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My family is considering a move into the Raleigh area. I know the Cary-Apex areas have experienced tremendous growth. I have read about the Wake County school problems. I am hoping to get the kids into one of the Cary Catholic schools down there. My husband would be working in Sanford.
I am curious about the Garner/Holly Springs/Fuquay-Varina areas regarding housing. I have noticed a lot of new developments in these areas and you seem to get a lot of house for the price (350-400k). Especially the Garner area - some lovely houses with nice details.
Let me pick your collective wisdom on these areas, please. What can you tell me?
We will be coming down to check out the area in late March.
There isn't anything wrong with the areas you mentioned... they are more rural and lovely. I don't know if you will find a Catholic school in those areas, but you may. We are moving to the area in Wake County, just west of Garner, and North of Fuquay. Our kids are going to be attending a private Christian school in the area. If you are planning to move, I'd suggest you first look at the schools and find one you are interested in, and check into enrollment. I don't know about the Catholic schools, but many of the Christian schools are pretty full and they are in their admissions cycle for next year now. We started the process of looking at schools a couple months ago and were just down a couple weeks ago for admissions testing and interviews. We looked for houses after we found the school we wanted to go to.
I'd suggest Fuquay-Varina over Garner personally. I used to live near the border of Raleigh and Garner and just saw Garner as kind of "seedy". You say you don't want to be in Cary/Apex...but Apex was the place we liked living best in NC after living all over the western half of Wake County.
I have already applied to two Cary Catholic schools - hoping to get in. I have no problem with the cary-apex-morrisville areas, in fact they would be a better fit. But I know with rapid growth, the kind cary-apex has experienced, also comes problems with the schools, traffic, etc. I just want to have some options other than the magnet area of cary.
Can you still get a nice home in the cary-apex-morrisville area for my price range $350-400?
Also, if we don't get in to the catholic schools, how good are the schools in the garner/HS/F-V areas? Cary-Apex-Morrisville?
You might want to check out Holly Springs. We're located between Apex and Fuquay,and about 15 minutes from Cary. There are many very nice houses for sale here in your price range. A new elementary and high school just opened up recently, and a new middle school is coming within the next 2 years. My kids attend the new elementary school, Holly Grove. We're very happy with it! If you have more questions about HS, feel free to ask. Good luck!
You can definitely get a nice home in Cary/Apex/Morrisville in your price range. We live next to St. Michaels in Cary. Many families in our neighborhood send their children there. I have heard a few complaints that the kindergarten classes were large, but other than that people seem to really like it. As far as traffic goes, it's not so much of an issue (but we used to live in Northern Virginia so what I consider bad traffic is really bad). Schools in Cary/Apex and Morrisville are generally very good (with a few exceptions). Reassignment is somewhat of an issue because of growth.
Yes, I have applied to St. Michaels & St. Mary Mag in Apex. I have read about the reassignment and the rukus that has caused. I imagine by the time I move, things will be straightened out. I have searched on ncschools & greatschools and a few others - sometimes hard to interpret, but I am looking for the schools with high academic distinction. I got the impression that the schools in the F-V,Holly Springs and Garner were somewhat inferior, academically that is. Am I wrong there? Perhaps the new schools have not been rated yet and that would make a difference, in addition to ME not exactly knowing what areas I will be looking at.
My husband will be commuting to Sanford - I imagine he will be going against the mad rush of traffic - up and back.
Yes, I have applied to St. Michaels & St. Mary Mag in Apex. I have read about the reassignment and the rukus that has caused. I imagine by the time I move, things will be straightened out. I have searched on ncschools & greatschools and a few others - sometimes hard to interpret, but I am looking for the schools with high academic distinction. I got the impression that the schools in the F-V,Holly Springs and Garner were somewhat inferior, academically that is. Am I wrong there? Perhaps the new schools have not been rated yet and that would make a difference, in addition to ME not exactly knowing what areas I will be looking at.
My husband will be commuting to Sanford - I imagine he will be going against the mad rush of traffic - up and back.
Thanks
I wouldn't count on that. But you shouldn't have to worry about it if your kids are going to Catholic schools.
because the reassignments and "rukus" that goes along with it has been going on every year for as long as anyone in Wake County can remember...and with more and more people moving in, the reassignments just don't stop. My 2 oldest kids went to a total of 5 elementary schools between the two of them due to reassignments (2 years when they actually went to seperate schools!) and last year, my oldest was a senior at one highschool while my second was a freshman at another.
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