Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are seriously considering moving to the Durham-Raleigh area (from NH) in the next few months. Due to medical circumstances, I need to be fairly close to the Duke Medical Center; but, can live as far away as perhaps a 30-40 minute drive.
On Realtor.com and certain real estate websites we see many nice listings in our price range; however, we are not familiar with the area. We seek a town/city (or neighborhood) that is relatively safe with respect to crime.
On this board, folks have recommended towns like Mebane, Bahama, etc. We are looking at those as well as Rougemont, Timberlake, Creedmoor, Stem, Youngsville, Franklinton and Wake Forest.
As we most likely will rely on USDA for financing, much od Furham and Raleigh itself is ineligible.
I would greatly appreciate recommendations and thoughts related to choosing as crime free an area as possible.
BTW, I really appreciate all the replies/advice, etc. that is generously offered by members of this forum. I find it to be a valuable source of information. Thank you for any information or assistance you can provide.
Last edited by Organator; 04-20-2011 at 08:55 AM..
Reason: grammatical mistake
When we were looking at homes we found out all of Orange County was eligible, unless things have changed the last two years. It sounds like you would like to live in pretty rural areas. Add Hillsborough and Efland to your list. Out of all the towns I would choose Hillsborough, but I like the fact that it's the closest, has most things I need or want right there, and I like the overall vibe. Wake Forest had too much congestion and traffic for us when we were looking to buy.
I don't know what your price range is and if you are looking for a lot of land, but Hillsborough and Wake Forest would be the priciest of all the towns you are interested in. I don't know if Wake Forest qualifies for the loan, so maybe someone can chime in on that. After visiting and figuring out your priorities, I think that will help out a lot in ruling things out. You can easily be in a rural area within 20 minutes, if lots of driving and gas costs are an issue for you.
Youngsville right now is a nice place to live. They are doing more to redevelop the old downtown area. You can get to Capital Blvd easily, which is a major artery to 540 and 440 that can take you straight to Durham/RTP. You can also use highway 98 to get to Durham if need be. I prefer that route when going to Durham myself. Look at Rolesville too.
I live in Rolesville, and besides the police department harassing anyone driving a motor vehicle, its a very nice place to live and its location is perfect. We have almost any priced home you would be looking for and we are in the process of building what will be the biggest high school in Wake County. I live within walking distance of 3 schools right now and I am in a very quiet area. You can still get affordable housing here, but if you consider Rolesville be aware that affordable housing will not last much longer as when the high school is built home prices will begin to creep upward. Now is a good time to get in.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
