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My husband and I will be moving to the RTP area in the next couple of months. We are in our early 50s and we like to stay busy, love outdoor activities, swim, bike and like to stay involved with our community. We really messed up on the location we live in now by not doing our homework and have ended up in a snobby, pretentious Florida subdivision full of old people! We do not want to make the same mistake. We do not want an area full of new families with kids either. Nothing against, we just wouldn't fit in. We looked a little in the north Raleigh area. What are the thoughts of people that live there? Is this a desirable neighborhood? Safe?
We are steering clear of Cary (heard too many negatives) and Apex (too small town? And liberal?)
We are looking for established neighborhoods, good re-sell value. Don't have any kids in elementary school. I would like house to be close to shopping, schools etc. husband works in RTP. I have a realtor but it is like pulling teeth trying to get info out of her. Ugh!
Any words of advise would be greatly appreciated.
If any of you need any advice on where to take your Florida vacation, I'm the person to ask.
Thank you in advance,
Nancy
North Raleigh isn't a neighborhood. It's pretty much an entire town, relatively speaking.
Ditto what the above posters said.
IMHO you're going to have problems wherever you land since you just dismissed a town of over 100,000 people as having too many negatives (what are they, so we can address them?) and another as "too small/too liberal" (what's the right size? what's the right political environment?).
Hard to advise when you choose to position yourself as "people friendly" and then
A) Disqualify Cary for non-specific reasons
B) Suggest that Apex is "too liberal", which lets me know that you are either biased, misinformed, or both.
I live within Cary limits with a Apex mailing address. Our neighborhood is full of people with differing views on lots of things. I can't think of anyone who openly avoids anyone else based on their political leanings. That sounds like the type of behavior found in parts of Florida (at least in my experience).
My husband and I will be moving to the RTP area in the next couple of months. We are in our early 50s and we like to stay busy, love outdoor activities, swim, bike and like to stay involved with our community. We really messed up on the location we live in now by not doing our homework and have ended up in a snobby, pretentious Florida subdivision full of old people! We do not want to make the same mistake. We do not want an area full of new families with kids either. Nothing against, we just wouldn't fit in. We looked a little in the north Raleigh area. What are the thoughts of people that live there? Is this a desirable neighborhood? Safe?
We are steering clear of Cary (heard too many negatives) and Apex (too small town? And liberal?)
We are looking for established neighborhoods, good re-sell value. Don't have any kids in elementary school. I would like house to be close to shopping, schools etc. husband works in RTP. I have a realtor but it is like pulling teeth trying to get info out of her. Ugh!
Any words of advise would be greatly appreciated.
If any of you need any advice on where to take your Florida vacation, I'm the person to ask.
Thank you in advance,
Nancy
Let's see, you want:
• to stay busy
• outdoor activities — swim, bike
• stay involved with community
• established neighborhoods
• good resale value
• close to shopping, schools, but not kids
• commute to RTP
You don't want
• snobby, pretentious
• full of old people
• full of new families
• too small town
• too liberal?
• not Cary?
First off, no one here is going to understand the digs against Cary and Apex. Both seem to fit most of your wants.
Secondly, this whole area is full of new families. That's its thing — "family friendly". It's sort of the opposite of Florida that way — older retired folks all over Florida, young families all over the Triangle. Looking in older established neighborhoods is a good idea if you don't want to be completely surrounded by families, but there will most likely be old people there, too, and young families filling in as the old people exit — a mixed demographic.
Thirdly, you need to know that Wake County as a whole swings slightly to the left. Everywhere is going to be slightly liberal, but there's a mix of conservative and liberal folks in most neighborhoods in Wake County. Apex is certainly not known as a liberal hotspot (think Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Durham for that).
I'd give Cary a hard look if you like to ride your bike. Great greenway system. Great resale value.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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On the info given I'd say pick somewhere in Raleigh ITB(inside the beltline). Lots of older homes and not completely family central. Most of the new subdivisions are built exclusively for young families. They are full of them and everywhere as you go further from downtown. Your price range would help a lot. I just posted last week about a new development near downtown called Caraleigh Commons. That kind of neighborhood is geared more to DINKS then most of the suburban ones. I can't think of any Raleigh neighborhoods that are overly political either way. Almost anywhere is safe,especially compared to Florida.
I live in evil Cary, but I'd suggest an older subdivision. My house was built in 1987 and there's a mix of different ages around me. Some bought their house new in '87 and are now empty-nesters. Some young families here and there, but we have retirement age folks as well.
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