Relocating to Triangle Area - Please Help! (Raleigh, Cary: apartment complex, to rent)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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My Husband and I are relocating to the Raleigh area from CT/NY within the next 6-8 weeks due to a job transfer (his), as he will be working out of the Garner area. I am vaguely familiar with Raleigh, but haven't been down in years since my late teens/early twenties.
We are now a young family with two small children - one infant and one in first grade, so schools are extremely important to us. We will initially be renting for the first year to determine where our favorite places will be before we buy, but I am really at a loss as to where the best places/areas to live are. My husband does not want a long commute to work - 20 minutes max. We are looking for excellent schools in a suburban setting with shopping/restaurants close by. We are flexible on renting either an apartment complex or house. Currently we pay very high rents ($1800 for a 3 bedroom), so any reprieve from that is a help!
You have come to the right place, there is tons of info on this forum if you want to dig around a little, you can use the search function to make it easier.
Garner is very centrally located so you will have many choices - central and south Cary, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, south Raleigh, or even Garner itself - are all in the Wake County school system. You could also look at Clayton which would put you in Johnston County schools - people who live their seem to be very happy with the schools.
Great idea to rent first - you will be looking at $1200-1400 for a decent 3/4 bedroom in a nice neighborhood. You could pay less if you wanted to suck it up for a year in a townhome or apartment...
.. . . . . he will be working out of the Garner area. My husband does not want a long commute to work - 20 minutes max.
Can you be a little more specific with his office location? It can take 20 minutes to get from one side of Garner to the other.
Our neighborhood is located in a slightly rural area of Wake county (not within city limits) and is easily within a 20 min drive to the southern and western sides of Garner. Not sure that we could make it to the NE side of Garner in 20 minutes though. We are also within 20 minutes of Raleigh, Apex, Holly Springs, Cary, and Fuquay.
You have come to the right place, there is tons of info on this forum if you want to dig around a little, you can use the search function to make it easier.
Garner is very centrally located so you will have many choices - central and south Cary, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, south Raleigh, or even Garner itself - are all in the Wake County school system. You could also look at Clayton which would put you in Johnston County schools - people who live their seem to be very happy with the schools.
Great idea to rent first - you will be looking at $1200-1400 for a decent 3/4 bedroom in a nice neighborhood. You could pay less if you wanted to suck it up for a year in a townhome or apartment...
We don't mind an apt/townhome for a year at all esp if it is in a great complex where the kids will be immersed with other kids. I've been poking around a lot this morning and from what I've read, Johnston County appears to be more rural, which I'd rather stay away from. I am just at a loss at this point as to which direction to point my self towards. Cary seems to be the best, but it is very subjective by person.
You have come to the right place, there is tons of info on this forum if you want to dig around a little, you can use the search function to make it easier.
Garner is very centrally located so you will have many choices - central and south Cary, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, south Raleigh, or even Garner itself - are all in the Wake County school system. You could also look at Clayton which would put you in Johnston County schools - people who live their seem to be very happy with the schools.
Great idea to rent first - you will be looking at $1200-1400 for a decent 3/4 bedroom in a nice neighborhood. You could pay less if you wanted to suck it up for a year in a townhome or apartment...
Keep in mind that parts of Garner are in Johnston County (we have a Garner address in Johnston County), and this area and Clayton are well more than a 20-minute commute to Raleigh. Add rush-hour traffic and/or accidents to the mix, and you're looking at an hour or more to some areas of Raleigh. For instance, my husband commutes to his job near the airport and it takes about 45 minutes for him to get home, and that's only if he leaves at 7:15 a.m. and leaves work at 4 p.m. If you leave at 5, you can expect a nice, long drive. On the other hand, we moved to this particular area because we have a friend who's a teacher in the Johnston County school system and he advised us this area has the best schools anywhere in the area. And you don't have to worry about the year-round schools or busing issues.
We don't mind an apt/townhome for a year at all esp if it is in a great complex where the kids will be immersed with other kids. I've been poking around a lot this morning and from what I've read, Johnston County appears to be more rural, which I'd rather stay away from. I am just at a loss at this point as to which direction to point my self towards. Cary seems to be the best, but it is very subjective by person.
Yes, it is very overwhelming at first which is why it is such a good idea to rent first. Johnston County is a little rural but Clayton itself is growing rapidly and has a much more suburban feel. Cary is a great place to start, but be careful, "Cary" is a huge geographical area, parts of which may be a good 45 minutes from Garner.
I'm sure others can help recommend apartments around Garner.
The only thing I would say about living south of Raleigh is that there is not really a decent mall nearby...closest would be Crabtree which is probably about 20-30 mins from Garner depending on traffic, etc...
Keep in mind that parts of Garner are in Johnston County (we have a Garner address in Johnston County), and this area and Clayton are well more than a 20-minute commute to Raleigh. Add rush-hour traffic and/or accidents to the mix, and you're looking at an hour or more to some areas of Raleigh. For instance, my husband commutes to his job near the airport and it takes about 45 minutes for him to get home, and that's only if he leaves at 7:15 a.m. and leaves work at 4 p.m. If you leave at 5, you can expect a nice, long drive. On the other hand, we moved to this particular area because we have a friend who's a teacher in the Johnston County school system and he advised us this area has the best schools anywhere in the area. And you don't have to worry about the year-round schools or busing issues.
That's true, and parts of Clayton are in Wake County and parts of Cary are in Chatham County - certainly a minefield when shopping from afar!
(Not sure if you caught that her husband will be working in Garner.)
We don't mind an apt/townhome for a year at all esp if it is in a great complex where the kids will be immersed with other kids. I've been poking around a lot this morning and from what I've read, Johnston County appears to be more rural, which I'd rather stay away from. I am just at a loss at this point as to which direction to point my self towards. Cary seems to be the best, but it is very subjective by person.
If you're interested in the lifestyle above all else, Cary is awesome. It really is...but it's also more expensive. There are trees everywhere, plenty of housing to choose from, great grocery stores, and wonderful restaurants. I hear the schools are decent, depending on the area in which you settle. We have family and friends who live there and we love to visit them. But a house like ours in Garner would have been probably $50k higher in Cary.
That's true, and parts of Clayton are in Wake County and parts of Cary are in Chatham County - certainly a minefield when shopping from afar!
(Not sure if you caught that her husband will be working in Garner.)
Oh, no, I didn't actually. Thank you. The Abberly Place apartment complex in Garner at White Oak is great. We lived there when we first moved to the area. It's filled with young professionals. I don't know about the kids, but it's right in the White Oak shopping center, next to a movie theatre and a Target. The Rex Wellness Center is right across the street and a family membership is only $89 a month. It's a great location and only 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Raleigh.
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