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I'm wondering what areas you would compare in NC to Central Fl Suburbs. What is similar to say Lake Mary, Longwood, Sanford? Is the convenience the same? Are the stores located close by? Do you like it better in NC or FL?
Well, not a direct move -- but I grew up in Winter Park (Lake Sue, off Old Winter Park Rd.) and family still live there.
Lake Mary/Longwood remind me most of North Raleigh. Altamonte Springs reminds me of Cary -- and like those three Fla. towns, there's some interchangeability there.
We chose Durham, the nicest neighborhoods of which (like Hope Valley or Trinity Park) remind me a tiny bit of some of the nice in-town neighborhoods in WP... like the College Quarter around Rollins, or some of the Lake Sue non-waterfront blocks. Overall, though, the parts of Durham I love remind me much more of places like College Park, Thornton Park, Colonialtown, and Audubon Park in Orlando. Like Orlando, Durham's a diverse city, and there are parts of the Bull City that remind me more of Parramore or West Orange, too. Like Orlando, you take the good with the bad.
Johnston County is sort of the Volusia County of the area, on the other hand. East Wake reminds me of east Orange Co., both in terms of development type and commuting distances.
RTP reminds me most of the Maitland Center/Heathrow areas... except way, way bigger with real businesses and jobs. And of course, there's nothing like Duke or UNC in central Florida.
Would I ever go back and live in Orlando? Never. There's honestly more culture, more things to do, more career opportunities in the Triangle than in Mouse Town. No going back for me.
leavinflo7
Funny, I live in the Lake Mary area also. I'm looking to locate to NC probably next spring. I have to wait for my daughter to graduate from high school. Have you visited there before? If so, what areas did you like?
Bull City Rising,
How about Apex? Does N. Raleigh cover a large area or does it it have different areas? I'm looking for something that has good schools, low crime, and convenient to all the stores. I like to be with in 10 minutes of all the stores. Don't want to be out in the country either. I really like the convenience that Lake Mary has to offer. I want to have at least a half an acre also. I'm tired of these cookie cutter subs. I visited Cary, HS, and FV about 5 years ago but I've heard that they've changed alot in terms of growing. I'm originally from PA but will never go back to those long winters.
Bull City Rising,
How about Apex? Does N. Raleigh cover a large area or does it it have different areas? I'm looking for something that has good schools, low crime, and convenient to all the stores. I like to be with in 10 minutes of all the stores. Don't want to be out in the country either. I really like the convenience that Lake Mary has to offer. I want to have at least a half an acre also. I'm tired of these cookie cutter subs. I visited Cary, HS, and FV about 5 years ago but I've heard that they've changed alot in terms of growing. I'm originally from PA but will never go back to those long winters.
I'd consider Apex to be "similar" to Lake Mary... though less upscale, IMHO, than Lake Mary or Longwood, though it's getting there.
Though I'd warn that if you're looking to avoid cookie-cutter subdivisions, you're going to find a lot of those kind of subdivisions in Apex, Holly Springs, etc. ... less of that (but some) in Cary ... much less of that in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham. But then, there's tradeoffs to what you pay in price and so forth.
The half an acre is going to be a dead-stop for most of these towns for new development. Older development, you may find something. I'll defer to folks who know these areas more to chime in on this as I'm more a Durham guy!
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