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I agree with you Vicki, I had made 3 visits to the Triangle before we settled on a house and that gave us time to eliminate areas/houses we didn't want. If you do your homework, then you can be happy with the area you pick. I have changed jobs since I moved 2 years ago, so my commute is longer, but it's not big deal. Not many people get the luxury of driving no more than 15 minutes to work. In areas like the Triangle and bigger sprawling cities/suburbs driving 25-30 minutes to work would be a godsend for many folks.
Even though you changed jobs, you would make that longer commute rather than move again and uproot children.
The funny thing is that alot of my clients have it in their mind to live in a certain area but once they are actually here, take a few days to check out other areas, it becomes very clear very quickly where they want to be.
I hear from my clients often. I always ask...are you happy with where you chose to live and the house you chose. I ask this because sometimes they do have to make that decision in a few days and I'm always happy to hear that they all say they are very happy with their choice. That takes pressure off me!
Some will rent first and that is fine. Some will buy instead of rent and that is fine. Everyone is different and you should do what is best for YOU.
Even though you changed jobs, you would make that longer commute rather than move again and uproot children.
The funny thing is that alot of my clients have it in their mind to live in a certain area but once they are actually here, take a few days to check out other areas, it becomes very clear very quickly where they want to be.
I hear from my clients often. I always ask...are you happy with where you chose to live and the house you chose. I ask this because sometimes they do have to make that decision in a few days and I'm always happy to hear that they all say they are very happy with their choice. That takes pressure off me!
Some will rent first and that is fine. Some will buy instead of rent and that is fine. Everyone is different and you should do what is best for YOU.
Vicki
Well I have no kids yet, but one will be here in a few months. Anyway, my commute went from 10 minutes to 25 minutes (against traffic with no problems at all). My wife's commute is still 15 minutes into RTP, so there is no way I would have considered moving. Plus I really love it in NW Raleigh and I'm so glad we decided to buy there. Liking/Loving your neighborhood is very important. Now if my commute went from 10-15 minutes to 1 hour, then I would think about it, but it's not that big of a deal.
Now if I was still living in Northern VA and had the same distance of commuting that I do here, it would easily take me an hour or more to get from home to work and vis versa
As far as Duke and all of locations mentioned go, don't overlook that the toll project is kicking into high gear and may be open in a few years. Durham Freeway will extend to 540. The tolled option to Cary or Morrisville will be very fast, and at least the initial tolls they are talking about are not that high since it is a short stretch. The existing, free route looks to change and get worse (will not dump off at Alexander anymore). Not sure how it would affect existing commute to N. Raleigh. But would also open up the possibility of Durham Freeway->Triangle Expressway->540 as an alternate to Durham Freeway->I-40->I-540.
Not sure how it would affect existing commute to N. Raleigh.
Probably not at all. There are better ways to get to the Durham Freeway from N Raleigh than going anywhere near I-540 or I-40. Accessing via Ellis Rd. would be my first choice, with Alexandar Dr. being my second option. There tend to be decent back-road options for getting to both that avoids the majority of rush-hour traffic.
I think that will probably heavily depend on where you live. Getting to Ellis/Alexander will involve 540 for many N. Raleigh people.
From NW Raleigh, which is what the OP was asking about, I doubt it would be a good route. But for those living farther east, it might be necessary to use I-540. I wouldn't want to make that commute, though, as driving through RTP during rush hour to/from Durham would lead to a longer commute than I would be happy with.
I disagree with those that say you MUST rent first. It is difficult when you have children. You have to do what is right for them and for you. Moving them once is difficult enough.
I have many many people that come down to this area for 4 days and in that time frame, they can determine which part of town they want to live in. Finding a house in 4 days, with the inventory we have, is easy!
My daughter drove from North Raleigh to UNC Chapel Hill for quite some time. Her commute was about 25 to 30 minutes. The only time she had problems was if it was a Friday afternoon and rainy. Seems there would be an accident and that would hold everyone up.
Vicki
Absolutely. We were new to the area and considered renting but the thought of living in a rental situation with 3 kids (and then possibly moving schools) was not enticing either. Neither is the perfect solution when you have kids.
I think NW Raleigh is a great central place to live for jobs in the Triangle area. Since your hubby works at NC State then he'll have a drive that isn't bad. If you work in Durham you won't have a bad drive especially if you take Alexander to the Durham Freeway. Plus, in NW Raleigh you are just a few minutes from RTP. You are covered for many locations to work if living in NW Raleigh. I've been living in NW Raleigh for 10 years and I've had to work in both Durham and RTP in those 10 years. My job now is in RTP so I get a fantastic 12 minute commute.
No one can guarantee they'll always work at the job they take when they move to a new location. I think getting a house that's strategically near Raleigh, RTP and Durham is key. It's worked out well for me.
I think the priorities need to be sorted out... DS schools first, or commute first?
I can speak for commute: Both ways, the closer to live to RTP (so Morrisville), the better it will be because you both would be going against traffic on I-40.
Traffic out of Raleigh & Into RTP is bad (relative to where you're coming from... it's all no where near Boston, LA, etc. traffic) in the morning... but if you lived by RTP, commuting to NCState would be opposite the traffic in the AM. Same as Durham (I would think, I live in Raleigh)... from Durham to RTP is bad in the morning, but you'd be going the opposite way - from RTP to Durham. You would also be opposite in the evenings as well.
If the school is what's important, then you look for the best school (or at least the one you like) and then sacrifice on the commute - go to work and leave early if you have the option & the traffic isn't anything either way.
It seems to me that if someone is new to the area, this would be an absolute MUST. Absolutely mandatory.
I agree. You can't completely understand the area from a week long visit. You can spend months here and still not be sure about what city you'd like to live in, yet alone know the particular part of that city. Plus, traffic is definitely an issue. You won't know how much that commute from north raleigh to duke will bother you until you've been doing it for a little while.
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