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I have been on here literally for hours pouring through the information and I am discovering a lot of older information. I do understand this question has been asked a LOT....however please bear with me. My family and I are possibly making the move to the Raliegh area due to work. This is not a certain move...however, I do like to prepare. We are currently in Kansas City and this move would be a blessing due to the weather change and proximity to the water and mountains. Our children are 12, 9 and 6. I was wondering what are is a nice area. We are looking to rent a home when we arrive, but want to stay with one school and not hop around. We are a middle class family so a high price neighborhood is out of the quesiton. We are looking for a good area for the public school- any help would be amazing!!
My wife and I are moving to the Raleigh area - work relocation - next month from Richmond VA. There are a lot of nice areas, and i agree somewhat with the previous poster regarding work location v. home location. However, be aware that Wake County schools are in flux with regard to busing and also has year long school. We are moving to Johnston Co.(Clayton) which has very good, but also traditional (summer off) schools. Doen't matter to us - our daughter is grown and living in VA, and we are only choosing Johnston Co. because you get more for your $ there - but school issue may be important to you.
The idea of year long school does interest me however, we currently work with the traditional system and this works well for us. I would be interested to see how children respond to the year long format. I have read less than flattering reviews regarding the Wake County areas schools. Is this true?
Its a mistake to think Wake County schools are bad. Its the diversity policy that has the problem, but the schools themselves tend to be some of the best in the state, and most score very well...especially if you compare to other large school systems. We are not talking about a low performing school system here. That said, there is quite a bit of turmoil in regard to what school children are assigned to and how far they will be bussed. As of now they have ended busing and are moving to a neighborhood schools model. We were reassigned once, and have been happy with both schools and our children are performing very well.
Just curious what your opinion is of KC? I passed through MO last summer and liked St. Louis more than I would have expected. I mostly circumvented KC, but looked like a nice area (so did Topeka). VERY spread out like Dallas, but with some terrain. More spread out even than the triangle. It was very cheap there for gas and hotels (and I assume housing). KC was on a short list of places we were going to relocate, but my GF decided not to take the job she was offered there and instead are moving to Philly.
Once I came to terms with the idea, KC didn't seem that bad. and its just a day or two's drive to some of the great sites of the west. In some ways MO reminded me of NC, but with shorter trees and more wind...and of course the great Missouri/Mississippi rivers. No big water landmarks here til you hit the ocean.
We are looking for a home with rent around $1200. We obviously would like to purchase, but I don't feel comfortable doing that initially. Is this a good price range or to low for the area?
The job would actually be in Durham, but the informaiton I have found regarding the area hasn't been flattering and I thought this would be close to that. I am hoping or perhaps I am wrong?!?
As for your question on KC.... I have been in this area most of my life and to me it is lacking a real city feel. I do enjoy St Louis more than KC though. However, KC does have its high points. The city is very spread out and I don't mind that much, I think that is why I am currently looking for a good area to live rather than the proximity to work. In the last few years the city has been getting more areas to visit such as the Power and Light district and they are currently building a fine arts area downtown. I think that the city is dirty to look at...meaning they don't clean the liter often and that bothers me. The weather is very seasonal- LOTS of ice and snow in the winter and in the summer it is HOT and humid. It is very cost effective to live here which is a plus. Overall, It isn't a bad place to live we just are very excited to live in an area with great weather and closer to coast and activities available out there that are not here.
The job would actually be in Durham, but the informaiton I have found regarding the area hasn't been flattering and I thought this would be close to that. I am hoping or perhaps I am wrong?!
Don't cut Durham off of your list. There are some nice areas with good schools that would fit into your price range. I'm thinking specifically of northern and southern Durham. These areas are further away from downtown, so they have a more suburban feel to them. If you like smaller towns, you might also look into Hillsborough - especially if the job is on the western side of Durham.
I have family in Kansas City so I know you've been getting more snow and ice over the past few years. You'll encounter fewer snow storms here in the Triangle, but you'll notice very little difference in the summer. The biggest bonus is that it take just 2 hours to get to the beach instead of 2 days! Hooray!
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