Help on what Town to Live in (Raleigh, Durham: rentals, homes)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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....then celebrate when you sell your house for a big gain to move into a new house, but...
....then you curse again when you realize the new house you just bought also appreciated rapidly for someone else just before you bought it.
(Point #3 does not apply if you move out of the area. If you move locally it doesn't matter whether it's a good market or depressed market, you are going to gain on one side and lose on the other no matter what.)
To the OP, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs and Cary are typically the most common burbs. You might not like what you find housing-wise with your, budget, though, so maybe check out places like Rolesville, Knightdale, Garner or Wendell.
Thank you, I will check those places out!
Would you recommend more the Rolesville, Knightdale, area (closer to wake forest) over the fuquay, garner, clayton areas (closer to hollysprings)?
Is there a way to explain the difference between being closer to wake forest and being closer to holly springs I guess? as that would help to see to decide what area to lean towards.
Would you recommend more the Rolesville, Knightdale, area (closer to wake forest) over the fuquay, garner, clayton areas (closer to hollysprings)?
Is there a way to explain the difference between being closer to wake forest and being closer to holly springs I guess? as that would help to see to decide what area to lean towards.
If I was picking those other towns to live in my order of preference would be Rolesville than Clayton. I like Clayton itself better than Rolesville but it's more-remote location puts it behind Rolesville. Rolesville is so close to Wake Forest/North Raleigh which has just about everything you could ever need, so if someone buys in Rolesville the closer you can get to Wake Forest the better. (Like the area around Granite Falls/Granite Crest off Rogers Rd....north of 401 is definitely the better part IMO.)
I like Knightdale over Garner after that but that's not saying much. They are nice enough in spots but just "blah" to me with no character.
This is my first time in NC, so definitely very new to everything.
I have heard if I look more like youngsville, wake forest, fuquay, Garner, it may be best to then get a better house for what you pay for.
But wondering on others peoples thoughts, better to have a nicer house but further from things? Or smaller older house but closer to things? Or has anyone heard good/bad things about these areas?
Decent things to do as in events, breweries, restuarants - just like you had mentioned.
"Further out" is a relative term. I have found that a twenty minute drive is considered the end of the world for many natives/long term transplants here. I drove 2 hours to work where we moved from, 40 minutes to my parents for (every) Friday night Bridge and Scotch. 20 minutes to a mall worth going to.
We bought "waaaaaaaaay out" (direct quote from the rental car guy when I flew down to close) in WF...WF is ~15Miles from Downtown Raleigh. I can be to the Airport in 35 mins. Downtown Raleigh in about the same. Have everything we need between WF and Raleigh and North Raleigh - I've been to Cary once for free Santa Claus pics for the kids at Bass Pro.
I can't speak to what your budget is or isn't (in terms of Purchasing Power or hot/cold price points) but just wanted to throw out that the willingness to drive time here isn't what we experienced up North.
My brother lives in Apex. He is older than your demographic now, but moved there some years ago when they had young kids, they love it. Both kids in private high schools in town but not because the public school district is bad or anything like that. Not sure about housing prices any more but all of your other things are included. Major shopping off Vision Drive or in nearby Cary. He commutes fairly easily to RTP - or at least he did until the pandemic.
SFH in Apex for under $300k is going to be quite tough. Not impossible; but not for the faint of heart.
"Further out" is a relative term. I have found that a twenty minute drive is considered the end of the world for many natives/long term transplants here. I drove 2 hours to work where we moved from, 40 minutes to my parents for (every) Friday night Bridge and Scotch. 20 minutes to a mall worth going to.
We bought "waaaaaaaaay out" (direct quote from the rental car guy when I flew down to close) in WF...WF is ~15Miles from Downtown Raleigh. I can be to the Airport in 35 mins. Downtown Raleigh in about the same. Have everything we need between WF and Raleigh and North Raleigh - I've been to Cary once for free Santa Claus pics for the kids at Bass Pro.
I can't speak to what your budget is or isn't but just wanted to throw out that the willingness to drive time here isn't what we experienced up North.
I think it's all relative.
I'd be willing to wager that distances and typical traffic congestion here is an the more daunting side compared to Buffalo vs the relieving side it is when compared to Boston.
We do have Wegmans now though. That's a VERY big deal for folks from Upstate NY.
I'd be willing to wager that distances and typical traffic congestion here is an the more daunting side compared to Buffalo vs the relieving side it is when compared to Boston.
We do have Wegmans now though. That's a VERY big deal for folks from Upstate NY.
I don't know where the OP is coming from NY wise, if that has been shared.
ETA - Sorry, saw Buffalo mentioned. Aren't Buffalo and Raleigh's MSA very similar area/pop wise? I admittedly have never made it west of Romulus on Lake Seneca in Upstate NY.
This is my first time in NC, so definitely very new to everything.
I have heard if I look more like youngsville, wake forest, fuquay, Garner, it may be best to then get a better house for what you pay for.
But wondering on others peoples thoughts, better to have a nicer house but further from things? Or smaller older house but closer to things? Or has anyone heard good/bad things about these areas?
Decent things to do as in events, breweries, restuarants - just like you had mentioned.
What does the bolded part even mean???
You're asking questions no one can answer. Is older better than newer to be closer to "things"...is is better to be "farther out" in Fuquay or Wake Forest? No offense these are non sensical questions....why don't you come here, spend some time, see if you even LIKE IT, check out each town and see what appeals. If there is a job involved most people prefer to live closer rather than farther away. No one can tell you what's better or worse....people are living where they want to live. No one in any town is gonna tell you "it sucks here wish I could move one town over".
Raleigh is MOSTLY suburban. There is an urban core but that's not huge. Doing "things" around here doesn't mean "going into the big city"...partially because there's no "big city".
It has an excellent elementary school within the subdivision. My son attended long ago, and he's now working on his Phd in Math Education at Columbia University in NYC -- so he's done okay.
There is a county school system here and not a city one -- I don't know about Buffalo, but it's FAR superior to the schools as they now are in Rochester.
The subdivision has about 1,300 homes and is literally 6 minutes from Wegmans. I grew up in Rochester, NY, so it was good to get a bit of home here.
This is a video I did about how convenient Brentwood is -- it's from 2013, so it's a bit dated. We're 10 to 15 minutes or so from downtown. Everyone on "Love it or List it" (which is taped in Raleigh and Durham) seems to want to be close to downtown.
If you're going to be working -- not from home -- that's a big consideration, too.
I like Wake Forest myself, and I used to work there, but I was always glad I didn't work downtown while living in Wake Forest. I used to pass the never-ending line of cars creeping their way from downtown to Wake Forest at rush hour.
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