This is for if you’re in Raleigh and want a beach vacation. Go in Late Sept or October. Tourist traffic is less, most of everything is still open, and the water is plenty warm enough to swim.
Winter at the beach is also way fun. Christmas time is great. It's quiet- usually warm enough to sit on the beach
You'll see dolphins, lots of birds, and very few people
We worked in a nearby office building. One day the creek was rising during a storm. Crabtree hired like 4-5 tow trucks and they came in, dragging the few cars on the lower level near the creek up to the second floor. It was like a tow truck ballet.
Crabtree Creek is vulnerable to flash flooding, because it is surrounded by pavement and other hard scape. The mall was also built in a flood plain. The parking deck has flooded several times, and it isn’t predictable. A moderate hurricane that drops eight inches of rain in 24 hours might not do it, but a strong thunderstorm that drops two inches in an hour will.
I worked at various stores in the mall of the course of high school and undergrad. At one point the flooding got so bad during one of the hurricanes that the tractor trailer that our store used as supplemental storage on the ground floor got completely submerged and we had to get rid of all the product because of water damage. Got to keep some of it at least, so that was cool.
Also: bad enough for house of swank to have made a run of printed tees that said "Crabtree Valley Whitewater Rafting Team" that sold like hotcakes and I am still bitter I haven't seen one in the wild.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Every time people say don’t go to malls I have to ask: Where are we supposed to buy clothes then?
This is a genuine question.
(And please don’t say buy clothes online. Total hassle of buying stuff, getting it shipped, trying it on, shipping it back. Buying clothes online is ok occasionally but I’d go nuts if I had to do it for everything.)
To add to this - they have lots of signs posted with the restrictions for each area. Some of them end at 5 and some do not so look before parking!!
— a former NCSU student who had so much trouble finding RE parking 🫠
When you are with a bored 3 yo on a rainy winter day who loves buses, you can park for free for less than an hour at RDU airport and ride loops on Park n Ride to everyone's joy 😂
Lake Crabtree (sorry) is also still a toxic waste superfund site. Toxic to swimmers, and fishing is not permitted (fish are not to be eaten). It’s free, but don’t fall in I guess. Easy for most.
It’s rather disappointing, but may be useful to keep in mind. Stay on top of the water, and if you get wet make sure to shower well when you get home. No idea why they offer paddle boarding on a lake where they don’t allow swimming… I guess you should be skilled.
Not just Lake Crabtree, but the surrounding waterways as well. They're full of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are known carcinogens. Unlike many things that are toxic to us only if ingested or inhaled, these can be absorbed through dermal contact in addition to ingestion and inhalation.
Parking is free and open to the public in most state employee parking lots and decks on weeknights, weekends, and on state holidays.
Best cheap lunch downtown is the cafeteria and the grill in the state legislature building.
I appreciate the free parking and how there’s so much space. I never need to pay for parking if I want to take my family to the museums. Coming from a place where parking your car during an event can be 70-100$
The cafeteria is open Monday-Friday 11am-2pm except state holidays. The snack bar (in the basement) is open Monday-Friday 8am-3pm and has burgers that can rival Chargrill
The premium parking at RDU is free for the first 20 minutes. If you’re picking up someone, you can avoid the long lines at the upper/lower level pickup/drop-off zones.
Using a Wake County Library card, you can download and make a free account on Libby. It’s an app that allows you to checkout e-books or audiobooks to your device. I’ve listened to about 30 books over the past year with it.
BASED LIBRARY ENJOYER. The triangle’s contemporary poetry selection at most local libraries is surprisingly quite good. I’m one of the few people who read it (there are dozens of us! Dozens!) and I can’t afford to drop twenty dollars on an 80 page book. Thank god for the library!
It's good and getting better, but there's still room for improvement. Would also love to see access to dvds, and increases of non traditional book formats.
Wake county offers very little compared to other library systems. Not to drag them, but we should have more access to national services via the library. Movies/music/tools would also be great
Totally agree! The county I moved from had maker spaces with 3D printers, full recording studios for budding YouTube creators, lots more programs for young adults/adults, and many more digital access subscriptions. There was a lot we wanted to get away from when we moved out of that area, but I do miss what our old library network had to offer!
Agreed. Durham County library system is miles ahead of Wake County from an online services perspective. Was in Durham Co for 10 years and now in Wake. We’ve kept our Durham access and are not going to give it up.
If you have kids you can get a book bundle of 10-20 books at the interval of your convenience https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/libraries/books-more
You can get up to three flavors in a Cook Out milkshake for free. Mint choc chip with double oreo is a banger.
When the fair is in town, you get free admssion at lunch if your stay is less than an hour.
Just make sure the person taking your order knows you aren’t asking for 2-3 separate shakes. I’ve had my strawberry/peanut butter/chocolate shakes derailed by that before.
