More than just car insurance. GEICO can insure your motorcycle, ATV, and RV. And the GEICO Insurance Agency can help you fi nd homeowners, renters, boat insurance, and more! ® Motorcycle and ATV coverages are underwritten by GEICO Indemnity Company. Homeowners, renters, boat and PWC coverages are written through non-affi liated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Government Employees Insurance Co. • GEICO General Insurance Co. • GEICO Indemnity Co. • GEICO Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. GEICO: Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2010. © 2010 GEICO NEWMARKET SERVICES ublisher of 95 U.S. and 32 International Relocation Guides, NewMarket PServices, Inc., is proud to introduce our online version. Now you may easily access the same information you find in each one of our 127 Relocation Guides at www.NewMarketServices.com. In addition to the content of our 127 professional written City Relocation Guides, the NewMarket Web Site allows us to assist movers in more than 20 countries by encouraging you and your family to share your moving experiences in our NewMarket Web Site Forums. You may share numerous moving tips and information of interest to help others settle into their new location and ease the entire transition www.NewMarketServices.com process. We invite everyone to visit and add helpful information through our many available forums. Share with others your knowledge of your new location or perhaps your former location. If you ever need to research a city for any reason, from considering a move to just checking where somebody you know is staying, this is the site for you. NewMarket Services looks forward to cooperating with everyone to continually add to our base of City Specific Information along with our various moving topics to help many of the 40 million people who have the opportunity to relocate each year. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department to speak to a live representative if we can provide any assistance. Our toll free number is (866) 595-3792. Raleigh/Durham Information Guide [ 5 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE he NewMarket Services Information Guide is designed as a valuable resource Ttool for you, the newcomer to Raleigh/Durham. It is our intent in producing this publication to standardize important and helpful information on your new community in a format that is most useful to you. Stores and services are listed by category in the Raleigh/Durham Welcomes You! business directory. Important telephone numbers, packing and moving suggestions, and much, much more useful information is found throughout the Guide pages. Selected area businesses, many offering significant savingsare found in the Business Directory Section, sorted by category. The Guide can save you both time and money while providing you a continuous resource tool as you become more familiar with the metroplex. We do hope you find our Relocation Guide to be of assistance to you. If you do not find something you need, or if you have any suggestions for future issues of the Guide, please give us a call. We will be happy to assist in any way. (866) 595-3792 Toll Free From everyone at NewMarket Services Welcome to Raleigh/Durham! 6 ] Raleigh/Durham Information Guide www.newmarketservices.com Raleigh/Durham Information Guide [ Volume 11 [ Number 7 LOCAL INFORMATION The State of North Carolina 8 Area Codes, Important Phone Numbers 13 Travel Information 14 Weather 11 About Raleigh/Durham 9 Publisher:NewMarket Services, Inc. Historical Background 16 President: Patrick Morgan Where to Stay 17 Entertainment 18 Managing Editor: Rebecca Wallace Media 22 Executive Editor: Jason Gerali Recommended Tours 23 Contributing Writer: Amy Tennant MOVING Executive VP Sales & Marketing: Robert Fischer Smooth Transitions 25 Regional Sales Manager: Beth Hurley Choosing a Moving Company 25 Art Department: Sprague Design Packing Tips 25 Staying Organized 26 Graphic Designer: Dean Sprague Settling Into Your New Home 26 NewMarket On-Line: Total Web Design, Inc. What’s All the Talk About? 29 IT and Web Development: Larry Bongiovi Pre-Move Checklist 30 Research Assistant: Stephanie Cooper, Lora Price MOVING WITH CHILDREN & PETS Circulation: Little Drummer Boy Dist., Inc. Reinforce the Positives 33 Choosing a School 33 Phoenix Office: Selecting Child Care 35 PO Box 30534 Education 36 Phoenix, AZ 85046-0534 Relocating Your Pet 40 Phone: (602) 923-3415 Fax: (602) 923-0774 FITNESS & HEALTH Toll Free: (866) 595-3791 In the Kitchen 41 Physical and Mental Well Being 42 Chicago Office: Volunteering 45 902 North Ashland Chicago, IL 60622 HOUSING Phone: (312) 226-6288 Making the Right Choice 47 Fax: (312) 226-6290 Choosing the Right Home 49 Toll Free: (866) 595-3792 Housing Options For Growing Senior Demographics 50 Home Inspection Checklist 52 NewMarket currently publishes Information Guides for 95 North