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We are moving to the W-S area in 2 months to be closer to my wife's family (in Elkin) while I conduct an academic job search. We are familiar with W-S but not well-versed in the various neighborhoods. We have a 1-1/2 year old girl, and my wife will be staying home with her. We would like to find a friendly neighborhood close to coffee shops, park, natural food store if possible, good to walk in and safe. We would ideally like to find a house to rent, something with a yard if possible. What neighborhoods would suit us best? We like historic character and being in the atmosphere of the city. We have friends in Ardmore so know that area fairly well but would be interested in hearing about some of the other W-S neighborhoods - near Wake Forest, for example? Anything interesting around there? Probably looking to stay on the west side so as to be nearer my wife's family.
I can't think of anything but the Ardmore. It pretty much sums up the majority of your wants. Your wife would definitely be the happiest there. It is really easy to meet people at the little church playgrounds in the afternoon. Tell her to join the mom groups on meetup.com. There is the Triad Treehouse and the Stay at Home Mom and Dad group. On Mondays the downtown library has toddler story times that seems really popular. Miller Park in the Ardmore always has moms throughout the day. Good luck!
--West End, roughly defined as the area downtown between Bus 40 and Reynolda Rd. It will likely be pricier than Ardmore, but perhaps not depending on the specific property. This area is full of large older homes, and you can easily walk to the Burke St., 4th St., and Reynolda Rd. establishments, as well as Hanes Park, the YMCA and YWCA, and even the new baseball stadium.
--The Old Salem/lower Main St. area is really starting to come alive, with the opening of the new Gateway YMCA and the re-vitalization efforts for the Main St. corridor. There are condos, smaller houses, and larger houses available, many of which are in that sort of older, somewhat run-down state yet not too bad to live in, perfect for buying and fixing up as you go. This area is probably just a little more "edgy" than Ardmore or West End, but it is definitely on the upswing and is, I think, at least worth a look.
I posted a message looking for a similar type neighborhood, but have had no replies. Keep an eye on it though, because if I ever get any replies it might interest you !
I posted a message looking for a similar type neighborhood, but have had no replies. Keep an eye on it though, because if I ever get any replies it might interest you !
I wanted to answer you, but I ended up deleting it! I sound very similar to you and have the same desires. I am coming to the conclusion it doesn't exist exactly the way I would want it in W-S and to have one, you have to slightly sacrifice the other. Once again, the Ardmore is the closest place to fit the bill as far as being able to walk around, but it doesn't feed into good schools. The West End is nice too, but I am not a fan of living that close to downtown because of the crime and not so great schools. I originally deleted my response because I didn't want to sound too negative and toxic. We just don't feel like we completely fit in here, but I think the happiest we would be is in the Ardmore. We ended up more in the sticks and it makes living here that much harder. We do not have one thing in common with our neighbors out in North Davidson county. Clemmons and Lewisville would probably be more like living where we are. It is safe, schools are great, houses bigger with more yard for less money, but it is far more conservative and generic. I do have to add I am from CA, so I grew up in a VERY different environment...
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