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SO CONFUSED! Could someone give me the general idea of what these areas are about? We are a family of four, two kids age 9 and 11, relocating in the next few months....
I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction, but your request is extremely broad.
Holly Springs-population 15K. Mostly a bedroom community. South/Southwest of Raleigh. Mid to Upper Mid Price range for the area. Lots of Families.
Cary-population 120K. 7th largest city by population in NC. Wide range of home prices. Very diverse despite its reputation as New York South.Located just west of Raleigh-western border touches Chatham County.
Apex-population 30K or so. Becoming a mini-Cary. Quaint downtown area. lots of families. Borders Cary to the southwest.
Clayton-outside Wake County. Fast growing, more rural, good home values. About the size of Holly Springs. More "country" than the others, and further out than the others. Located east of Raleigh, it's a long drive to the employment centers of our area.
North Raleigh-upscale suburban section of Raleigh. Families, upscale shopping, large planned developments. More similar to Cary in terms of lifestyle than any other town on your list.
Wake Forest-north of Raleigh. Population probably closing in on 20K and growing FAST. Again, a family oriented area. Heritage is the LARGE development in town with full amenities and a wide range of home prices (200K to 800K and above).
Rolesville is just East of Raleigh and Just south of WF. It's a one traffic light town that is mostly developing as a residential suburb. Not a whole lot to say about Rolesville.
I don't know if this helps you, but in terms of average price points I'd put the towns in this order from least expensive on up-
Rolesville and clayton together
Wake Forest and Holly Springs the next rung up
Apex closing in on North Raleigh and Cary
North Raleigh and Cary at the top of the range
Come for a visit, get in the car, and drive around for a weekend. That's the best way to get a grip on the area.
Last edited by Funky Chicken; 03-14-2008 at 07:18 AM..
Reason: content
SO CONFUSED! Could someone give me the general idea of what these areas are about? We are a family of four, two kids age 9 and 11, relocating in the next few months....
Where will you be working? Find a nice apartment with a short term lease (less than 1 year) as close to your office as possible. Then spend the next 6 months getting to know the area. Don't take our word for it. Each of us has our own personal reasons for recommending one area over another and they probably won't be the same as your's.
All of these places are pretty nice to live... but a couple of other things you may want to consider while looking around...
Holly Springs - they are in the process of moving the county landfill to Holly Springs, from up north. Just make sure you are aware of this as you look at property. Also, the nuclear power plant is just a couple miles south of there.
Cary - this seems to be a very "planned" community with lots of rules. This is a double edged sword (good and bad), so check it out if you are looking there. The Cary website has most of their rules listed.
Schools - schools in Wake County are not neighborhood schools... they are reassigned from time to time to balance the diversity of each school, so your kids may not go to the school that is right next to your neighborhood, but rather be bused to a school miles away. So don't put a lot of stock in what school is "currently" assigned to a particular house or development.
Water - There is currently a big drought going on that will pass in time, but the City of Raleigh seems to be the most effected in terms of rules. So any place that is using their water supply is effected. I know that Holly Springs and Cary don't use their water... but not sure on the others.
Another area you may want to look into is south of Raleigh between Cary and Garner (east-west) and between the City of Raleigh and Fuquay Varina (north-south). That is where we ended up buying a house. The lots are big, and there is a lot of land in there that won't be developed because its owned by NC State. This area is in the county, so the taxes are a lot less, however you are on well and septic.
I would start with where you intend to work, and then look at a radius and price range/size and see what you end up with. The towns you mentioned are literally all over the map.
I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction, but your request is extremely broad.
Holly Springs-population 15K. Mostly a bedroom community. South/Southwest of Raleigh. Mid to Upper Mid Price range for the area. Lots of Families.
Cary-population 120K. 7th largest city by population in NC. Wide range of home prices. Very diverse despite its reputation as New York South.Located just west of Raleigh-western border touches Chatham County.
Apex-population 30K or so. Becoming a mini-Cary. Quaint downtown area. lots of families. Borders Cary to the southwest.
Clayton-outside Wake County. Fast growing, more rural, good home values. About the size of Holly Springs. More "country" than the others, and further out than the others. Located east of Raleigh, it's a long drive to the employment centers of our area.
