Where should we move? Need something near Butner/RTP (Raleigh: real estate, budget)

[tabbcat]

My husband will be working in Butner and I'll likely find something in Raleigh/Durham/RTP. So we'd LIKE to be in the Briar Creek area, but we're not sure what's around that might be in our price range ($260k max would be nice).

Our agent keeps warning us away from Ravenstone (which seems to be in the right area), because of the Durham address. We have no kids, and would likely upgrade before kids needed to be in schools... but really...how bad is the crime in that area? We did the search through the Durham police dept website and ... hell. We're from Detroit. Anything looks good compared to here. Looks like less rape/murder than we're used to but more home invasions!

Any other suggestions for subs that would suit our needs (newer, 2500sqft+, 3-4 bed + loft) in the area? I'd love to build, but we need to be there in June, so I'd like to find an established home in a good sub.

Thanks in advance!
Tabby

[targetmom68]

I actually live in Butner so I'm not sure how much help I can be Have you considered Creedmoor, Wake Forest area or area with easy access to 540 so you would have easy access to shopping, etc?

[MI-Roger]

Where will your husband be working in Butner? I am also from S-E Michigan and recently received a job offer from a company Head Quartered in Butner.

[saturnfan]

Wouldn't that commute be most costly at current gas prices?

[MrsSteel]

There are a few residents of Ravenstone who post here on the forum. You can read their comments on that area in the following thread: KB Communities: Ravenstone and Stone Hill in Durham

[tabbcat]

He's actually going to be a dentist at the low security prison. I think Ravenstone is about a 20 min drive, which would be fantastic. Wake Forest ends up being about 45, even though it's a GREAT area (around everything I like...shopping, etc.). Would Wake Forest be a rough drive to RTP if I end up finding work there, though?

My real estate agent tells me Creedmore might be too far north for our liking but it has REALLY nice homes. She said it would be a drive for any shopping, etc, and would be a rough commute if I found work in Raleigh.

[House Lady]

be much of a drive to and from Brier Creek, where there is plenty of shopping. I drove a client from there to Creedmoor in a comfortable 20 minutes last week on a weekday at 11 AM. It takes longer if you try to go at 5 PM. A job commute time would depend on where you work. If you work in North Raleigh it won't be bad at all. RTP will be about 25-30 minutes, but try not to do the typical work hours if possible, due to peak hour traffic. The main road from Creedmoor to Ralaeigh, Hwy 50, is a good, pretty straight road, but only 2 lanes. Creedmoor is very close to Butner, so your husband won't have any problems. Creedmoor is a small town, though, and if that is not to your liking you may not care for it.
Wake Forest is a little larger town and is a little farther. If you live in the Hwy 98 corridor of Wake Forest going toward Raleigh, it is a straight shot to northwest Raleigh and then to RTP or Creedmoor. That road is a straight east-west road.

[mdp_az]

I think there are a number of neighborhoods in northern Durham that might work quite well for you. It seems the residents of Ravenstone like that area just fine and w/out kids, you wouldn't have to worry about schools at all...the biggest negative to that part of Durham. There are a lot of other newer and new n'hoods in 27712 and 27704 ZIPs that are great...and crime should not be an issue for you. I personally am about to move from north Raleigh to northern Durham with a child for 2 primary reasons: 1 - to move him out of Wake school zones and into Durham Public Schools before he starts Kindergarten and 2 - to shorten my commute to RTP and my wife's commute to Durham. We aren't concerned about crime in the least in that part of Durham. Sadly, there seem to be some agents that are hell bent on bad-mouthing Durham, but most of them also seem to be basing their comments largely on the media reports alone.

[BrentwoodBoy]

Check out the Wynngate Community off East Lyon Station in Creedmoor...a new phase just opened with lots of great lot selections well within your budget. We live in that community and have found Creedmoor to be a central location to many things........

[KFran]

There are several communities considered Creedmoor that you could look at. I live in northern Wake County, but it is still considered Creedmoor. It takes me about 20 mins to get to work in Durham and my hubbie about 25 mins to get to RTP. I don't live in a subdivision, but here's a list of them in the area:

Grissom Woods
Pine Valley
Whitehall
Wheeler Pond
Davenport
Golden Pond
Paddington
Falls Meadow
Quails Meadow
Wynngate