<p>jack: ummm hurricans... ok..haha!. Im actually coming to visit the campus this tuesday. Im still choosing between UNC and Berkeley. So i hope the visit helps me make my decision. rec any spots?</p>
<p>monsheree</p>
<p>First word of advice....wear comfortable shoes and clothing...the campus is big and beautiful and as my wife likes to say..."uphill both ways".....LOL</p>
<p>Unfortunately Chapel Hill in the summer does not have quite the feel that it has during the school year when Franklin St. is wall-to-wall students. Take the time to walk both the upper and lower quads, the pit will be relatively quiet but if you can, imagine it filled with students and activity as it is during the school year. Check out the Rams Head and walk or drive the entire area of the campus....see Kenan Stadium and the Dean Dome and try to picture the sports fields filled with intramurals and pick-up soccer or touch football games.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill may be as close to college nirvana as there is and hopefully you'll get a chance to meet some students to visit with.</p>
<p>Have breakfast at Breadman's on Rosemary St, lunch at Spanky's (Franklin and Columbia) and for a nice meal, dinner at 411 West (turn left on Franklin St from Columbia and go about 3 to 5 blocks on the left side) then (if over 21) stroll across the street to West End Wine bar for a nice glass of wine in a place described my S as "pretty chill." </p>
<p>A favorite for students (over 21) and also a great spot for meals during Parent's weekend is Top of the Hill with its second floor outdoor patio which is directly across Franklin St from Spanky's. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Enjoy Chapel Hill, wish I was going this week!</p>
<p>if you can, get to downtown raleigh! i dont know if NC loves californians but this californian loves NC, especially that place</p>
<p>monsheree: Can't think of anything to add that eadad hasn't already mentioned. Cat's Cradle, in Carrboro (next door to Chapel Hill and within walking distance) seems to be a big hit with students. Don't know what's going on mid-week in the summer, though, but they usually have name bands--great live music. <a href="http://www.catscradle.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.catscradle.com/</a>
There's another board on here, either Parents Forum/Parents Cafe, or College Search, or something-- where I (and others) gave a bunch of links of places to visit in the Chapel Hill area. You can find it if you search. Check out the Morehead Planetarium on campus, too. And there's the Ackland Art Museum, also on campus, that you should visit, too.</p>
<p>We always like Lime and Basil, a small Vietnamese restaurant down on Franklin St (in direction of Carrboro). I always mention it on here as a great place for food, as if I have stock in the place, or something. I really don't, but the food is really good, and the atmosphere, and the owner-- a young guy-- are all really nice.</p>
<p>I agree that the campus may not be quite as lively as when in full session, though there will be plenty of students there-- in summer session, probably. It will be fairly hot right now, too, but as eadad says, walk the whole campus and wear comfortable shoes! If there's a particular dept in which you're interested, maybe call ahead of time and make an appt. if you want to talk with someone. Otherwise, just enjoy that great campus and town.</p>
<p>And check out the Carolina Inn on Friday night, if you're staying that long. It's practically next door to the campus. They do live music on the lawn there on Friday nights.</p>
<p>Have a fun trip. Let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>b4nnd20: We pretty much live in downtown Raleigh--within biking distance to NCSU. What is it that you like? I can't figure out why so many people move to Raleigh. I must be missing something. Maybe I'm getting too old . . . no-- on second thought, that can't possibly be it. But do tell what it is you like about the place. I'm curious.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the recs..! will def check out the restaurants for some good eats..</p>
<p>are there any clubs for those not yet 21?</p>
<p>jack, i just love the scene, the place has character and i like that. maybe it is because i'm young...but, it's true that you don't have the coffeeshops, head shops, music stores, and all that stuff in cary, land of evil police and too many starbucks.</p>
<p>Monsheree:</p>
<p>My only regret about going to Berkeley when I did was that it was so close to home in California. Going there was a great experience, but it was one that I "made up for" by moving overseas quickly after graduation and then attending graduate school Back East.</p>
<p>I default always to telling people to move somewhere else for school. And what an opportunity you would have with UNC. I have a list of about 10 schools that if I had to spend my life as a perpetual student I would want to attend for awhile and UNC is right at the top of them.</p>
<p>It doesn't seem that you could go wrong, and I actually think that the culture of the South can be a pretty good fit with people who like the Northern California milieu -- different enough to be really educational yet similar enough to be comfortable. (Though Northern California's been getting more and more non-Northern Californian in the past 10-15 years. : ( )</p>
<p>I say go to UNC, and if you want to go to grad school, you can always go to Berkeley then.</p>
<p>b4nnd20: Thanks; yes, I'll agree that Cary is a little scary (just a little too pristine, what with all those golf courses, clean sidewalks, and Starbucks on every corner!). I always feel like I'm stepping into Stepford when I go there, or maybe Portmeirion (anybody remember The Prisoner?). So, yeah, I guess downtown Raleigh does have some character, in comparison to Cary. ;)</p>
<p>BedHead: I have a Southern (from NC) friend who has had to travel all over the U.S., and abroad, for her job--for the last 30 years. We talked about CA once, and I asked if she liked living there. She said it was the one place she had lived where she felt as comfortable and as "at home" as she did in NC. She felt it had the most Southern feel than any other place she had lived--and, as you say, different enough to be really interesting/educational, yet the people seemed "familiar," somehow.</p>