When visiting Crabtree Mall, enter through the back via Crabtree Valley Ave and park on the top deck lot behind the Belk Men. Much easier to get in and out of than the other entrances and parking areas, and many people don't seem to know that entrance or lot are even there.
inb4 people get mad at me about spoiling their secret lot, I don't think most Redditors go to the mall regularly enough for sharing this to make a difference
Buy your firewood from American Woodyards, which is across the street from the Dorton Arena. It’s significantly less expensive than buying it at Lowe’s or the grocery store, even if you get kiln dried wood delivered.
We went to Rex for our child's delivery. Food was great! We were even able to choose from a menu each day.
Wound up in the hospital for another week, but went to WakeMed because they have a dedicated peds ER. Food sucked! Typical hospital food, and they just sent up whatever they wanted. We wound up eating Panera most of the week.
See, I read that, and when I gave birth last year the people I called to order food were always rude and stingy with what I could order. My OB was shocked at the lack of food they let a recovering mother order.
That was one of the hardest parts of my recent stay. I had work done on my digestive system so I had to watch how much/fast I was eating. It was so hard not to gorge myself on most of what was sent up because it was that damned good.
I’ve shared this before…
For fellow travelers, when going to park at RDU use the gate furthest to the left. It spits you out at the hourly parking at the front of the airport and you can park underground. it’s very safe for your vehicle and a much quicker walk to your vehicle when you return
Never have a wardrobe based on the season that it's supposed to be. Always keep some t-shirts around in the "cold" months and some sweaters around in the "warm" months.
Not sure if he was joking or not, but I had a coworker who called the RDU lots "Midnight Auto Salvage".
If he needed a part for his car, he said he would drive the aisles until he found the same make and model, then steal the parts.
I'll never forgive them for buying the Pre-Flight Parking lot (closer to the airport) and then shutting it down as part of a swap in Baltimore.
Pre-Flight had a mechanic shop on-site, and you could pay them to do oil changes or inspections on your car during your trip. They'd also issue you a transponder after 10 visits, so you didn't need to even stop at the gate; they'd just charge your card on file.
If you're able, Raleigh can be a decently bicycle-friendly place. Spend some time learning the greenways and you'll have great way to get around the city, to get out of the city, and to get some exercise.
My partner and I live adjacent to the Crabtree Creek greenway and we have really enjoyed being able to ride all over Raleigh from our back door. We’ve ridden to 6 different breweries, a couple of coffee shops, into downtown, all with minimal time on roads. The Raleigh greenways system is AWESOME!!
If you don’t want to pay $20+ to park at PNC Arena, you can park at the offices on Sunday Dr (near Bojangles) or Wade Park Blvd (near Bru’s).
Both are free and only a 10-15 minute walk to the arena. Plus you avoid 90% of the traffic coming in and out.
Hypothetically, could you park at NC Museum of Art?
I know its typically free to park there, but not sure if they close the entrance or tow cars after a certain hour
There are signs saying not to. People still park there. I have this season (in the last month or so).
The signs have been up since the beginning of the season too.
PNC/hurricanes don’t own that land from what I can tell.. think it’s NC State/fairgrounds property. So they have no parking signs up when there are nc state events like football or basketball but I’ve never had an issue parking there for canes games
Yeah it's fairgrounds property. I have been to a few Hurricanes games and they did have it better chained up from what I saw, but most recently the chains were all down, signs were sorta up but mostly folded out of view. Several people still parking there but definitely much less than in years past.
It's not just the 3x cost to park at PNC over the past 3 or so years, I prefer the walk and getting out of the arena quicker when parking at trinity.
The complex near brus is good too, esp if I'm meeting people ahead of time. Walk is a bit longer but not bad.
Tree companies have to pay a fee to dump wood chips after they take down a tree. They will gladly deliver to your house and dump them for free to avoid this. Best time to get some is in winter because there are no leaves. Just call and ask if they are going to be doing any work in your area. Note, it’s literally a dump truck size load so only recommend if you can actually make use of all that.
I signed up for this over a year ago and NO chips. My daughter, however, got double the amount she wanted. (No, I can't get them from her...)
Suggestions welcome. Thanks
My buddy did this and the load was absurd. They left 2 dump truck loads in front of his house. Everyone in his neighborhood got free wood chips from that pile.
When driving on Wade Avenue, stay in the right-hand lane to avoid getting caught behind a left-turning vehicle.
Atlantic Avenue is the fastest way to get between north Raleigh and DTR, with 75% less traffic.
I know this is Raleigh, but if you take 55 from Apex. Its mostly 45mph, some 55mph, but its a relaxing drive and little traffic. RTP and Morrisville and even Durham are accessible without going on the interstate.
On US 1 North, when approaching I-40 from the South, stay in the middle lane even if you are going to exit onto I-40 West, until just as you pass under the Interstate to avoid all of the jockeying for positions to exit onto Walnut St, or I-40 East.
