CHAPEL HILL

Once you experience Chapel Hill’s small-town hospitality and visit its quaint neighborhoods lined with charming historic homes, you’ll understand why the town has long been called “the Southern Part of Heaven.” But small-town appeal is just the beginning of what this picturesque town has to offer.

Blending Southern charm with high technology, Chapel Hill is a vital part of the Triangle area that also includes Raleigh and Durham. The town is internationally recognized for its access to the Research Triangle Park, a center for cuttingedge research and technology, and for its world-class research university, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Five health schools and the UNC Hospitals comprise one of the nation’s most complete academic medical centers. Children also excel in top-quality schools; in 2005, Newsweek ranked two of the town’s high schools among the top 100 high schools in the nation.

Economic growth and residential planning are important to Chapel Hill, and two communities - Meadowmont and Southern Village - are positive outcomes of the town’s expansion efforts. Business districts surround these interconnected communities of apartments, condominiums, town homes and detached homes, offering residents restaurants, grocery stores, dry cleaners and more.

Whether you are looking for great music, delicious food, entertainment, art galleries or access to exciting sporting events, you’ll find what you love downtown on Franklin Street, which runs parallel to UNC’s campus. The annual Festifall Street Fair also takes place downtown and offers local art, live music, children’s activities and great food.

Chapel Hill is majestically located on a wooded piedmont, and residents put themselves to the test within its natural setting, participating in fitness-oriented activities such as golf, tennis, horseback riding, biking, hiking and camping.

Touting a history that is rich in tradition, Chapel Hill residents encourage newcomers to stock up on Carolina blue attire, as this town’s favorite UNC teams continue to impart a little bit of “Blue Heaven,” too.