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I wouldn't live there...there are better options in the areas. Crime seems high for the size (just last week a woman where I work had her step-son murdered in a drive-by at a stop light) and it's very poverty stricken.
Schools feed into the Granville county schools, which aren't greatm(not the worst, but not great). If you don't have kids and don't mind traveling for most things you might find a housing bargin to two....but that's about all it have going for it.
I wouldn't live there...there are better options in the areas. Crime seems high for the size (just last week a woman where I work had her step-son murdered in a drive-by at a stop light) and it's very poverty stricken.
Schools feed into the Granville county schools, which aren't greatm(not the worst, but not great). If you don't have kids and don't mind traveling for most things you might find a housing bargin to two....but that's about all it have going for it.
Please, do tell, what do you consider the better options in the area?
Please, do tell, what do you consider the better options in the area?
It really depends on what you are looking for and why, where they work, what they want in a school (even if they have children) what housing price range etc etc etc...
But honestly, most places are going to be better then Henderson. Oxford (while not a first choice for me personally, it's better then Henderson), Creedmoor also.
If someone wants a city experience move into to Northern Wake county. Franklin County has some charming spots. Also, since you are that far north anyway several folks live in Southern VA or around Kerr Lake and commute into the area, though I don't have details of that area personally. I just know they didn't want to live in Henderson.
I live in Henderson and it's the crim that's scaring peopel away, add the unemployment rate and there you go. Henderson can be a great town if it wasn't for some of the knuckleheads but I say move to the country portions of the city or somewhere off Ker Lake or the country club.
I lived in Henderson most of my life--probably a total of 35 years. My family moved from there about 5 years ago. I have never looked back!! The schools are horrible. Crime is rampant. Whenever we visit friends and relatives there, we lock the car up tight and worry whenever we're in a parking lot or just sitting at a stop light. Everybody I know has either had a murder, a shooting, or multiple break-ins in their neighborhood. And most murders go unsolved! We lived in a very nice neighborhood (as Henderson goes) where a school teacher was stabbed to death and buried in a shallow grave in his own backyard! My mother had a murder across the street from her---older lady was bludgeoned to death. My grandparents had their next door neighbor murdered (shot) for his wallet! My sister had a drive-by shooting next door to her. My other sister has had her home robbed twice. My best friends there have had their home robbed multiple times. These are all "nice neighborhoods" for Henderson. Don't even get me started on the good ole boy politics there. Choose Oxford, Wake Forest, Louisburg, Raleigh, etc. instead. You will be much happier. Kerr Lake is nice. You can buy some great properties there, but you still have to use Henderson's school, shopping, doctors, etc. Not good. Only positive is low cost housing---but you'll see why when you visit!
I know this thread is old, but I believe that what I have to say is important to anyone who might be scanning these forums for info on Henderson, N.C.
First off, realize that we're talking about the city of Henderson in Vance County, which is on the NC/VA border, north and slightly east of the Raleigh/Durham "Triangle" area. Some people confuse this with Hendersonville, a beautiful city in Henderson County out in the mountains of Western NC by Asheville. Hendersonville in Henderson County is a nice place, Henderson in Vance County is NOT.
Henderson is an AWFUL place. I've lived here since Friday July 13, 2007 -- and this has been the longest 15 months of my life. I am leaving and moving to the mountains of northwest Georgia next month (November 2008), and I'm leaving running and screaming...like everyone else who can afford to move. Here's why:
Henderson and Vance County have the worst of everything in N.C.; we're at the top of all the bad lists and the bottom of all the good ones
Some highlights:
* Highest poverty rate in the state (over 40% of childern here live in poverty, over 20% of the population as a whole)
* Crime -- people shooting out the windows of your car/truck at night is not uncommon, happened to several people in the 15 months I've lived here
* Violent crime (several murders annually, and this is a TINY city (more like a "small town" in terms of size), things like people beating each other to death with pipes, there was a drive-by shooting in broad daylight on Garnett Drive which is the "main street" here just about 2 weeks ago, and the worst part is that it didn't really surprise anyone)
* Burglary/theft (one of many examples: copper theives are breaking into houses and hack-sawing out the copper plumbing pipes since melted-down copper is so valuable right now)
* Poverty
* Crime -- armed home invasions in BROAD DAYLIGHT on WEEKDAYS
* Highest AIDS rate in the state
* Highest teen pregnancy rate in the state
* Horrible school system -- the worst funded in the state, and one of the highest dropout rates
* Miniscule police presence, and the cops won't even drive through certain parts of town (particularly the 3rd Ward), much less get out of their cars
* Horrible upkeep of roads and buildings; tons of abandoned and falling-down houses
* Crime -- everyone in their right mind hides under their mattresses on Friday night (and the rest of the weekend for that matter)
* Poverty
* Rampant racism -- the KKK has a listing in the white pages of the phone book -- white on black, black on white, black/white on hispanic, etc.