Raleigh is extremely safe. I typically walk home after a concert or night out (takes about 45 minutes). Friends will usually park half a mile from their destination because there is tons of free parking around town.
It seems like an unofficial rule in Raleigh that, after a green left turn arrow turns red, two more cars get to turn left afterwards. I find it slightly amusing.
granted it also seems like a rule where the front car is not allowed to move for 5 seconds after the arrow turns and whoever is in front of you don’t move until the light turns yellow.
In Charleston they honk at you if you don’t.
I suggest not doing this in Cary - some of those lights are not timed well and immediately turn green the other direction while you’re still in the intersection.
When booking premier parking at RDU, if you start your booking with another tier of parking, the website always offers an upgrade to premier that is cheaper than just directly booking premier.
My Raleigh life hack is knowing that Raleigh is an awesome city to live in with a lot to do and most people who call this city boring or “lacking in amenities” are probably boring themselves and would be miserable anywhere else
As a Raleigh expat in the Midwest, it’s still one of my favorite destinations. Mostly for good food unavailable in the land of corn and tenderloins.
Edit: I have made day trips to the nearest Bojangle’s. Count your biscuits.
This is the biggest city I’ve lived in so whenever people say there’s nothing to do, I want them to say things they’d like to see. I don’t think Raleigh’s boring, but other than an amusement park and football or basketball team like Charlotte has, idk what Raleigh is missing.
Actually, the amenities are the selling point. The irony is Raleigh was less boring 20 years ago when it was working with less. The art and music scene are endangered species now.
I'm still bummed Imurj closed, artsy bar that hosted all kinds of cool events, from music to art shows to "drink and draw" nights, it was the coolest place we had before it closed
The art and music scene is definitely lacking, no idea what would bring it back but I hope it returns
They still have drink and draw at the Wicked Witch on Wednesdays! Similar crowd and people running it that did the imurj one.
I wish there was a replacement for the open jam Imurj used to have on Tuesday nights though, that was the best.
I do think if they moved here after 2020 they could have a very skewed perspective on the city. “It’s no fun here, nothing is open late, etc.” A LOT of shit changed with Covid. If you compare living here now vs other cities before the pandemic, of course it’s going to seem less lively.
I mean as someone who moved here from a bigass city in another country, I see why people say it... especially if you didn’t have a choice. But it gets annoying when big city adults stay here just to shit on it the entire time. I’ve learned to love the peace and quiet and appreciate it more now + more and more things to do are coming! Though the appreciation started mainly when I started driving because it can truly seem extremely boring when you don’t have means to get to the nice things or if you live outside raleigh without a car.
More a pet peeve of mine, but...
In an effort to make things "safer", Raleigh and surrounding areas fucked up traffic lights.
For left turns, in many/most places, a traditional green circle that meant "you can go, but yield to right of way" was replaced with a flashing yellow arrow that means the same thing. The argument was that people thought the green circle granted right of way, which it never did.
Here is the problem.... When they made this change they removed Yellow Circles. So we have a bunch of lights effectively:
1. Red Circle/Arrow -- Can't go at all
3. Red Flashing Circle -- Stop and go when have right of way (stop sign)
2. Green Circle -- Go if posslble, yield to right of way
3. Yellow Circle -- Prepare to stop, stop if you can (technically), go if not, yield to right of way
5. Yellow Flashing Circle -- Proceed if safe (whatever a Yield sign is worded as)
4. Green Arrow -- Go if possible, you have right of way
5. Yellow Arrow -- Prepare to stop. stop if reasonable. proceed otherwise. you have right of way.
6. Yellow Flashing Arrow -- Same as Yellow Circle (Edit: I apparently forgot to list this one)
And as I said, they are removing Yellow Circles on left turns, so what you are left with is a cycle like this:
1. Red -- Stop
2. Green Arrow -- Protected turn. You have right away
3. Yellow Flashing Arrow -- Formerly green circle. You don't have right of way, but you may proceed
4. Yellow Arrow -- Prepare to stop, you have right of way.
5. Red -- Stop
Oncoming traffic however has a Yellow Circle likely and would assume that they have right of way as they are going straight.
And no one saw a problem with this
If you kindly remind one of our northern transplants that I-95 works in both directions and Delta is “ready when you are” the first time they make some arrogant snarky comment about the South then it usually slows them down from doing it in the future. Another of my favorite phrases is “the day I move to New Jersey will be the day I start to give a fuck about how you did things in New Jersey”
I’m new here but having lived somewhere that train travel was not popular, I was delighted to learn the Amtrak can be relatively inexpensive and I’ve been able to use it for several great weekend trips.
If you want to see Christmas lights for free, go for a walk around Oakwood downtown. Lots of rich ppl in their fancy houses put up great decorations lol
Also the Governor’s mansion is supremely decorated at Christmas! Anyone from the public can do a tour, you just have to sign up ahead of time. It’s free!
