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I have been reading this site for a few weeks now and appreciate all the great advice that is offered. So I would like to ask for your input regarding my situation. I am relatively new to NC and currently rent a house in a Chapel Hill where my wife works. I will be starting a new position this summer in Raleigh near Wake Forest Rd and 440. We are hoping to settle here and are having a difficult time finding a place to live. I have heard that traffic down 40 to Raleigh can be terrible. I will likely be working 8-5 or so. Any estimates on commuting time from CH? Any suggestions on a nice neighborhood that would make commuting to both Chapel Hill and Raleigh reasonable. Price is not a huge issue...up to $500,000 likely fine. We also have an almost 4 year old who will be heading to school in the next couple of years. I am well aware of the quality of the Chapel Hill schools, and I hate reading about the mess with redistricting in Wake. So, we are basically looking for a nice neighborhood (we really like Chapel Hill), with good schools (Chapel Hill, or private possibly), in decent commuting range of both Chapel Hill where my wife works and Raleigh where I will be working. Any suggestions? I appreciate your help!
With respect to traffic patterns, it would be easier for you to drive in to Raleigh from CH, than vice versa. I assume you would take 40 to 440, as other option would be 540 to Falls and that sounds yucky, but I haven't lived there in a while, so I don't know. Given that, I guess you can just look at what you see in between. I think that many of the North Raleigh schools are plagued with the same problems. If you did use 540, you could try communities off of that. Creedmor area could be in between? I just don't know anything about schools in Wake County - you hear nothing but complaining about it. I would try for Chapel Hill if I could, but that would stick you with a painful commute.
North Cary near Harrison & I-40 along Weston Pkwy might work for you. You can access I-40W to Chapel Hill easily from either Aviation Pkwy or Harrison Ave. and access North Raleigh from Aviation to I-40E to Wade Ave to I-440. If you are completely freaked by Wake Co. growth issues, you can send your kid to Cary Academy next to the SAS campus on Harrison Ave.
This will result in a closer commute for you than it will be for your wife but the location adjacent to Cary Academy might make it worth it. Plus, neither or you will have it as bad as you will have it if you stay in Chapel Hill.
Morrisville is another option that will put you closer to "centrally located" between the two cities but you have to contend with flight paths from the airport and you'll be further from Cary Academy.
There's a nice established neighborhood of luxury homes right off of Harrison on Weston Pkwy whose name escapes me at the moment. It's convenient to I40 and really, really close to Cary Academy. Perhaps a realtor on this board can jog my memory?
North Cary near Harrison & I-40 along Weston Pkwy might work for you. You can access I-40W to Chapel Hill easily from either Aviation Pkwy or Harrison Ave. and access North Raleigh from Aviation to I-40E to Wade Ave to I-440. If you are completely freaked by Wake Co. growth issues, you can send your kid to Cary Academy next to the SAS campus on Harrison Ave.
This will result in a closer commute for you than it will be for your wife but the location adjacent to Cary Academy might make it worth it. Plus, neither or you will have it as bad as you will have it if you stay in Chapel Hill.
Morrisville is another option that will put you closer to "centrally located" between the two cities but you have to contend with flight paths from the airport and you'll be further from Cary Academy.
There's a nice established neighborhood of luxury homes right off of Harrison on Weston Pkwy whose name escapes me at the moment. It's convenient to I40 and really, really close to Cary Academy. Perhaps a realtor on this board can jog my memory?
I think you are talking about Wessex? $500,000 won't do it. But there is Bexley at Weston, and Weston Pointe, both off the Cary Parkway, and both easily done under $500,000.
FWIW, and I know no one asked...
If I wanted my kid in Chapel Hill Schools, and my wife worked in Chapel Hill, and I worked in Raleigh, I think I would consider living in Chapel Hill, bite the bullet on commute and have Mom within easy distance of the kid's school.
It often seems like both parents are too far from the elementary school kids when they split the difference on commutes.
Dare I suggest Durham?
we have some lovely neighborhoods well under $500k--saving on your house would leave money to send your child to Durham Academy, the Duke School or Carolina Friends.
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