Beyond Town Boundaries

Though the eastern part of Mebane, a town that lies in both Orange and Alamance counties, shows a few small splotches of development, the rest of the county is, for the most part, a blank sea of countryside.

But 48,500 people live in that rural sea -- 1,700 more than in Chapel Hill -- and many don't want the higher cost of living and faster pace of life found in the county's more developed areas.

Anthony Cecil grew up and attended school in Efland, a small unincorporated town located about 15 miles northwest of Chapel Hill. Now he's an Orange County sheriff's deputy, and he hasn't moved.

"Everybody here grew up together," he said after buying groceries at the Efland Supermarket. "When you get over to Chapel Hill, it's not as close-knit."

Though thousands of students spend four years or more at UNC, some rarely venture beyond the walkable confines of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Many students don't have vehicles, and those who do usually choose to visit Durham or Raleigh when they travel outside southeastern Orange County.

It's understandable, therefore, that many students might not have even heard of the unincorporated communities of Oaks, Orange Grove and White Cross, which lie in southwestern Orange County, or Cedar Grove and Schley, which lie in the north.

Chapel Hill, the county's largest town, grew up around the University. The two bodies have continued to grow, so it's not surprising that the county's population is skewed heavily toward its southeastern corner.

Fifty-four percent of the county's residents live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

On average, Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents are more educated than their neighbors elsewhere in the county. More than three-quarters of Chapel Hill residents over the age of 25 have college degrees. In Hillsborough, only about one-third of adults graduated from college.

Thus, the two towns and the University, with its 25,000 students and 16,000 campus and hospital employees, provide homes and jobs for a youthful, highly educated population.

"Our large student population gives us a younger flavor than the rest of the county," said Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson. "Because we're younger, we're more open to new ideas. We're hipper."

Christy Moore, who owns Whims Cards & Gifts on East Franklin Street, agrees. She said the rest of Orange County is much more rural and conservative.

"Orange County itself tends to be more of a farming community," said Moore, who grew up in Chapel Hill. "Here we focus more on the education."

"(Northern Orange County) is really pretty country," said John Hudson, a part owner of the Carolina Pride retail shop on the other side of Chapel Hill's main drag. "I'm not sure there's much to do up there except ride around and say, 'Yup, that's pretty country.'"

Most would agree there's plenty to do in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. There are also plenty of places to lighten the wallet. Orange County businesses rang up $1.22 billion in retail sales in 2001-02, and consumers dropped 76 percent of that in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Chapel Hill, known throughout the state as a shopping hot spot, dominates the county's retail industry. The town accounted for 63.4 percent of the county's retail sales in the last fiscal year, according to the state's revenue department.

But while those who live in southeastern Orange County enjoy close access to shops and restaurants, they pay more for it.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro have the highest property tax rates in the county. Carrboro residents who own property in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district pay city, school and county taxes, which add up to $1.71 per $100 of property value. Residents who live in the county's unincorporated areas pay less than half that amount.

"It's a whole lot cheaper up here than it is in the southern part of the county," said Mebane resident Franklin Gant, whose property straddles the Orange-Alamance county line.

Of all the Orange County towns outside Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Hillsborough, the county seat, most resembles its southern neighbors. The town, which lies along the banks of the Eno River, has a small, walkable shopping district known for its historic buildings.

Hillsborough collects 37 percent of its property taxes from businesses, far more than Chapel Hill's 21 percent and Carrboro's 16 percent.

"Hillsborough is a growing area," said Ruffin Slater, general manager of Carrboro's wildly successful Weaver Street Market. "I think it's got a nice downtown that's probably underutilized."

But Hillsborough and its 5,500 residents face the same growth pressures as Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Evelyn Lloyd, Hillsborough's mayor pro tem, said new developments on the outskirts of town have brought more traffic than the town's narrow main street can handle. The river, she said, prevents road expansion on the town's south side.

"(Hillsborough) was built to be small," she said. "I would hate to see it get to 10,000 people."

Hillsborough grew 27.8 percent from 1990 to 2000, just slightly more than the unincorporated areas, which grew 23.8 percent. Orange County is growing fast, regardless of location.

Fourteen-year-old Rajbir Kaur is a checkout clerk at the Efland Supermarket. She said she likes Efland but echoed the views of others on southeastern Orange County.

"There's more going on (in Chapel Hill and Carrboro) than here," she said. "It just seems busier."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.