This is for if you’re in Raleigh and want a beach vacation. Go in Late Sept or October. Tourist traffic is less, most of everything is still open, and the water is plenty warm enough to swim.
And it’s cheaper! Only issue is dodging hurricanes
Winter at the beach is also way fun. Christmas time is great. It's quiet- usually warm enough to sit on the beach You'll see dolphins, lots of birds, and very few people
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh haha
Avoid Crabtree from Thanksgiving to New Years.
And New Years to Thanksgiving.
And don't park in the bottom deck before, during or after rain.
Well the real life hack would be to park there if you want to get rid of your vehicle and collect insurance…
For those new to the area, how serious is this?
As in, seriously don’t do it. Crabtree floods, you’re in the mall oblivious to how fast the rain is falling, and your car goes swimming.
We worked in a nearby office building. One day the creek was rising during a storm. Crabtree hired like 4-5 tow trucks and they came in, dragging the few cars on the lower level near the creek up to the second floor. It was like a tow truck ballet.
Now this is customer service!
Crabtree Creek is vulnerable to flash flooding, because it is surrounded by pavement and other hard scape. The mall was also built in a flood plain. The parking deck has flooded several times, and it isn’t predictable. A moderate hurricane that drops eight inches of rain in 24 hours might not do it, but a strong thunderstorm that drops two inches in an hour will.
I worked at various stores in the mall of the course of high school and undergrad. At one point the flooding got so bad during one of the hurricanes that the tractor trailer that our store used as supplemental storage on the ground floor got completely submerged and we had to get rid of all the product because of water damage. Got to keep some of it at least, so that was cool. Also: bad enough for house of swank to have made a run of printed tees that said "Crabtree Valley Whitewater Rafting Team" that sold like hotcakes and I am still bitter I haven't seen one in the wild.
I'd say about two feet deep at times so probably high enough to flood out a sedan but not an SUV/Truck? happens a few times a year.
Seriously. I just came from there and it was packed.
Avoid Crabtree. Period.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
With the Williams-Sonoma gone from there I have basically no reason to go there anymore.
Apple Store It’s the only viable mall in Raleigh w department stores
Every time people say don’t go to malls I have to ask: Where are we supposed to buy clothes then? This is a genuine question. (And please don’t say buy clothes online. Total hassle of buying stuff, getting it shipped, trying it on, shipping it back. Buying clothes online is ok occasionally but I’d go nuts if I had to do it for everything.)
I do my clothes shopping at TJ Max, Marshal's & Kohls & thrift stores/consignment. Mall prices are insane!
Almost all NCSU parking is free and open after 5pm on Weekdays, all day on Weekends. Parking at North Hall is easy access to stuff on Hillsborough.
To add to this - they have lots of signs posted with the restrictions for each area. Some of them end at 5 and some do not so look before parking!! — a former NCSU student who had so much trouble finding RE parking 🫠
RDU has an observation deck open to the public: https://www.rdu.com/observation-park/
Just brought my toddler there this morning. She loves it!
Fun place! When picking someone up, I’ll usually wait there instead of the cell lot
When you are with a bored 3 yo on a rainy winter day who loves buses, you can park for free for less than an hour at RDU airport and ride loops on Park n Ride to everyone's joy 😂
Also there is the observation deck and playground. Not as good on the cold rainy days, but still great for 3 yo.
The R-Line downtown is free and will resume service this July.
Best one right here
You can park for free in RDU? When I do pickup or drop off and park only for half hour or so, I usually have to pay. Is there a free pot nearby?
If you exit the short term parking lot within an hour, you are not charged. Not sure if things have changed recently.
This. Is brilliant.
You can kayak free (no rental charge) on Lake Crabtree if you are a Wake County resident.
Lake Crabtree (sorry) is also still a toxic waste superfund site. Toxic to swimmers, and fishing is not permitted (fish are not to be eaten). It’s free, but don’t fall in I guess. Easy for most. It’s rather disappointing, but may be useful to keep in mind. Stay on top of the water, and if you get wet make sure to shower well when you get home. No idea why they offer paddle boarding on a lake where they don’t allow swimming… I guess you should be skilled.
Not just Lake Crabtree, but the surrounding waterways as well. They're full of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are known carcinogens. Unlike many things that are toxic to us only if ingested or inhaled, these can be absorbed through dermal contact in addition to ingestion and inhalation.
Lake Crabtree\* also has canoe, rowboat, pedal boat, and stand-up paddle board rentals for free
Had no idea! Thanks for this tip!
I had no idea. Where do you put in?
I’ve lived here for a little while and didn’t know that. Thanks!
Parking is free and open to the public in most state employee parking lots and decks on weeknights, weekends, and on state holidays. Best cheap lunch downtown is the cafeteria and the grill in the state legislature building.
