Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We lived in Cary for a few months while we house hunted. We had originally planned on living there but we opted for the Clayton area. We got a larger lot and more bang for our buck housewise. We liked all the amenities that Cary offered but Clayton is growing and gradually seeing more of those amenities pop up (though I'll miss passing those cows, goats, horses, ducks, etc..when they disappear).
Also, Clayton (and I'm sure the other towns) have various areas. 70 runs through Clayton, east of it is East Clayton (the 40/42 area), west of it is West Clayton (where we live). And there are areas in the middle where your trip to RTP would be say 20 minutes less than ours. In the 40/42 area, its very built up on 42 with route 40 (goes to Raleigh) right there and a 70 bypass. Where we area (Archer Lodge) we can go either to the White Oak Plaza (Michaels, best buy, target, petsmart, pier 1, movies, kohls, and more) or to Knightdale with even more to choose from - both about 20 minutes.
Another thing to consider is the school system. We chose this area as it is outside Wake County (Johnston). Many love Wake and don't mind the bussing and year round schools but with relocating we didn't want to deal with it on top of everything else.
Good luck with your search. Its fun and exhausting but finding the area that fits you is key. BTW...we chose a local realtor AFTER we chose an area we liked.
Lauren
Bump for possible newcomers or others who might have something to add...moving there next month but still pretty torn over exactly where (short term anyway)....
Cary started out as the bedroom community to North Raleigh, which became the most desirable area and therefore became quite pricey.
When Cary grew into it's own little town, it became equally desirable and equally expensive so people starting pushing out towards Apex and Holly Springs.
As North Raleigh became even more expensive, people began moving out to Wake Forest. If you had seen Wake Forest 6 years ago, it would have looked more like Holly Springs today.
Six years ago, you may not have wanted to live in Johnston County as it was very very rural and the school system wasn't anything great and there was very little shopping. In the last 6 years, it has grown with much more shopping and many more neighborhoods. Six years ago, you would very seldom see anyone living in Johnston County, other than folks born in the area. Now, 6 years later, it has become quite desirable and the Johnston County schools have grown and become very desirable. As it grows, it has begun having some issues with building new schools and some reassignment.
I live in Cary, and my occupation takes me into both Wake and Clayton quite often. I believe the biggest differences between the three are location and the length of time that they've been established. As other posters have stated, being ideally situated in the center of the Triangle, Cary developed first, and to this day still has the best location. Thus, Cary is always going to be seen as more desirable and likely more expensive.
As an aside, driving in the opposite direction of RTP every morning (and driving towards it in the evening) it baffles me how people that live on the fringe towns (Clayton, Fuquay, Wake) can just SIT there in the miles of backed up traffic everyday. Life is too short to spend 1 3/4 to two hours a day sitting in the car.
As an aside, driving in the opposite direction of RTP every morning (and driving towards it in the evening) it baffles me how people that live on the fringe towns (Clayton, Fuquay, Wake) can just SIT there in the miles of backed up traffic everyday. Life is too short to spend 1 3/4 to two hours a day sitting in the car.
Guess that's what makes the world go round! I'm baffled by many things but never the choices others' make in pursuit of a better quality of life. No one WANTS to sit in traffic but some of us will trade it for other things. We have a home that we still sigh with a "I can't believe we live here" after 2 years.....that is worth the traffic to us. Its definately not worth it to some and I wish them all the happiness in their choices.
Just rereading my post above and noticed I got my East and West mixed up for Clayton. oops. East Clayton is the Archer Lodge area and West Clayton is the 40/42 area.
IMO, your opinion of any area will really vary based on the price point. The same money can pay for a variety of neighborhoods that may have more or less of what you desire.
For example, we live on the Cary/Apex border in a home that is one of the least expensive in our subdivision ($250k- ish). We also looked at Holly Springs, Clayton and other Apex subdivisions.
Holly Springs was not for us, but we found Clayton appealing. We did not like Riverwood in Clayton, but we liked Flowers Plantation. Other Apex subdivisions seem to be either more expensive or no better than our own. Cary homes for the same money offered less yard, square footage or schools with lower test scores.
Now that we have gotten used to living in the "more expensive" subdivision, we have found that we have been disappointed with neighborhoods where we could afford the "average-priced" house. For example, the roads may be maintained differently, the lawns and homes may be maintained differently, the amenities may be different (curbs or no curbs, sloped yards or flat yards, exposed drainage or hidden drainage, etc.)
I guess what I'm saying is you can't generalize by town, you need to look at the specific neighborhood. There are move-up neighborhoods and entry-level neighborhoods in all those areas.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
