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We are moving to the Traingle this fall from NH and I need some advice on the best neighborhood/area to live.
we are in the $500K range and have looked at the following areas:
Heritage in Wake Forest
Wakefield - North Raleigh
Preston in Cary
Brier Creek in Raliegh
I am at a loss to know what area is best.
My husband will be working at RTP and I work from home. We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old so a nice, young, friendly neighborhood is ideal.
Schools are very important to us - though we know it is hard to know what will be the school in 3 years when my son enters elementary. But I know some areas are considered "better than others".
As for the house - 4+ bed, 2 bath - updated or new with a nice yard (over .3 acre ideally)....walking distance to school, park or shops would be great.
Also - this is a 3-5 year move - so resale is important as well.
What is the "best" place to live considering all that???
I am open to anywhere in the triangle area.
I think any of the areas you're looking at are fine. I believe the best commute for your husband would be from Preston in Cary but others will probably chime in on that with more information.
There are a lot of great areas that may work for you. Hard to designate one as being the "best".
At the $500K price point you will have a lot of options. I'm sure a good agent can get you pointed in the right direction. FWIW, IF I was working in RTP I would focus on commute time. Defintely test drive from any prospective neighborhoods as you will find some have much better commutes than others.
Where in NH? We just moved to Wake Forest from Londonderry NH this past March.
We bought in Reynolds Mill just off Main Street. What cemented our choice to live there is as follows:
1) Easy commute for husband into Raleigh (takes back roads)
2) Location/proximity to stores galore and downtown WF
3) Schools...very important
4) The perfect house. Here's what was important to us:
a) New construction...we wanted brand new but there are several inventory homes available.
b) Size of home...kitchen and morning room, as well as family room are amazing! We have a large family, and we tend to conjugate to the kitchen, especially when family comes to visit, so it was important to finally have a kitchen where we can all gather and not be on top of one another. Master bath with whirlpool tub is something I've always wanted as well.
c) Vinyl siding. We don't ever want to paint again or pay someone else to paint.
d) Lot size. Coming from a house up north on over an acre of yard that no one wanted to take care of, we wanted a small yard. Our new home has a perfect yard...not too big but big enough to enjoy outdoor activities like grilling.
e) Master closets...many homes in the area have just one. We wanted separate his and her master closets, AND....BIG AND FOR US....didn't want our closets in the master bathroom! YUK! We looked at so many homes where the closet/s were in there. I don't want to go through a steamy bathroom...or even worse a stinky bathroom, to get to my clothes.
f) Association fees. Make sure you check to see what they are. Ours is low comparably to others we checked out.
We are moving to the Traingle this fall from NH and I need some advice on the best neighborhood/area to live.
we are in the $500K range and have looked at the following areas:
Heritage in Wake Forest
Wakefield - North Raleigh
Preston in Cary
Brier Creek in Raliegh
I am at a loss to know what area is best.
My husband will be working at RTP and I work from home. We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old so a nice, young, friendly neighborhood is ideal.
Schools are very important to us - though we know it is hard to know what will be the school in 3 years when my son enters elementary. But I know some areas are considered "better than others".
As for the house - 4+ bed, 2 bath - updated or new with a nice yard (over .3 acre ideally)....walking distance to school, park or shops would be great.
Also - this is a 3-5 year move - so resale is important as well.
What is the "best" place to live considering all that???
I am open to anywhere in the triangle area.
I would seriously consider Weatherstone in Cary. 10-14 year old homes, but mostly very well cared for. Superb location. Walk to school. Good resale.
Preston Village. Again, walk to school. Shops nearby in a couple of directions.
Weston Pointe. Lovely streets. Great N Cary location. Drive to amenities.
The only "Best" would be a place where you would be comfortable for your 3-5 year stint, get your boy off to a good start in elementary, and basically enjoy life.
It seems we have a lot of those places.
Heritage, Brier Creek, several options in Cary.
Like Mike said, Weatherstone is a very nice custom home neighborhood in a great Cary location (I used to live next door to Weatherstone) with a neighborhood pool/swim team and the elementary school is in the neighborhood. The homes are older, but you might find something updated. Preston is great too, but you have to join the CC to go to the pool which is very expensive (especially since you're not planning on being in the area long term).
I'd widen my search to the area West of NC55 in Cary.
It's closer to RTP than any other area you mentioned.
Its location is more central to the wider Triangle area than Wake Forest.
The elementary schools in that area are extremely well rated.
It is poised to gain upscale retail/office space (Alston Activity Center).
The Western Wake Expressway will likely be complete within 3 years, and if you select your neighborhood and lot wisely, your resale potential will be quite strong.
With respect to Wake Forest, I don't see anything on the horizon to enhance it except more homes, and it seems to have plenty of those already. There is nothing coming that will make it easier or more convenient to live there.
Thank you. Do you know any good neighborhoods in that area so I can look at them specifically? I appreciate the help. I love Heritage in WF, but have heard that commute can be long sometimes. Resale is a big concern.
Like Mike said, Weatherstone is a very nice custom home neighborhood in a great Cary location (I used to live next door to Weatherstone) with a neighborhood pool/swim team and the elementary school is in the neighborhood. The homes are older, but you might find something updated. Preston is great too, but you have to join the CC to go to the pool which is very expensive (especially since you're not planning on being in the area long term).
Just a point of clarification: Mike said Preston Village which has its own pool so you do not need to join Prestonwood for the pool. Although I realize the OP said Preston. And there are other communities in that general area that have community pools.
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