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Would like to hear from people living there how they like it, what you like, what you don't like.
We are a retired couple - mid 60s (hubby), late 50s (me) with no children. We do have a 60lb dog.
Specifically, we are interested in how friendly the development is, if we would feel out of place without kids (is there a mix of ages, or is it mostly families with children), how close a drive is it to Chapel Hill, the nearest hospital, nearest vet, nearest 24 hour vet? Is the development dog friendly - i.e. is there a dog park, doggie waste stations? How are the walking trails?
Are the lots "postage stamp" size?
Is it a safe area - i.e., would a woman feel safe walking her dog alone at night?
I know the taxes are lower than CH proper, being in Chatham County. How does that translate say for a 300K house? Hard to calculate with all the different taxes there are. I was guessing @ $2300/yr - is that a reasonable estimate?
How is the quality of the homes? Were all the trees "mowed down" to build, or did they leave trees and add street trees to make the neighborhoods more inviting?
If you had it to do all over again, would you move there? If not, where would you move?
We are a quiet family. We like to be able to walk in our neighborhood/on trails, like an attractive friendly neighborhood that doesn't look like every other cookie cutter subdivision (houses all the same, no trees), in an area close to good hospitals, health care and vet care, and in a safe area - no violent crime (robberies) or lots of home break-ins.
Once in a while we like to venture out and see a movie, go to dinner (nothing fancy, but like non-chain restaurant), browse Barnes and Noble, go to the farmer's market.
I drove through there once. Very small lots, but they are doing a nice job of making the area look like a village with lots of designs and options apparently. I would think you'd feel very safe walking there, at least at this time. It is huge, covers a lot of acres, and is only partially built out as there is probably phasing involved. No mature trees in the housing areas though.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I don't live there, so my knowledge is not as good as someone who does, so I'll just share the limited information I have from visiting and people I know who live there, and hopefully someone who lives in Briar Chapel can come along and give you better/more info. I live in Southern Village which is somewhat similar to Briar Chapel, but in Southern Orange County - about 15-20 minutes north of Briar Chapel on 15-501. Briar Chapel has a lot of families with kids, but I am sure people without children live there, too. My friend's parents live there, and they are retired, and I have another friend whose retired mother is thinking of moving there. The development itself is very attractive, but as mentioned earlier, the lots are pretty small. There is a great pool and clubhouse and it looks like an activities director that organizes a lot of clubs. If you haven't already checked out this site, look at it and you can get an idea of all that is offered there: http://www.briarchapellife.com/
The negative, in my mind, about the community is that it's somewhat isolated. From the homes to the entrance of the development on 15-501 is a long ride (probably a mile or so). And once out on 15-501, there is limited shopping - a few grocery stores, a pizza place, CVS pharmacy, a bank, etc. There is no Barnes and Noble nearby (you'd need to go to Durham or Wake County for that) or any real shopping like Kohl's, Michael's, a mall, etc. There is a Wal-Mart about 15 minutes north of the Briar Chapel entrance and a Lowe's Hardware about the same distance south. For going out, you can go into downtown Pittsboro which is a very quaint downtown, but very small, about 10 minutes south of Briar Chapel. For movies and a few other restaurants, you can head 15-20 minutes north to Southern Village or you can do to downtown Chapel Hill or Carrboro for more restaurants, music, college sporting events, etc. - probably 20-25 minutes from you.
The hospital would be in Chapel Hill, about 20-25 minutes away. There are vets in Chatham County and southern Orange, so that would be convenient for you. If you look at the link I posted, it appears that there is a pooch park within Briar Chapel, so it must be a dog-friendly neighborhood.
A lot of kids from Briar Chapel seem to come up to Chapel Hill for sports leagues and things, because we always have Briar Chapel kids playing on my kids' teams in Southern Community Park (in south Orange County), so I do think for some amenities, you will be heading up 15-501 to Chapel Hill.
Of course, there is mention of Chatham County changing over the next several years once the big Chatham Park development gets started. But, you might not see any results of that for 10-20 years, so I wouldn't count on any amenities from that when making your decision. Although north Chatham is growing not even including Chatham Park, so I do think there will continue to be fill-in amenities as the years go by. I've lived here for 4 years, and since moving here there is a new Wal-Mart (which has been a huge saviour for those of us in this area who had to travel to Durham to get anything), a new Dollar Tree, and they are redoing one of the shopping centers. As the population grows, the amenities will only continue to improve.
That type of area might be just what you are looking for, but I just wanted you to be aware that it's not right in the center of things like other developments in Wake County. Chatham County is still primarily a rural county.
I looked closely at Briar Chapel when I decided to move here. There are many nice houses, and the development is attractive. The lots are small and the area was clear cut, but this is compensated for by numerous, well-landscaped common areas. It is safe, very well maintained, and well planned.
There are not many houses on a single floor, if that is what you want. Those that are, use up the lot from side to side with a small space in back. Dog fences are permitted with permission.
A small shopping/ office area is being built at the entrance to Briar Chapel which will have restaurants, doctors and dentist offices.
In the end I moved to Fearrington Village, slightly further down 15/501, and love it here. There are a variety of house and lot sizes, there is a combination of natural areas and landscaping, I walk my dogs alone every night and feel very safe.
I can get to Harris Teeter in 5 to 7 minutes, without speeding.
Lowes is 10 to 12 minutes away.
