Pictures of Woodcroft, Durham? (Fayetteville, Cary: home builder, neighborhoods, buyer)

[findingmesomeday]

Sorry, NRG, but the squirrels are a deal-killer for me. They're probably burglarizing all the cars anyway, those little buggers!

Seriously, I *love* the look of this neighborhood.

[PlantGeek]

Well I can give you my newbie opinions....We've been here almost 1 month!

Parking in our TH complex is as follows: There are no true "assigned" parking spots (heck, there aren't even lines to mark spots!). But we were told by the previous homeowners and the neighbors when we first moved in which were "ours" in front of the building and which to stay out of. In the HOA rules it states that guest parking is available along the road that cuts through the complex (Settlement Dr.). Basically, guests can park on the curb as long as it's not blocking a driveway or anyone else. There are also some parking spaces that are always empty that guests can park in, but you just have to learn that after you move in.

So far we love our TH and the community. It's quiet and the trails are wonderful! In regards to safety/crime, I have a friend that had her car broken into and the radio stolen and one that had his bikes stolen from his backyard (which was next to the trail). But I feel safe and don't worry about things like that. But then again I drive a POS

We feel pretty safe walking the trails after dark (in the well lit areas like Woodcroft parkway and Highgate). My dog loves sitting on our back porch and watching the squirrels. Then she looks at me with those puppy eyes, as if she's saying "This just isn't fair! I want to chase them!"

If you have any other questions I might be able to answer, please let me know!

[theglobalmind]

Originally Posted by MrsSteel

There is one person on this forum - PlantGeek - who just moved into a townhome in Woodcroft one month ago. That person doesn't seem to post very often, so I don't think we'll get to hear the word on this from someone with experience. The best I could do for you is drive by that area tomorrow and count the parking spaces & townhomes for you so we could come up with a ratio.

Thank you for the offer, MrsSteel, but no need to do so. I think PlantGeek has answered the parking question quite well. This seems like a nice part of the community, and I'm hoping that the townhouse section of Woodcroft has as equally good of a reputation as the rest of the community. I'm excited to find a place!

[smjones75]

First off, the preliminaries... new to the forum but loving what I'm seeing! Nice friendly group of very well-informed residents. I'm moving to Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary in June with my wife and 1yr old daughter from Long Island, NY to find that elusive work-life balance while riding out the recession (but before the boos rain down on my head, I'm originally from San Diego, CA via Pine Bluff, AR and my wife is from Mobile, AL so we're Southerners - laidback SoCal folks at heart and not your typical NY transplants).

I will potentially be working in the RTP [have not decided if I will be telecommuting back to my job here in NY yet but there are lots of engineering jobs to be had in the Triangle if I tire of that] while my wife is in law school at UNC so we are looking for a place to call home that is also 'close to the action'... but not too close since we are sooo tired of New York City Livin'!! I'll be entering the MBA program at UNC in 2 yrs as well so a place with good access to Chapel Hill and RTP and good childcare services would be optimal for us.

We visited Chapel Hill and felt it was a step back to our college days in Palo Alto, CA so we're looking for a more diverse (racially as well as economically) environment to raise our daughter (and other lil ones to follow). Same feeling to a lesser degree in Cary so we focused on Raleigh-Durham. But upon reading MrsSteel's descriptions and seeing her pics of Woodcroft (as well as procfreq's descriptions of Woodlake), I am now completely sold on SW Durham!! We have seen a lot of listings in the area (hmm, wait, is that a bad thing??) Whatever, we're coming down next week and hopefully we'll find a place to put an offer on with our realtor and move this summer. Thanks, MrsSteel and procfreq, you have both reinforced the goodwill we have always felt from NC folks. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated and when we get down this summer, I'd love to treat both of you to a cup of coffee as a personal thank-you

[MrsSteel]

What a wonderfully sweet post! Thank you so much, smjones. I'm thrilled to bits that I was able to help you.

Don't let the number of listings worry you. It's buying season around here, so you'll notice that there are a lot more listings all over the Triangle. This is a great thing IMO because it means there's that much more to choose from!

Hope you have a wonderful trip. Drop me a line when you're thirsty for a cuppa.

[findingmesomeday]

Mrs. Steel, I don't know if this has been asked of you before but what elementary, middle and HS is your neighbored zoned to? I know you don't have children but I'm sure you have this info?

