Community Resources

Transportation

• RedefineTravel.org: Excellent advice on public transit options, routes to popular places-even a list of bus routes serving local apartment complexes!
• Buses: Chapel Hill/Carrboro buses are free. Durham and Raleigh charge a small fee. Follow the previous link for maps and schedules for all of the area's bus services and go to http://www.dps.unc.edu/Transit/campustransit/campustransit.cfm for information on bus travel and parking specifically for the UNC campus and Chapel Hill/Carrboro locale.
• Taxis: available 24 hrs with student discount.
• Zipcar: a car-sharing service that UNC participates in. Several cars are parked on campus, which, for a small fee, you can reserve hourly for up to three days with a US or international driver's license. This is a wonderful resource for international students at UNC who might not want to purchase a vehicle. Please read below and go to the link BEFORE you leave your home country, as you will need to obtain some documentation prior to arriving.
  
  Thousands of foreign drivers use Zipcar. We accept drivers from every country. You will need to contact your country's vehicle records department to obtain an official copy of your driving record (translated into English), or if your country does not have a department of motor vehicles, you will need to contact your old automobile insurance provider and obtain adequate insurance documentation of driving history from them. Don't worry, it's not as daunting as it sounds.
  
  More details: http://www.zipcar.com/apply/foreign-drivers
• NCDOT: Information about getting a North Carolina drivers license.

Activities

• Chapel Hill Board of Visitors: Features news and events, with links to surrounding community pages.
• Chapel Hill News: Click "Daybook" in the top menu bar for a list of events in Chapel Hill.
• GoTriangle: Search for activities, restaurants, etc., throughout the Triangle area (Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh and surrounding). After clicking the tab you're interested in searching for, fill in the "NEAR" box with the correct location.
• Independent Weekly: Online version of the paper you'll see around town. This has pretty complete listings of events in the Triangle art, music, and literary scene, along with movies, lectures, performances, and events of all kinds.
• Meetups: Hundreds of groups organized around special interests, always inviting new members. This is a great way to connect with local people!

Food

• Grocery stores: Many supermarkets sell international food items, but there are also many ethnic markets, listed here by regional cuisine.
• More groceries: Listed by regional cuisine by our friends at NC State.
• Restaurants: Urban Spoon has pretty complete restaurant listings. Search by location, by cuisine, by price, and more.

Housing

Live On-Campus

Odum Village: 1101 Mason Farm Road

Floor plans of this building and information can be found at http://housing.unc.edu/residence-halls/1101-mason-farm-road. This option is a 2-bedroom apartment living with another graduate student of the same gender.

Live On-Campus with Spouse

Baity Hill Apartments

Floorplans and pricing information for this option can be found at http://housing.unc.edu/residence-halls/baity-hill-at-mason-farm. This option allows married couples or students with children to live on campus in a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment option. You would be renting the entire apartment at the prices listed in this situation.

Live Off-Campus

We have online resources available at http://housing.unc.edu/off-campus-housing.html. The UNC Housing Office has a staff person that can assist you in locating information. You may contact Heather Miller at heather_miller@unc.edu for more details.