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My husband and I have the choice of being transferred from out of state to the Triangle area or Atlanta for work. For the triangle, we believed that the Chapel Hill/Carrboro would be the best fit for a family based on online research. ("great schools, wonderful place to raise a family") We have two teens. In trying to decide, we visited CH for a week.
While the community was super friendly, we hardly saw any families. We saw plenty of students and seniors, but even after trying to search them out through neighborhoods and parks, it was pretty devoid of groups of families. Again, at all the restaurants we went to, students and seniors. What did we miss?
It was very different from any place we have lived in that the town was centered around the university, vs a town center. (I grew up in a college town, but the college was just something else in the town, not the heart of the town) When we asked a RE agent what teens & families do she simply said that they hang out on Franklin St with the college kids. I'm sure that's a thing, but there has to be more areas?
When we visited the Atlanta suburbs of Milton/Alpharetta, it was crawling with families.
I really, really love the vibe/political leanings of CH/Carrboro, but am having a hard time convincing my kids as they saw hardly any other kids. Is this really the family mecca we've read about online? Please help me to construct a better visit or let me know if there is a better area for families in the triangle.
You might be happier in Cary or North Raleigh. The areas are very family oriented and suburban similar to Alpharetta, Marietta. These areas lean Democratic, but can be politically mixed. Even though NC State is nearby, I don’t really notice the students unless I drive on campus.
I’m not that familiar with Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
I’ve lived in that area and the university is definitely central. I wouldn’t necessarily call it family area, definitely a university area. Depends on where you work too. Cary is probably more of what you are looking for.
I agree with the suggestions to look at Cary, Apex or N Raleigh. Very family oriented. My niece, her hubby and their son moved from So Cal in December and love it. They’re renting in N Raleigh right now but hope to purchase a home in Cary or Apex.
As others have said, N Raleigh and Cary will all have a lot of families. You can spend a bit less by looking in Apex, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, or Fuquay Varina (and each will have a slightly longer commute to RTP if that is where you are going to be employed). All of these are in Wake County, which is the common school district, so you will do fine in that respect to schools in any of them.
I had this same experience in NY a couple months ago. We were in the town that we moved here from and DD, a HS senior, kept saying "where are the high schoolers?" (we moved here when she was little).
Well, I know they are there because we lived there. But the school is much smaller than the schools here. Wherever we go, we see people she knows (we jokingly call her "the mayor of Cary") even when we aren't on our side of town.
Perhaps this is the problem in CH/Carrboro, which is a very small area as far as schools go and it's just smaller than what you're used to. I'm not overly familiar with that area so I couldn't say and we have a couple posters who live there and have not responded yet, but I am sure they will.
All due respect to the realtor you're dealing with, unless you know them, their background, their pulse of the area...no way of knowing if they have any clue what they are talking about. I don't have kids younger than my senior, and wouldn't attempt to answer such questions if asked. Some people are bolder and will talk out there arse even when they don't know what they're talking about. If you want info on the kids, the better bet is to get with the school PTAs and find out from parents who actually have kids in the system. Or ask the principal for a tour and ask if you can talk to the people who work in the schools.
If you're enamored of the political climate in CH and don't want to pivot from that then I don't see any reason to go pinging over to Wake County (not that you'd have an issue here...it's a pretty well rounded area). There ARE kids in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. ALL kids can find their niche. THis area is ripe with relocators and I've not known a kid who moved here, regardless of age, who didn't find their place. We've been here 12 years and have seen kids move in constantly. Jock, nerd, band geek, druggie, goth, princess, laxbro - there's a place for everyone.
There are sections of Durham that are really good, but you have to pay attention to the base schools when buying.
Pretty sure the legions of teenagers going to school in Durham will turn out just fine.
OP, just do some research into Durham. It is madness that people aren't suggesting it, especially given that our main problem right now is that people can't afford to buy here anymore because of a tech influx. You may or may not like it here but someone wanting to live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro would normally be at least a little curious about Durham.
Edited to also say: there are definitely families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, though.
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