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Are there any areas in North Raleigh that have the same look as the area of SW Durham near Southpointe? We love the looks of Woodcroft, Fairfield, Woodlake, Audubon Park, Chancellor's Ridge, etc. but are looking to live in N. Raleigh. Love the wooded lots.
Last edited by goldenmustard; 08-13-2008 at 08:09 AM..
First a question - why the trepidation about buying in Durham? Its a fabulous city and the areas you've mentioned are among the safest/cleanest/most family-friendly in all of Durham. If you've been following local news lately, its becoming quite clear that gang problems are present throughout the Triangle and the media is finally starting to make that a bit more clear to the casual observer. In fact, overall crime in Durham is declining while in other areas its increasing. Also, Durham has neighborhood schools, so you aren't faced with frequent re-zoning as in Wake County (OK - sorry to open up that can of worms).
Now, off my soapbox to answer your question - yes, you can find areas similar to that in N Raleigh. Parts of Stonehenge, Graystone, & Crosswinds come to mind as a starting point, however I think you'll find that your money won't go nearly as far in Raleigh. Not so sure for homes that are a bit newer like you see in Chancellors Ridge - maybe the part of Falls River nearest to Durant Road???
Are there any areas in North Raleigh that have the same look as the area of SW Durham near Southpointe? We love the looks of Woodcroft, Fairfield, Woodlake, Audubon Park, Chancellor's Ridge, etc. but have some trepidation about buying in Durham. We love some of the homes and the wooded lots in there, and the prices don't seem too bad either.
Goldenmustard, what is your trepidation? SW Durham is a very nice area with many, many nice homes and neighborhoods. When hubby and I traveled to NC last August to meet with realtor for a house-hunting trip, we had been advised to "stay away from Durham." Well, wanting to be convenient to RTP without a long commute, our choices were then pretty limited. Our realtor, however, told us there are some very nice areas of Durham and suggested we check out homes in SW Durham, particularly around the Streets of Southpoint. We saw SO many lovely homes in SO many lovely areas! So where do we live? SW Durham. And what do we think? We love it!
What do we love about where we live? Well, our very short and nearly traffic-free commute to RTP for starters... We are convenient to Streets of Southpoint, drug stores, grocery stores, etc. We are convenient to Chapel Hill AND Cary AND Raleigh, as well as Durham itself. We have easy access to I-40 and 147. Oh, I don't want to forget easy access to the ATT! Great neighborhoods, too, for walking and leisurely bike rides.
You should also check the roll-call for SW Durham that someone posted in a previous thread, and you will find many, many of the regular contributors to this forum reside in SW Durham.
You listed some GREAT neighborhoods, so again I ask, what is your trepidation?
I edited my post because I didn't want to risk offending anyone. The only trepidation comes from things I've heard about "staying away from Durham", and being brand new to the area, I am listening to all views. I personally don't 'see' anything wrong with the area, and, in fact, I see it as a beautiful area. Having the mall there seems like it can only help the property values there, and the proximity to the RTP makes it even more desirable. We currently have a short-term rental at Brier Creek and love the fact that we can walk across the street to shopping and restaurants, so we hope to have something similar when we buy.
I appreciate your opinions and have been learning a lot from this board since I've been coming here. Thank you.
Well, maybe goldenmustard will be working closer to North Raleigh. Where will you be working goldenmustard? Why is it important to be located in North Raleigh? Do you have lots of other friends and family there?
I edited my post because I didn't want to risk offending anyone. The only trepidation comes from things I've heard about "staying away from Durham", and being brand new to the area, I am listening to all views. I personally don't 'see' anything wrong with the area, and, in fact, I see it as a beautiful area. Having the mall there seems like it can only help the property values there, and the proximity to the RTP makes it even more desirable. We currently have a short-term rental at Brier Creek and love the fact that we can walk across the street to shopping and restaurants, so we hope to have something similar when we buy.
I appreciate your opinions and have been learning a lot from this board since I've been coming here. Thank you.
I that case, I'd say that SW Durham might be a better location for you. You also have the new Brightleaf neighborhood right down the road from Brier Creek, and they're supposed to be getting a new shopping area covering about 70 acres right at the entrance, which sounds like it will be more walkable than Brier Creek.
My husband will be working out of the house, but may at some point take an office in the RTP, so NW Raleigh or even SW Durham would work fine. We don't know anyone here and just moved here last week, so we are just learning the area.
Oh yeah, don't listen to all the "stay away from Durham" folks. They just don't know what they're missing. Now, I might say be careful where you go in Durham, but I'd say the same thing about Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, etc.
My husband will be working out of the house, but may at some point take an office in the RTP, so NW Raleigh or even SW Durham would work fine. We don't know anyone here and just moved here last week, so we are just learning the area.
My suggestion would be to visit some neighborhoods and try to talk to the neighbors. In most nice neighborhoods, you'll see people out walking everyday. What other things do you like to do, what is important to be close to on a daily basis?
Agree with the post that says to not stay away from Durham - SW Durham is a great place, and you will get more for your buck than in N. Raleigh.
As an FYI, you have to drive about 15 minutes to get from SW Durham to the areas that are really "bad" areas. That's the same amount of time you'd have to drive from N. Raleigh to some really "bad" areas in Raleigh.
The neighborhoods you've named are all great ones and are nowhere close to the "bad" areas.
I was in your boat too - I wanted to avoid Durham before coming here...but in visiting, I couldn't get away from the fact that it was the place that felt most like home to me...
You may find differently, you may not, but if you like the neighborhoods you've listed, there's no reason (based on city alone) that you should look elsewhere to duplicate them.
If you want a more central location, check out my neighborhood, Brightleaf at the Park. It's kind of like a new shiny version of Fairfield in some ways (yes, I know Fairfield has a new section in it )
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