one bedroom, but there's an income ceiling.

Yes, there are still some drug dealers and hookers hanging around downtown; it's a downtown. The most shady activity is going to be on the south side (not much rentable stuff down there anyway) and the southeast corner of the grid near Hargett/Martin/Camden. Even then, it's not a huge deal; I lived next to a dealer for two years and figured out pretty quick that the last thing they want is to draw attention to themselves.

If you don't mind being a little farther out, there are nice little houses that can be had for decent rates on the far side of Oakwood/Mordecai in Brookside, Madonna Acres, or Longview...just have to time it right and find the right one. Also, there's plenty of stuff to buy down there for flippable prices if you're interested in staying at least 3-4 years.

7/25/2011 2:09:10 PM

^^yes, but ~$1400/month difference.

I had no idea rental real estate in Raleigh was that crazy.

7/25/2011 3:05:42 PM

any contact info on the Prairie Building or website? google just gave me the address

7/25/2011 3:09:47 PM

^^ not looking but what is the ceiling? Curious...

7/25/2011 3:10:04 PM

Quote :

"I live in downtown in <500sqft and my rent is $1700"

If you're just giving money away, I mean, I'll take some.

7/25/2011 3:12:05 PM

You'd be lucky to find anything under 700. I live near cameron village and pay around 750 for a pretty nice 1 bedroom.

anything actually inside downtown will run you at least 900

7/25/2011 3:13:57 PM

^^ Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. You can get plenty of bigger places in downtown for less than a thousand bucks. Hell, my girlfriend lives in Five Points and there's an overpriced house there that's $1700, but it's like 2500 sq. ft.

Prairie Building contact info is here: http://www.dhic.org/prairie_building.shtml

As far as I know, it's mostly musicians.

Quote :

"anything actually inside downtown will run you at least 900"

This just isn't true. However, it does take some digging.

7/25/2011 3:15:58 PM

I don't think that person lives in downtown Raleigh

7/25/2011 3:16:48 PM

Quote :

"anything actually inside downtown will run you at least 900"

this is not true. at all.

but you do have to be persistent and look EVERY DAY. because the places go fast.

and brian is right, there are several income based housing options like the prairie building. that godowntownraleigh website has a map of all (or most) the residential living buildings and requirements (if any - there are some senior only places, for example). but a lot of apartments are just in the older houses around downtown (and those clearly aren't listed on that website). a lot of places i've found just by driving around the areas downtown i'd want to live. not everyone posts their shit on craigslist.

another important reason to drive around is then you know the area better. there are some areas that seem shady and aren't (i mean you might live nex tdoor to GASP a black person, but they aren't going to murder you in your sleep. then there are a couple areas where you prob wouldn't want to live because your chances of getting robbed or stabbed are slightly higher).

and if you are at CV and paying $750 for a 1bdrm there are much cheaper options and you could also find a 2bdrm in the CV area for $750. not joking. true story.

7/25/2011 5:52:11 PM

Cameron Court used to be pretty affordable but I think they renovated.

My friend had a 2bedroom that was not exactly luxurious but it was only $650 and within walking dist to glenwood south and downtown proper. If you wanna live in a tall building you gonna pay $texas/sf, it is just the economics of a tall building that it costs more. (they cost more to build and maintain)

7/25/2011 6:59:02 PM

I don't live in Raleigh. Downtown Boston. Shit sucks for the price too .

7/25/2011 7:25:31 PM

like kadwadcal said, there are plenty of spots inside CV. The condos/townhomes that run from smallwood to St. Marys and those that are between Clark and Cameron are really nice. I have lived in a few of them, some one bedroom and some two, and have never looked back. Rent will probably cost you closer to 900 or 1k for a two bed room but a one bed room is completely affordable at 650.

i, too, saw a few on nichols and i am positive one or two were one bedrooms.

7/25/2011 7:32:41 PM

I live in a 1 br in Cameron Court now and I pay $700. They're in the process of renovating every building, but they are doing it one-by-one starting with Building A and working down the alphabet. It's a cool place if you don't mind older buildings. Considering their age, the biggest positive is central heat/air. The negatives are no dishwasher and no washer/dryer hookups, but that may change after the renovations.

I'm moving to the Hue in August. It's overpriced, but I've lived in various shitty apartments in Greenville and Raleigh for 10 years now. I finally just got a good job with a good salary, so I feel like I deserve to class it up for at least a year.

7/25/2011 8:02:16 PM

MAYBE THE FUCKING CLASSIFIEDS HAVE THE ANSWER

is that how you spell classifieds?

7/25/2011 10:10:31 PM

^^^I lived in one of the 1br places in Cameron Village for 3 years, along Daniels Street (between the Harris Teeter and Wade Ave.) It was small (566 sf), no dishwasher, and had a wall-mount heat/AC unit rather than central air. But it was great otherwise--wonderful location, good space utilization, off-street parking, and it was cheap. $495/mo when I lived there ('04-'07).

[Edited on July 25, 2011 at 10:24 PM. Reason : ^]

7/25/2011 10:24:20 PM

Alright WW folk, thanks for the suggs!

8/5/2011 12:30:36 AM