from ct to nc (Raleigh, Cary: mortgage, how much, modular homes)

[jkcforeman]

Hi. My husband and I have decided to move to nc for ecomonic reasons (i.e. ct is way too expensive for us). I have read about the Raleigh area, and Greenville. we are taking a road trip in a couple of weeks to check things out. One of my main concerns are schools. kids are 3 and 4 1/2 and obviously want to settle down in a community with excellent schools. that would be my litmus test to where we go. can anyone advise me on schools? i heard they were very good.

also, i am a nurse and my husband is a carpenter/builder who has always worked for himself. He worked alot as setup contractor for modular homes in ct. do they have those types of jobs in nc. he is bit concerned, though he has experience in most construction jobs.

thanks for your help. so glad i found this site!!!

[ajgranda]

Hi,

Where in CT are you from? My wife and I are in Pound Ridge, just north of Stamford. We are also looking to move to the Cary area for economic and quality of life reasons. The housing and taxes here in Pound Ridge are some of the highest in the country. I have found some really nice home sites in Cary priced at $500-$700 range. Let me know if you're interested. We are planning on going out there this summer. N. Scottsdale, AZ is also an option, but a much more expensive one. We have a 10 mos old daughter and education is also a priority given that Westchester schools are some of the best in the country. Just be careful when they say that all of Wake County has excellant schools. I think they are comparing them with the rest of NC.

Good Luck, AL

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Just be careful when they say that all of Wake County has excellant schools. I think they are comparing them with the rest of NC.

Why do you say that? There are differences in indivudal schools...that is just how life is...but I've not run into anyone say that their childs school is awful.

And Wake County is often on best of lists of schools Nationwide...not just in NC. They do do things, however, differently then you are probably used to. (Part of the culture shock when we moved here.)

If you are going solely by test scores...then...well...that is not the full picture of Wake County Schools.

If you even look at the award winning magnet schools.....their test scores of spotty even if they are great...because of the influx of base students each year....it doesn't mean that they aren't deserving schools.

There are two schools that spring to mind, one out in the rural area of Knightsdale and an Inner-city Raleigh school that look bad that way....but they have a very high level of poverty level students that are slowly getting up to grade level....not that the teaching isn't there.

[CT-Guy]

Originally Posted by jkcforeman

Hi. My husband and I have decided to move to nc for ecomonic reasons (i.e. ct is way too expensive for us). I have read about the Raleigh area, and Greenville. we are taking a road trip in a couple of weeks to check things out. One of my main concerns are schools. kids are 3 and 4 1/2 and obviously want to settle down in a community with excellent schools. that would be my litmus test to where we go. can anyone advise me on schools? i heard they were very good.

also, i am a nurse and my husband is a carpenter/builder who has always worked for himself. He worked alot as setup contractor for modular homes in ct. do they have those types of jobs in nc. he is bit concerned, though he has experience in most construction jobs.

thanks for your help. so glad i found this site!!!

My wife and I are looking to make the move from CT to NC too! Primarily for "quality of life" reasons. Yes, CT is too, much too expensive for our liking...and the poor shools in Bridgeport where we live is driving us out of town. Owning a new home here in CT is something only the rich can afford...which is why NC appeals to us...brand spanking new house for 250K. Try getting that in CT.

Our combined income here is around 98K per year..yet we struggle to make ends meet (6K per year in prop taxes for a beat up 45 year old cape cod in a not so good neighborhood makes me want to throw up!)

We will be driving down this summer with our 2 kids to get a feel for the Raleigh area.

[ajgranda]

I don't know. I've been looking at Great Schools.com and its seems to me that the only standout highschool is Green Hope. I do think test scores are very important as well as SAT scores. I've never seen Wake County Schools as being highly ranked nationally. Is there a site with this info? Westchester County on the other hand has numerous "blue ribbon" schools including, Rye, Blind Brook, Fox Lane, Bronxville, Horace Greelly (Chappaqua), Edgemont and more. SAT scores for these schools range from 1100-1200 on average. Hell, I only got a 950 and I went to a private highschool. I think part of the reason is that our school taxes are astronomical, but our children do get the benefit. Example, a 4,000 sq ft house in my neighborhood built in the 80s and updated, $18,000-$20,000/yr property taxes. Then again the overhead for building schools and teachers salaries are much higher here also. I'm just very nervous about finding what I consider to be an excellent school anywhere outside of where we live. In this part of the country, the more affluent the town, the better the schools. Unfortunately, I think that's the same everywhere. We are also looking at Scottsdale, AZ and that school district is the best in the state. I know people say test scores aren't everything and they are right, but what then is someone supposed to use to measure what is a better or great school? Let's face it, nowadays, education is everything for kids in a country where a Bachelors Degree will mean almost nothing for this up coming generation, where kids are all going for an additional degree.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

