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We are planning a move to North Carolina and looking in the Durham, Chapel Hill area. We would love to get some input from locals on good neighborhoods for families in great school districts. There seems to be a large discrepancy between Chapel Hill and other area Elementary school ratings.
We have a 3rd grader and Kindergartener this year. We are looking for large yard, friendly families, parks, trails, festivals, strong community. We like to bike, ride motorcycles, dune buggies, walk dogs, hike, swim, boat, BBQ and generally have a good time with friends.
Plan to rent first 6 months then buy at about $350,000 range. All suggestions welcome as we have never been to the area and are very lost!
We decided to move from this area because we make $190K and can't afford a house. We love the outdoors and my husband is from PA so really wants to move back East but I don't like Pittsburgh for the weather. So our compromise is NC and since schools showed to be good in the Triangle area of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and weather is more moderate it looks like a solid option. Though we like the beaches, we are selling our surf boards but bringing our dirt bikes, bicycles, hiking shoes, boat and dogs. Hoping to find family oriented place for our kids to grow up.
Chapel Hill is the Berkley of North Carolina. Very liberal. College town. If that's what you're looking for it's great. If you're just looking for somewhere on the east coast that's not San Diego you can find more affordable options that also have pretty good schools.
Location: River's Edge Inn, Todd NC, and Lorgues France
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Originally Posted by MSJOYDAK
We are planning a move to North Carolina and looking in the Durham, Chapel Hill area. We would love to get some input from locals on good neighborhoods for families in great school districts. There seems to be a large discrepancy between Chapel Hill and other area Elementary school ratings.
We have a 3rd grader and Kindergartener this year. We are looking for large yard, friendly families, parks, trails, festivals, strong community. We like to bike, ride motorcycles, dune buggies, walk dogs, hike, swim, boat, BBQ and generally have a good time with friends.
Plan to rent first 6 months then buy at about $350,000 range. All suggestions welcome as we have never been to the area and are very lost!
Come visit in July or August to see if the weather suits you. Chapel Hill would give you less house for the money than almost everywhere else in NC, and the elementary schools are no better than many in Wake County. Just curious, are there any $350,000 homes left in SD?
If you can use a surfboard as a stand-up paddle board, I wouldn't get rid of them. We have a lot of lakes around here and SUP is fairly popular. The lake in our neighborhood is used for that and kayaking.
I lived in Rancho Bernardo and University City in high school (Mt Carmel) and college (UCSD). When we moved here my most pervasive thought was "green." It is just so green here compared to San Diego. When my niece and nephew visit from San Diego they say they like the trees and how things are newer here. For instance, we have Super Targets and drive-through Starbucks. They thought that was great. Ha. While I miss the weather, I can't imagine raising little kids in San Diego. This area seems more family friendly.
And just a head's up.....around here BBQ is a noun. We grill on the barbecue and we eat barbecue (pig, of course), but we don't BBQ. :-)
Come visit in July or August to see if the weather suits you. Chapel Hill would give you less house for the money than almost everywhere else in NC, and the elementary schools are no better than many in Wake County. Just curious, are there any $350,000 homes left in SD?
Yes, Chapel Hill is likely the most expensive municipality in NC other than tiny "rich enclave"-type places. The schools are great, but that's not a coincidence--wealthier districts have better schools, but also higher costs of living. That is going to be true all over NC--the better school districts are the higher costs of living. Probably true everywhere.
We decided to move from this area because we make $190K and can't afford a house. We love the outdoors and my husband is from PA so really wants to move back East but I don't like Pittsburgh for the weather. So our compromise is NC and since schools showed to be good in the Triangle area of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and weather is more moderate it looks like a solid option. Though we like the beaches, we are selling our surf boards but bringing our dirt bikes, bicycles, hiking shoes, boat and dogs. Hoping to find family oriented place for our kids to grow up.
They take a 20% pay cut they are still clearing $150K. Do you think they are schlepping shopping carts at Safeway at that salary? I wonder if you even read threads anymore, or just respond based on the first sentence with one of your stock answers.
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Cost of living
Hoping to find family oriented place for our kids to grow up.
