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My wife and I are considering relocating to Raleigh/Durham from MIAMI FL. We just visited three weeks ago for the first time and saw places at Wakefield Plantation and Heritage for the most part. Does anyone have recommendations for the Cary area. My wife likes Bishop Gate, any feedback? Prestenwood we've heard of, any feedback? Looking for a place with great school options.
Thanks everyone for the help.
We are still thinking of renting first, but not sure yet.
We looked at Bishops Gate and the homes were lovely. In the end however it wasn't for us as we felt the homes all looked pretty much the same and the lot/tree scenario wasn't what we were looking for. If none of that is a deterent for you my other caution for that neighborhood would be that in the phases they are building now there is a near by train track with an active train. Find out the train schedule and plan on being out there when it runs to see if you can handle the noise! If your wife likes Bishops gate she may really be attracted to some of the John Wieland neighborhoods in the area. Check out their web site for the names and locations of their neighborhoods in the area, they have a few. We looked at Wakefield plantation during our search and it has many great things going for it. In the end though we found that we could get many of those thinngs in other neighborhoods without paying close to $200 a month in HOA dues. One thing that would help is to know if you want to buy new construction or are you looking at resales as well?
I recently sold a home in Bishops Gate. The neighborhood is quite a melting pot. The builder is Centex Homes out of Texas. CAKD mentions the train. This train is a local train that runs 2x/day. It's not the same as the Amtrak train that runs parallel to HWy 54-Big Difference.
Prestonwood is a wonderful community that surrounds the PCC. If you are in to Golf & Tennis you're in business. If you're not then it may not be for you. I do a write up on Realtor.com that will help you with the area:
Cary is the third-largest city in the Triangle. A large part of its appeal is not only its close proximity to Research Triangle Park, but also its neat fit into the American dream of suburbia. Money magazine recently named Cary the Hottest Town in the East and one of the six best places to live in the country. It has the highest median household income in Wake County ($75,122), and more than two-thirds of Cary residents hold a college degree.
Planning, planning and more planning is Cary's adage. It takes but one drive around Maynard Road, which circles Cary, to understand the vision: planned neighborhoods with large homes, two-car garages and well-groomed lawns as far as the eye can see.
Cary's land-acquisition ordinance requires builders to donate land to the city's Parks and Recreation Department based on the number of houses that will be built. Currently, Cary has 20 city parks, including the Fred G. Bond Metro Park and Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve. There's also the Kids Together Park with a large playground. In addition to community swimming pools, tennis courts and some of the finest golf courses in the area, these green spaces are what make people from all over the country want to call Cary home.
Walk around downtown Cary where Chatham and Academy streets meet, and you feel like you're in a small town. This is where Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival, considered one of the finest festivals in the state, is held annually. Also downtown is the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, formerly the Page-Walker Hotel, which was built in 1868 to serve train passengers. Homes in and around downtown were mostly built during the 1950s.
Once considered the outskirts of town, the Greenwood Forest subdivision is now in the middle. Built during the 1950s and '60s, it is bordered by Walnut Street and East Maynard. Close by are Cary High School, Cary Village Square shopping center and Cary Towne Center Mall.
Cary first began growing southward with the MacGregor Downs subdivision - the first prestigious development in Cary. Built in the 1960s with large lots and homes off U.S. 64, MacGregor Downs defines Cary's southernmost point. In fact, many claim that Cary's reputation for upscale residential living is due to this subdivision. Condominiums and homes command good prices, especially in the MacGregor West neighborhood, adjacent to MacGregor Downs Country Club, where you can find estate-size homesites of one to five acres.
Kildaire Farms, North Carolina's first planned unit development (PUD) with various style homes in different price ranges, was developed along Kildaire Farm Road and Cary Parkway during the 1970s and '80s. This community has more than 2,500 residential units throughout its neighborhoods, a greenway system with jogging trails and bike paths, the Kildaire Farms Racquet and Swim Club and the Cary Athletic Club located within its boundaries.
Regency Park, a PUD developed during the 1980s, includes commercial as well as residential buildings. It's located off the intersection of U.S. 1 South and U.S. 64. Regency Park Estates, tucked away in Regency Park adjacent to Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, is a neighborhood where every homesite is an acre or larger.
Lochmere, a PUD not far from Regency Park on the southern end of Kildaire Farm Road east of U.S. 1, also was developed in the 1980s. With a lake, miles of nature and jogging trails, swim and tennis clubs, golf and several different neighborhoods in all price ranges, Lochmere has been a very successful community.
