Moving to Raleigh (Durham, Wilmington, Wake Forest: appointed, sale, 2010)

[NC little foot]

Originally Posted by SuzM

Just got back from Raleigh!! Oh my God it was so beautiful!!!! I put a deposit on an incredible 1/2 acre lot in the Wake Forest-Rolesville area!!! I can't wait!!!! building will begin next month!!! I want a white PVC privacy fence to run from the house out to the sides of the yard and down the back on both sides... then.... a iron fence to run across the back with a gate so I can see and have easy acess to the lake! maybe its just a large pond... (do I sound excited or what!!)... and yes there will be room for an inground pool!!! and we can eventually get one in the neighborhood we are going to build in. In most of the new home areas I drove through, there were privacy fences. Around some of the larger lakes there weren't any, but the dogs that were there must have been held by the invisible fences.

Great! I was starting to think you could not have fences or private in-ground pools. Any special deal on the house since you buying before it's built. any incentives?

[suzmyers]

There are so many New home builders in the area!! We looked around at several and found 2 that best fit our "wants" and "needs". We were originally looking for alot of land (now is the time to buy if that is what you are looking for) and figured out that we are city people and too much country would make us crazy! Our favorite is Hampton Point just south of Rolesville on the 401. (northeast of Raleigh) check out keybuild.com. Keystone builders! They were the friendliest of all of them! the lot we picked out is just under 1/2 acre on one of the lakes (large ponds). there are smaller lots too. We are going into "Phase 2". The lot next door on the left is even bigger (also on the lake/pond) We will build the Birmingham (see the web site). Now you are in Jersey... you know how much homes cost there. these are so much less! And it is in Wake county-great schools without spanking!!! you pick out your lot, floor plan, colors, upgrades, etc. Even with all of the upgrades I want, it only came to 250K for a home that would be well over 800K here in Orlando or even in Cinnaminson/Moorestown NJ where I am from. Also, Check out Lennar Homes. They have an "everything is included" (even a clothes washer and dryer). So the homes come already with the upgrades and many different sizes, neighborhoods, and styles to choose from. But they decide which house goes on which lot. So even though we picked out a plan we liked, we would have to wait until a lot came open with that home. The largest lot they have to offer is 1/3 acre and not water front. The one we liked there is for just under 300K. Both build some of the best quality homes I have ever seen! There were others but we didn't spend too much time there. David Weekly homes were zero lot line. and at St Lawrence (the really big ones), the woman wouldn't stop flirting with my husband. We are also looking for a certain "Class" of people. You know-the people who take pride in their homes and aren't trashy. Hampton Point is perfect! I drove to Wake Forest too, a little too ginger bready for my taste but the High School looks amazing and I only saw 4 portables. but there is building going on there on the back of the school. The football stadium is in the back and sunk into sort of a valley. I didn't get a close look of it but it looks so cool!!! My kids are going to love this!!
As far as incentives go-there is too much building in the area to get a discount. but the base prices at Keystone are just over 200K. You can't beat that on a brand new home! Even older homes are at the same price! If you decide to build, be carefull - I have a friend that is a realtor up there and she said there are lots you can buy where the builder owns the property and will "build to suit". Those homes always have problems... stay with the larger building companies, they buy in bulk and can get the best quality materials at a much larger discount-cutting your price back and building you a top quality home.

[suzmyers]

Originally Posted by adrianskiles@mindspring.c

Advertisement removed

Thank you so much for offering, but I have my purchase tied up already in a neat little package. But on the other hand, I am a Loan Processing Supervisor who will be looking for a job the the Raleigh area... got any leads there??

[bull136]

[did you buy in oak rdge or hampton point QUOTE=SuzM;6437]Just got back from Raleigh!! Oh my God it was so beautiful!!!! I put a deposit on an incredible 1/2 acre lot in the Wake Forest-Rolesville area!!! I can't wait!!!! building will begin next month!!! I want a white PVC privacy fence to run from the house out to the sides of the yard and down the back on both sides... then.... a iron fence to run across the back with a gate so I can see and have easy acess to the lake! maybe its just a large pond... (do I sound excited or what!!)... and yes there will be room for an inground pool!!! and we can eventually get one in the neighborhood we are going to build in. In most of the new home areas I drove through, there were privacy fences. Around some of the larger lakes there weren't any, but the dogs that were there must have been held by the invisible fences.[/quote]

[mommytwice]

My husband and I are seriously considering a move to Raleigh (north area of town where we have family) from Miami. We simply cannot take the third-world-country lifestyle of Miami any more!!!! Can anyone provide me with ANY reason why it would be BAD to move there? My sister has lived in Raleigh from several years now and other than the fact that life a little slower (something I would welcome at this point), she has nothing bad to say.

