Moving to Raleigh

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by rmwilliams_heritage

Our house is zoned for Wake Forest elementary which is a year round school and magnified charter school.

Well....no. Wake Forest Elementary is not year around it's on the tradional calender...and it's not a charter school. Where did you get that from?

It has been a magnet school...still is, but it will lose that in a 2010.

It's a great school (my daughter went there, and I have several friends with kids there currently) but it's not what you said.

[rmwilliams_heritage]

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

Well....no. Wake Forest Elementary is not year around it's on the tradional calender...and it's not a charter school. Where did you get that from?

It has been a magnet school...still is, but it will lose that in a 2010.

It's a great school (my daughter went there, and I have several friends with kids there currently) but it's not what you said.

You're correct, meant to state Wake Forest was traditional, Heritage and Jones Dairy year round. I thought WF was charter but you're right, it's a magnet school. Knew that it might lose the magnet status but not that is was definate. Thanks for the clarification.

[rnc2mbfl]

I live between Miami Beach and Raleigh. I'd like to chime in here re: Mommytwice and Nomad99.

First of all, I don't think anyone sick of Miami life will be disappointed with Raleigh. There are certain things that drive me crazy about Miami that are completely opposite in Raleigh: 1.) Driving: People generally follow traffic laws instead of always completely ignoring them 2.) Service is generally polite at stores and restaurants 3.) Grocery stores are much nicer in Raleigh than the average Publics. Plus, you can shop 24 hours at most Harris Teeters (which you will love in comparison) 4.) Service appointments actually show up. I am not sure that I have had one service appointment actually show up within the promised window of time in Miami. 5.) Despite all the concerns about overcrowding, the Wake Co. Schools are head and shoulders above MiamiDade. 6.) Going out on the town is a lot cheaper 7.) Strangers smile and say hello on the street and even wave from cars if they pass you buy and you make eye contact. 8.) People in Raleigh are far more intelligent on average.

Now, to Nomad99:
What???? If you think the Triangle is in the middle of the Bible Belt, I wouldn't recommend you go to other Southern cities. Monthly cross burnings in Durham??? You have to be kidding. I don't have the same impressions that you do. Sure there are super religious people in the Triangle but (believe me) they are also in Miami . In addition, I completely disagree with your assessment of the downtown areas. While I don't know Durham all that well, Raleigh's downtown is very vibrant each and every weekend of the year. Every club and restaurant is busy Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. There's a lively street scene in at least 2 of the five downtown districts (Glenwood South and Warehouse) until the wee hours of the AM. The other nights are slower but that's a welcome relief for those of us who call downtown home. Downtown Raleigh is also in the midst of an explosion of new construction, much of which is housing. I heard that the new convention center is the most pre-booked convention center in US history. The performing arts center was featured in the NY Times as an example of what areas this size should have for performing arts. The arts scene is vibrant with festivals and monthly first Friday art walks. I could go on and on.

That all said, I still love my life in Miami Beach. I love the urban tropical life of SouthBeach and the interesting international culture. I love the water, warm weather and clean air on the ocean. And, for the reasons I mentioned above, I love Raleigh too. They are a terrific balance of each other.

[michala44]

Originally Posted by diddy02

This may seem a silly question but I am going to ask it anyway..All the homes I have viewed for sale via the internet do not seem to have fenced yards. Is this normal in this area? The reason I ask is I have 3 dogs who laugh in the face of electric fences. Their view is if you are running fast enough it wont hurt! We are thinking of relocating here from Florida (originally from the UK ) but need a fenced property. Hope someone can help with this.

You need to move the the wake forest Rolesville area. It is close to Raleigh, about a 15 min ride in. It is still the best of the are, and is growing. You probably can find and afford a house there as it is cheaper than the rest of that area. The land and housing is so much cheaper you can afford to build a fence. If you are moving via UK from Florida. housing and land is way more expensive unless you lived in a rural area. If you do not use most of that money in the new place you w ill be taxed unmerciifully. Best to look in that area or the Fuquay Verena Area than right in Raleigh. I wish you the best. Find you a nice farm and put a little money in it. You will never regret it. I lived in the Wake forest /Rolesvill area for 9 years. The best years of my life.

Good luck. Oh Put an ad in the paper, but don't say you are coming from ?Florida. They will up the price. Tell them exactly what you are seeing. With what you made on house there you can own enough land in that area to almost let them roam. I surrounded 2 1/2 acres with livestock fence and and use cattle voltage. It will not kill them but will not just jump through it.

[southward bound]

Originally Posted by 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]

We thought we wanted to have a lake or a pond - then we learned that water attracts snakes, and we didn't want to deal with that. We have pets and I don't want to be scouting for snakes every time I go out, or let the dogs out. I was also alerted to the fact that the snakes climb trees and drop into your yard if their access is limited through fencing. Great! No thanks, I was quite happy to give up the proximity to water.

someone else said: 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.

Don't count on it. Know construction and know quality, so that when you see it or the lack of it, you can recognize it. And don't kid yourself. The big time builders aren't cutting their costs so that they can give you a bigger, better home. It's so that they can compete in a tough market and still hold on to their very comfortable and fairly sizeable profit margin. "Top quality" is hard to find in mass produced homes, especially in anything under $300K. It meets code, that's about it. You're better off looking at re-sales, say under 10 years old, that were built before the builders' rush to make a killing. That's where you're most likely to find real quality.

[Nomad99]

rnc2mbfl:
Yes, central NC is in the top tier of Evangelical and Pentecostal nut case dwellers. The only places coming close are west Texas or maybe rural southern Virgina. No where else even comes close statistically or "spiritually" ;-).

No, I wouldn't joke about cross-burnings, heart attacks or nuclear war: Burning Crosses Signal Return of Ku Klux Klan

I would not encourage you to go to any part of DT Durham late at night and just amble about. I've lived in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, San Diego, SF, Minneapolis, Dallas and Miami and I'd take my chances there first frankly.

As for your characterization of DT Raleigh, Glenwood S & Warehouse districts are nice but aren't city center downtown. If you want to test your luck just stray south of the new Convention & BTI Centers on Wilmington 10 blocks or so and either count either your pieces or your blessings. Please spend some serious time in Southpark, Mini City, SE Raleigh etc. as I have before you regurgitate the Chamber's spin on DT redevelopment please.

[rnc2mbfl]

Nomad99
I do not doubt that one can find what you mention in your post. In fact, I think you can find it ANYWHERE in this country. However, I do question how you overly generalize such attributes in the Triangle. I think it's irresponsible to say that there are "monthly cross burnings" as if they are some sort of scheduled event.
You mention that you lived in Miami. Well, I still do live in Miami and I can tell you that there are many, many, many places there that I wouldn't touch at night with a ten foot pole. I have also lived in Houston and the Bay Area of CA and can say the same for them. In response to your comments about DT Raleigh, Glenwood South IS one of 5 designated downtown sub-neigborhoods. In other threads, I have characterized Glenwood South as a downtown area that is best described as an urban neighborhood. I can also tell you that I have walked, post midnight, many times in each of the five neighborhoods without incident. In fact, I have walked from Moore Square district to Glenwood South, passing through 4 of the five on my way home. While you acuse me of "regurgitating spin", I can easily acuse you of being hysterical when it comes to these issues.
As for your "Bible Belt" comments, I still stand by my view that your take on it is also entirely exagerated. The reality is that all three named cities in the Triangle have Democrats for mayors and all three US House seats that represent the Triangle are also Democrats. This is not the sort of representation that entrenched "bible belt" places typically have in political office. Outlying areas are more conservative than the cities themselves. But, guess what?...that's the case in almost every single metro area in America.