* Tons of bad sections of town, and prejudice associated with that
* Filth, litter all over the city and folks' lawns...looks awful, and lowers all property values, but folks here don't even see it any more they've been looking at it so long
* Very high unemployment rate; almost no jobs, no new businesses moving in (we were devastated by the closing of the Harriett-Henderson yarn mill a few years ago); getting a job at McDonalds or Wal-Mart is considered a "golden opportunity"
* CRIME -- tons of armed robberies, even in places with tons of security cameras
* Very low white population, very high black population -- sorry if saying that offends you, but it's a major factor in the high crime and lack of infrastructure upkeep and jobs; there is tons of black-on-white violent crime here; also a lot of illegals moving in
* TONS of registered sex offenders
* Crime -- three deadbolts on every door + bars on the windows is a common sight here; our crime rate is higher than New York's or Los Angeles'
* Drugs, drugs, drugs -- drugs sold all over the place, right out in the open; always tons of meth busts and other drug busts where the house is filled with guns and drugs and counterfeit cash
* Tons of black youth street gangs, and associated violence
* Tons of abandoned houses being used as "crack houses", and the city is unwilling (and perhaps too poor) to tear them down or bring them up to code
* Ridiculous property taxes which do NOTHING for the citizens
* Over an hour from "the Triangle" (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) -- so if you can't buy/find whatever you need in Henderson, you're a long way from anywhere else; we're the only city of any significance in the area; Henderson is a crime-ridden urban center surrounded by crime-ridden rural areas and trailer parks
* The city looks awful; falling-down and burned-out houses all over the place
* Very few homeowners; most houses are on a for-rent or rent-to-own basis, and are rented out by slumlords to the many recent parolees/jail letouts. No one seems to be able to hold down a job or keep out of jail; it seems a different family of criminals is renting it every month.
* Crime
* Crime
* CRIME!
If you have to live in this area of the state (i.e. job transfer), STAY AWAY FROM VANCE COUNTY AND HENDERSON! Check out the Louisburg area in Franklin County, or Wake Forest in northern Wake County; those are MUCH better areas.
For more info, be sure to check out the local citizens' blog, HomeInHenderson.com -- and if you value your life and your stomach lining, KEEP OUT OF HENDERSON AND VANCE COUNTY!
Don't be fooled by the low real estate costs -- there's a REASON why you can buy a 4-bedroom house and an acre of land for under $40,000 (some houses go as low as $8,000 - $9,000) - this is a HORRIBLE place to live and NO ONE wants to live here. The city is in a constant state of exodus, everyone who can leave IS leaving as soon as possible. It's very hard to sell your house here, since no one wants to move in.
There are no "good neighborhoods". The lesser of all the evils is the neighborhood by the "country club"/golf course. It's the best neighborhood in Henderson, and it's several times worse than the worst neighborhoods in many surrounding areas. Don't be fooled by the phrase "country club", it's a horrible place to live just like the rest of the city.
I lived in neighboring Oxford for 5 years and will be returning there in the next several months. Henderson DOES NOT feed into Granville schools. I worked for 2 years at a bar in downtown Henderson and we didn't have any problems (even before the police department opened across the street). Now, crime, poverty, teen pregnancy, high school dropouts, drugs, etc are a problem.. but those problems exist in every place. If you want to know what is going on in henderson, check out these two websites: hendersondispatch.com (local newspaper) and homeinhenderson.com (locals posting on various issues/topics) I personally wouldn't live in Henderson as I like Oxford better -- I work in the criminal justice field and am all too aware of crime/drugs/etc located in every neighborhood and socioeconomic bracket.
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re Henderson
me too!!!
