Anyone that was leaning towards Wake County and went with Johnston County (Clayton) instead? (Pineville: buying, middle school)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Hi...I'm thinking of relocating my family to Clayton from Maryland. We are about 15-20 minutes from Baltimore City now, so we are used to being able to get to the busy city but still get away from it. I would love to move somewhere, where it is not so busy and my husband likes to be able to get places fast, so it has to be a little of both. I originally found Cary, NC online and thought it looked nice. Then found Clayton and that seems like it would work better. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions to someone who has never been there?!!!!!!!!!!!! Or any suggestions of areas in Clayton that are better?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much,
Rachel
Hi there:
Read your post and had to reply. Cary is very busy and congested. Homes are less then 1/4 acre of land. You are close to shopping but takes forever to get there because of
traffic. And cost of housing is high. Also most schools are year round.
Clayton, we have learned from other counties how to keep up with the growth.
Continuosly building new schools and shopping areas. Yes u still have to travel to a mall about 20 min, but when I lived in Jersey I had to travel 20 min to a mall too!.
lol
Hi All
I am new to this thred but am SO glad I bumped into you! Like SUzanne my family and I are considering a move to NC shortly (from Bergen County NJ). Just so sick of how it is up here. Anyway, I am petrified about uprooting my kids and then finding ourselves in a difficult situation with the schools and culture shock....the southern hospitality sounds like a wonderful change though. Anyway, we already looked in Wake and loved Cary and North Raleigh. Any other comparisons and advice would be welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Suzanne...hope you are having a fabulous weekend away!!!
Kelly
Hi there:
Bergen county wow. I just moved a couple here from Ohio and Faye was from Bergen county. I grew up in Essex County and then Union cty.
What a difference here compared to there. When u are living here awhile and go back to visit it looks so old and dirty. And taxes are terrible in Jersey.
We were paying $14K a year in Westfield and we live in Clayton on a golf course and pay $3200 a year.
Your impression to me is that it would be tough on all of you is wrong.
I am a realtor out here and 85% of the people that live in new subdivisions
are out of staters like u and me. When u get into the outlying areas, the rural areas, which some by the way are really, really pretty, is where u find more of your locals. Kids adjust great as well as the adults. Everyone bonds more because they have moved here and left other family behind. For whatever reason: work, change in lifestyle, etc. But people are definitely nicer here. Culture shock here to me and I tell other people is that you can't always get the food you want. Example: Italian sausage, I still order my from Landi's in Brooklyn. They ship it in dry ice to me. We take certain things for granted where we came from, that's hard to find here. You can find sausage here, but it's not the same.
You have heavy traffic and year round schools in wake county
You have a 20-25 min commute to Raleigh and normal school cycle in johnston cty. Also pricing of homes in Johnston cty is much more reasonable.
good luck
Not to get too far off topic, but your generalization about Cary is a bit off the mark. I hope you aren't implying that all homes in Cary are on less than 1/4 acre of land. That's what is sounds like you are saying in your post. As you are a realtor I would hope you know Cary better than that. If you actually knew Cary already then you would know that your statement is not true. There are plenty of homes in Cary on lots at or bigger than 1/4 acre. Not that lot size should be the only determining factor, but it is probably best not to misrepresent things.
FWIW, I like Clayton, but I think a balanced view of the facts is needed when trying to decide between Wake and Johnston county. Presenting misleading information really doesn't do anybody any good when trying to make that decision.
Last edited by North_Raleigh_Guy; 02-22-2008 at 03:53 PM..
well this is our last night here......we extended our stay an extra 3 days.......I cant wait to get home and get the ball rolling......hopefully if all works out we can be here by this summer or atleast b4 the new school year starts..........Hopefully we'll be making another trip down to clayton in a month or two to make the final decision and choose the exact location......
We reall love Pineville east in flowers plantation but also really like most of the flowers plantation areas.......Summerlynn is also on our list.
I did want to mention a new subdivision that we happened upon that i hadnt heard mentioned here while I've been on chatting with you all and that is Hannah's creek
Its a really nice subdivision with 1/2+ acre lots flat land and georgous homes, inexpensive hoa fees and you can put in your own pool........they have a couple cul de sacs already done and they have a few other roads paved out......We're going to keep an eye on it......Its off 42W off of Amelia Church or Guy rd to amelia church...... houses we saw were $269K with w clayton elem, clayton middle, clayton hs
Just thought I'd add that one in for any others out there looking.........
Funny enough we just got back from dinner at lonestar and my oldest son was wearing his baseball team jacket with out town name on it and a man with his daughter came past us going to his table and looked at my husband and I and yelled West Islip HUH>>>
we were like uh yeh......how'd ya know and he said I'm from Babylon which is the next town over......we forgot my sons jacket had the town name on it but anyways he said he moved here about 10 years ago and loves it.......
small world.........
I just wanted to say a quick thanks to all that helped with all the great info you've given I will definately be checking in routinely to keep in touch with you all......and ps......Lauren your home is beautiful we past by it the other day......
