Feedback on Holly Springs, Garner, Knightdale and Clayton (Raleigh, Wake Forest: houses, neighborhood)

[rcsparacino]

My wife and I will be relocating to the Raleigh Area as we are now empty nesters, and are looking for feedback on communities/towns in the Raleigh area. Our agent is steering us to the Wake Forest Area which I agree is a nice area (we are looking for a 3br+_home on .5+ acres in the 250 to 280k range). She unfortunately is not as high on some of the other areas we had preliminarily identified. On those, we are looking for others people’s opinions as well.
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Holly Springs - nuclear power plant here, the county dump is moving here, traffic is bad and the housing is mostly cheap.

Garner - South of Raleigh, I wouldn't go to the Wal-Mart on a Friday night due to the parking lot basically being a hang out for less than desirable people. Many of the people that have been pushed out of the downtown area due to "revitalization" have moved here because it is close and housing is pretty cheap.

Clayton - South of Raleigh, in a different county. About 30 minutes from Raleigh, definitely some rough sections but okay sections as well. I usually don't recommend this town because of the school district in this county - that of course affects the re-sale of the home.

Knightdale - East of Raleigh, mandatory curfew for youth due to crime, low-end houses

[heretostay]

Holly Springs wins hands down. Some Realtors have their own little territory they like stay in.

[OmegaBaby]

Holly Springs - nuclear power plant here, the county dump is moving here, traffic is bad and the housing is mostly cheap.

Speaking as a current resident of Holly Springs, and future resident of Wake Forest...
The nuclear power plant doesn't bother anyone down here. It's at the extreme West fringe of town. The town itself is about 7 or 8 miles away from it. In fact, they're putting in a 'Jack Nicklaus-designed' golf course community (1500 single family homes) practically right next to the plant! And I've seen expected price ranges for those homes up to and over $1M.

The dump is unfortunate, but the North Wake Landfill didn't affect home values in north Raleigh.

And traffic is not that bad in Holly Springs compared to other areas. The 55 bypass is never very busy. There are bottlenecks at US-1 and along Holly Springs road, but again not bad relatively....nothing NEARLY as bad as Capital Blvd south of Wake Forest.

And then there are the good points about Holly Springs....
- Novartis Pharmeceuticals building a large plant there that will create hundreds of very high paying jobs.
- I-540 will be built directly into Holly Springs, which will make a 20 minute commute to RTP and the airport.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by jbognar

The dump is unfortunate, but the North Wake Landfill didn't affect home values in north Raleigh.

Very good point! Many people seem to ignore the fact that the home values are very high in the area surrounding the current landfill in North Raleigh. Whether or not you want to live there is a matter of personal preference, but the argument over how it will affect home values is moot. The N. Raleigh landfill is a perfect example of a situation where a landfill has not hurt home values in such a highly desireable area.

[jad77]

We looked at all of these towns when we visited a couple of weeks ago. We had no specific issues with Holly Springs, but we didn't get a great vibe from it, so we crossed it off our list. Garner too. We briefly drove through Knightdale, so I don't have a real opinion on it. We did like Clayton. It seemed very nice. You could get more land and more house for your money. Those are my thoughts...

[leighbhe]

It seems that once people are here visiting they really do get a 'vibe' from different towns. I used to live in holly springs, and I liked it, the only thing I didn't like was that I felt like I had to go other places for all of my "things", like shopping, target, movie theater, etc. It got tiresome after a while. I think the town has grown quite a bit, and they have a nice cultural center.

Knightdale is definitely a growing town since 540 has connected it to the rest of the triangle, but you would have to visit for yourself and see if you like it.

Leigh

[lauren4521]

Originally Posted by rcsparacino

Clayton - South of Raleigh, in a different county. About 30 minutes from Raleigh, definitely some rough sections but okay sections as well. I usually don't recommend this town because of the school district in this county - that of course affects the re-sale of the home.

Such Baloney! The school district in Johnston County/Clayton is one of the best! I live in Clayton and would like to know which "rough" sections your realtor is talking about.

I live near Garner and to make a blanket statement about an entire area is just ludicrous. There are some very beautiful areas in Garner. I personally might avoid the area of Garner right near Raleigh but there are some really nice areas.

Your realtor will make more money if you buy in Wake Forest. My recommendation is to find an area that you like first before getting with a realtor. This way you will not be steered by the realtor's commissions or convenience.

Do a search on Clayton and the other areas you mentioned in this forum and you can find alot of information from folks who live there. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.

Lauren

[jamieshel88]

To the original poster- are those the impressions of the realtor you are working with? I also respectfully disagree about the schools in Clayton. Having moved here from Mass last year, my children have had an unbelievable year- one at Riverwood Middle and the other at East Clayton. I am completely satisfied with the quality of the education and the level of instruction they have received. I have spent many hours volunteering in the schools and have observed it first hand. There are definitely schools in Johnston County that are not as good and the county is addressing this. Perhaps this is what the realtor is referring to- not necessarily Clayton in general.

[ferrickhead28]

Originally Posted by jamieshel88

To the original poster- are those the impressions of the realtor you are working with? I also respectfully disagree about the schools in Clayton. Having moved here from Mass last year, my children have had an unbelievable year- one at Riverwood Middle and the other at East Clayton. I am completely satisfied with the quality of the education and the level of instruction they have received. I have spent many hours volunteering in the schools and have observed it first hand. There are definitely schools in Johnston County that are not as good and the county is addressing this. Perhaps this is what the realtor is referring to- not necessarily Clayton in general.

I agree!
My daughter goes to school also at East Clayton. She struggled from Kindergarten to 2nd grade in Wake county, but in 3rd grade in Johnston county, she's on the honor roll AND principal's list!

A lady in my neighborhood who was a formal realtor told me that realtors don't get a good "cut" selling in Clayton as they would other places. Not sure if that applies to ALL realtors or not, but it does raise a little suspicion.

I grew up in Wake county, in North Raleigh near Six forks. I always heard police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, etc. Which was normal, for such a big city. Now, I live in Clayton off of Hwy 70 and I don't hear ANYTHING. Its so quiet. Even the air smells fresher out here. Plus, you can't beat the location. Plenty of shopping, movie theaters, Raleigh only 20 minutes away..the beach is only an hour & a half. Lots to do & see, its a great town!

Any questions, feel free to ask.
I have a few pictures posted, I'm taking more over the weekend.

~Heather~

[CAKD]

That is why this board is so great! Realtors and buyers can only base schools on test scores without personal experience. Nothing compares to first hand experience!