Two trips under our belts... still undecided. (Charlotte, Raleigh: transplants, real estate)

[Houston5onthemove]

Hi friends!



My family and I just returned to Washington state from second scouting trip in NC. Both Trips have been based out of "Raleigh" (Cary, Apex, Wake Forest). This trip we also spent a day at the coast (Wilmington), some more time downtown Raleigh and west, in and around Winston-Salem.



We are still undecided regarding the "best" place to invest our time for our third (hopefully final) fact finding trip.



My husband CAN transfer his job to Raleigh (NE of the city), Wiston-Salem, or Charlotte (I have no idea where the office is because Charlotte isn't really on our raidar).



We would like to buy a 3-4 bed house for around $400K, we home school but access to organized competitive youth sports (baseball and basketball) are a must. I know homeschool students can not access school sports in Wake County... that is what prompted the search in Winston-Salem. We spent most of our time in Winston around Wake Forest University and Reynolda Village, Old Salem, and very briefly in some surrounding neighborhoods.



We like all the family activities and parks in Cary- but the posted commute time to hubby's job from Cary prompted us to look at Wake Forest (cute downtown!) We looked around in between WF and Rolesville but I wasn't overly impressed... lots of new construction it seems not real anchor... but again... info is welcome!



Looking for more feedback about traffic, commute times around Raleigh, suggestions of communities to investigate. We haven't encountered traffic and we made a point to be on the roads during what would be peak traffic here (7-8am and 4-6pm) but maybe we aren't on the right roads? Are commutes across the city what apple maps show? Coming from a area that had unplanned and rapid growth I know the pains of stressed roadways and services... input?



We did look and find houses in all the communities we searched in, trying to leave a $30K buffer for bidding situations... but what else do I need to know about the real estate in these areas? talk of bidding and DD freak me out a little...



Any input is welcome... however with respect of you are on the hate train for transplants feel free to pass this on buy.



Also- We have been in town during the pollen drop March/April and in Aug/Sep for the heat and humidity. What else do we need to know about the climate?


Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Houston5onthemove

Any input is welcome...

With WA prices as your benchmark the Raleigh area might even seem a bargain.

[Houston5onthemove]

Originally Posted by MrRational

With WA prices as your benchmark the Raleigh area might even seem a bargain.

Sad but true...

[mlhm5]

I have lived in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Flat Rock NC as well as spending Summers on the coast. I also traveled the state for 7 years as a salesman and spent a lot of time in Charlotte and Winston Salem. Ok then where would I live if I moved back to NC and could have my pick of those places?

Before the prices went crazy, I would have lived in the Hope Valley area of Durham, now most likely Winston Salem. Great medical care in WS.