I don't know. I've been looking at Great Schools.com and its seems to me that the only standout highschool is Green Hope. I do think test scores are very important as well as SAT scores. I've never seen Wake County Schools as beigh highly ranked nationally. Is there a site with this info? Westchester County on the other hand has numerous "blue ribbon" schools including, Rye, Blind Brook, Fox Lane, Bronxville, Horace Greelly (Chappaqua), Scarsdale and more. SAT scores for these schools range from 1100-1200 on average. Hell, I only got a 950 and I went to a private highschool. I think part of the reason is that our school taxes are astronomical, but our children do get the benefit. Example, a 4,000 sq ft house in my neighborhood built in the 80s and updated, $18,000-$20,000/yr property taxes. Then again the overhead for building schools and teachers salaries are much higher here also. I'm just very nervous about finding what I consider to be an excellant school anyware outside of where we live. In this part of the country, the more affluent the town, the better the schools. Unfortunately, I think that's the same everywhere. We are also looking at Scottsdale, AZ and that school district is the best in the state.

Oh, you are in for a surprize if you are going to be looking at the schools down here the same way you do in CT. The school systems are just not set up the same way.

Visit the schools....test scores don't tell the whole story by far. Either that or cough up the cash for Ravenscroft because it sounds like you aren't going to find a school you like down here.

[jkcforeman]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

Where in CT are you from? My wife and I are in Pound Ridge, just north of Stamford. We are also looking to move to the Cary area for economic and quality of life reasons. The housing and taxes here in Pound Ridge are some of the highest in the country. I have found some really nice home sites in Cary priced at $500-$700 range. Let me know if you're interested. We are planning on going out there this summer. N. Scottsdale, AZ is also an option, but a much more expensive one. We have a 10 mos old daughter and education is also a priority given that Westchester schools are some of the best in the country. Just be careful when they say that all of Wake County has excellant schools. I think they are comparing them with the rest of NC.

Good Luck, AL

We are from Killingworth, CT. We are going to buy below the $500 range. The more i read on the site about this town and that town, the more dizzy i get!! we are planning to go to nc in mid march, and now i don't know where to end up. yikes.

[jkcforeman]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

Where in CT are you from? My wife and I are in Pound Ridge, just north of Stamford. We are also looking to move to the Cary area for economic and quality of life reasons. The housing and taxes here in Pound Ridge are some of the highest in the country. I have found some really nice home sites in Cary priced at $500-$700 range. Let me know if you're interested. We are planning on going out there this summer. N. Scottsdale, AZ is also an option, but a much more expensive one. We have a 10 mos old daughter and education is also a priority given that Westchester schools are some of the best in the country. Just be careful when they say that all of Wake County has excellant schools. I think they are comparing them with the rest of NC.

Good Luck, AL

We are from Killingworth, CT. We are going to buy below the $500 range. The more i read on the site about this town and that town, the more dizzy i get!! we are planning to go to nc in mid march, and now i don't know where to end up. yikes.

[jkcforeman]

Originally Posted by CT-Guy

My wife and I are looking to make the move from CT to NC too! Primarily for "quality of life" reasons. Yes, CT is too, much too expensive for our liking...and the poor shools in Bridgeport where we live is driving us out of town. Owning a new home here in CT is something only the rich can afford...which is why NC appeals to us...brand spanking new house for 250K. Try getting that in CT.

Our combined income here is around 98K per year..yet we struggle to make ends meet (6K per year in prop taxes for a beat up 45 year old cape cod in a not so good neighborhood makes me want to throw up!)

We will be driving down this summer with our 2 kids to get a feel for the Raleigh area.

Hi. We will be driving down in a few weeks. i feel more and more confused when i read about all the different towns. now i am not sure what to do. we live in killingworth. We don't make a huge amount of money and we are looking to down size economically so i don't have to work too much and be ablt to enjoy our kids instead of stressing about making the freakin mortgage payment!!!!!! so between now and mid march, i have a lot of research to do!!

[ajgranda]

Thanks for the Ravenscroft option. It's in Raleigh though. If we decide to go the pvt school route we may also consider Cary Academy. We only have one daughter 10 mos old now, so we are a way aways from this. No more kids planned. So, it won't be much of a financial burden. Anyone have any idea how much enrollment is for these schools? Im hoping around 6K/year. We are still going to check out Green Hope High and it looks like Apex High is pretty good also, although we would rather live in Cary. We arent as concerned about the elementary or middle schools, athough they should also be good. How about Panther Creek HS? I havent been able to find stats on this school. Although there are some expensive houses in Cary with this HS. Is it new?

AL

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

Oh, you are in for a surprize if you are going to be looking at the schools down here the same way you do in CT. The school systems are just not set up the same way.

Visit the schools....test scores don't tell the whole story by far. Either that or cough up the cash for Ravenscroft because it sounds like you aren't going to find a school you like down here.