Putting down roots in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Cary area?

[gunni]

QUESTIONS
* Are people friendly? Can we fit it easily and make friends? Worried as both of us work from home and don’t really go to an office
It depends..most people make friends at the neighborhood pool, kids friends at school etc.

* Indian ethnicity acceptance? Don’t want kids to feel out of place cauz of skin color....
sizeable Indian population

Are people generally accepting of various races?
Yes, quite diverse
Also having a good social circle of diff races/cultures is important to us
* Can we get a new 5 bed nice brick home for less than $500000 with outstanding public schools (elementary/middle/high)?
possible in Cary/Morrisville, maybe not in Chapel Hill

* can someone explain the school situation in Cary please (transfers/school board issues)?
School assignments change every few years so you should not expect to be at the same school as when you buy a house, or to go to the nearest school..but Wake County schools are pretty similar, not much variation in Elementary level.

* How bad are the bugs, can I take a run in the summer with the dogs for an hour and come back without mosquito bites?
Too hot and humid to take a 1 hour run except for early mornings

* Weather (assuming reasonable tolerance to heat and cold)
How bad are hurricanes, power outages/ locked in the house with nothing to do….?
Not frequent, but possible ..Hurricane here vs Earthquakes in CA

Many Californians move here mainly for the reasons you mentioned. This area is kinda boring compared to Bay area, not much variety, but the tradeoffs are worth it for most people.

[Mossy]

Ok...what am I doing wrong? I did a search on realtor.com in Chapel Hill for homes and there are a ton of them for under 500K. I am guessing that the Chapel Hill I should be looking at is not all of Chapel Hill?
Anyone have zipcodes?

I say go for it. We are moving from California(Sacramento area) and the pros are great, I believe. I am not trying to paint a perfect picture because you can't but I am facing this move with a positive and excited attitude. We have friends and a lot of nice things that I will miss and I know there will be a part of me that is sad as we lived here for 10 years.

Good Luck!

[VickiR]

Chapel Hill schools are highly rated but the Orange County Schools are somewhat different so it may help if you use that in your search.

Vicki

[hat456]

I come from the CT area, and the prices of homes in the Chapel Hill Area are about the same from where I am. This is why I would go to the North Raleigh area, to take advantage of the less expensive homes. I will be moving to Raleigh soon, and am very excited. I like it enough where I am, but would like someplace I can stay for the longterm with my children. In Raleigh, we have access to great schools and universities, hospitals, mild weather, and things to do down the road for our retirement. This is the way I look at it since I have a child entering high school soon. I believe with this real estate market, its best to try to think long term because its harder these days to make sudden moves. The intelligence of the area also is a plus.

[macjr82]

What are some thngs you like about where you are at? what are some things you don't like? Just asking b/c I think waht you are leaving is just as important as what you are gaining. People that end up not likeing the area is chiefly b/c of the differences of what they thought they wanted to get away from or waht they had back home that they don't have here.

[Ophelia77]

I am sure you can manage an hour run with the dogs during the summer if you go in the morning or late evening. I live in San Antonio TX right now and the last two summers have been brutal. (Hit 100 degrees for over 60 days straight). However I still saw people running (with and without a dog) later in the evening and alot of people in the morning. During the summer, I lean towards morning runs because it is already 78 degrees and 80 percent humidity! I don't think it's that bad in NC.
The bugs, just make sure you wear off!