Just read thru some of the posts.....and Kelly we've had a great time........took the kids to adventure landings the other night and raced go carts and today we went bowling during the day ate at a bunch of great places and tried a bunch of different foods....which I enjoyed......
Lauren......I'm not sure if I commented back i know the other night every time I tried to repond my responses never went thru....probably the hotel link ...anyways......we are aware of the village they plan on putting in with the shops and post office at flowers and the location we've been looking at should it still be available when we come back and or other lots we are intersted in building on is far enough away that we wont even see it and it really shouldnt have any effect on us......i really do appreciate you letting me know about it thou.......Its nice to know we have others looking out for our best interest.......you definatley have your finger on whats happening in Clayton........
Not to get too far off topic, but your generalization about Cary is a bit off the mark. I hope you aren't implying that all homes in Cary are on less than 1/4 acre of land. That's what is sounds like you are saying in your post. As you are a realtor I would hope you know Cary better than that. If you actually knew Cary already then you would know that your statement is not true. There are plenty of homes in Cary on lots at or bigger than 1/4 acre. Not that lot size should be the only determining factor, but it is probably best not to misrepresent things.
FWIW, I like Clayton, but I think a balanced view of the facts is needed when trying to decide between Wake and Johnston county. Presenting misleading information really doesn't do anybody any good when trying to make that decision.
I agree here. There's nothing wrong with Cary at all, IMHO. We lived there for a few months in an apt while we househunted and really liked it. I remember just LOVING how "courteous" all the road signs are...I mean, you'll see a sign telling you what streets are coming up in the next intersection. Very easy driving! Nice wide lanes too.
We did look in Cary for homes but as with any area, we found we just got more of what we wanted in a home in the more rural areas. Most of the newer subdivisions from major builders (Centex, etc) are building on 1/4 acre lots no matter where you look. That's why we looked for a smaller builder.
I love where we live but I don't hate Cary, in fact, I liked the amenities that it offered. Its definately has more conveniences since its more established (but I don't mind waiting for Clayton to catch up!) I remember thinking that if my MIL ever does move here that she'd prefer Cary.
.and ps......Lauren your home is beautiful we past by it the other day......
Suzanne
Thanks, we're sort of partial to it! I'm sure you'll find your perfect place. And when you do finally get here, you might find even more S/D's....there's a few more going into this area soon.
Glad that the SC being built isn't an issue. I didn't think it would be but the NJ in me wanted to mention it. Those things that mattered there, don't seem to here.
And if/when you're ready for realtors, be sure to look here at the realtor members and also I'd be happy to share our realtor gem (as I know others are happy to as well).
Lauren
Hi there:
Bergen county wow. I just moved a couple here from Ohio and Faye was from Bergen county. I grew up in Essex County and then Union cty.
What a difference here compared to there. When u are living here awhile and go back to visit it looks so old and dirty. And taxes are terrible in Jersey.
We were paying $14K a year in Westfield and we live in Clayton on a golf course and pay $3200 a year.
Your impression to me is that it would be tough on all of you is wrong.
I am a realtor out here and 85% of the people that live in new subdivisions
are out of staters like u and me. When u get into the outlying areas, the rural areas, which some by the way are really, really pretty, is where u find more of your locals. Kids adjust great as well as the adults. Everyone bonds more because they have moved here and left other family behind. For whatever reason: work, change in lifestyle, etc. But people are definitely nicer here. Culture shock here to me and I tell other people is that you can't always get the food you want. Example: Italian sausage, I still order my from Landi's in Brooklyn. They ship it in dry ice to me. We take certain things for granted where we came from, that's hard to find here. You can find sausage here, but it's not the same.
You have heavy traffic and year round schools in wake county
You have a 20-25 min commute to Raleigh and normal school cycle in johnston cty. Also pricing of homes in Johnston cty is much more reasonable.
good luck
Thanks so much for that reply! I really cant wait to get out of here but have to convince the hubby it is the way to go! Of course my biggest concerns are the schools and finding a job. I am a professional and do not have any contacts down there so not sure where to even start! Thanks for your input...would welcome any other thoughts!!! Kelly
Thanks so much for that reply! I really cant wait to get out of here but have to convince the hubby it is the way to go! Of course my biggest concerns are the schools and finding a job. I am a professional and do not have any contacts down there so not sure where to even start! Thanks for your input...would welcome any other thoughts!!! Kelly
PS...taxes here are $10K for a TINY cape cod that we paid WAY too much for...and I cant imagine living without the Italian food but what I save on taxes I can put towards having pizza frozen and shipped!
Thanks so much for that reply! I really cant wait to get out of here but have to convince the hubby it is the way to go! Of course my biggest concerns are the schools and finding a job. I am a professional and do not have any contacts down there so not sure where to even start! Thanks for your input...would welcome any other thoughts!!! Kelly
What line of work are you looking to get into? There are plenty of contacts on this board alone, just start up a thread and ask for some suggestions!
Good luck!!!
Oh, the schools in Johnston county should be the least of your worries...you really cant go wrong with any of them. They are all EXCELLENT!
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Nice wide lanes too. 
