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Love the Raleigh area! Our daughter went to UNC Chapel Hill so we are a little familiar with the metro area. Definitely on our list, especially the outlying areas.
The usual recommendation is to look at the collar counties, especially Chatham and Johnston, since the prices and (school-related) taxes are lower. Only rural Johnston (pretty right-leaning) is possible at that price. Chatham fits the bill; the stretch between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro has become quite a haven for retirees, but is quite pricey.
Looking at the map, maybe consider going past Pittsboro, to Sanford? It's the next county seat down and halfway between the Triangle and Pinehurst (which also crossed my mind, but the whole town's a country club: expensive & Republican). Sanford itself is blue, though Lee County is reddish purple. New UNC and Duke hospitals are under construction in Holly Springs and west Cary, within 30 minutes of Sanford; the main campuses are about 45 minutes away.
There are townhouses within the Triangle (I'm seeing some in Garner and south Durham) under $200K, but I'd worry about whether they'd be maintenance headaches.
Heading east from the Triangle, Greenville has the only medical school east of Durham. I don't know much about it, though.
Thank you for the great perspective! So many areas to consider, which is a good thing. We do notice many townhouses in NC, far more than in FL. Not loving the idea of so many stairs...we are still able to run up and down now...but who knows down the road
Thank you for the great perspective! So many areas to consider, which is a good thing. We do notice many townhouses in NC, far more than in FL. Not loving the idea of so many stairs...we are still able to run up and down now...but who knows down the road
Townhouses do not necessarily mean a lot of stairs. We are doing a real estate search and looking at quite a few 1.5 story townhomes where the master BR and usually one more are on the first floor with a bonus room or 3rd BR and bath on the second.
I’m always surprised to hear how important some people feel other people’s politics are to them. Self described “Left-Leaning” and “not ultra-conservative” is mentioned.
If you move to a city or the suburb of a city in North Carolina you’ll find people with truly moderate political views: as in 80% of us. Relocate to a rural area of NC and you may find the ultra-conservative smokers that you’re trying to stay away from.
I have a home in Wilmington, NC and most everyone is in the 80% political camp.
The thing is, if you’re originally from the Madison, WI area and actually aren’t “left leaning” and are left wing, part of the 10% on the left crowd, you may not be happy anywhere outside of Manhattan, Berkeley or Madison.
Speaker33, Good point on the political views...agree that generally the rural areas tend to be more conservative and cities more liberal. One should expect that. I only ask because sometimes there are anomalies in that theory (the Villages in FL come to mind). We are originally from rural Madison areas, so I’m not sure what you could call us. Haha
Oxford, NC is a 30 minute drive to Durham, NC (Duke University Hospital). A short 25 minute drive to Kerr Lake. My great uncle lived there all his life in a similar house.
Hickory may be a good fit for you as it provides easy access to a lot of outdoor activities, including the mountains, and is also an easy distance to Asheville, Charlotte and Winston-Salem. The housing market is crazy right now but I expect it will have settled down in the next year or two. Politically, it is still a conservative area, but there are plenty of people with moderate to left leaning politics as well and that will continue to grow as more people are moving here every day.
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