Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill comprise the Triangle and is appropriately named because connecting the points between the cities creates just that'a triangle! Located in the heart of NC, the Triangle area is a booming metropolitan area with a three county total of almost 1.2 million residents. Over the years the Triangle has received various accolades for being a great place to live, work, play and retire!
Here you will find relaxed southern hospitality mixed with progressive, diverse and urban communities. It has been said that the Triangle is the
land of "tees, trees and PhD's". What this translates to is world class golf courses, hiking and biking trails, and a highly educated workforce.The Triangle is home to top teaching and research medical centers, renowned educational institutions, a kaleidoscope of culture and art, ACC college sports, the Durham Bulls, and a vibrant and diverse GLBT community.
Situated in the piedmont of the state, Raleigh is the state's capital city where you will find trendy restaurants among tree-lined streets, shopping and all the appeals of an urban lifestyle. In the city center you are within walking distance to art museums, the performing arts, opera, and a new convention center. Living in town you'll find your choice of warehouse condos to a 1920's bungalow. If you are into nightlife downtown Raleigh is the place to go with several gay and lesbian nightclubs and restaurants in a growing business district.
To the northwest of Raleigh is Durham known as the "City of Medicine" where one out of three people in the workforce are in the medical or health-care related field. In the downtown district of Durham is ever changing city as turn of the century brick tobacco warehouses are urbanized into extraordinary living spaces, restaurants, shops and places of business. Many homes in the older neighborhoods of Durham are on the register of historic places. You can still find that great bungalow just waiting to be restored.
Nicknamed the "Southern Part of Heaven" is Chapel Hill with its rolling hills and ancient oak and poplar trees. Chapel Hill may be best known as the home of the University of North Carolina Tarheels and our nation's first state university. Walk along Franklin Street and you'll sense charm and style as you browse the town's center.
In the middle of the Triangle is Research Triangle Park that houses industry giants in IT, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and banking. RTP is the largest planned research park in the US with 45,000 employees on 7,000 acres. Our area has one of the largest gay and lesbian business associations in the south, the Triangle Business and Professional Guild.
The GLBT community in the Triangle is thriving. Some say we are small enough to feel that individual efforts make an impact yet big enough to see the diversity. There is always something to do in the Triangle. Most nights are packed (and even sold out) for the monthly Drag Bingo event. It is just as it sounds, drag queens calling out your bingo number'all to benefit the local AIDS service agency. We have gay rugby, gay bowling and even gay square dancing! If you love to sing check out the Gay Men's Chorus or the Common Woman Chorus. And if politics is your thing, we have very active political and advocacy groups on the state level including the Human Rights Campaign, NC Equality, Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans!
For a full line of community activities check out OT's
events calendar.
Whether you have lived here for years, are a new resident or exploring a relocation, welcome to OUTTriangle! The Triangle area is a great place to live and we hope you'll continue to get to know it.
