Where to get the most for your money? Clayton, Smithfield, Willow Springs, etc. (Raleigh: house, schools)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Personally I'd buy in Clayton. With kids I'd focus more on neighborhoods with pools as part of the HOA just because it's something the kids will use a lot and enjoy. Plus Clayton will appreciate more than other areas you mention and has good schools.
Thank you! We are actually originally from a very rural town in Southwest Virginia. We attended Virginia Tech and moved to Irmo after college. We love that we can have the small town in Irmo and then have Harbison right down the road! It's truly the best of both worlds! But we miss the land we had in Virginia. We currently live in the Ashford subdivision and hate that all of the houses are so close together so that's something we definitely don't want this time around. A 25-30 minute commute is well worth it to us.. Haha
We plan to visit the area with a realtor, I just like to be a little proactive and get an idea of the areas from someone who isn't trying to sell me a house.
We thought we were moving to Roanoke at one point and were under contract to buy a house. I can completely relate to what you all enjoy. I grew up on 5 acres in rural SC and my wife is originally from rural South GA. I understand why those things are attractive to people. It is true that, generally speaking, schools in very rural areas don't always have the best reputations.
Also you should look at places in Wake County like Zebulon and Wendel. There small towns 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh.
Good idea to suggest Wake County. Resale value in the Triangle is very much driven by school ratings. Wake County schools are generally better rated than Johnston County schools.
If you consider only Johnston County, the Clayton schools are better than average, while the Smithfield elementary schools are average, and the Selma schools are poor.
I also agree with the comment that it would be more attractive to kids to live in a neighborhood where they can go to a pool and play with other kids.That's harder to do when you are out in the country.
Thank you both. We definitely consider getting more land and space as more important just because we plan to expand our family. What about Goldsboro or Selma?
Why drive from Willow Spring each day for a job in Clayton. Drive through 40/42 area morning and evening. I don't think so. If you work in Clayton, live in Clayton. Easy commute to Raleigh.
For the pure country feel, if that is what one likes. Clayton would be a great choice as well, just not as pure country anymore.
Thank you all for your replies. We'd prefer not to be in a subdivision if possible. We currently live in a subdivision with a Hoa and it's just not something we are particularly fond of. We went through a ridiculous battle with our Hoa over what type of privacy fence we wanted to put up and I hate to think that I'm paying for a house but someone else can tell me what I can and can't do to it. We will also be moving again in about 6 years so resale is something we have to look out for. Looking on Realtor.com it just seems like the houses in Clayton that are within our price range and have at least a 1/2 acre will require remodeling so we were just trying to look outside of the area but still within about 25 minutes or so of it to houses that are already done.
Are there specific areas to avoid that he will get stuck in traffic commuting to Clayton if we did choose a different area?
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