Apex? Garner? Clayton? Holly Springs? Fuquay-Varina? HELP... (Raleigh, Cary: buyers, to live in)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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You can have your way with all the places you mentioned in your price range. $200k-$300k can buy you a nice home in all these towns. $300k-$400k can put you into extremely nice, good size homes on really good size wooded lots.
Keep in mind in all the towns you listed, you can be far away from everything or close to everything. It all depends on which part of town you choose. Do not depend on using a site like Mapquest to make your decision. That will calculate from the center of town and you may live in one of the towns but be 10 miles away from its center. You really need to drive around the towns.
All the towns you mentioned will offer you enough inside the town limits to enjoy daily life, with the possible exception of Holly Springs. Holly Springs has just recently began developing more retail. It will be a while before there is as much there as other towns, but they will get there. Holly Springs is really nice, but I always think of it as a longer term place to live.
We looked at golf course communities for a while before we decided that we didn't want to pay the premium. Sunset Ridge in Holly Springs is beautiful and in your price range. Also, Glen Laurel in Clayton, really nice, very affordable and they have a great elementary school.
Generally speaking, Cary and Apex are a little more expensive than Clayton, Holly Springs and Fuquay but in your price range you will have a lot of options. I think Apex may be your best bet. Good luck!
With the exception of "golf course community" requirement Apex is definitely the best choice. There aren't any golf oriented mega-subdivisions in Apex but IMO (We lived there for 2 years) that's something that made it a little more small-town community oriented than Holly Springs and Fuquay (even though Apex is larger than both of those towns). $300-$400k is probably the "Bulk" of the Apex housing market as well.
Holly Springs is still lacking good highway access. It's coming in 2012 with 540 western wake. Right now we are taking 55 which can be busy or Holly Spring Road.
It might help to know where you're coming from. I moved here from Baltimore so I was used to being 5-10 minutes from anywhere I needed to go. We looked in Holly Springs, Clayton, Fuquay, etc and they were just too "far out" for me. We chose Cary but I also like Apex a lot. Be careful, though, because an Apex address could end up being right next to Holly Springs or even Fuquay, especially most of the new construction neighborhoods. Kind of like how now there are neighborhoods that are technically in Cary that are in Chatham County!
It might help to know where you're coming from. I moved here from Baltimore so I was used to being 5-10 minutes from anywhere I needed to go. We looked in Holly Springs, Clayton, Fuquay, etc and they were just too "far out" for me. We chose Cary but I also like Apex a lot. Be careful, though, because an Apex address could end up being right next to Holly Springs or even Fuquay, especially most of the new construction neighborhoods. Kind of like how now there are neighborhoods that are technically in Cary that are in Chatham County!
True. We moved to Apex in a new neighborhood. Our address is Apex but we are technically in Wake County. We're about 1/2m from Cary. The only pain in the rump part of that was trash collection. We have to pay for it. However, the service is MUCH better than when we lived in downtown Raleigh.
True. We moved to Apex in a new neighborhood. Our address is Apex but we are technically in Wake County. We're about 1/2m from Cary. The only pain in the rump part of that was trash collection. We have to pay for it. However, the service is MUCH better than when we lived in downtown Raleigh.
You may have to pay $20/month for trash collection. . . .but don't forget. . . . NO CITY PROPERTY TAXES!
To avoid the "far out" parts of Apex; you can easily do that just by taking note of the zipcodes. If it is in 27502 or 27523 it is in the "real" Apex; if it is in 27539; its in "Wake County" with an Apex address that can be as far away as bordering Fuquay or South/Central Raleigh!
Eagle Ridge would be my reccomendation. They have different price points of homes, a decent pool for summer, golf is ok- course just bought and run by new managment, heard the condition of the course won't be great but it is very affordable and you will be a member at 2 other couses in the area as well, all run by the same company. They are putting in a gym at the club house. Shopping is close (Target, Kohls, Home Depot, grocery.) Fairly close to the freeways although traffic will be tough at certain times getting to RTP. It is south of the city and close to downtown.
Thank you all for your insight and responses. I really do appreciate it. My husband is there now and trying to take every free moment to drive around and get oriented to the different areas. The one thing he has said is that everyone is incredibly nice and hospitable. I told him I found that already with your responses - SO THANK YOU!
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