[MrsSteel]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

Mrs. Steel, I don't know if this has been asked of you before but what elementary, middle and HS is your neighbored zoned to? I know you don't have children but I'm sure you have this info?

As far as I know, the assigned schools are...

• Southwest Elementary (it's on the east side of the neighborhood and can be accessed by the walking trails)
• Githens Middle
• Hillside High, although I have seen a few homes on the real estate listings that say they're assigned to Jordan High.

To be honest, I haven't noticed many teenagers in my area of Woodcroft, but there are certainly elementary students around. Many of the families here are rather young. Baby strollers are a common sight on the walking trails.

IndigoBlue said that Durham has a very flexible transfer policy that allows students to go to other schools within the district if the parents request it, but I have no idea how simple that is in reality.

[David1105]

I read a stat in an article somewhere that said the back in 2004 or 2005, 52% of high schoolers in Woodcroft go to Jordan High even though the entire development is districted to Hillside. My guess is that because of the proximity of Woodcroft to Jordan most applications of transfer are approved. Woodcroft was districted to Jordan before Hillside was built. My previous realtor also told me that if you are interested in specific areas of specialty during high school that it is easy to transfer as well. I think Jordan has a great technical program and students who have an interest in that (and have demonstrated ability in those topics) can get a transfer in. I was also talking to a co-worker of mine who said that her son had the choice of attending either Hillside or Jordan based on where she lives. I don't know if this is the "proximity rule" that Chapel Hill has where you can go to the high school within a certain mile radius regardless of the one you are districted to. You simply have to live within one mile of the school or something like that. I have also heard that Woodcroft and Woodlake have been lobbying hard over the years to get redistricted to Jordan because of their locations. My guess is that in the next 10 years all of these Durham neighborhoods will be redistricted to existing or new schools.

Anyway, this is all information I gathered through the grape vine and since I have no kids and have not gone through any of those processes I don't know how easy/true any of this is. If someone actually does know feel free to chime in.

[procfreq]

smjones--

Thanks for the warm fuzzies! I hope you find what you're looking for here. SW Durham is a great place to be.

I may just take you up on that cup of coffee too. My husband just interviewed for a position on Long Island last week, and it went quite well, so *WE* might be headed to your old stomping grounds (please--nobody respond or PM me about how horrific Long Island is. I've heard it ALL). Where do you live on the island? Shoot me a PM if you get a chance.

[mike052082]

I am a teacher in Durham Public Schools so I know a little.

Durham is an open district, which means that if you do not want your child to go to a particular school you can transfer them to another, as long as you proove that you have transportation. Jordan is within walking distance so I would assume that would be no problem.

When DPS rezoned the districts they placed Woodcroft into Hillsides district. Hillside has the best Arts departments as it goes for the high schools but is largely a black school while Jordan is considered more of a white school. That caused people to sell their houses in Woodcroft and a lot of people who had younger children that was not going to have them in highschool anytime soon. That could be the reason that MrsSteel sees more younger children and not high schoolers, but the rezoning happened a few years back so those "younger" kids should be in high school by now.

I moved to Woodcroft when my wife go accepted to Pharmacy School at CH. Woodcroft is close to CH by about 15 minutes to the park and ride. We rent now and was going to get a house built in North Durham, but chose to instead purchase a home in Woodcroft. A house went on the market on Thursday, I saw it on Friday, meet with the real estate Saturday, and put an offer in on Monday. Offer wasn't accepted but we will wait to see b/c it is very close to asking price but we can't go any higher. Already asked the bank for an extra $10,000 to buy that house instead of the new one. If I can't get that house I will hould out until another comes up. Woodlake is an option to but most houses I can afford are in east woodlake which aren't as close to the trails, and that is the whole reason other than resale value we are staying in the neighborhood.

As far as for crime. The 1/2 mile search includes three shopping centers. One for Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and Kroger. The list for the majority of the crime being shoplifting. There are some apartments, townhomes, and condos that breaking and entering of cars takes place. If you compare the data to the whole Durham you will see it is not that high. You want to stay away from East Durham. SW Durham is the BEST. Ever been to Southpoint? Woodcroft is the neighborhood I always wished I could live in, now I have a chance.

Also if you go to Duke. I work at a middle school close to Duke and it takes me 20 minutes to get to work. Very easy drive too.