Feedback on Cary & Chapel Hill (Raleigh, Durham: wood floors, apartments, rentals)

[nri]

I'm planning to move out of Milwaukee and after extensive research, we have shortlisted Cary, Apex, Hollysprings and Chapel Hill. I almost decided to move to Cary, but after hearing about Wake county school system, I have second thoughts. I heard that Orange country school system is great, but no one in this forum talks much about Chapel Hill or Orange County school system. Milwaukee is a great place, but due to its long winters and my son developed respiratory, we have no option to move. It will be a great help to us, if anyone can provide the following information.

1. How safe is Chapel hill area?
2. Which is the best school in Orange county?
3. Do I need to live Chapel Hill inorder to get admission into Orange scholl system? Are there any other better places?
4. Are there any schools in Cary, that do not reassign schools every year(ofcousre, not private schools
5. Which are the best apartments/communities to rent in Chapel Hill or Cary areas?
6. After renting for 6 monts, we would like to buy a house? Which are is the best to live, if price is not a criteria?
7. How about allergies? like pollen and other. Is it more or less compared to other areas?
8. If I visit Raleigh, who can give the above information like govt agencies, chamber of commerce..etc?

Again we'll be very grateful to whoever provides the above information.

Thanks in advance

[findingmesomeday]

Hi. I don't live there either but have done extensive research on my own in preparation for what we hope is a relo coming up soon. Here's what I know and you can do a forum search on "Chapel Hill" for more info:

1. C-D rates the crime statistic as above the national average but it appears many of the crimes in CH are property crimes vs personal injury crimes and, in my opinion, pretty typical of what you might find with a university so close by (I'm not saying it's the college kids--it's just that crime is often higher around universities). I live in a town w/ a C-D crime index of "30" so anything seems like more crime to me! But my feeling from being there, my husband's trips there and talking with people who live there and on this forum is that it is on the whole, pretty safe.

2.The CH/Carrboro school system is separate from Orange Cty--unusual for NC. It is generally regarded as one of the best school systems in the state.

3. To enroll in the CH/C schools you must live within the CH/C boundaries.
4. Don't know the answer about Cary schools but my sense is if you live where all the growth is, you are more prone to being reassigned if/when a new school opens. This actually can happen in any school district. However, Wake Co has this added funny little diversity policy which means even if no new schools open, they might ship students in or out to balance some number on some piece of paper in some office, somewhere.

5. I'll let the realtors chime in on the rental issue. If Chapel Hill, figure out which school you'd like to live near and figure it out from there. There's no such thing as a "neighborhood school" in Cary or Wake Co so theoretically you could live anywhere.
6. I'd vote Chapel Hill
7. Will let locals answer this.
8. I don't think you have to actually visit Raleigh to access gov't agency websites, etc.

Good luck!

[geoff2v]

Something happened there with the formatting...

In any event, I can give answers to some of the questions, but since I don't live in Chapel Hill yet, they're pretty basic. Orange County has a separate school system from the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro; and folks who live in the small portion of Chapel Hill inside Durham County go to Durham schools.

And actually, that's the only question I can answer. All the rest requires actually living there, which I'm still 23 days away from doing. But I hope my little bit was helpful!

[toot68]

Also, not all Chapel Hill addresses in Orange County will be in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District.

Plus, to make it even more confusing, a couple Durham addresses in Orange County are in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District.

So its probably best to search by the school district and not the address, if that is what you are looking for.

[ausmerika]

[quote=nri;3989709] It will be a great help to us, if anyone can provide the following information
1. How safe is Chapel hill area?
A. Relatively, for the size town it is, although the crime stats don't always indicate that. Because of the nature of the town (college kids and high end properties) it seems to be mostly theft related. That's in the town, outside in the county I'd venture to say way lower.
2. Which is the best school in Orange county?
A. For what--elementary, middle or high school?
Do I need to live Chapel Hill inorder to get admission into Orange scholl system? Are there any other better places?
A. As the other posters already pointed out, Orange Co. is one of the few (only 12 out of 100) that has a dual school system. In this case County school and city school. As other posters pointed out if you are seeking to be in CHCCS you need to be careful by checking with the school to verify if the address is in their district b/c it is very misleading (crossing countylines but having a Chapel Hill address).
4. Are there any schools in Cary, that do not reassign schools every year(ofcousre, not private schools)
A. Not public that I am aware of. In Wake County always at risk of redistricting. CHCCS does it too, but they have a smart plan: if you are in a certain radius (Walk zone) you aren't redistricted.
5. Which are the best apartments/communities to rent in Chapel Hill or Cary areas?
A. Again, depends on what schools you want your child(ren) to attend. If you are in Chapel Hill I'd look into apartments on the northern end (i.e. Weaver Dairy Rd area), or Southern Village.
6. After renting for 6 monts, we would like to buy a house? Which are is the best to live, if price is not a criteria?
A. Pretty much everywhere in Chapel Hill is prime price. I'd again stick with the northern part of Chapel Hill, Meadowmont (esp. if price is no criteria) and Southern Village areas.
7. How about allergies? like pollen and other. Is it more or less compared to other areas?
A. It seems high to me, but it depends on what you are allergic to. My son has no problems with the pollen, but does have issues with dust mites...and that's year round!
8. If I visit Raleigh, who can give the above information like govt agencies, chamber of commerce..etc?
A. I'm sure you can get the info from the Raleigh website.

