Chapel Hill to Greensboro Commute? Greensboro vs. Chapel Hill Elementary Schools? (Raleigh: relocating, housing)

[ccrider]

I may have a potential great job opportunity in Greensboro. I have two young boys (2 and 4). I don't know much about Greensboro, but we have relatives in Chapel Hill who swear by the public school system there. I can't discuss Greenboro with them until this job materializes. Is Greensboro commutable from Chapel Hill (if home price is not an issue)? How long would it take on average during ruch hour? If long (and Greensboro public elementary schools are considered not as desirable as Chapel Hill), how far west of Chapel Hill can I go (to cut the commute) and still get great public elementary schools? Is the commute worth it for the Chapel Hill elementary schools vs. Greensboro schools (if home price is not an issue)? Any help would be greatly appreciated... thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[cak270]

It is probably about 2 hours from Greensboro to the Chapel Hill area. I haven't done that commute in rush hour but 40/85 in Greensboro during rush hour is "not great".

About schools I would check out the NC Public Schools web site for their report cards on schools and make your own comparision. Link below.

North Carolina Public Schools

[Anniep]

Take the train! Quick easy and makes the trip a lot more relaxing! I think more and more folks doing that commute are going that route than the drive which will be pretty bad!

[eporter]

Chapel Hill has the best public chools in the state, bar none. We are currently in the Wake County system and are very pleased. However, my husband has tired of the commute (1 and 1/2 hours) from raleigh to greensboro, so we will be relocating to the Triad soon. As more and more development occurs between Chapel Hill and Greensboro, I fear the commute on 140 will get much longer. For us it is a matter of where my husband wants to spend his time ... in the car or at home with his kids.

There are good schools in Greensboro too.

[Niki]

Check the school report cards for information (academic scores & safety) on schools in Greensboro. I've been doing a lot of that myself lately and have found many good elementary schools in Greensboro, as well as some good middle and high schools. I think someone may have already given you the link.

[FLRelo]

Niki,
My husband is a teacher in FL and we're considering relocating to the Greensboro area. Loved the area when we visited earlier this year. However I keep hearing that the Guilford School system has lots of problems. We would be looking into secondary schools. Could it possibly be worse than Florida with all the budget problems? We're currently in one of the better school districts in Florida. Chapel Hill or Wake would be another option, but what about congestion?

[alzora]

I've lived in Greensboro, Chapel Hill and now in between the two.

I don't have kids, but I have a friend who is a teacher and who has taught in the Greensboro public schools. He was not impressed with the Greensboro public school system and left after only working there half a year. Not only did he not like the way teachers are treated, but he thought that many many kids were getting cheated on a good education (some kids were passed who clearly should not have been and other kids were not getting the attention they deserved due to "no child left behind.") Teachers were encouraged to pass kids rather than fail them so the school's "report card" would look good. I'm not saying you shouldn't look at the Dept. of Education's school report cards, but take them with a grain of salt because those numbers can be misleading and skewed.

Everyone I ever worked with in Chapel Hill who had kids in school had nothing but good things to say about it. Their only conern was the competitiveness of students in high school and how overwhelming that can be for teenagers.

With that said, I enjoyed living in Greensboro and in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is much more expensive though. The commute from CH to Greensboro (if you speed a little and the traffic volume is average) is a little more than an hour. I personally think that commute would get frustrating after a while.

I currently live in Alamance County, which is in between GSO and CH, but the schools are not as good as Chapel Hill. I have heard that schools in West Burlington and south of Burlington (the southern alamance schools) are the better choices in the county. I'm not sure how they compare to Guilford schools though.

[chapel hill relo]

It is not a bad drive to Chapel Hill from Greensboro (1 hour), and the schools are excellent in CH. Overall a great place to live, and we are very happy here. We've lived all over the US and I have to say it's the best.
Check out Relocate Triangle - An Insider's Guide About Moving To The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area for information too.

[yourhometriad]

Depending on where in CH you are, you can get to GSBO in 45 minutes. BUT... if there are any traffic problems, you will be sitting on 40. And sitting.

There are great schools in Chapel Hill, but the taxes are killer, and so are the housing prices. Guilford County has some excellent schools- Grimsley, Page, Northwest, and the new Northern school opens in January- and the taxes are lower. Plus we have quite a few excellent private & magnet schools.

Check the school report cards (google search!), don't commute 2 hrs each day ($2.71 a gallon! That's nuts!) and just move to lovely Greensboro.