Anyone like Vista Apts in Cary? (Raleigh, Durham: credit, relocate, budget)

[NC-Bound]

Hello,
Hubby and I are are moving to Cary/Raleigh (from central MA) mid March. We visited many apts. and this one was a favorite. Anyone like Vista? As we don't have jobs yet, and this is perched outside RTP and close to major routes and not to mention it's brand new- we are leaning this way. Any input? This is short term; we hope to only stay there until the end of this year, and plan to buy a house nearby TBA jobs.

[rytard22]

My wife and I are in the same boat as you. We just relocated a couple months ago and chose to live at Vista at the Park. Like you, we looked at many apartments and liked Vista the best, mainly because of the move-in special they were offering, it's proximity to RTP (for the future jobs we hoped to find in RTP), and because they are brand new. It's not bad living here, but there are a couple downsides that you'll likely discover once you move in.
First, there's a pumping station somewhere nearby, so when the wind blows the right way it can be a little stinky outside. Second, the apartments looked great when we toured them, but now that we've spent a couple months in one we've realized how cheaply it's made. Even the brand new appliances look much better than they actually work. Other than that, it's not bad.
Like you, we hope to only live here one year and then buy a house close to where we end up working. So far our plans to work in RTP are not coming through...I'll be working in north Raleigh and my wife at UNC, so we've both ended up with a 20-30 minute commute anyway. Regardless, we've found Vista to be in a good central location in the triangle area. Major highways are a few minutes away and each day we're discovering more back roads that can take you anywhere.
I hope I've answered your question. If you have any specific things you'd like to know, feel free to ask.

[NC-Bound]

Thanks for the feed back. We can't wait to move down there- March can't come soon enough. Did you have an intertate move? We are trying to navigate through the tricky waters of finding a reputable one. Also, did you mention your wife is working at NC State University? Is it true you can take courses free if you are a state university employee?

[rytard22]

My wife had a pretty intense search to find the best job at all three major universities (NC State, Duke, & UNC). All three are sooo different depending on what you are looking for. UNC and NC State are both state colleges and therefore all employees fall under the state employee umbrella. Only in some instances do higher paid professional employees get the chance to not fall under the state umbrella. Very few and those openings are competitive. The benefits for both state colleges are extremely expensive--at least we thought so, we came from PA in private industry where we basically paid nothing for benefits. NC State and UNC both offer their employees the chance for tuition reimbursement for both the employee and their children and spouse too. Please make sure to check each website. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University :: Welcome to North Carolina State University and look up their benefits--its all clearly pointed out. The Duke system's benefits are extremely employee friendly. Just a lot more perks than at the state schools. One perk is for employees and their children (but not spouse) to receive Duke education--of course if they are qualified. But, at Duke, they will allow you and children to take classes at places besides Duke as long as the school is accredited by the southern states accreditation (I believe that is the accreditation board). And, because Duke is sooo expensive you can imagine how wonderful of a benefit this is! I've heard that parking is quite tough no matter where you go in Raleigh Durham for school, but there're always ways around that depending on what department you manage to get into.
As far as our move went, we moved a two bedroom apartment into a two bedroom apartment. We used a Budget truck and moved ourselves from PA to NC...about a 9 hour drive. Ran us about $650 (+gas) for the four days and the truck. We'd suggest a moving company to move you only if you are moving a house. When we looked into this the price wasn't too bad for what they were going to provide. But, we have no suggestions because we looked into our college alumni discount program when we looked.
A word to the wise.......if you have good experience and no jobs...when you get here go directly to a staffing agency and see what they can give you immediately.
You'd be very surprised what large companies use these agencies...IBM, Cisco, NetApps, etc. It's almost a tradition for companies to use them. Try Manpower, Kelly Temp, etc. Best of luck, we're just getting started and the area is really in the middle of everything, we're very happy!! P.S. When you get here and want to get acclimated to the southern food, try out "Olde Time BBQ" its on Hillsborough Street somewhere closer to town. Excellent BBQ and interesting atmosphere.