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Living in the Cary area would also make Sharon Harris Lake convenient. And I almost forgot about the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River originates at the junction of the Haw and Deep rivers. A beautiful stretch of water to enjoy. Not great fishing and no water sports but very scenic. With Jordan and Harris you have probably the 2 best fishing lakes in NC anyway. Trying to pick a location to live in the Triangle is like a kid in a candy store. It's all good. Just go with your gut after researching and enjoy.
Cary has lowest crime index of any city in the State. I don't think it should be your only criteria but in the case it's very important to you, you should have that information.
Respectfully....are you sure it's lower than Wake Forest ? (one of the OP's places of interest). I know that overall, Cary is an extremely safe place to live. It's a great town/city, well-managed, my daughter lives there so I am there lots. However, there have been some murders in cary, robberies, and lots of auto breakins - I think Cary Park is the place that I was told this about. I just don't hear of these issues happening in Wake Forest??? Tell me if I am wrong?
Respectfully....are you sure it's lower than Wake Forest ? (one of the OP's places of interest). I know that overall, Cary is an extremely safe place to live. It's a great town/city, well-managed, my daughter lives there so I am there lots. However, there have been some murders in cary, robberies, and lots of auto breakins - I think Cary Park is the place that I was told this about. I just don't hear of these issues happening in Wake Forest??? Tell me if I am wrong?
According to City data information for 2010, Cary's crime index is 105 and Wake Forest's is 180. The national average was 318.
People choose to live in areas without services in the proximity, and that leads to many people having to drive.
Some areas in the Heart of Cary generate walk scores in the mid-80's, and are very convenient.
It is unfortunate when shopping plazas present barriers to adjacent neighborhoods, rather than being designed to allow walkability.
Stone Creek Village is more open. That is one reason that the Enclave may do OK over time, despite the designs.
Grace Park is another example, with housing integrated into the commercial.
Maynard Crossing and Parkway Pointe and Shoppes on Kildaire are examples of shopping centers that present obstacles to homes that are very close.
Carpenter Village would be very cool if the commercial ever took off.
Ditto Scotts Mill.
Maybe it is an error to build residential first, because people moving in already have service providers and do not adapt to new services quickly enough to support them through start up to survival.
We would be more walkable if shopping center design and integration into the community meant people could walk 200 feet to services, instead of 200 feet to the back, and then 1000 feet around the plaza to the entrance.
I think it depends where in Cary you live. Some areas are very walkable and you'll see people out and about when the weather is nice.
Cary started out as a bedroom community to Raleigh so it wasn't really set up as a "walkable" area, in my opinion. It is suburbia.
The newer areas of Cary (I call Morrisville but the chamber of commerce likes it to be called West Cary) are set up with much smaller lots and lots more strip malls with coffee shops and grocery stores, to make it more walkable.
Along with your crime stats, you should be checking schools.
Housing Hunting is like shopping...it is FUN! Best of luck!
I work near Hope Valley and that strikes me as a good area for you...close to Jordan Lake, easy access to Southpoint mall...family friendly.
Cary has all those things also...but it seems in Cary all people do is drive and drive and drive from one location to another and it isn't fun.
Pace of life in Hope Valley would be easier.
This intrigues me. We really liked the looks of it, but were unsure about cultural events, the boating/lake accessibility, and if it was higher crime than closer to Raleigh. We are going back up to check it out again, but its nice that someone weighed in on Hope Valley. Durham is the closest to my husband's job, but I'm guessing heading West M-F isn't as bad as heading east...but I may be WAY off. My husband works "off" hours, so he won't be heading to work in the thick of rush hour. I work from home, so I need convenience..being able to run to the store, lunch, shop, quick errands all without spending too much time driving. When you say Cary folks drive, I hope you don't mean "sit in traffic". Running errands near my current house can take 30 minutes to go 7 miles because of traffic. I HATE that. I'd rather drive 10 and really be moving.
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