American and 32 Homecare Basics for New Homeowners 53 International Markets. To order your Security 54 NewMarket Information Guides for $3.50 Take Control of Your Energy Costs 55 each, please contact NewMarket Services Home Buyer’s Glossary 56 toll free at (866) 595-3792. Who’s Who in Building 58 In preparing this publication, every effort Selecting a Builder 59 has been made to assure the accuracy of Selecting a Contractor 60 the information contained herein, but Banking & Mortgage Information 61 authenticity cannot be guaranteed. Listings are subject to omission, error or change without notice. BUSINESS DIRECTORY Business Directory Listings 65 All material in this publication is copyright protected and can only be reprinted with permission of the publisher. Raleigh/Durham Information Guide [ 7 THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ncinnati The information and biotechnology industries have been steadily VA Richmond on the rise since the creation of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in Hampton Roads the 1950s. Located between Raleigh and Durham, its proximity to local research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth. KY Meanwhile, beginning in the 1980s, Charlotte's banking industry began a period of rapid growth, creating what is now the second Raleigh/Durham largest banking center in the United States (after New York). Piedmont Triad Charlotte is home to Wachovia and Bank of America and the metro NC is home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies. TN Charlotte Only in North Carolina: On January 15, 1795, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university in the country to open its doors for students. SC Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville on Columbia Atlantic Ocean March 7, 1914. Atlanta The Tar Heel State has more paved miles of road than any other GA Charleston state in the United States – over 78,000 miles. Blackbeard, America’s most famous pirate, established a orth Carolina is a state located in the Southeastern United residence and married his 14th wife in Bath, NC, in 1718. States along its Atlantic Seaboard. It was one of the original NThirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina, and the home of the first English colony in the Americas. On 20 May 1861, Fast Facts it became the last of the Confederate states to secede from the POPULATION: 8,856,505 (est 2006) Union. STATE CAPITAL: Raleigh Due to its wide range of elevation, from sea level on the coast to over 6,500 feet in the mountains, North Carolina has the most STATE SALES TAX: 4.5% variation in climate of all the southeastern states. The climate of the LARGEST CITIES: Charlotte state ranges from a warm, humid subtropical climate near the coast MOTTO: To be, rather than to seem to a humid continental climate in the mountains. Most of the state NICKNAME: Tar Heel State falls in the humid subtropical zone. LAND AREA: 53,865 square miles North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples. North Carolina was the second American territory the COASTLINE: 187 miles of coastline British attempted to colonize. Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state HIGHEST POINT: Mt. Mitchell 6,684 ft capital is named, chartered two colonies on the North Carolina (then LOWEST POINT: Atlantic Ocean 0 ft Virginia) coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. The demise TIME ZONE: UTC-5 of one, the ”Lost Colony” of Roanoke Island, remains one of the great mysteries of American history. WEB SITE: www.nc.gov Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in agriculture, financial services, and manufacturing. The state's industrial output—mainly textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, paper and pulp/paper products—ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to producers in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years, though the state remains the largest textile employer in the United States. Tourism is also important, with visitors spending more than $1 billion annually. Sports include year-round golfing, skiing at mountain resorts, both fresh- and salt-water fishing, and hunting. 8 ] Raleigh/Durham Information Guide ABOUT RALEIGH/DURHAM OVERVIEW aleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill are often referred to as the Triangle. Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh make up the three corners of the Research Triangle, so named Rin 1959 with the creation of the Research Triangle Park, a research park between Durham and Raleigh. This area is affectionately known as the land of tees, trees, and Ph D’s. The area continues to be voted one of the most desirable places to live in the nation and in 2003, Forbes has voted Raleigh-Durham the #2 of “The Best Cities to Start a Business— Or a Career.” This is a place that 1.2 million people are content to call home, and for so many good reasons.