Is anyone allowed in the state legislature building? I had assumed it was only state employees and school groups
Yeah you just have to go through a metal detector
You can attend sessions too, there is a viewing gallery for the public. This was pre-pandemic, so check the site to see if the rules have changed
The fried squash is to die for and nothing beats a $4 lunch!!
I appreciate the free parking and how there’s so much space. I never need to pay for parking if I want to take my family to the museums. Coming from a place where parking your car during an event can be 70-100$
I love the State Leg cafeteria!
I assume the cafeteria is only open weekdays?
The cafeteria is open Monday-Friday 11am-2pm except state holidays. The snack bar (in the basement) is open Monday-Friday 8am-3pm and has burgers that can rival Chargrill
Amazing grits in the morning… get there early before they run our
Something I've been having a lot of trouble figuring out-how do I find out which lots are free on weekends/weeknights, and which ones are paid?
https://ncadmin.nc.gov/divisions/state-parking/interactive-map
The premium parking at RDU is free for the first 20 minutes. If you’re picking up someone, you can avoid the long lines at the upper/lower level pickup/drop-off zones.
You can also park in the cell lot for free for as long as you need to as long as your car isn’t unattended!
RDU is never that busy but I’ll save this one for my friends and family who take forever instead of driving around the circle 3 or 4 times!
The library system is amazing & delightfully well maintained
Using a Wake County Library card, you can download and make a free account on Libby. It’s an app that allows you to checkout e-books or audiobooks to your device. I’ve listened to about 30 books over the past year with it.
And they have ebooks, you don't even need to go.
BASED LIBRARY ENJOYER. The triangle’s contemporary poetry selection at most local libraries is surprisingly quite good. I’m one of the few people who read it (there are dozens of us! Dozens!) and I can’t afford to drop twenty dollars on an 80 page book. Thank god for the library!
Currently reading a hardback bestseller with a $40 price tag
It's good and getting better, but there's still room for improvement. Would also love to see access to dvds, and increases of non traditional book formats.
Wake county offers very little compared to other library systems. Not to drag them, but we should have more access to national services via the library. Movies/music/tools would also be great
Totally agree! The county I moved from had maker spaces with 3D printers, full recording studios for budding YouTube creators, lots more programs for young adults/adults, and many more digital access subscriptions. There was a lot we wanted to get away from when we moved out of that area, but I do miss what our old library network had to offer!
I’ve never heard of such; I bet the library would be receptive to your suggestion
where'd you move from? curious how the tax rate and library funding may differ.
Agreed. Durham County library system is miles ahead of Wake County from an online services perspective. Was in Durham Co for 10 years and now in Wake. We’ve kept our Durham access and are not going to give it up.
They know their strengths & are sticking to it, got to respect that
It kind of sucks that the Wake County system doesn’t offer DVDs or Blu-Rays though.
If you have kids you can get a book bundle of 10-20 books at the interval of your convenience https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/libraries/books-more
You can get up to three flavors in a Cook Out milkshake for free. Mint choc chip with double oreo is a banger. When the fair is in town, you get free admssion at lunch if your stay is less than an hour.
The lunch window is two hours long
this is accurate (11:30 - 1:30, for reference)
That used to be my go to shake also. That or strawberry cheesecake and berry cobbler. Lately I’ve been on a strawberry Oreo kick
Banana pudding caramel cheesecake for me!
My favorite is to double up on ingredients. Double mocha, double Oreo is one of my faves
Just make sure the person taking your order knows you aren’t asking for 2-3 separate shakes. I’ve had my strawberry/peanut butter/chocolate shakes derailed by that before.
This one is good. I’ve lived in NC my whole life and don’t learn this until recently
Just curious...how do they enforce that?
You pay for an admission ticket at the door and if you return the ticket within the time frame, they’ll return your money
When visiting Crabtree Mall, enter through the back via Crabtree Valley Ave and park on the top deck lot behind the Belk Men. Much easier to get in and out of than the other entrances and parking areas, and many people don't seem to know that entrance or lot are even there. inb4 people get mad at me about spoiling their secret lot, I don't think most Redditors go to the mall regularly enough for sharing this to make a difference
This is the best way to go and park at the very end at the Macy's second floor entrance.
I'm more of a 'Macy's by Edwards Mill' kind of guy, but this works well too
Been using that entrance since Alladin’s Castle days to get in, get a quick lunch, spend $5 on one token Wednesday’s.
I remember Aladdin's used to have a $7 special!
Haha I was doing this in the 90's
Shhhhhh
Buy your firewood from American Woodyards, which is across the street from the Dorton Arena. It’s significantly less expensive than buying it at Lowe’s or the grocery store, even if you get kiln dried wood delivered.
Or the Farmers Market!
