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My husband is expecting a job offer (internal transfer within his company) in the next couple of days. He'll be traveling most of the state (visiting CLT, Triad, RTP, Wilmington & Asheville). We can live anywhere, but think the Triad is the most centrally located, since the majority of his time will be in between CLT & RTP.
We're late 30's/early 40's with 2 young kids (7 & 1.5). We'll be moving from the gulf coast of AL, where we have been for 5 yrs (again, company move). I'm a native Virginian (grew up an hour east of Richmond) and lived in/outside of Northern VA for 10 years before the AL move. I'm glad to be headed back towards 'home' and excited to have 4 seasons back, be close to the mtns, beach, etc., plus to have plenty of museums, kid activities, etc.; something severely lacking down here on the gulf.
Like most others with kids, we're looking for an area with decent schools. I read a thread about Chapel Hill schools, and while they seem great, they seem way too competitive for our personalities. We want our kids to get a good education, but we're not "keeping up with the Joneses" types.
Clemmons seems to have good elementary schools and a good high school, but what's the deal with the middle school? They seem to be performing below normal. Like others, I don't think test scores tell the entire pictures. If I go to greatschools.com, our daughter's current school here in AL is ranked 9...if I was giving it a ranking on something other than test scores, it wouldn't be a 9!
Any other suggestions of areas in the Triad? We're upper middle class, conservative with 'crunchy' tendencies. Farmers markets, local food, etc. is important to us. We sold a 5 acre 'farmette' to move here to AL, where we are in HOA hell. We're just not subdivision people, but would suck it up temporarily. We're looking to rent for the first year because we're going to lose our shirt (~20%) on our house here, and secondly, we'd like to get a complete feel for the area and make sure we pick the right location before buying. Ultimately, when we do buy, we'd like to have a little bit of land for horses, etc., but also fairly close to amenities (I also don't mind driving 20 mins or so). I have a good friend (more like 2nd mother) that owns a horse farm in Mocksville, and have been into Winston with her on occasions while visiting. So I'm vaguely familiar, and have been to Biscuitville in Clemmons if that counts for anything! ;-)
The test score anomaly you're seeing has to do with demographics. Clemmons Elementary and West Forsyth High schools are located in the village and serve mostly the middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods. Clemmons Middle is located out in the county and has students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Unfortunately many of these kids don't get the home support needed to be successful in school, and the test scores reflect that. It's still a good school for higher-performing students, so you can feel confident in sending your kids there.
By the way, in the area where the Middle School is located (just east of Clemmons), you can find more rural home settings along Fraternity Church Rd., Ebert Rd., Friedberg Church Rd., etc.
The test score anomaly you're seeing has to do with demographics. Clemmons Elementary and West Forsyth High schools are located in the village and serve mostly the middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods. Clemmons Middle is located out in the county and has students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Unfortunately many of these kids don't get the home support needed to be successful in school, and the test scores reflect that. It's still a good school for higher-performing students, so you can feel confident in sending your kids there.
By the way, in the area where the Middle School is located (just east of Clemmons), you can find more rural home settings along Fraternity Church Rd., Ebert Rd., Friedberg Church Rd., etc.
Good luck!
Thanks arbyunc...that's sort of what I thought, but figured I'd ask! Thanks again!
My husband is expecting a job offer (internal transfer within his company) in the next couple of days. He'll be traveling most of the state (visiting CLT, Triad, RTP, Wilmington & Asheville). We can live anywhere, but think the Triad is the most centrally located, since the majority of his time will be in between CLT & RTP.
We're late 30's/early 40's with 2 young kids (7 & 1.5). We'll be moving from the gulf coast of AL, where we have been for 5 yrs (again, company move). I'm a native Virginian (grew up an hour east of Richmond) and lived in/outside of Northern VA for 10 years before the AL move. I'm glad to be headed back towards 'home' and excited to have 4 seasons back, be close to the mtns, beach, etc., plus to have plenty of museums, kid activities, etc.; something severely lacking down here on the gulf.
Like most others with kids, we're looking for an area with decent schools. I read a thread about Chapel Hill schools, and while they seem great, they seem way too competitive for our personalities. We want our kids to get a good education, but we're not "keeping up with the Joneses" types.
Clemmons seems to have good elementary schools and a good high school, but what's the deal with the middle school? They seem to be performing below normal. Like others, I don't think test scores tell the entire pictures. If I go to greatschools.com, our daughter's current school here in AL is ranked 9...if I was giving it a ranking on something other than test scores, it wouldn't be a 9!
Any other suggestions of areas in the Triad? We're upper middle class, conservative with 'crunchy' tendencies. Farmers markets, local food, etc. is important to us. We sold a 5 acre 'farmette' to move here to AL, where we are in HOA hell. We're just not subdivision people, but would suck it up temporarily. We're looking to rent for the first year because we're going to lose our shirt (~20%) on our house here, and secondly, we'd like to get a complete feel for the area and make sure we pick the right location before buying. Ultimately, when we do buy, we'd like to have a little bit of land for horses, etc., but also fairly close to amenities (I also don't mind driving 20 mins or so). I have a good friend (more like 2nd mother) that owns a horse farm in Mocksville, and have been into Winston with her on occasions while visiting. So I'm vaguely familiar, and have been to Biscuitville in Clemmons if that counts for anything! ;-)
Thanks in advance for your help.
Hokie98-
Where did you decide and are you happy with the town/schools? We are in a similar situation. We looked all over the Raleigh area and just don't like the area. We are also looking for a good education for our young kids but do not want a hyper competitive environment. We also would like a town with a downtown area. We feel like the suburbs of Raleigh are only strip malls and no character.
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