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If I'm being honest (and I'm just speculating, I may be way off and others may disagree) ... taking into consideration the job fields you're both in, and the fact that your expectation is that you'll drive up to an hour to make "a living wage," I don't expect that you'll realistically make a high enough income to afford a home large enough for a family of 6 in the Apex/HS area. I would recommend spending some time researching real estate in the area to get a feel for the prices of the size and types of home that you would be looking to eventually buy.
The job market around here is pretty competitive. I suspect you'll both have a hard time finding jobs, and I wouldn't recommend moving without at least one of you having something locked in, and more money saved up to allow time for the other to continue searching.
Is this not a normal thing in NC? Do people normally not drive an hour or more to a job? That is fairly common for MANY Ohioans. Many will live in Canton or Akron (or the suburb of) and drive to Cleveland to work because the inner city jobs barely pay minimum wage. Does this not happen in NC?? I feel like people are looking at my posts life WTH?!? an hour to work?! Let me know if I'm drawing the wrong conclusions..
Is this not a normal thing in NC? Do people normally not drive an hour or more to a job? That is fairly common for MANY Ohioans. Many will live in Canton or Akron (or the suburb of) and drive to Cleveland to work because the inner city jobs barely pay minimum wage. Does this not happen in NC?? I feel like people are looking at my posts life WTH?!? an hour to work?! Let me know if I'm drawing the wrong conclusions..
It's simply not necessary in this area. There are so many affordable options 30 minutes or closer to major employment centers, why would anyone choose to live further away? Commuting is expensive.
Is this not a normal thing in NC? Do people normally not drive an hour or more to a job? That is fairly common for MANY Ohioans. Many will live in Canton or Akron (or the suburb of) and drive to Cleveland to work because the inner city jobs barely pay minimum wage. Does this not happen in NC?? I feel like people are looking at my posts life WTH?!? an hour to work?! Let me know if I'm drawing the wrong conclusions..
In this area, it's pretty uncommon to have a commute longer than 30 minutes. Maybe 40, but that's pushing it. (and in those cases, it's usually traffic volume, not distance that causes it to take so long) I'm actually getting ready to shorten mine from 15 minutes to 5 minutes.
It's simply not necessary in this area. There are so many affordable options 30 minutes or closer to major employment centers, why would anyone choose to live further away? Commuting is expensive.
I have clients that sometimes tell me that they want to be within 45 min. from home to work. They end up with about 20 to 30 minutes and later tell me that they are happy with that and couldn't imagine commuting longer than that. Like Saucy said, it isn't necessary to commute more than 30 min for the majority.
I do have 2 sets of clients that live in Wake Forest and commute to Rocky Mt. That is mostly because they moved here for the job in Rocky Mt. but chose not to live there.
In your case, I'd suggest finding the job first and then figuring a good commute. Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon would be less expensive but I'm not sure the Wake County Schools in those areas will be what you are looking for.
If you find something in Johnston County (Clayton would be my choice), you'll most likely have a bit more land and more house for less money and you may like the schools better.
I am hearing that rentals are getting harder to come by but I work with buyers/sellers so I can't really say from experience. Many of our property management companies work with rentals. You may want to call a couple to verify how difficult it will be for you to rent. They also do background checks and verify employment. Best of luck to you!
Coming from a traffic engineering perspective, you're making my job harder if people insist on driving an hour to work every day........the projected traffic volumes on some of these projects I've been working on in Holly Springs/Raleigh in 2030/2040 are just insane. Save yourself some stress with future traffic problems during rush hour and live closer to where you work.
Coming from a traffic engineering perspective, you're making my job harder if people insist on driving an hour to work every day........the projected traffic volumes on some of these projects I've been working on in Holly Springs/Raleigh in 2030/2040 are just insane. Save yourself some stress with future traffic problems during rush hour and live closer to where you work.
Well, if we're talking 14-24 years from now, I'd be willing to be that most people will have moved by then. There seems to be less and less of the idea of buying a "forever home" (even if they buy a house with the idea of it being a forever home). My informal observation is that these days people increasingly want something newer, or bigger, or just different, and seem to move around more frequently than a generation ago.
Is this not a normal thing in NC? Do people normally not drive an hour or more to a job? That is fairly common for MANY Ohioans. Many will live in Canton or Akron (or the suburb of) and drive to Cleveland to work because the inner city jobs barely pay minimum wage. Does this not happen in NC?? I feel like people are looking at my posts life WTH?!? an hour to work?! Let me know if I'm drawing the wrong conclusions..
I know plenty who do. I live in Clayton (Johnston County) and it is normal for people to drive from here to RTP or Durham daily. Their commutes are easily 60 minutes. That does not mean people enjoy the commute.
As others have said, Holly Springs may be pushing it. I wonder if it may be worth looking at the pharma companies in Clayton. If you got jobs there, you could live reasonably close, for less, have good school districts and deal with less traffic.
I was a stockbroker for 14 years and I assure you that most companies in that industry will immediately disqualify anyone with items such as you suggested. That is not intended as a slight; it is merely a matter of fact. Bankruptcy, alone, would have led to termination with any company I knew well.
As a reference, Wendell is 15 minutes from here, Zebulon is 20, since people have brought that up to you.
You mention diverse in your original post, I don't know a lot about Apex but I know Holly Springs is NOT diverse. It is a bunch of well off white people (75%). City-data actually hosts the data if you want to look up apex.
What we seem to have arrived at as far as jobs is "are jobs so plentiful that employers will be willing to overlook these major negatives that I have?" To that, I'd say the answer is a simple No. There are far too many people here and moving here looking for jobs for something with multiple strikes on their resume/background to have a great chance at a good-paying job.
I do believe that there are programs you can undertake to improve your standing, but can you afford the time and effort to do those with young kids at home?
You mention diverse in your original post, I don't know a lot about Apex but I know Holly Springs is NOT diverse. It is a bunch of well off white people (75%). City-data actually hosts the data if you want to look up apex.
I define diversity as multiple cultures/ethnicity in a city. We're a multiracial family and I would like my children to see other children and adults that look like them but that are successful. Unfortunately that is not a common thing here in Ohio. If you live in a good neighborhood with good schools then it averages at about 95%-98% white and 2%-5% "non white" even at 75% it would be better than 95%. I just want a place where my children can flourish and grow in a school district that will more than a babysitting service until they push them through to the next grade. Here's what I look at here in Ohio...this is North Canton..1 of the better school districts in Canton.. http://www.usa.com/OH151712000.html
Last edited by MsCookies; 03-15-2016 at 09:36 PM..
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