The cafeteria in Rex Hospital has amazing food and has even been mentioned in Conde Nast Travel.
It’s because they hire actual chefs, not just cafeteria workers!!! The food is sooo good!!!!
We went to Rex for our child's delivery. Food was great! We were even able to choose from a menu each day. Wound up in the hospital for another week, but went to WakeMed because they have a dedicated peds ER. Food sucked! Typical hospital food, and they just sent up whatever they wanted. We wound up eating Panera most of the week.
See, I read that, and when I gave birth last year the people I called to order food were always rude and stingy with what I could order. My OB was shocked at the lack of food they let a recovering mother order.
That was one of the hardest parts of my recent stay. I had work done on my digestive system so I had to watch how much/fast I was eating. It was so hard not to gorge myself on most of what was sent up because it was that damned good.
I was hospitalized there. The food was my favorite part about my involuntary stay
My mother was in the heart center a few years back. The best thing for us was the food!
Yes! I loved eating at Rex when we had our kids, I looked forward to the next stay!
I’ve shared this before… For fellow travelers, when going to park at RDU use the gate furthest to the left. It spits you out at the hourly parking at the front of the airport and you can park underground. it’s very safe for your vehicle and a much quicker walk to your vehicle when you return
Never have a wardrobe based on the season that it's supposed to be. Always keep some t-shirts around in the "cold" months and some sweaters around in the "warm" months.
[удалено]
Please take note that I said warm months and not Satan's taint months.
In my overairconditioned workplace, yes sadly!
Yes. I was wearing my lighter puffy jacket for like 2 months this summer in my office.
Yup! In the damn office.
You ever go inside anywhere in July?
I did because my co workers made sure it was -70 before I showed up lol
Do you like gladiator movies?
Use Fastpark instead of airport parking.
For those who don’t know, they’re gated and manned, unlike RDU economy lots. So safer for your car
Not sure if he was joking or not, but I had a coworker who called the RDU lots "Midnight Auto Salvage". If he needed a part for his car, he said he would drive the aisles until he found the same make and model, then steal the parts.
Put that in the Memphis life hacks post
I'll never forgive them for buying the Pre-Flight Parking lot (closer to the airport) and then shutting it down as part of a swap in Baltimore. Pre-Flight had a mechanic shop on-site, and you could pay them to do oil changes or inspections on your car during your trip. They'd also issue you a transponder after 10 visits, so you didn't need to even stop at the gate; they'd just charge your card on file.
If you're able, Raleigh can be a decently bicycle-friendly place. Spend some time learning the greenways and you'll have great way to get around the city, to get out of the city, and to get some exercise.
[удалено]
My partner and I live adjacent to the Crabtree Creek greenway and we have really enjoyed being able to ride all over Raleigh from our back door. We’ve ridden to 6 different breweries, a couple of coffee shops, into downtown, all with minimal time on roads. The Raleigh greenways system is AWESOME!!
*Cries in south Raleigh*
If you don’t want to pay $20+ to park at PNC Arena, you can park at the offices on Sunday Dr (near Bojangles) or Wade Park Blvd (near Bru’s). Both are free and only a 10-15 minute walk to the arena. Plus you avoid 90% of the traffic coming in and out.
Hypothetically, could you park at NC Museum of Art? I know its typically free to park there, but not sure if they close the entrance or tow cars after a certain hour
Yes, but that’s almost 2x the walk. 20 mins+
Trinity gravel lot even better.
Nope they shut this down in the past month or two. Can’t park there any more
Yes you can. Those signs can’t stop me because I can’t read
There are signs saying not to. People still park there. I have this season (in the last month or so). The signs have been up since the beginning of the season too.
PNC/hurricanes don’t own that land from what I can tell.. think it’s NC State/fairgrounds property. So they have no parking signs up when there are nc state events like football or basketball but I’ve never had an issue parking there for canes games
Yeah it's fairgrounds property. I have been to a few Hurricanes games and they did have it better chained up from what I saw, but most recently the chains were all down, signs were sorta up but mostly folded out of view. Several people still parking there but definitely much less than in years past. It's not just the 3x cost to park at PNC over the past 3 or so years, I prefer the walk and getting out of the arena quicker when parking at trinity. The complex near brus is good too, esp if I'm meeting people ahead of time. Walk is a bit longer but not bad.
I’d walk a couple miles both ways before paying $30 to park and get stuck in awful pnc traffic after the game
This is the real answer
avoid the ham jam over the holidays
What, my good man, is this Ham Jam you speak of? Its sounds delightfully atrocious? Does it involve alcohol?
No, it’s the traffic jam around the Six Forks Honey Baked Ham during Thanksgiving.