How bad is traffic, knowing that the area is really growing? One of the horrible things in Miami is that getting to work 5 miles away takes 45 minutes and rush hours seems to be 20 hours long, even on weekends.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by mommytwice

My husband and I are seriously considering a move to Raleigh (north area of town where we have family) from Miami. We simply cannot take the third-world-country lifestyle of Miami any more!!!! Can anyone provide me with ANY reason why it would be BAD to move there? My sister has lived in Raleigh from several years now and other than the fact that life a little slower (something I would welcome at this point), she has nothing bad to say.

How bad is traffic, knowing that the area is really growing? One of the horrible things in Miami is that getting to work 5 miles away takes 45 minutes and rush hours seems to be 20 hours long, even on weekends.

Our traffic is nothing like that.
North Raleigh is a broad area. Most of it is very pleasant, with amenities nearby most neighborhoods.
Trust your sister!

[Tracy_Santrock]

Back to the original question about fencing....

Just to let you know the new North Carolina Real Estate Contract that just went into effect 7/07 indicates that all "invisible fencing" materials including dog collars must remain with the home. A lot of families opt for the invisible fencing because it preserves the natural feel of the neigborhoods.

[Nomad99]

There are many positive things about the Triangle area (job market, cost of living, universities, low population density)...but since you asked for any negative things:

1. This is the heart of the Bible belt...enough said...amen brother! ;-)

2. Seems that just about every year there's a cross-burning up in Durham.

3. Both downtown Raleigh and Durham are largely blighted (although DT Raleigh has promises of coming alive soon).

4. The public schools in Wake are OK but deteriorating; Durham county schools are sub-par; and Chapel-Hill/Carroboro schools are great (but w/ high taxes, long commutes and congestion). Hard to generalize, but all other exurban/rural schools here are likely even worse than Dade's!

5. Traffic's not that bad here yet...but extreme sprawl (i.e., called "Sprawleigh" in urban planning circles ;-) will almost certainly eventually cause some tough, expensive choices or end growth completely IMHO.

Hope this helps...

[joshyomaster]

We moved from S. Florida a few months back and have no regrets. Miami's traffic is imposssible , although the West Palm Beach traffic was not as congested. There is really very few positive to say about Florida schools, except that overall it is a sad story. The quality of the teachers leave a lot to be desired, the curriculum involves busy work and little teaching and many students come from families who do not care about education . As a parent I can see the difference in my son's attitude, dedication after starting his junior year here at Green Hope High. What amazed me was the number of parents that attended open house night at his school . In Florida, we would have 20 parents show up if we were lucky. Just a different world all together.
Our house is still on the market in Florida, we will rent until we can buy our home here. It takes sacrifice, but I can tell you my stress level has dramatically decreased since moving here. It is not perfect, but definitely better. Good luck to you.

[rmwilliams_heritage]

Diddy02 -

Saw your note and thought you might be interested in our place. We have a great house in Heritage, a division in Wake Forest. We have a fenced yard that we put in because we had two weimaraners. Lots of dogs in the neighborhood.

We moved here five years ago from the Boston area and settled in Heritage. Don't know if you have kids, but there are several schools you can attend when you live in Heritage as the neighborhood is large enough have have multiple zones. Our house is zoned for Wake Forest elementary which is a year round school and magnified charter school. There is also Heritage Elementary and Jones Dairy that are year round programs. Finally, there is Franklin Academy that is a charter school. Our two daugthers attend Heritage (we applied) and we love the flexibility of the year-round program.

We're actually building again in Heritage and our house in on the market for either rent or sell.

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/fl...dm=realtor.com (broken link)

It's 3600 square feet, five/six bedrooms (we use one as a home office). Even has a cusom built playhouse in the back that our three children love to play in. Lots of kids in the neighborhood plus folks without kids. Heritage is a golf community with community swimming pools (and a swim team), good walking/running areas and lots of folks from all over.