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Here's my advice to the OP after moving many times on VERY short notice due to corporate relocations. It's just a move, don't stress so much about it. It's not a binary decision about you either live in the flight path, or you don't move. There will be parts of the area you like, parts you don't like even tho others may pay a premium to live there. Schools you are a fit with, schools you are not a fit with. None of which you are likely to determine from wherever you are at. I personally found the airport noise annoying in the fall / spring, and one of the (there were others) reasons we sold our house in a popular West Cary neighborhood to move out by Lake Wheeler. However, I didn't make the leap that I was impacting my child's education by living there.
Sometimes I actually am glad that I've had just a couple of weeks of notice at times, that way I don't waste countless weeks / months stressing over small stuff. I've always managed to find a house that works, a school for the kids that works, and friends to share life with.
There are a good many neighborhoods that are not in the flight path for RDU and I really think you should get a good realtor here to plot those out for you, with the proximity to your husband's potential new job.
Example: my husband and I work in RTP. I work from home all the time, he works from home occasionally. We live within about 10-15 minutes of RTP, in Cary, but NOT in the flight path for RDU. Yet, we live closer to RDU than we did when we lived further out into West Cary (and a bit closer to RTP, but really, 10-15 minutes is PLENTY close for us).
Our home isn't new, but it's not old... it'll reach its 10th birthday at the end of the year.
Soo... there ARE newer homes that aren't in the flight path that are near good schools and are near employment locations.
You need someone to find those for you so you can see what you'd get. If you REMOTELY think that airport noise is going to bother you, you really should not look in West Cary. Period.
It's not terrible out there, mind you, but you WILL notice it. I did when I lived out there and I hated it.
There are a good many neighborhoods that are not in the flight path for RDU and I really think you should get a good realtor here to plot those out for you, with the proximity to your husband's potential new job.
Example: my husband and I work in RTP. I work from home all the time, he works from home occasionally. We live within about 10-15 minutes of RTP, in Cary, but NOT in the flight path for RDU. Yet, we live closer to RDU than we did when we lived further out into West Cary (and a bit closer to RTP, but really, 10-15 minutes is PLENTY close for us).
Our home isn't new, but it's not old... it'll reach its 10th birthday at the end of the year.
Soo... there ARE newer homes that aren't in the flight path that are near good schools and are near employment locations.
You need someone to find those for you so you can see what you'd get. If you REMOTELY think that airport noise is going to bother you, you really should not look in West Cary. Period.
It's not terrible out there, mind you, but you WILL notice it. I did when I lived out there and I hated it.
Thanks for the comments about West Cary. I'm actually less concerned about how much in annoys me than I am the potential impact to my kids, and beyond that the potential impact to future property values.
About the flight path, someone sent us a link that lets us look up an address to see which level of noise it is in today. But is it guaranteed to stay that way forever? That's rarely the case for an airport in a rapidly growing metro area. Additions to airports are built, flights increase and so on.
So even if the majority of people do not believe the research that it's not good for kids today (if nothing else for their homework study habits and developing their minds), most of these health scares tend to materialize into more tangible concerns over time, and the trend I've notice is that the spotlight on noise impact on kids seems to be growing, not diminishing. Even if the impact is not as bad as it's made out to be, just the fear of that impact could make homes in that area less desirable. That, plus growing airport traffic does concern me.
Question: for the homes that are directly in the noise contour, is there a measurable difference in resale/appreciation of a home compared to one that is in the same neighborhood but not in the contour? In my mind I can't see paying more for a home that's in "low severity" noise compared to a similar home that's very close by that's listed in "medium severity" noise, but I'm wondering if it's done this way currently in NC?
Here's my advice to the OP after moving many times on VERY short notice due to corporate relocations. It's just a move, don't stress so much about it.
My question here doesn't relate to just moving and renting for a while (that will make it easy, at least initially), but this will likely be a long-term employment arrangement, and a house purchase is a huge investment with a lot of associated cost, and not something to go into carelessly.
About the flight path, someone sent us a link that lets us look up an address to see which level of noise it is in today. But is it guaranteed to stay that way forever? That's rarely the case for an airport in a rapidly growing metro area. Additions to airports are built, flights increase and so on.
Depends if a new runway gets built or not - flight paths are line with the runways for takeoffs/landings (and currently they run northeast to southwest so that's why the noise areas are where they are)
There really are plenty of options for housing that are not impacted by any noise from RDU. If it is a big concern to you, just look at some other neighborhoods. I truly don't think it is a major concern for most people. RDU doesn't have a reputation as a bad airport as far as noise impacts.
