Moving from Wilton, CT to Cary/Apex/Morrisville/Chapel Hill (Raleigh: houses, best schools)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Hi,
We have a job situation requiring us to move to NC this summer and trying to decide the best location. Husband's job is at a startup in RTP (800 Park Offices Drive for now). He has some flexibility with the hours, but will likely travel so proximity to airport is nice. We have a kid going to 8th grade and 4th grade along with a 3 year old. I work from home.
It looks like Northwest Cary and Morrisville are best for commuting to work. I am assuming the closer it is to RTP, the better from a commute - maybe Apex would take significantly longer. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Schools are our next priority and the magnet/charter schools are very hard to grasp - especially how long the kids will sit in the bus if one is available. The base schools in West cary are both capped and we are not sure what the back-up is - I have looked at Address Lookup and School Maps with a couple of addresses our realtor sent over. We are wondering if we should apply to a charter like the "Triangle Math Science" and let that drive the housing decision. The trouble with other charters/magnets is what to do next year for high school for the older child.
We also heard about the new high school starting up in Cary - not sure if I can see the allocations already and if it is a good idea to rely on this.
Luckily for us, house price is not driving our decision. We'd like to make sure that the house will hold its value over time and we are assuming that being closer to RTP makes it more likely.
We do realize that lots are much smaller and it is much more urban compared to where we are in CT. We would not surprised if we get tired of it in 3-5 years, but it is OK in the short-run. We are visiting this weekend and will take recommendations of sub-divisions we must visit.
We looked at Chapel Hill briefly; It looks like prices are higher, lots are sometimes bigger, but a lot of the Indian community seem to be farther away in Cary. Helps to have ethnic food/grocery closer if my husband is traveling.
Thanks in advance - apologize for the long first post
Lakshmi
Sounds like you are looking at houses in the Panther Creek HS/Mills Park Middle zone - as they are capped and you mentioned capped schools. Maybe branch out from there a bit.
The new HS being built is not going to be open to students in its base zone for a few years, it will house students from Apex HS while Apex HS is being rebuilt.
Thanks for the quick reply. Budget is between 550-700k which seemed enough to accommodate the family and more. Yes, we are looking close the panther creek area since we have friends there and it seems to fit the good school/good commute criteria.
Well, those schools are capped, so you will have to deal with that issue. Panther Creek overflow is Green Hope, and there's probably enough kids up there who are going to GHHS that are supposed to go to PCHS that it won't be an issue. They are changing the base zone for Mills Park Elementary, which is also capped, and the new base school is going to be Horton's Creek.
You might consider living in the Green Hope High School base zone since you're high schooler is going to get sent there anyway. You'll only be 10 minutes from your friends who live in far west Cary.
You won't get into a magnet for next year as the application period is now. If you go with a charter, choose carefully. Personally would not choose most charters over schools in the Green Hope base zone but YMMV.
Sounds like Morrisville, West Cary, or North Western Apex would be your best bets. North Raleigh/Brier Creek area might also be an option.
Plenty of uncapped schools in the area, it's just something you'll need to be cognizant of. Or if you don't want to deal with it, send them to private school which sounds like it may be an option.
Cary/Morrisville has the largest Indian community since most work at RTP but there are Indians in Chapel Hill, too, many of whom are professors at UNC and Duke. As a whole, Chapel Hill is considered to have the best schools in the Triangle and among the best in NC, which attracts a lot of Indians as well. Chapel Hill has 7 Indian restaurants. There are 3 Indian grocery stores within 15 minutes in Durham (Spice Bazaar, Little India, and Around the World Market).
Thanks you for all the replies. We thought having good base schools is the best. The charter schools appear to have great results, but we were wondering if the incoming class was skewed. Other than the hassle of finding transportation are there any major downsides to charters? Also do charters get the same level of investments that the public schools do? I don't recall reading anything here. But I tried to stay with newer threads.
As far private schools, having 3 kids makes this not as attractive as having just 1. Also, we are worried about the kids not being exposed to economically diverse group of friends. Hoping public schools are a better way for this.
What is the added commute time with North western Apex versus north west Cary to RTP? In your opinion, is this getting worse in the next 3-5 years as RTP grows and more development takes place down south? The RTP expansion plans look very impressive.
As far private schools, having 3 kids makes this not as attractive as having just 1. Also, we are worried about the kids not being exposed to economically diverse group of friends. Hoping public schools are a better way for this.
With all due respect, I understand where you're coming from but you could probably adjust your housing budget and be able to afford private school without issue. Also the schools you're looking at in West Cary are probably some of the least economically-diverse public schools in Wake County.
Look in the Davis Drive/Davis Drive/Green Hope assignment node.
And the Green Hope/Davis Drive/Green Hope node.
That should bring you Preston Village. Not a bad RTP commute.
Somewhat larger lots than many other nearby communities, in your price range, and you should hold value if you decide 3-5 years is enough.
Just a couple of miles from HMart, and proximity to a few Indo-Pak stores.
It is generally comfortably in your price range, with median prices in the $670,000's. But, inventory turns fast, under a week. The only currently Active MLS listing is $830,000.
There is one that will start showing on 2/24 @ $689,900, obviously after your visit, unfortunately.
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