Durham/Chapel Hill Area

It's the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, known as "The Triangle.

Once lived there. It's a metro region of about 2.1 million located in East-central NC. NC ST, UNC, and Duke campuses are all within 25 miles of each other. It's home to the world-renowned RTP - largest research park in the U.S. It's about 2 and a half hours from the beach, and 3 hours from the Appalachians.

Downtown Raleigh for restaurants and nightlife. Glenwood South, Warehouse District, Fayetteville St. Art District, museums, etc. Also in Raleigh, NC State campus (very urban), NHL hockey, Triangle Town Center, Crabtree Valley mall. For a city of its size, it's among the safest anywhere.

Durham has the Durham Bulls AAA baseball stadium (awesome place to see game), and Duke University. Outside of the ballpark, it's nerds and liberals galore, and a couple of areas you don't venture to. It is known for it's trendy college bars located in the downtown area, and converted tobacco factories. Also has Streets of Southpoint outdoor mall.

Cary- 3rd largest city here. Restaurants and high-end living.

Chapel Hill - UNC campus, liberal yuppie college scene, etc. Beautiful campus in the autumn.

RDU airport - located between Raleigh and Durham in Morrisville, NC. Very well served with flights going all over the U.S. and daily international service to London, Paris, and Toronto.