1. Location

2. Housing

3. Transportation

4. Restaurants
 

1. Location

• SAMSI is located in the NISS (National Institute of Statistical Sciences) building.
  
• The NISS Building is located in the Research Triangle Park, a cluster of mostly industrial and government research facilities in the State of North Carolina. This map will give you a good idea where NISS is.
  
• The Research Triangle Park is located in the triangle whose vertices are the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
  
• The university partners in SAMSI span the Research Triangle:

• SAMSI is convenient to each university by car, but somewhat inconvenient by other modes of transportation. Distances:

• Go to Transportation for more discussion of transportation choices.
  
• Go to NISS directions and NISS maps for details about driving to SAMSI.
  
• Deeper understanding of relative locations can be obtained from Web sites that provide local maps, such as Lycos Roadmaps or  MapQuest.

2. Housing

• Long term visitors should consider apartment rental.
  
• Links to apartment fidning web pages are given on the SAMSI Housing page.
  
• Short term visitors (weeks to months) should consider 'Extended Stay' accomodations.
  
• A wide range of options appears on the SAMSI Housing page.

3. Transportation

• Transportation in the Research Triangle Area is much more convenient by car than by other modes.
  
• Car Rental options are discussed on the Car Rental Page.
  
• Rush hour traffic is a serious issue for travel between SAMSI and Raleigh, and between SAMSI and Chapel Hill (but not for travel to Durham).
  
• The option of bicycling (even though distances are reasonable) is not recommended: the roads are narrow and inhabited by many cars that drive fast, the drivers are not expecting cyclists, and in the summer, heat and humidity do not make cycling pleasant.

• Bus riding is an option, although not convenient, because travel from SAMSI to almost anywhere involves at least one transfer.

        -    The best source for bus options is the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA).

        -    TTA sends buses to each of the Triangle Cities.

        -    While almost any trip requires a transfer, they coordinate their departures.

        -    Each city also has its own bus system: Chapel Hill,  Durham,  Raleigh.

        -    But connection to SAMSI will require transfer to TTA.
 

4. Restaurants

• A good source of information about restaurants in the Triangle are (including reviews) is City Search.