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We are relocating from Florida to the Triangle area. My husbands job will be in Cary. We have one child entering 8th grade. We are looking for advice on schools. I have read that the public schools in Chapel Hill are excellent.
Our son is in private school now, but we are considering public school as well as private this time. He is a good student but not above average though we are planning for him to attend college.
Are there certain public schools in Chapel Hill that would make it worth the commute to Cary?
Which is a more family friendly area Cary or Chapel Hill?
If we were to live in Cary are there public schools anyone would recommend middle/high?
What about private schools? I have already talked to Cary Academy and Durham (spelling?) and they are both full. Any recommendations that are in the 12k or under range for tuition?
When we purchase a home we will be looking in the low 500k range. Our son loves basketball and we hope to get him on a school team so sports are also important to us.
You don't need to put your child in Chapel Hill schools, Cary's are very good. Wake County Public school system offers a very good education. Cary, Raleigh, Wake Forest, etc. are in Wake Co.
Can you tell me which are the best schools in Cary for middle and high school? How are the schools around Prestonwood Country Club?
Thanks!
Preston is interesting, mostly because there are so many homes and neighborhoods spread over a wide area.
Mostly you are looking at West Cary Middle School, and Green Hope HS.
If you get west of Davis Drive, or south of High House Road, you are looking at Davis Drive MS and Green Hope HS.
You don't need to put your child in Chapel Hill schools, Cary's are very good. Wake County Public school system offers a very good education. Cary.
As a Chapel Hill-er, I have to agree with this. Live in Chapel Hill if you want to live in Chapel Hill because it's the right community for you. The schools there are very good. But the schools in Cary are good too. I'll bet either will serve your child just fine. Both towns are very family oriented as well. There are a lot of differences between the towns to be sure - and that's why I suggest you pick the one that best suits you and your family overall.
Can you tell me what you see the main differences as, that might help us with our decision. Thanks!
Cary has been kind to developers and builders over the years, where Chapel Hill has been less accommodating.
The results:
1. Your housing dollar will get you more house in Cary, and you will have a larger selection.
2. Property Taxes in Cary and Wake County are significantly lower for comparable properties. Some of that is due to a higher level of service in Chapel Hill, such as subsidizing local transit. Some is due to higher property value and cost for comparable homes.
So, Cary has much more of a neo-suburban nature then Chapel Hill.
The UNC influence is present in much of Chapel Hill, although many posters on the forum have stated in the past that they do not feel any day-to-day presence in their lives. So, I guess it is there if you care to embrace and immerse, but you can also ignore to some degree.
Cary is more about business and commerce.
There is a political tangent. Cary is centrist to conservative compared to Chapel Hill which leans toward a commonly-acknowledged liberal tone.
If your husband works in Cary, a Cary residence obviously offers a shorter commute, unless work and/or home are in the extremities of Cary. From extreme SE Cary to extreme NW Cary is not a highly desirable commute.
Chapel Hill is a university town, with all that goes with it. It tends to be more liberal in its politics and social policies. It favors slow development and environmental protection. It's smaller, and a bit more isolated from the rest of the Triangle. It doesn't like big box stores or fast food restaurants. Its property taxes are higher. Its real estate prices are higher. Its population consists of a lot of upper-income professionals: doctors, lawyers and the like. There's a large foreign population (tied mostly to UNC or Duke). It has a lot of really good restaurants - Chapel Hill is often described as a "foodie town."
Last edited by CHTransplant; 06-30-2011 at 07:54 AM..
Reason: Corrected typos
Can you tell me what you see the main differences as, that might help us with our decision. Thanks!
Surely you will visit both before making any decision, but the main differences are the Chapel Hill is unquestionably a "college town" while Cary is Suburbia Central.
City-Data has links to general info about each (and every city) here:
Also, go to the web page of each town for their own descriptions, though of course those will have some bias.
Chapel Hill schools are said to be the best in the state, no doubt due to the high number of professors' kids who go there and the general "learning culture" around a good university. Cary has some very acclaimed schools, as well, though the Wake County system is growing so fast, there is a lot of crowding and reshuffling, especially in Cary where so much of the growth is. Do a search on either City-Data or a general web search on "wake county school board" for the big newsmaking issues going on there for the past couple of years, and be aware that when one moves into a high-growth area, the odds of school reassignments are always higher as new schools need to be built.
Most of all, coming to see each town (and Cary is officially a "Town" with a pop of over 130,000!) would give you the feel for each as to what suits your own familiy's needs better than any of us can do behind a computer screen.
Does anyone have any input on Prestonwood and Cary Christian Academy. Are there a lot of kids in Prestonwood? Our son would be going into the 8th grade.
We are looking for a school that he will be accepted by the other children
A school that works with kids that are average learners
Good communication
Smaller class sizes
Thanks.
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Prestonwood and Cary Christian
