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Here's our situation. I started working in Greensboro a year and a half ago, but we live just west of Carrboro. Needless to say, my commute is unpleasant. My spouse may be able to look for a job in his field over in the Triad, and though we love our rustic home with acreage in the woods, the advantages of saving gas money and having more time at home sound very tempting.
We would be seeking one of two scenarios. One would be an urban Greensboro neighborhood within biking or public transportation distance to UNCG, close to unique restaurants and shopping, preferably older homes, (fifties and before), good schools and a safe neighborhood to walk around, with a progressive vibe. The other vibe would be rustic, maybe further out, near hiking trails, a real "state park" environment. We like either lifestyle, but we're pretty "crunchy", artsy types, and we're used to Carrboro, and used to live in an older funky neighborhood in Durham, so we're looking for something either somewhat rustic or urban and walkable.
We are trying to downsize our lifestyle, and are hoping to stay under 250K and can exist happily in 1200-1800 square feet. Any recommendations? I would consider outside city limits for the right environment, but the idea of riding my bike back and forth to an Arts and Crafts style bungalow sounds just perfect. I don't know the city yet, but I saw a couple of neighborhoods that appealed- Lindley Park and Fisher Park, if that gives a good indication. Schools are a big issue, though, and we might have to consider private if we're not happy with the district. Our 3rd grade daughter goes to Chapel Hill Schools right now, and we've been thrilled with her education thus far, so this may be a problem.
Last edited by IdaClaire; 11-05-2014 at 01:54 PM..
Reason: typos!
You can also check around the battleground area, further from UNCG but you will be close to country park, battleground, and bur-mil(if you are in to biking, bur-mil has free bike rental on the days you don't feel like bringing your own). It still won't be far from downtown, friendly center, and of course uncg. Also if you do make the move, those days you don't feel like driving, the part bus is really cool, for a dollar or two you can get on and hit up the Zoo in Asheboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, and Pilot Mountain(if you ever take a trip to pilot mountain drive, at the time I didn't know the bus didn't take you to the mountain but 10 miles from it. long story short though I got a ride there but on my way back was horrible, ran 10 miles in the wrong direction to Mount Airy which means I had to run 20 miles to the bus stop(some one gave me ride before I had to run all 20 miles).
I started working in Greensboro a year and a half ago...
My spouse may be able to look for a job in his field over in the Triad...
We would be seeking one of two scenarios. One would be
an urban Greensboro neighborhood within biking or public transportation distance to UNCG
(or) rustic, maybe further out, near hiking trails, a real "state park" environment.
Schools are a big issue... Our 3rd grade daughter goes to Chapel Hill Schools right now, and we've
been thrilled with her education thus far, (so the entire idea of moving west) may be a problem.
Any recommendations?
I'd suggest that you find a job near where you already know that you like living.
The best trails in the city are around the watershed lakes on the north side. The northern greenway, which goes through Bur-mil park is great. It also connects to battleground park and country day. Bur-Mil is one place with a state park environment. (country day is the other) It is on Lake Brandt. The trails connect to all the watershed trails. They recently had the XXX Triple lakes race...40 miles, marathon and half-marathon...all on trails...so you can do a lot of hiking/running there. The greenway is a great place to ride road bikes. And a lot of the trails are dual use; walking plus mountain bikes.
There are a lot of neighborhoods, with a variety of price ranges in this area.
I'd recommend being in the Northwest school district. Northern would be a close second. They are equivalent to the best Chapel Hill schools. (check out Summerfield Elementary, Northern Elementary, Oakridge Elem, Pearce Elementary)
I don't know the exact school lines closer in to the city, but the Sunset Hills neighborhood is very nice. I think the high school is Grimsley there. Grimsley is a mixed quality school, with a very good AP and IB program. But it also has a rough element. In the city, you need to be careful with the elementary school you are assigned to. Some of the worse (which are very bad), are there.
Lindley Park and Westerwood sound up your alley, you might also consider the area around Fisher Park (some of the houses are very expensive but there are some more affordable sections). But for trail access northwest battleground is the place to go as mentioned. For elementary schools you could check out General Greene and Brooks Global as well--both are quality magnet schools and close to the areas you are looking at.
one more point....if you are working at UNCG...Bryan Blvd to Aycock is a great way to commute there from the Northwest. This might open up additional rural areas for you to consider.
I'm thinking of areas North of Old Oakridge, Pleasant Ridge,etc... There would be some interesting "rural" houses available tucked off some of the big roads.
And commuting via Old Oak Ridge...Bryan Blvd...Aycock is much quicker than it looks.
Thanks for all the info! I will check out all the suggested neighborhoods and their school systems. I have done some hiking around the Northwest area already and found it quite nice up there.
Finding where you want to live first and then finding a job there doesn't work so well in academia. I am lucky to have found a great fit for me as close to home as I did. The position was exactly what I wanted to do, and in my field, people often have to pick up and move across the country.
Thanks for all the info! I will check out all the suggested neighborhoods and their school systems. I have done some hiking around the Northwest area already and found it quite nice up there.
Finding where you want to live first and then finding a job there doesn't work so well in academia. I am lucky to have found a great fit for me as close to home as I did. The position was exactly what I wanted to do, and in my field, people often have to pick up and move across the country.
That is so true! Good for you.
I work at UNCG and A&T in a combined program. I live in Garden Homes, off Battleground and Holden. It takes me 10 minutes to get to UNCG. Westerwood is right by UNCG. There are great houses there. All of them are too big for me.
I feel like you've been in my head. My husband and I had a very similar conversation recently. I'm working in Winston-Salem and commuting over an hour to work, so we were thinking of Greensboro or Highpoint. We found our apartment before I had a job, so that's the reason for the long commute and while I don't mind it right now, I can't imagine doing for the next 10-15 years. We're settled where we are for the next 1 1/2 years, but plan to move closer to Winston. I have no interest in living IN Winston, but I like what I've seen of Greensboro and High Point. Our issue is largely schools. When we move, our youngest will be going into 4th grade, a fairly critical year, and co-workers who live in Greensboro warned me off, saying that the schools were not good. I can't compromise on that. I'm encouraged by the information above and the idea that those warnings were not entirely accurate.
Our price range is 225-280K. I know that those are vastly different in terms of what it will buy, but will the neighborhoods above fall in to that range? We're not sure about rural vs. urban at this point. We keep going back and forth. I lean towards urban, he leans towards rural. Is there a middle ground? Honestly, what we really want is a nice, professional, middle/upper middle class neighborhood, whether urban or rural or something in between.
What about racial tolerance for families of color and mixed race families? Are there areas we should avoid? I hate to even ask that question, but we had a bad experience this past weekend and I'd like to avoid living in the midst of ignorance. Oy! Too many decisions. I need a vacation o_O
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