I did not like the vets in the immediate area so go to a very good vet in Durham, 30 minutes away. The 24 hour vet is 22-25 minutes away (I have timed it).
Fearrington Village has its own farmers' market and several eateries, two of which are excellent. This area is a foodie's paradise and there are many independent, excellent restaurants within a short drive.
You do not say where you are moving from. Coming from the NY/NJ metropolitan area I drive farther to many things (shopping/ vet/ restaurants/ cinema), but the amount of time is only slightly more because the traffic is so much less. It is also far more pleasant to drive here.
We actually have been to Fearrington Village several times, and at one time thought we would move there. It's lovely. Then we got swayed by our desire to stay near the water since we moved from a coastal town, and so are in Charleston, SC now. We moved here from Newburyport, MA (North of Boston) last year and are renting while we explore our options.
We're in sort of an ideal spot here - on an island called Daniel Island, which is a part of Charleston, but is actually an island (more like a peninsula) which it's own little downtown with a grocery store, natural pet store, several banks, liquor store, UPS store, pharmacy, dentists, doctors, eye doctor, vet, library, fire station, and several restaurants and shops. There is also a tennis center which holds a yearly women's match, and concerts in the summer. It's about population of 10K, just about built out now, and holds several events throughout the year. It's got a great sense of community.
Although some people think it is isolated where we are, we are only 15-20 min from downtown Charleston, and 10-15 min from the next town over, which has every shop in the universe and many, many restaurants and events. We're over there often - mostly to Home Goods, Barnes and Noble, Talbots, Marshalls, Office Depot, the 24 Hour Vet, the vet dermatologist, the hospital, our doctors, and restaurants. There are 2 beaches which are @ 15-20 min away from where we live. Many people here just drive to and from in their golf carts and we like that.
We do love it here, but home prices are climbing high quickly, and there is a lot of gun crime here. Not on Daniel Island, but in downtown Charleston and some in the town we go to mentioned above along with lots of home break-ins in those 2 areas (not where we are).
I am not sure from the descriptions, and from what we have grown used to (which we also had at home in Newburyport where the important things were right in the town we lived in - library, police, fire, many shops and restaurants, doctors, dentists, hospital, vet, grocery, pharmacy, gas stations, Marshalls, a natural food store, a natural pet store, a bookstore, lots of restaurants, and unique little shops - if we would feel isolated or not. We have grown used to the "convenience" of having things at hand.
I'm sure things have changed since we were there - over 8 years ago now.
It appears that Briar Chapel is nearer to Chapel Hill than Fearrington, or am I reading the map wrong? Not by much though. Looks like Fearrington and Briar Chapel are only 7 minutes apart according to Google Maps.
More than the shopping convenience, health care - both for us and our pet is of utmost importance. I have had several ER visits due to some heart issues, and having a hospital 15 min away has been important. As is having a vet right in town and the ER vet 15 min away. Our dog had some freak thing recently with a sudden swollen lymph node and her breathing was being cut off. Luckily the vet here is 5 minutes away and they were able to give her oxygen until we got to the 24 hr vet. She has some chronic health issues, so these kinds of things might become more frequent as she ages. With us, if it's bad enough we can call 911 and hopefully help would get there fast, but unfortunately there is not that option with an animal. How is the 24 hr vet there? I know the health care system for people has an excellent reputation.
How small is "small" for the Briar Chapel lots? Important since we have a large dog. To the person who mentioned fences, do they have height restrictions? Also important since our dog can jump a 5' fence.
We have friends that live in Chapel Hill proper, so perhaps we will take a weekend to drive up and explore the area again.
Thanks again for all the info. Very helpful! Appreciate it.
How small is "small" for the Briar Chapel lots? Important since we have a large dog. To the person who mentioned fences, do they have height restrictions? Also important since our dog can jump a 5' fence.
I don't see any fences at all in Briar Chapel. Perhaps you need to inquire about whether they are allowed if you need a fence for the dog.
Regarding veterinarians, there is Dogwood right across 501. It is not a 24-hour place, but they recommend emergency vets in Durham and Cary. It does not sound as convenient as what you have now.
Regarding lot size, there are a couple of options in the aerial view. The small lots seems to have about 6 feet between houses, and the larger lots maybe 10-12 feet. Go to Google maps to browse around: http://bit.ly/1PWJdJi
I don't live in Brier Chapel, so I can't answer most of your questions. I did visit Brier Chapel twice during the Parade of Homes, so I can tell you the lots are definitely "postage stamp" size. I don't know if there's enough yard room to make building a fence for a 60 pound dog worth it. It's very tight.
And the other post is very correct about it being isolated. There are currently no stores nearby at all. It's just a development in the middle of a pretty rural place. I think they plan to build stuff there in the future.
Which is another point: Brier Chapel is kind of an active construction zone, and might be for a while until it's complete. When I visited, there was a lot of clear-cut land that was obviously slated for building. But In a few years it could be great! The lots will still be small and close together though.
I don't live in Briar Chapel but I have sold a few homes in there.
Some of the lots are larger than others.
I had buyers that purchased a single family detached home a few months ago. The garage was on the front (not in the back like the "cottage" homes). Their lot was only .15 acre, which is small; however, the lot was situated so that the back yard was larger than the side yards. They did fence the yard, as many of their neighbors.
The cottage homes have the garage behind the house (some are detached and some are attached) so the lots don't have much backyard.
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