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I am looking to relocate outside the Raleigh area on the southern end and commute to Raleigh for work. I have been looking at Sanford, Lillington, or Pittsboro area. They seem like good size towns with access to the usual convinces of stores like walmart/lowes/etc but I am unsure on the quality of life in the areas.
Any of these areas I should avoid due to crime?
Any insight on issues regarding flooding or any environmental concern?
Any insight on the school systems of the county? From my understand the NC school system is by county?
Anything I should know about the areas?
Any other recommended areas to look into?
Any insight would be helpful. Thank you in advance.
I have lived in Sanford my entire life and Pittsboro is about 15 miles from me.
Sanford is a nice little town and I really don't have much to complain about here.
I made the daily commute to Raleigh myself for over 11 years and it wasn't bad
for the most part. Now I'm driving to Fayetteville and it's only a mile difference
and quite a bit faster. If I could think of a downside to Sanford, it would be the growth.
There are several new subdivisions in the works including one that is supposed to have
a 1000 homes?
Pittsboro is a great little town that I visit often. However with Chatham Park being built
now I'm not sure it will retain it's small town charm? I can't help with Lillington. Good
luck to you!
I have been looking at Sanford, Lillington, or Pittsboro area.
We have relatives in Sanford, and you can find nice housing there in a safe area. I would not recommend commuting to Raleigh although my SIL does it. I suggest being closer to your work in Pittsboro.
Lillington has some very nice housing and a small downtown with some charm. If you could stand the commute it could work for you.
Both Harnett and Lee counties have schools with average ratings. If highly rated schools are important, I would stick to Wake County.
Sanford is a fabulous old town that has gone through some hard economic times. Many areas in town are a little rundown. But as they say, it has great bones! The drive from US1 is a direct shot into Raleigh, although certain times of day there are slow-downs as you get into wake county.
Pittsboro is a growing area with a planned increase via Chatham Park of 7000 acres over the next 20 years. So it might be a good investment area. But getting to Raleigh is a little trickier with no actual freeways.
One added area to consider is Harnett county, Angier in particular. Small town, a mix of local retail and rural. Highway 401 is accessed by nice backroads and takes you straight into Raleigh.
Last edited by luv4horses; 11-12-2019 at 07:12 AM..
Working in Raleigh?
Where? It is quite sprawling, and your commute from those three areas could be greatly affected by your work destination.
I.e., US1 runs straight into I-440, and a just-started multi-year construction project to widen 440 from I-40 to Wade Avenue exit is going to sow misery for commuters.
I commute from just north of Sanford into Raleigh (Blue Ridge Road near Rex) a couple of times a week. Heading toward Raleigh is a pretty easy commute until you get to the 64/40/440 interchange. You can expect major slowdowns every morning. Of course, it's slow going along 440 until things open up past the Wade Ave exit. The construction hasn't made things any better...
On the way back it's the same old song and dance, except you can also throw in another choke point where drivers make a last-minute exit onto 55, which usually backs things up past the Ten-Ten Road exit in Apex. Once you get past 55, it's smooth sailing all the way into Sanford again.
Of course, you'll have the odd accident every once in a while on US-1.
My commute usually takes about 45 minutes or so, even with the slowdowns. Rarely does it ever take more than an hour. On the weekends, I can be in Raleigh in 40 minutes or less.
The one good thing about Sanford is it's pretty much an equal distance (in terms of time) to Raleigh, Greensboro, and Fayetteville.
I don't live within the city limits (nor would I), but I ride through it fairly often. There's crime, but it's about what you'd expect of a small southern town. You'll see vagrants hanging around in town, a little graffiti here and there. There's a fair amount of property crime, but violent crime seems to be low. The police do seem to be diligent about patrolling the high crime areas.
If you're planning to commute to Raleigh, Westlake is probably the area I'd look at in Sanford. Nice, safe, mature neighborhood, not a bunch of cookie-cutters. It's a little steep for the area ($200,000 - $600,000), but affordable in comparison to Raleigh, Cary, etc.
Carolina Trace and Carolina Lakes are a couple of gated golf communities, but I honestly don't know much about them. I've driven by Carolina Trace plenty of times, but I've never been inside the gates. I've heard it's mostly retirees, don't know how true that is.
I can't comment on the school system, as I don't have school-age children, but I've heard both good and bad about Lee County.
The people who are most happy to live in Sanford are the ones who have lived there all their lives and have relatives living there. If you are looking for worldly or open-minded people you will be disappointed. They are church-goers and relatively conservative.
Regarding envirnmental concerns, there was some discussion of fracking for oil a couple of years ago. I think it has been stopped, but you ought to investigate.
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