In cAry area for scouting, need help!! (Raleigh, Durham: chapel, hotel)

[GOING2RNC]

I'm here visiting cary and surrounding areas but had a frustrating first day. It's hard just driving around not knowing where we are or where to go. Subdivisions are massive and we are around te airport area and found very little shopping or developments. It seems extremely rural and I though cary was built up? Are we missing sonethibg? We were over near panther high school today as a landmark. Please help, we are feeling very discouraged!!! Also, any other road to travel other than toll road 540!!! We are racking up the ez pass bill

[ScarletG]

Originally Posted by GOING2RNC

I'm here visiting cary and surrounding areas but had a frustrating first day. It's hard just driving around not knowing where we are or where to go. Subdivisions are massive and we are around te airport area and found very little shopping or developments. It seems extremely rural and I though cary was built up? Are we missing sonethibg? We were over near panther high school today as a landmark. Please help, we are feeling very discouraged!!! Also, any other road to travel other than toll road 540!!! We are racking up the ez pass bill

You are missing a lot it seems...but it's hard to tell exactly what you are looking for.

The airport is away from the most high population areas for a reason....it's an airport so you aren't going to see much around one. One does not go to that area to shop. What exactly are you looking for?

Yes, that area of 540 is the only toll road in the area at this time.

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by GOING2RNC

I'm here visiting cary and surrounding areas but had a frustrating first day. It's hard just driving around not knowing where we are or where to go. Subdivisions are massive and we are around te airport area and found very little shopping or developments. It seems extremely rural and I though cary was built up? Are we missing sonethibg? We were over near panther high school today as a landmark. Please help, we are feeling very discouraged!!! Also, any other road to travel other than toll road 540!!! We are racking up the ez pass bill

Do you have GPS on your cell phones?

You need to investigate these roads:

Davis Drive
High House Road
Cary Parkway
Weston Parkway
Walnut Street
Harrison Ave
Maynard Road
Carpenter Fire Station Road
Morrisville-Carpenter Road
Green Hope School Road
Green Level Church Road


You drive down all of those and you'll see plenty of neighborhoods and shopping.

Avoid the tollway. There's nothing immediately off that and if you use it you'll just think you're in the middle of nowhere.

Where are you staying? What hotel?

[behan]

I'm not overly familiar with Cary or Morrisville so hopefully someone else can help y'all out more there.

Brier Creek and South Point are both nearby. Crabtree isn't that far either. Look them up on Google Maps.

I've never taken a toll road once in NC and I don't think I'm unique when it comes to that here. I live in Durham though and we don't have any. There are other roads (55 & 54 as well as 40 & 70) I'm sure you could take instead.

And yeah, Cary is not going to be 'built up' like the Northeast is. Since you're nearby why don't you go spend some time in either downtown Raleigh or Durham to get a feel of what more "urban" NC seems like?

Good luck!

[RedZin]

Neighborhoods to look at will depend on your price range. What is it? We could throw up some neighborhood ideas (with street names).

[twingles]

Good thing you disregarded the advice to get a road map. Maybe I'm cranky but I don't get the methodology at work here. How many Airports are surrounded by the cream of the crop of neighborhoods?

Redzin gave you an excellent start for exploring. GPS is good but a map is better. Yes I am obsessed with maps! But a GPS only tells you where you going and gives no context for where you....or where anything is in relation to you. If you spent that much time on 540 IMHO it sounds like you are afraid to get out there and explore andndrive the surface streets.

And yes you can drivenright out of ansubdivision and see cows and horses. My favorite is the " welcome to raleigh" sign and its right next to a field with cows grazing. Personally I get a kick.out of it....but even though I am from long island my elementary school was next to a poultry farm!

[MikeJaquish]

From the airport area, take Aviation Parkway south.

It will take you into Morrisville, and you can turn left on NC 54, "Chapel Hill Road," to come into downtown Cary, or proceed straight to Davis Drive.
On Davis Drive, you can go left into the near side of West Cary, such as the west side of Preston, Preston Village, Riggsbee Farm, Stone Creek Village, down to Whitebridge, Park Village, and Sherwood Green.
Or you can turn on High House Road.
Left onto High House from Davis Drive will take you past Preston, Arlington Ridge, Bond Park, the Battery, Trapper's Run, Weatherstone, Highland Oaks, and to Maynard Road.
Going straight on High House, across Maynard Road, you will get into the Heart of Cary, where there are older homes, and some infill development.
Maynard is a loop around the center of Cary.
Left On Maynard Road from High House Road will take you past Cole's Creek, Carousel Park, Lowe's Home Center, Godbold Park, to Northwoods, a sprawling older neighborhood with a mix of housing.
Right On Maynard from High House Road will deliver you to the south side of the Heart of Cary, and into some older neighborhoods where we still have real trees, and when you have gone halfway around the loop, you will find Cary Town Center mall and other retail and services.

Or, from Davis Drive, you can turn Right on High House Road, and that will take you to NC 55. Past Wellsley, a very popular subdivision. Past 55, you will be on Green Level West, going past Lansdowne, Ashley Downs, to NC 540 again, and Green Level West will also get you into the fast-developing West Cary.

Or when you get to Davis Drive from Aviation Parkway, you can proceed straight through and go through Carpenter to NC 55.
Go right on NC 55 and go left on Carpenter Fire Station Road. That will take you into the heart of newer subdivisions in West Cary.

What you really need to explore Cary is a good map. Tomorrow, stop into the Chamber of Commerce at 307 North Academy Street in the very center of downtown, and they will give you a promotional map that will let you track your exploration.

[KSJA2003]

On our first trip, we had a hard time knowing where to drive around the first day as well, but we got our bearings a bit more the second day. We only went on the expressway if we were going to a specific destination though.

Since then I found a Bing map of the area and it shows all of the different subdivision names and where they are in relation to each other and Raleigh, Durham, RTP, etc. We are going back over Labor Day, so I've looked at a lot of the info on the is board and mapped out which areas seem like they would be the most in line with what we are looking for. If you haven't checked out the Bing map, it might be worthwhile. Just pick a subdivision name that you are interested in and then search it. You will get a map of the whole area with all subdivisions identified.

[GOING2RNC]

Thank you all. We drove around more last night on some of the above mentioned streets and found some shopping areas and developments. We ate at mushroom pizza and drive the Areas around there. Budget is 500k max but would rather spend in te 400-450 range. Going out again today to Wander around. I'm trying to stay off that highway becausebt makes everything look desolate

[GOING2RNC]

Thanks! We ended up around some o hear last night. Saw park west village shopping area and lovesick that.