Scouting Trip - Just Returned.. (Raleigh, Cary: 2014, chapel, houses)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Wife, Kids and I just retured from a 4 days shcouting trip o begin to narrow down where we are doing to look to reloate to from NJ in mid 2014. Here are some high level notes.
We looked in a few location, Wake Forest, Clayton, Apex, and Holly Springs. These locates were target by us prior to coming down based on schools, cost and our research outcome of liking these areas. Our criterai for a house is 3000 sq ft. 4+bed, 3+ bath in the 350k or lower price. with some "space" between houses (dont want to live 15ft from my neighbor, but dont need acres between either.
Wake Forest
Within city limits felt to close for us, although very nice, we just felt like we did not get enough space.
Outside city limits seemed to be a bit older, but did give us the space we liked.
Clayton - Crossed off the list. Just did not like anything about it or the houses (quality) in clayton.
Apex and Holly Springs - REALLLY liked the city and surrounding area. Felt as if we could get the space, in a new or newer community, and also get the quality we are looking for. Liked the small town feel yet the closeness to more if we wanted.
In the end, we feel as if Wake Forest (Outside City Limits), Apex and Holly Springs are the 3 places we will begin to narrow down. I think we will lean more to APex/Holly Springs to see if we can get more of a house, for less money.
I have a BOOK on the neighborhoods we went through and can post specific info if desired, but this was my general feel.
Would love to hear others opinions to these comments.
Where will you be working? As the areas you chose are the opposite ends of the triangle or Raleigh area, you wouldn't want to live in one of them and work near the other area.
If it matters, I would think there would be less chance of school changes/redisticting in Wake Forest as the area isn't as built up as Apex/HS/Cary. However, you wouldn't want to live in WF and work in downtown Raleigh as the commute can run from 30 mins to 1 hour - very unpredictable. Not trying to tell you where to live, but if you have young kids, you might want to consider living in a planned community like Heritage. It has small lots, pool, ponds, walking trails, sidewalks and lots of kids for your kids to befriend. This would save you hauling kids around all the time which is what you would do if you lived in a house on acreage. I've done both. if you don't have young kids, this is a non-issue. Have you checked out Hasentree subdivision on hwy 98 in WF? it is a golf community with lovely homes.
If it makes a difference to you, the Shearon Harris nuclear plant is south of Apex/HS. However, this doesn't seem to worry the residents of these areas as they have been high growth for some time. They certainly have done a nice job of building nice homes and amenities in Apex/HS. I saw a post on CD about I-540 possibly cutting thru a couple of neighborhoods there. I haven't kept up with this so cannot tell you anything else about it. But you can search the News and Observer paper on line for more info.
As for your comment about more house for less money in Apex/HS, you can get the same almost anywhere in this area. Good luck with your decision, you've picked a great area to move to!
If it matters, I would think there would be less chance of school changes/redisticting in Wake Forest as the area isn't as built up as Apex/HS/Cary.!
That doesn't make any sense. Any area that ISN'T built up, is going to GET built up, in all likelihood. And once that happens, you're more likely to get pushed around for schools.
We chose to buy in an established, built up area for school stability and our neighborhood has never been redistricted in almost 20 years.
OP, glad you could come down here and see what it's all about and start making some decisions. Good luck with your move!
Since you work from home and/or travel for work, I recommend coming down again and spend some time in coffee shops in the different locations you liked. I am a transplant, almost two years now. What I have found is that to get a "feel" for the place, you gotta sample it on different days. Research gives us facts and figures.
However, some of the intangible qualities aren't adequately conveyed on paper. For example, I love the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area because it tends to have a "coffee house vibe" about it. My husband, on the other hand, loves traditional suburbia and "newer homes" so we ended up buying in Holly Springs. Our daughter is grown so schools are a non issue for us. If she were school age, we both agreed we would have stayed in the Chapel Hill area...just our preference. Apex is lovely as is Wake Forest but the latter felt so "far" to me. Not sure how helpful I'm being but it's like watching the same movie...every time you view it, you pick up things you may have missed the first time.
Anyway, I wish you much luck. Wherever you land, you really can't go wrong in the triangle. It is truly a wonderful area to call home.
That doesn't make any sense. Any area that ISN'T built up, is going to GET built up, in all likelihood. And once that happens, you're more likely to get pushed around for schools.
We chose to buy in an established, built up area for school stability and our neighborhood has never been redistricted in almost 20 years.
OP, glad you could come down here and see what it's all about and start making some decisions. Good luck with your move!
Yes, your point is well taken. It is likely open land here will get built up at some point. I moved here in '74 and have witnessed the growth and school redistricting. Certain areas of Cary, Apex, and now Holly Springs continue to be very desirable, especially to new residents of our state. If I had a dollar for every out of state person who has contacted me at work saying they've heard that Cary is where they should move to, perhaps I could pay for my beach house
As to what I meant in my earlier post but didn't say, is that (generally speaking) the western side of Wake Co is the area that has experienced explosive growth, and as a consequence, had issues with school redistricting. Wake Forest isn't there yet in terms of the same explosive growth. I do expect it to be the next Cary at some point, maybe on a smaller scale?
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