North Raleigh-upscale suburban section of Raleigh. Families, upscale shopping, large planned developments. More similar to Cary in terms of lifestyle than any other town on your list.
Wake Forest-north of Raleigh. Population probably closing in on 20K and growing FAST. Again, a family oriented area. Heritage is the LARGE development in town with full amenities and a wide range of home prices (200K to 800K and above).
Rolesville is just East of Raleigh and Just south of WF. It's a one traffic light town that is mostly developing as a residential suburb. Not a whole lot to say about Rolesville.
I don't know if this helps you, but in terms of average price points I'd put the towns in this order from least expensive on up-
Rolesville and clayton together
Wake Forest and Holly Springs the next rung up
Apex closing in on North Raleigh and Cary
North Raleigh and Cary at the top of the range
Come for a visit, get in the car, and drive around for a weekend. That's the best way to get a grip on the area.
I'm going to agree with you on everything EXCEPT the comment that North Raleigh is more like Cary. FYI...Cary started out as the bedroom community to North Raleigh. So...Cary is more like North Raleigh but North Raleigh isn't like Cary! As a matter of fact...most folks think Cary stands for Centralized Area for Relocating Yankees but Cary really means Can't Afford Raleigh Yet!!! Ok...its a JOKE!
If you ask ME what I'm seeing, I think Wake Forest is the next Cary, not Holly Springs. And Apex is more like Cary was about 15 years ago!
The closer you are to RTP, (North Raleigh, Cary/Morrisville), the more expensive your homes are. The smaller towns...North Raleigh branches out to Wake Forest and Cary branches out to Apex and Holly Springs, the less expensive your houses and your land becomes.
You may come to town with the idea that you really love the Cary area and then once you get here and see it for yourself, you'll end up somewhere else! I've seen it happen with my clients over and over again!
So...take what you read here and what you read in Relocation magazines, with a grain of salt. You'll know once you see the area, which is the best area for you!
Thanks for the generous responses! If my husband is working downtown...
He would be working in Downtown Raleigh. ITS division of The State of NC. No idea where that office is! I hesitate about the idea of my kids being redistricted. We are moving from Granger, IN. I think the move will be enough of an adjustment at their ages, 9 and 11. Any additional thoughts based on location of work and hoping for an area with achieving schools, involved parents, and active families?
I think you'll need to look around as all of these areas are different. It takes roughly 20 - 30 minutes to get to downtown Raleigh even if living close by because of traffic, lights, stop signs, etc. Won't be able to afford anything downtown, Cary would be an easy commute, South Raleigh (1010 road area) would be another good area, and N Raleigh & NW Raleigh would be another good area. Moderator cut: removed
Last edited by autumngal; 03-14-2008 at 11:42 AM..
Reason: to comply with the TOS
He would be working in Downtown Raleigh. ITS division of The State of NC. No idea where that office is! I hesitate about the idea of my kids being redistricted. We are moving from Granger, IN. I think the move will be enough of an adjustment at their ages, 9 and 11. Any additional thoughts based on location of work and hoping for an area with achieving schools, involved parents, and active families?
Hi Kim,
We have a neighbor who moved here to Holly Springs from Granger, IN! Small world, eh! Anyway, you may still want to check out Holly Springs. There are lots of homes for sale in your price range. A new elementary school just opened up, in addition to a new high school. A new middle school will be completed in 2010. As for the oft-mentioned landfill: It will be located several miles down the road, between Apex and Holly Springs. It sure doesn't seem to stop people from buying here! If you're concerned about the power plant, I would also avoid Apex, since it's not exactly far from there either. Feel free to ask more questions. I'll be happy to help!
(BTW, we were also very confused when we moved here 2 years ago. We had only visited for a few days prior to moving, so we had no idea about all the different areas here. We ended up renting for the first 3 months. That way we could really figure out where we wanted to buy. Sure, moving twice in such a short time was a hassle, but to us it was well worth it!)
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FYI...Cary started out as the bedroom community to North Raleigh. So...Cary is more like North Raleigh but North Raleigh isn't like Cary!
As a matter of fact...most folks think Cary stands for Centralized Area for Relocating Yankees but Cary really means Can't Afford Raleigh Yet!!! Ok...its a JOKE! 
Thanks for the generous responses! If my husband is working downtown...