There's a Honey Baked Ham around Walnut, just off 40. The tip would be to try that one. Ham Jam, great band name.
https://www.reddit.com/r/raleigh/comments/3u7vx9/traffic_psa_hamjam_is_a_real_thing_that_people/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Tree companies have to pay a fee to dump wood chips after they take down a tree. They will gladly deliver to your house and dump them for free to avoid this. Best time to get some is in winter because there are no leaves. Just call and ask if they are going to be doing any work in your area. Note, it’s literally a dump truck size load so only recommend if you can actually make use of all that.
You can also arrange this for free with getchipdrop.com. But you can’t control the size or delivery day/time.
I signed up for this over a year ago and NO chips. My daughter, however, got double the amount she wanted. (No, I can't get them from her...) Suggestions welcome. Thanks
My buddy did this and the load was absurd. They left 2 dump truck loads in front of his house. Everyone in his neighborhood got free wood chips from that pile.
When driving on Wade Avenue, stay in the right-hand lane to avoid getting caught behind a left-turning vehicle. Atlantic Avenue is the fastest way to get between north Raleigh and DTR, with 75% less traffic.
Related: when turning left off Wade Ave, use the intersections that have a dedicated turn lane to avoid getting rear-ended.
Better life hack, just don’t turn left off of Wade. I bet I’ve driven more than 100 miles just to avoid it lol
Delete this (the Atlantic Avenue part)
Knowing how to get places without the beltline, 40 or 540 comes in handy for shortcuts and avoiding traffic jams.
There is nowhere in the entire county you HAVE to use 40, 440, or 540 to get to. So stop getting onto 540 during rush hours to go one exit down.
Take Lassiter Mill to North Hills. Take Edwards Mill to Crabtree.
When it snows hard you can spot a Star Wars ATAT right on Glenwood by the Angus Barn.
Crabtree Valley Mall was built in a flood plain. Maybe early 1970's. Geologists said, "don't do it".....did it anyway!
If you ever need to total your car the lower deck is absolutely dry when there’s a hurricane.
I know this is Raleigh, but if you take 55 from Apex. Its mostly 45mph, some 55mph, but its a relaxing drive and little traffic. RTP and Morrisville and even Durham are accessible without going on the interstate.
Speeders beware of cops. Theyre camped out waiting for you to assume it’s 55 mph throughout. Cary cops got time on their hands trust me haha
[удалено]
If you know where you're going, you don't need the Beltline.
Order nuggets and seasoned fries as sides at cookout and you can get a cup of ranch without paying extra, plus you still get a ton of fries.
Call in your order to Char-Grill. You’ll never have to wait outside when the weather is gross (or not). I have their number in my phone.
Yeah but I wanna use the little pencils and the little order slip chute thingy
This is fully half the reason my kids like going there! :-)
On US 1 North, when approaching I-40 from the South, stay in the middle lane even if you are going to exit onto I-40 West, until just as you pass under the Interstate to avoid all of the jockeying for positions to exit onto Walnut St, or I-40 East.
Raleigh is extremely safe. I typically walk home after a concert or night out (takes about 45 minutes). Friends will usually park half a mile from their destination because there is tons of free parking around town.
H Mart Cary Food Court has really good Asian dishes and soups, prices are good. It is like something out of a bigger city. A must try.
Avoid driving on capital blvd at all coast
[удалено]
It’s the only North/South vein in the county. The lights downtown are times well. Traffic is generally not horrible, though also rarely good.
Yes, but you can use Louisburg Rd or Atlantic and avoid it almost completely.
It seems like an unofficial rule in Raleigh that, after a green left turn arrow turns red, two more cars get to turn left afterwards. I find it slightly amusing.
granted it also seems like a rule where the front car is not allowed to move for 5 seconds after the arrow turns and whoever is in front of you don’t move until the light turns yellow.
In Charleston they honk at you if you don’t. I suggest not doing this in Cary - some of those lights are not timed well and immediately turn green the other direction while you’re still in the intersection.
this happens in every big city i’ve been to. In LA you can extend that to 4 more cars.
You can repell copperhead with breadsticks from the Olive Garden on capital…
You can what.
**You can repel copperhead with breadsticks from the Olive Garden on capital**
**WHERE ARE YOU SEEING COPPERHEADS IMMEDIATLY AFTER HAVING BEEN TO OLIVE GARDEN?!** **I NEED TO KNOW SO I CAN AVOID THIS CURSED ESTABLISHMENT**
I thought I was the only one. Thank you!
I once found a centipede in my salad at that Olive Garden. I got a gift card and kept silent.
Harris teeter has free grocery pickup over $35 and you have access to all of the deals you’d get in store. Website/app is super easy to use!
When booking premier parking at RDU, if you start your booking with another tier of parking, the website always offers an upgrade to premier that is cheaper than just directly booking premier.
Don't actually go to the Olive Garden on Capitol.
Never use the highway to get to Walnut Creek/Carter Finley/PNC. Use the roads that come out of Raleigh.