Due west, the community of Preston is credited for reshaping Cary. Preston, located off High House Road, offers houses ranging from $250,000 to $1 million. Traditional, transitional and contemporary homes are found throughout this PUD.
As in other developments of its kind, Preston has golf (54 holes), swimming, tennis, an exercise facility, playgrounds and picnic shelters, as well as the Prestonwood Country Club.
Other communities developed during the '80s and '90s pulled Cary northward up Harrison Avenue. Some of these neighborhoods include Wessex, an upscale community with a swimming pool and tennis courts; North Harrison Trace, a single-family community with a number of home designs; and Beechtree, which includes townhomes, cluster homes and single-family homes. This area of Cary offers easy access to I-40, Lake Crabtree and Umstead Park.
On the north Raleigh Side of things there are dozens of really nice areas to choose from. North Raleigh Being Such a large area provides much in the way of Neighborhoods to choose from. In North West Raleigh you have the Brier Creek area which popped on the map in 2002 and the growth has been explosive, it is close to the airport with major shopping galore, it dosent hurt that Brier Creek Country Club is there which hosts several large events if that's you're cup of tea.
In North Raleigh Check out the Established 80's/90's 'Harps Mill' and 'North Ridge' Neighborhoods off of Falls of the Neuse Road. Also 'Bedford' is a great Master Planned community with plenty of space to grow and build out it is very very nice and has won several awards. It is Reminicient of Heritage but still in the city of Raleigh has tennis, olympic pool, daycare, market etc...Several Builders are building in there including Orleans Builders, Beazer, and several Custom Builders. This particular area of Raleigh has tons of ammenities, but still has that Suburban feel to it, however your'e not displaced from it all like you much of Cary.
Also keep your eye on the up and coming Master Planned Centex homes Development off Ligon Mill Road in North Raleigh called "Highland Creek" It too will have several different home styles, from Cottages, to Townhomes to Single Family and a collection of homes selling for over 500,000. And the 'River Run' is also a nice project coming up off of Durant Road in North Raleigh, interesting Home and floor plans.
There are also tons of smaller developments dotting the landscape, some with pools, some with tennis, or walking trails. If you want golf those places are more expensive. We did not want golf bu twe did want a community pool. HOA dues are markedly less when you don't pay for golf. We were also satified witha 300 home community as opposed to a thousand home community. There are a lot of options, but, the smaller places have less impressive websites. The local builders do gorgeous homes, again, the websites aren't so hot. But we won't be living in the website so that's ok!
Also keep your eye on the up and coming Master Planned Centex homes Development off Ligon Mill Road in North Raleigh called "Highland Creek" It too will have several different home styles, from Cottages, to Townhomes to Single Family and a collection of homes selling for over 500,000. And the 'River Run' is also a nice project coming up off of Durant Road in North Raleigh, interesting Home and floor plans.
Where did you find out about "Highland Creek"? I'm currently interested in moving into Dansforth (another Centex Homes community), but I'd like to know if Centex is planning any other communities in North Raleigh (we like a particular home plan of theirs). If I want to move into Dansforth, I'll need to sign a contract in the next few months, and I really didn't want to move for another year or two. Unfortunately, this information is hard to come by.
I just drove past the "Highland Park" grounds yesterday and the first 2 homes are up and they are putting the insulation on them. So I guess they are earnest deposits and have a larger site plan put together by now. That area is gonna be so hot, in the coming years. i do like centex, I think they have a great production quality from what I've seen.
A lot depends on how much you are interested in spending and how lengthy of a commute you'd like. It may be best to rent for a while before jumping in. We moved to Cary nearly 2 years ago and built in Highcroft. Preston is a nice development, but you will need to join the Country Club if you want to enjoy the neighborhood amenities. I'm not sure if the practice is the homesellers to transfer their initiation fee to you or whether you need to pay the full amount. There are so many nice neighborhoods in Cary, in my opinion. There are a number of realtor sites that do a good job of letting you search for property with criteria of interest to you (e.g., school, age of house, square footage, etc.). Generally, the larger realtors have the better search functions.
Give me a better sense of your priorities and I can give you better advise on potential Cary neighborhoods that might work well for you. For instance, where are you working? What price range? Minimum square footage requriements, etc.
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Other Centex Home communities.
