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My family is possibly being relocated to North Carolina (from Northern California) and we have never been there. We're looking to spend no more than $400k for a house in a nice neighborhood. Does anyone have any recommendations on towns where we should start looking? We like the coast (as long as it's not getting hit by hurricanes every year) and a small town. So far I have looked at real estate in New Bern and Jacksonville. I saw that Cary was rated number 5 (I think) for good small town living. I'm all over the place as you can see. We have a 19 month old and a 5 month old so a family friendly town is important. Know of any good websites to go to where I could start some research on the different areas? Where do I begin?!?!
Thanks for any and all input. It is very much appreciated.
One of the wonderful things about NC is there are so many different types of areas that are highly regarded in which to choose.
The Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham areas are nice, large metro areas with strong job markets. There are more to do in these areas. Very high population growth rates. Cary is a nice suburb of Raleigh, but far from a small town (pop. about 126,000).
Greensboro/Winston Salem is another larger metro, but not growing at such a break-neck pace.
Wilmington is a nice coastal area. It's a small metro. Wilmington and its beach twons can be pricey, but some of the outlying areas are more afordable.
Asheville is a VERY nice mountain community. The mountain counterpart to Wilmington. Very nice climate. Economy is good, but limited. Caters mostly to retirees/tourism.
Hickory is a nice, small metro. Only an hour from Charlotte, Asheville, or Winston Salem. Afordable. Low crime. Good schools. Nice lakes at the foothills of the mountains.
If you're more interested in a small town outside of a metro area, try Mt. Airy, Southern Pines, or Elizabeth City.
Jacksonville is mostly a military town, VERY Transient and the median age is pretty young..it is home to oen of the largest Marine Corps bases in the US Camp Lejeune. What are you looking for? Beaches? Mountains? Solitude? Metropolitan?? lots to decide to narrow your search.
Barnosky: Try Googling Moore County, NC or the Pilot. Take a look around both websites. See what 400K would purchase in an area of small towns. 2.5hours to the beach. 1 hour south of Raleigh. And Moore County schools are great and getting better.
Check out Pinehurst and Southern Pines. The downtowns are very "Pollyanna"ish, if that makes any sense. Old towns that have been well maintained and cared for. And yes, they even have ice-cream parlors. Very quaint.
You owe it to yourselves to take a look, at least on the net.
havin fun
I would stick to the Cary, Holly Springs area. You would be close to Raleigh. You need to be careful which county you are in. If you are looking to spend around 400K on a house, you have a lot of options. Investigate school systems. Wake County Schools include Raleigh, Holly Springs, Cary etc. Each school system is named for its county....Moore County Schools, Wake County Schools....etc. Google North Carolina Counties, then Google each county school district. Look at the report cards. How do you feel about your kids going to school where only 70% of the kids are proficient in reading??? Just look at the school systems very carefully.
No offense mjn1126, but I wouldn't recommend Cary to anyone. It's overly crowded, the traffic is horrid and home prices are ridiculous. Then again, I prefer country livin' myself.
In that vane, I'd suggest looking into Bladen, Columbus or Brunswick counties. All three are less populated, but close enough to enjoy all the richness North Carolina has to offer.
Think about it -- a friendly Southern state that has a Stanley Cup winning hockey team, an NBA team, an NFL team, several of the countries best college teams, film production second only to California (or at least that used to be the case), mountains AND a gorgeous shoreline. That's why (cue music) I like calling North Carolina home!
Think about it -- a friendly Southern state that has a Stanley Cup winning hockey team, an NBA team, an NFL team, several of the countries best college teams, film production second only to California (or at least that used to be the case), mountains AND a gorgeous shoreline. That's why (cue music) I like calling North Carolina home!
OH BOY......You're making me miss home!! Oh sweeeeet Carolina!!
I wouldn't recommend Cary to anyone. It's overly crowded, the traffic is horrid and home prices are ridiculous. Then again, I prefer country livin' myself.
I would recommend Cary to plenty of people but I do not think it is the right place for the original poster. In my view Cary falls somewhere between a big town and a small city. It is still growing and changing. It certainly does not feel like small-town living to me (despite the awards). Additionally, Cary is not an isolated community. It is situated in the middle of the Triangle metropolitan area. It borders the city of Raleigh and the rapidly growing towns of Apex, Morrisville and Holly Springs.
Cary is well-populated. It has been a popular relocation destination for decades. Back in 1960 there were just 3,356 residents. By 1980 there were 21,958 residents. As of April 2007 there were 121,457 residents. In twenty years from now there will likely be over 200,000 residents. Cary covers a larger land area then it once did. It has gone from 9.86 square miles in 1980 to 52.75 square miles in 2006 (too annex-happy for some). At last count there were 2,614 people per square mile in Cary (too crowded for some).
The roads are generally busy in Cary. In my experience there are rarely traffic jams outside of peak commuter times/routes or special circumstances (road works/ice storm/etc). The average home price is high in Cary by NC standards (but low compared to many places). There are many million-dollar houses that buoy the figures. However, there are also some older neighborhoods with smaller houses that are priced reasonably (under $200,000). Cary has residents from all economic levels (though weighted towards the upper-middle classes). It is not exclusively upscale as is often reported.
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Camp Lejeune. What are you looking for? Beaches? Mountains? Solitude? Metropolitan?? lots to decide to narrow your search.