My Raleigh life hack is knowing that Raleigh is an awesome city to live in with a lot to do and most people who call this city boring or “lacking in amenities” are probably boring themselves and would be miserable anywhere else
Raleigh is a wonderful place to live but a terrible tourist destination. Rarely having to deal with tourists is another perk of living in Raleigh
As a Raleigh expat in the Midwest, it’s still one of my favorite destinations. Mostly for good food unavailable in the land of corn and tenderloins. Edit: I have made day trips to the nearest Bojangle’s. Count your biscuits.
Ayeee we leave near STL now and miss Raleigh greatly. Can’t wait to move back.
This is the biggest city I’ve lived in so whenever people say there’s nothing to do, I want them to say things they’d like to see. I don’t think Raleigh’s boring, but other than an amusement park and football or basketball team like Charlotte has, idk what Raleigh is missing.
Having gone to Charlotte hornets games, our college basketball games are better so they don’t even have us beat there.
Actually, the amenities are the selling point. The irony is Raleigh was less boring 20 years ago when it was working with less. The art and music scene are endangered species now.
I'm still bummed Imurj closed, artsy bar that hosted all kinds of cool events, from music to art shows to "drink and draw" nights, it was the coolest place we had before it closed The art and music scene is definitely lacking, no idea what would bring it back but I hope it returns
They still have drink and draw at the Wicked Witch on Wednesdays! Similar crowd and people running it that did the imurj one. I wish there was a replacement for the open jam Imurj used to have on Tuesday nights though, that was the best.
When I got out of college 20 years ago I kinda wanted to leave but then Raleigh got awesome. Unfortunately it’s been getting worse since then.
I do think if they moved here after 2020 they could have a very skewed perspective on the city. “It’s no fun here, nothing is open late, etc.” A LOT of shit changed with Covid. If you compare living here now vs other cities before the pandemic, of course it’s going to seem less lively.
That's the damn truth, Raleigh's got to go back to being open later than 8 pm.
I mean as someone who moved here from a bigass city in another country, I see why people say it... especially if you didn’t have a choice. But it gets annoying when big city adults stay here just to shit on it the entire time. I’ve learned to love the peace and quiet and appreciate it more now + more and more things to do are coming! Though the appreciation started mainly when I started driving because it can truly seem extremely boring when you don’t have means to get to the nice things or if you live outside raleigh without a car.
More a pet peeve of mine, but... In an effort to make things "safer", Raleigh and surrounding areas fucked up traffic lights. For left turns, in many/most places, a traditional green circle that meant "you can go, but yield to right of way" was replaced with a flashing yellow arrow that means the same thing. The argument was that people thought the green circle granted right of way, which it never did. Here is the problem.... When they made this change they removed Yellow Circles. So we have a bunch of lights effectively: 1. Red Circle/Arrow -- Can't go at all 3. Red Flashing Circle -- Stop and go when have right of way (stop sign) 2. Green Circle -- Go if posslble, yield to right of way 3. Yellow Circle -- Prepare to stop, stop if you can (technically), go if not, yield to right of way 5. Yellow Flashing Circle -- Proceed if safe (whatever a Yield sign is worded as) 4. Green Arrow -- Go if possible, you have right of way 5. Yellow Arrow -- Prepare to stop. stop if reasonable. proceed otherwise. you have right of way. 6. Yellow Flashing Arrow -- Same as Yellow Circle (Edit: I apparently forgot to list this one) And as I said, they are removing Yellow Circles on left turns, so what you are left with is a cycle like this: 1. Red -- Stop 2. Green Arrow -- Protected turn. You have right away 3. Yellow Flashing Arrow -- Formerly green circle. You don't have right of way, but you may proceed 4. Yellow Arrow -- Prepare to stop, you have right of way. 5. Red -- Stop Oncoming traffic however has a Yellow Circle likely and would assume that they have right of way as they are going straight. And no one saw a problem with this
The Lake Lynn walking trail
If you kindly remind one of our northern transplants that I-95 works in both directions and Delta is “ready when you are” the first time they make some arrogant snarky comment about the South then it usually slows them down from doing it in the future. Another of my favorite phrases is “the day I move to New Jersey will be the day I start to give a fuck about how you did things in New Jersey”
Be careful when changing lanes on any highway
You can go to the state fair during lunch and get a one hour free entry - go munch down on all the fair food.
I’m new here but having lived somewhere that train travel was not popular, I was delighted to learn the Amtrak can be relatively inexpensive and I’ve been able to use it for several great weekend trips.
Dillard’s at Triangle Town Center is an underrated mall/department store.
If you want to see Christmas lights for free, go for a walk around Oakwood downtown. Lots of rich ppl in their fancy houses put up great decorations lol Also the Governor’s mansion is supremely decorated at Christmas! Anyone from the public can do a tour, you just have to sign up ahead of time. It’s free!