I'm not in NC yet so jokes with local insider preference will probably go under my radar.
I'm just surprised at how quickly a mother that is looking out for her kids future is pounced on here for asking a simple question, simply because others don't like the subject matter (or are so bored they just want to troll about something).
You have a point, our reaction can be a bit swift and unfair (I write pointing a finger at myself). But your original post conveys a certain position that children living within the flight path of an airport are adversely affected when you wrote "all the studies published on the effects of the noise on the general well being of kids".
I certainly am unaware of even a single such study. And I have spent all but about 15 years of my life living near an airport with firsthand knowledge of how that may impact a child. I have been very successful in my career, I have a son at Chapel Hill doing very well and am surrounded in my neighborhood by an abundance of academically successful children, all living in the flight path of RDU. So if I'm being dismissive, it's because what you may consider anecdotal evidence is what I consider first-hand knowledge.
And honestly, given enough time and resources you can find whitepapers and research material to support both sides of any argument. Find a house in a neighborhood you like, within your budget and live your life.
I'm not in NC yet so jokes with local insider preference will probably go under my radar.
I'm just surprised at how quickly a mother that is looking out for her kids future is pounced on here for asking a simple question, simply because others don't like the subject matter (or are so bored they just want to troll about something).
Its just a little odd of a concern, is all. It isn't in the same vein as parents that want safe neighborhoods, or quiet streets for kids to play, or good schools. Its kind of like the poster that came on one time asking about neighborhoods that prohibited outside fires, since the smoke from a bonfire could has many of the same carcinogens as cigarettes, and she didn't want her kids breathing it from a neighbors fire. Or, the poster that wrote about Cary (one of the more popular locations for transplants) being so close to a Nuclear plant (and it really isn't that close.)
I can understand being concerned about airport noise. I have a lot of family that grew up right under the flight paths of O'Hare in Chicago. I have family that still lives there. 20 years ago, you would sit outside and have to pause a conversation as an airplane went by. I was at a bbq there last year and sitting outside, you hardly heard the planes.
If you find an area and you're concerned, find a neighborhood park and sit there for an hour and see how you feel about it.
RDU isn't a hugely busy airport; its not a hub for any airlines either. It isn't going to be like living near ATL or ORD or DFW.
Thanks for the comments about West Cary. I'm actually less concerned about how much in annoys me than I am the potential impact to my kids, and beyond that the potential impact to future property values.
About the flight path, someone sent us a link that lets us look up an address to see which level of noise it is in today. But is it guaranteed to stay that way forever? That's rarely the case for an airport in a rapidly growing metro area. Additions to airports are built, flights increase and so on.
So even if the majority of people do not believe the research that it's not good for kids today (if nothing else for their homework study habits and developing their minds), most of these health scares tend to materialize into more tangible concerns over time, and the trend I've notice is that the spotlight on noise impact on kids seems to be growing, not diminishing. Even if the impact is not as bad as it's made out to be, just the fear of that impact could make homes in that area less desirable. That, plus growing airport traffic does concern me.
Question: for the homes that are directly in the noise contour, is there a measurable difference in resale/appreciation of a home compared to one that is in the same neighborhood but not in the contour? In my mind I can't see paying more for a home that's in "low severity" noise compared to a similar home that's very close by that's listed in "medium severity" noise, but I'm wondering if it's done this way currently in NC?
Depends on whether those areas in the flight paths have good schools and convenient locations.
Resales in West Cary do very well. The noise level there is pretty high.
Are you deafened all day long there? Nope. Can you avoid the noise (for the most part) by keeping your windows closed? Yes.
So, really, it's not terrible. It's just not for me. I was used to birds chirping and maybe some light road noise and when we moved to West Cary, the lack of birds chirping (new construction, not much in the way of trees) plus noise from planes that, when we were outdoors, was sometimes loud enough that we could not hold a conversation was simply too much for me PERSONALLY.
Again, this doesn't mean that plenty of people aren't just fine with it. Including kids.
I am pretty sure they would've figured this issue out already with so many major metro areas (such as the already-mentioned JFK corridor) that have high population densities.
I doubt being near an airport is an issue for developing children from a health perspective. Unless the noise is constant and deafening, of course. RDU may become very large one day, but I suspect any kids you have/will have will be long grown by then.
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When in doubt, check it out: FAQ
If you're really concerned that airport noise from RDU might impact kids' learning, one thing you can do is look at the school performance. I think you will find that schools in that area do well overall. NC School Report Cards
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