What cities are right outside of Raleigh, with a Louisburg feel?[and cheaper rental prices] (Cary: best neighborhood, real estate market)

[Hope & Love!]

Well me and my mum have gone to our friends place in Louisburg a few times now, and we're in love with not only the area, but the bang for your buck in terms of renting.
BUT, it's a bit TOO far for my mum to commute to Raleigh...........i know some might do it, but she would prefer not to. So i was wondering, what cities around Raleigh, might have that wide open/country feel of Louisburg, but be within 30 minutes of Raleigh!??


Thanks!!

[Francois]

Well, I don't think you mean "cities", but towns in the area with the older small-town feel of Louisburg would be Rolesville, maybe Knightdale, Wendell. All of these are getting swalloed up by the metro, but for now are still a lot cheaper than Raleigh proper. Garner, too, has still retained a lot of the old identity of Raleigh "country cousin".

[meh_whatever]

Youngsville?

[Hope & Love!]

Originally Posted by Francois

Well, I don't think you mean "cities", but towns in the area with the older small-town feel of Louisburg would be Rolesville, maybe Knightdale, Wendell. All of these are getting swalloed up by the metro, but for now are still a lot cheaper than Raleigh proper. Garner, too, has still retained a lot of the old identity of Raleigh "country cousin".

Yeah i don't mean bustling cities....
Thanks for the list though!! And i know the last time i was in Knightdale, they were REALLY building it up! But it's sad to hear the rest of those cities are being overtaken too! =(

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by Hope & Love!

Yeah i don't mean bustling cities....
Thanks for the list though!! And i know the last time i was in Knightdale, they were REALLY building it up! But it's sad to hear the rest of those cities are being overtaken too! =(

Sigh... I never understand this. You want to be close enough to commute "real easy," but don't want a "bustling city." Oh, and you want it to be cheap, too?

Look, in my line of professional work, there's a saying. Fast, cheap, good -- pick too. Same's true in real estate. You can have cheap prices and a fast commute, but might not be the best neighborhood and certainly won't be "country." Or, you can have cheap prices and the country you want, but the commute will be long.

I get annoyed when people want to move juuuust outside the incorporated limits, get themselves some land, not pay city taxes, and expect all the conveniences of the world at the doorstep. Let's face it, the Triangle will add 1.2 million new residents in the next twenty years. There's no entitlement to live cheap, live country, and live close.

[Hope & Love!]

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

Sigh... I never understand this. You want to be close enough to commute "real easy," but don't want a "bustling city." Oh, and you want it to be cheap, too?

Look, in my line of professional work, there's a saying. Fast, cheap, good -- pick too. Same's true in real estate. You can have cheap prices and a fast commute, but might not be the best neighborhood and certainly won't be "country." Or, you can have cheap prices and the country you want, but the commute will be long.

I get annoyed when people want to move juuuust outside the incorporated limits, get themselves some land, not pay city taxes, and expect all the conveniences of the world at the doorstep. Let's face it, the Triangle will add 1.2 million new residents in the next twenty years. There's no entitlement to live cheap, live country, and live close.

I don't want to, or expect to, pay 500 dollars for a mansion because i'm trying to save money and abuse the benefits of blah blah blah. We'll pay the same outside of Raleigh, that we'd pay INSIDE of Raleigh.........but so sorry that me thinking it's a bit of a benefit to get more house and/or land for your money, offends you so much.......but that is NOT the only reason we want to move!! If we COULD we WOULD live farrrrrrrrrr away from Raleigh, likely the coast, but we just can't![unless you want to move my mums job for us?]

[tompope]

Originally Posted by Hope & Love!

Well me and my mum have gone to our friends place in Louisburg a few times now, and we're in love with not only the area, but the bang for your buck in terms of renting.
BUT, it's a bit TOO far for my mum to commute to Raleigh...........i know some might do it, but she would prefer not to. So i was wondering, what cities around Raleigh, might have that wide open/country feel of Louisburg, but be within 30 minutes of Raleigh!??


Thanks!!

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

Sigh... I never understand this. You want to be close enough to commute "real easy," but don't want a "bustling city." Oh, and you want it to be cheap, too?

Look, in my line of professional work, there's a saying. Fast, cheap, good -- pick too. Same's true in real estate. You can have cheap prices and a fast commute, but might not be the best neighborhood and certainly won't be "country." Or, you can have cheap prices and the country you want, but the commute will be long.

I get annoyed when people want to move juuuust outside the incorporated limits, get themselves some land, not pay city taxes, and expect all the conveniences of the world at the doorstep. Let's face it, the Triangle will add 1.2 million new residents in the next twenty years. There's no entitlement to live cheap, live country, and live close.

Originally Posted by Hope & Love!

I don't want to, or expect to, pay 500 dollars for a mansion because i'm trying to save money and abuse the benefits of blah blah blah. We'll pay the same outside of Raleigh, that we'd pay INSIDE of Raleigh.........but so sorry that me thinking it's a bit of a benefit to get more house and/or land for your money, offends you so much.......but that is NOT the only reason we want to move!! If we COULD we WOULD live farrrrrrrrrr away from Raleigh, likely the coast, but we just can't![unless you want to move my mums job for us?]

