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I didn't grow up in Florida (we relocated here from Boston), but my father lives in Aventura and I've spent a lot of time there. DH used to live in Boca and had family there until recently, so we've spent a lot of time down there. The Raleigh area is completely different. Whenever we visit we can't wait to get back here. In addition to Cary and Holly Springs, you should consider Apex. We're in a very safe area, it's very family oriented, and we couldn't be happier with the schools.
A close friend lived in Coral Gables and Plantation for years. When they decided to start a family, they moved to the Asheville area, leaving for many reasons that you listed. They settled in Hendersonville and couldn't be happier.
I didn't grow up in Florida (we relocated here from Boston), but my father lives in Aventura and I've spent a lot of time there. DH used to live in Boca and had family there until recently, so we've spent a lot of time down there. The Raleigh area is completely different. Whenever we visit we can't wait to get back here. In addition to Cary and Holly Springs, you should consider Apex. We're in a very safe area, it's very family oriented, and we couldn't be happier with the schools.
A close friend lived in Coral Gables and Plantation for years. When they decided to start a family, they moved to the Asheville area, leaving for many reasons that you listed. They settled in Hendersonville and couldn't be happier.
You are giving me much hope. Thank you!
I will add Apex to my list of areas to search. I hear, though, that the schools there have been capped, which makes me nervous. Although perhaps by the time I move (in a couple years), this won't be an issue.
there is nothing wrong with Cary...it is a thriving community with many families and has a good cultural mix of people. There are many towns here you could look at - Wake Forest, Morrisville, Raleigh, etc... if you'll check the map you'll see that most of our area blends together. hard to tell when you leave one town/city and enter another. It's a great place to raise kids.
I agree with you, but when the mass theme of an area is predominantly status-oriented, you tend to encounter it over and over. It becomes tiring. I suppose I am looking for a place to lessen those odds, somewhat.
Plus, people being friendly isn't my only criteria. The heat here is just too much.
How are you liking Cary as compared to FL?
This is copied from an earlier post when someone asked me to compare central Florida to Cary. I suspect there is probably a pretty big difference between central and southern Florida. Central Florida is pretty rural when compared to Miami :-)
Our last assignment before Raleigh was in Lakeland, 1/2 way between Tampa in Orlando, we moved here last summer. Having moved a lot, I would say there are pluses and minuses to any area, and only you can determine what those are. Absolutely, impossible for someone on a forum to determine if one is area is better for you than the other. That's like a Ford vs. Chevy discussion among two rednecks.
For us:
Central Florida:
- Much nicer house for the money. The only house (of the 8 we have owned) that we actually loved. Our W. Cary house here is nice, but we don't love it. We loved the single story, triple split, wrapping around the pool layout, that was pretty common there.
- We actually liked the FL weather better. Crazy hot / humid for the summer, but wonderful the rest of the year
- No state income tax!!!!
- Less expensive warm weather vacation options, you can drive to the cruise terminals, fly from PBI to Bahamas etc.
- Disney Parks
- No state income tax, I may have mentioned this one twice :-)
Raleigh:
- Better public schools. At least in Lakeland, you generally put your kid in private school unless you couldn't afford to. We are sending ours back to private school next year, even though we are in one of the "best" elementary schools in Wake county. No fundamental qualms with his one year in a public school here, but we miss many things about private schools, some of which isn't educationally driven.
- More local clients (I work for an engineering firm)
- Less bugs, but most of the central Florida houses have screened pool cages, so that wasn't such a big issue for us
- Better urban planning, green-space, actual enforcement of architectural guidelines, etc.
However, we don't take any of this too seriously, as we are only in an area for a few years at a time. We have found through our moves, that the downtown's of cities may feel different, but suburbia kind of feels like suburbia all over. A Target is a Target everywhere.
We are planning a retirement back in Florida though.
I lived in Peachtree City for two years when I was contracting. They were starting to allow "big box" stores in so it has likely lost some of its character. One plus is that you can get pretty much anywhere on a golf cart since there are around 70 miles of cart pathways.
There wasn't really a lot to do there unless you were willing to drive 45 minutes to Atlanta. I would at least visit if you haven't already.
I recently went to Alpharetta back in January and had to go back into Atlanta for something on a Friday afternoon. If you think traffic is bad here in Raleigh, you ain't seen nothing yet.
I recently went to Alpharetta back in January and had to go back into Atlanta for something on a Friday afternoon. If you think traffic is bad here in Raleigh, you ain't seen nothing yet.
I agree. I went many years (not even recently) to Alpharetta to a training class. It was the worst traffic I have ever encountered in my life at all times of the day. There was someone in the training class from LA, and said that the traffic there is worse than LA.
I agree. I went many years (not even recently) to Alpharetta to a training class. It was the worst traffic I have ever encountered in my life at all times of the day. There was someone in the training class from LA, and said that the traffic there is worse than LA.
Looks like Alpharetta's out lol.
Someone had asked me why Cary has a negative rep, but I can't find the post for some reason. The complaint I see over and over in forums and videos is that it's full of "yankees" and is very well-manicured and strictly maintained. I don't really see that as a bad thing, personally.
As with most things, one persons positive is another's negative. Whats important to find out what a place is really like, and then decide if its for you, rather than going by others opinions of whether they like or don't like it.
Last edited by carolinadawg2; 05-13-2015 at 07:14 PM..
Someone had asked me why Cary has a negative rep, but I can't find the post for some reason. The complaint I see over and over in forums and videos is that it's full of "yankees" and is very well-manicured and strictly maintained. I don't really see that as a bad thing, personally.
Cary has a reputation of being full of Yankees but if you ask people who live in Cary they will tell the area is very diverse and full of transplants that are not just from the NE. My friends are from Wisconsin, Virginia, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Chicago and St. Louis, to name a few. There are plenty of people from the NE here but there are many other states represented here too.
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