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If you're open to a suburb with nice parks and a smaller home there are parts of north Raleigh that may fit the bill and wake forest too. Both are near Falls lake for outdoorsy stuff and some of the neighborhoods have lots of parks and a nice community feeling. Also schools in that area are generally good.
Your budget dictates where you can live.
Directly.
Asking for feedback on areas you can't afford... what good would that do?
I hear you and we are willing to adjust our expectations of large expanses of land for a nice area that we feel would be a good place for our son to grow. We are also willing to take a larger mortgage than what we have now, and pay more monthly... not to the effect of 250K vs 500K but maybe 350K?
Now though, never having visited the area, we're not in the number talking stage so we just needed some pointers on what neighborhoods to check out while there, or even which to avoid.
I strongly suggest you get into a rental for 6 months, and learn your way around the area.
Also, recognize, an acre or more will put you on a septic tank, and either well water or community well water.
If you are not comfortable with a septic tank, you may need to downsize your lot requirements.
Most of the suburbs around here are more similar than not...it's really a matter of what appeals to you the most as each have their own vibe. I would disregard the one or two malcontents that post here....like any review situation, there are outliers on both sides....some who can never see any good and some who can never see any negatives. This area is more crowded than it was 10 years ago but it's not NYC or LA or even Miami or Atlanta. But only you can decide for yourself what you think when you come, so come on up and enjoy your trip.
You CAN get a house for up to $350K here, with some land, especially if you are willing to take the non-HGTV House Hunters "OMG THERE'S NO GRANITE OR STAINLESS IN THIS HOUSE" specimens for sale. There is truly something for everyone and the bonus is in 90% of the areas here you're going to get a nice safe family friendly neighborhood with good-to-excellent schools. Many if not most transplants here choose to move to subdivisions which makes meeting kids and playing outside very easy and in the summer the neighborhood pools become the center of socializing and recreation.
I can't say I have any advice on staying in an airbnb, frankly don't think it makes a difference where you stay when you come as you're not going to be sitting inside it all day anyway. And if you hate the area where the airbnb is and say to yourself "I hate this place I'm not moving here" that would be rather rash.
In Wake county, you would need to allocate at least half of that one acre for the septic field (original plus reserve), and there would be a number of setbacks (no build zones) including for the well, the property lines, etc. That makes it hard to build on one acre, and all acres are not suitable for water and sewer. So be sure to check all that out on the exact property you identify before you buy it.
On the other hand, you get more land for the same money in Lee, Harnett and Johnson counties, which are adjoining, so there are more opportunities to do what you want for your price range. You might consider identifying a builder first who might know where a decent lot is, or if a modular home is okay, it seems that is their specialty. Note that with a modular, you create a regular cement foundation and then factory built 'modules' are brought in and fastened together to create the house. You can still specify the interior work, add exterior design, etc.
In desirable areas, homes are averaging $150/sq ft on 0.25 acre lots...and that is a good deal!!
You can move into less hospitable areas but there are plenty in Florida to choose from if you want to go that route.
In desirable towns, schools are beyond overcrowded. Many have caps. And the so called good schools are full of south Asians and Asian kids that study all day long. Hard to keep up with that crowd. So, SAT numbers do not reflect reality. Most teachers are bang average. These kids are constantly being pushed by their parents. Same with Chapel Hill except substitute Asian with kids of UNC/Duke faculty.
I would personally look at Winston Salem or Greensboro. Just my $0.02.
Our search was originally narrowed to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee because of a few factors:
- We did not want to be so far north that snow became a big part of our day-to-day in the wintertime. We felt that would be too huge of an adjustment, being from South Florida.
- We did not want to go too West or North that flying back for the holidays, or in the event that any family member is sick, would be more than a 2-3 hour trip.
- We wanted to experience the seasons a little more than what, say Alabama or Georgia would offer.
That brought us to a lot of lists from sites such as Moveto, and just a lot of reading and research. We visited Greenville, SC but it wasn't for us - we felt strange being so far from a city-center type of environment. That's when we narrowed it down to wanting to be within 20 minutes of Charlotte or Raleigh. So here we are. I hope this answers your question, thank you for your recommendation on Winston-Salem - I will look into it.
Also I just want to say I described my "perfect world" situation - I think when you're moving somewhere you look for the very best you can... and then you adjust to a place that offers you the most that's on your list, in order of priority right? I have been feverishly looking at a ton of listings on Realtor.com in various areas, so I was under the impression that this was not EASY but do-able. Maybe the zip codes I'm looking at are total dumps and I am not seeing the complete picture, so that's why I'm asking here, but I do appreciate those of you taking the time to make real recommendations and not just knocking me down a peg
I am usually all for renting before buying, but with 3 dogs, it might be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Also the size of the dogs may make difference. e.g. 3 Chihuahuas vs 3 Labs. Just wanted to caution you.
Also, it intrigued me that you wanted to live in suburbs where an acre or more is possible and wanted to AirBnB for your scouting trip. Generally speaking, AirBnB homes/apartments are more available in downtown/congested area and few in suburbs. You mentioned Holly Springs in one of your posts. Just searched Holly Springs in an October weekend for 2 adults and 1 child, only 2 are available in Holly Springs. Wake Forest, only 2. Some more in North Raleigh. Slim pickings. Honestly, if it were for me, I'd choose a hotel at somewhere centrally located to visit many places. Just my 2 cents.
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