Yeah, and moreover, I'm not even sure that what Bull City Rising said is even accurate in this case. One of the distinctive things about the Triangle area is that (for now) it's still small enough and easy enough to get around that one actually can live out in a fairly rural setting and still be within a fairly reasonable drive of much of the city. To be clear, though, Hope & Love!, which part of Raleigh are you wanting to be within 30 minutes of? Downtown? Or somewhere in the outskirts? And, do you need to be within 30 minutes for weekday rush hour commutes, or is it okay if it's only within 30 minutes during non-peak times? The answers to those questions will dictate how wide or narrow your options are. If you need to be able to commute back and forth to and from Raleigh on weekdays within 30 minutes, you'll have fewer choices, but many more places are within a half-hour drive of Raleigh at other times (especially if you like to drive fast). If your target destination is somewhere in or near downtown Raleigh, you'll be most likely to find the rural feel, ready access, and reasonable housing prices in the areas to the south, east, or northeast of Raleigh, including some of the towns already mentioned. Personally, I particularly like Wendell, NC, which is east of Raleigh. It's a very pleasant town with still a lot of fairly authentic small-town feel, but very convenient to the amenities of the Triangle. Wendell is within roughly a 30-minute drive of much of Raleigh, especially if you don't have to travel right at the peak rush hours. To the south, east, and northeast, there are lots of other nice, quasi-rural places to live with Knightdale, Rolesville, Youngsville, Wake Forest, Garner, Clayton, Willow Spring, Angier, and Fuquay-Varina—and in some cases even Raleigh—mailing addresses (though not necessarily within the actual incorporated limits of those towns) that are within more-or-less 30 minutes of Raleigh, and are more-or-less affordable. It's true that most of them may not be quite as rural nor quite as cheap as Louisburg, but it's also true that to some extent you do get what you pay for, and any place within a half-hour of Raleigh is usually in high enough demand that it's not going to be super-cheap unless it's super-dumpy. But there are definitely deals to be had, especially in the current down real estate market. It is also true, as Bull City Rising and Francois said, that the Triangle area is growing fast enough that those semi-rural areas around the periphery region probably won't stay that way, and most of the places discussed have already begun to be influenced by suburbia and will likely continue to be "swallowed-up" by suburban sprawl as time goes by. So, if maintaining an inexpensive, quasi-rural lifestyle is important to you, you may have to pick up and move further out every five or ten years to keep ahead of the advancing sprawl. Lots of other people have already been doing that for years around the Triangle and other growing regions, and it doesn't seem like a big problem as long as you know to expect that going in. Ten or twenty years from now, it may no longer be possible to find an affordable place to live in a rural setting that's within 30 minutes of Raleigh, but fortunately (for you) for now I think it's entirely possible.

[NCfolks]

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

Sigh... I never understand this. You want to be close enough to commute "real easy," but don't want a "bustling city." Oh, and you want it to be cheap, too?

Look, in my line of professional work, there's a saying. Fast, cheap, good -- pick too. Same's true in real estate. You can have cheap prices and a fast commute, but might not be the best neighborhood and certainly won't be "country." Or, you can have cheap prices and the country you want, but the commute will be long.

I get annoyed when people want to move juuuust outside the incorporated limits, get themselves some land, not pay city taxes, and expect all the conveniences of the world at the doorstep. Let's face it, the Triangle will add 1.2 million new residents in the next twenty years. There's no entitlement to live cheap, live country, and live close.

It makes financial sense to live close enough for amenities, but outside the city limits to avoid taxes. Why is that hard to understand? Why would someone want to pay more in taxes if they don't have to? Do you take deductions on your tax return? You don't have to and could choose to pay more in taxes. Same concept for people who strategically choose the location of their house.

OP, fire up Mapquest and focus on an area southeast of 1/64, east of 55, northwest of 401 and southwest of 40/440.

Within this area you will find southeast Apex, south Cary, northeast Fuquay, southwest Raleigh and some unincorporated parts. All will offer you exactly what you are looking for. Very quick access into Raleigh, bang for your buck, much more land, a rural small town feel with amenities close by. The added benefit is low to extremely low property taxes.

[kwalk65]

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

Sigh... I never understand this. You want to be close enough to commute "real easy," but don't want a "bustling city." Oh, and you want it to be cheap, too?

Look, in my line of professional work, there's a saying. Fast, cheap, good -- pick too. Same's true in real estate. You can have cheap prices and a fast commute, but might not be the best neighborhood and certainly won't be "country." Or, you can have cheap prices and the country you want, but the commute will be long.

I get annoyed when people want to move juuuust outside the incorporated limits, get themselves some land, not pay city taxes, and expect all the conveniences of the world at the doorstep. Let's face it, the Triangle will add 1.2 million new residents in the next twenty years. There's no entitlement to live cheap, live country, and live close.

We live in Franklinton (South Granville County side) and my husband at one point commuted to downtown Raleigh - it took him 45 minutes. He learned back roads over time to keep that solid 45 minutes. We, too wanted the same where we could buy a cheaper home yet be 20 minutes away from stuff to do. AND we live in a nice neighborhood.

For us it wasn't something the above poster calls "entitlement" it was what we WANTED!


What is up with this board lately? People have a right to come here and ask for something specific and not get jumped on. And, if the OP had come on with some vague request they would have been scolded for not being specific enough.

Good luck as you explore this area. I think you will find many good options that meet your criteria.

[ncsualum2004]

To be fair I don't think BullCityRising's post is that bad. If you've been on this board long enough you will notice much of what he is saying isn't exactly inaccurate. If the OP thinks *Knightdale* is really building up there is a good chance she will feel the same about many of the other areas within 30 minutes of Raleigh. This week alone I noticed two other posters complaining how much their town has grown since they have moved here 3/5/10 years ago...