[Robert Grant]

Hi,

Regarding schools: Orange County has a separate school system from the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School system. The Chapel Hill (for short hand) school system is among the best in the state, and has a top national ranking as well. The Orange County system is (defined in terms of SAT or ACT test results and depth of resources available to the students) good, but not as good as Chapel Hill. (Note re: taxes: residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro pay an extra tax that goes to the school system - we spend more money on the schools and they are better. Isn't that the way its supposed to work!!)

The confusion about whether a Chapel Hill address is in the school system stems from the following. There are Chapel Hill mailing address and zip codes that are assigned to properties in Durham County (to the east) and Chatham County (to the south). If the property is in those counties, you go to those County school systems. You have to be in Orange County to go to either of the systems: Orange County or Chapel Hill.

There is an area of Orange County, south of the Chapel Hill City limits, that is actually in the City School system. From a tax standpoint, you get the lower County taxes, but the better City Schools.

If you are an employee of the City School System, there is a sweetheart deal in which your children can attend the system even if you do not live in the service district.

Because of the ongoing growth, school district lines (mainly at the elementary level) change. The high school lines were just re-drawn to accomodate bringing the new third high school ("Carrboro") on line, after which they should stable for quite a while.

I know some parents feel strongly about this middle school versus that, or this elementary school versus that one, but I never invested much in that discussion. I did buy my house such that I would be in the East High School district, but because the building is so much newer than the Chapel Hill High building.

Regarding rentals and where to buy, I think the earlier advise to start with a preferred school district is sound. After that, I think it becomes a matter of taste: more urban feel versus more rural, neighborhood versus country, older home versus newer, and of course considerations about transportation timing to work.

I don't know if the pollen count here is considered high or not.

One side note however, if you get a doctor to prescribe that your son's respiratory needs are so severe that there should be wood floors (not wall to wall carpet) in the house, it then becomes legally possible to deduct some of the installation and purchase costs from your federal tax return. Not much, but some.

Chapel Hill/Carrboro is a great town, I am sure you will love it here. Having moved here from Boston, I do occaisionally miss the snow, but only maybe two or three days each winter!!!

Thanks!!

[frogandtoad]

I live in Chapel Hill and you could not pay me enough money to live in Cary. There are plenty of people in Cary who would never live in Chapel Hill. They are *very* different. Totally different feels to them and there is a good chance that one of them will appeal to you greatly and the other will not. So I'd really recommend spending a day with a realtor looking at each (not just driving down Franklin St. which a lot of people do. There is a lot more to CH than Franklin St. and when you live in many neighborhoods you'd never really know you're even in a college town--but you sure do on Franklin St!).

Anyway, the schools in CH-Carrboro are arguably the best in the state, they are traditional calendar and they do not redistrict all the time. That said, if you come to CH and hate it, you won't want to move here! Wake does have issues but if you love Cary you might be perfectly happy there.

Look at them both and it will become clear. They are so different you're likely to have a strong opinion of one over another. Something for everyone in the triangle!!

[nri]

Thanks a lot to each one of you for giving very valuable information and taking your valuable time. All replies are news to me, as I didn't know that Orange country has dual school system, also has another school system Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School. I'm now more worried that even these schools have reassignment system. My son will be in 3rd grade after this summer. The move is especially for him and my putting my career at risk. As "ausmerika" mentioned, if allergies are year round, there is no meaning of moving out to North Carolin, since my son is allergic to Pollen, dustmite, two tree.
Assuming I'll enroll my son in Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School system, which is the safe area to live. Price is not a criteria, but the place should be peaceful/relaxed, greenery and crime free.

I'm afraid whether I'll regret after moving to NC from Milwaukee? I've been living in Milwaukee for 10 years only -ve point is long winters. As I mentioned earlier this move is for my son only.

Further inputs and advices are higlhy appreciate.

Thanks

[findingmesomeday]

Chapel Hill does not redistrict for diversity reasons like Wake does. That means that the only way your son would get redistricted is if a new elementary school is built to relieve overcrowding and some kids are shifted to that new school. Further, I've heard that if you are in a school "walk zone" you will NOT get reassigned at all.

Orange County schools are also good. I don't know much about elementary or middle but when I was doing my research, I had decided if we somehow couldn't get ourselves into an area that feeds into East Chapel Hill HS, we'd go to an area of OC that feeds into Cedar Ridge HS.

[West_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by nri

I'm planning to move out of Milwaukee and after extensive research, we have shortlisted Cary, Apex, Hollysprings and Chapel Hill. I almost decided to move to Cary, but after hearing about Wake county school system, I have second thoughts. I heard that Orange country school system is great, but no one in this forum talks much about Chapel Hill or Orange County school system. Milwaukee is a great place, but due to its long winters and my son developed respiratory, we have no option to move. It will be a great help to us, if anyone can provide the following information.

1. How safe is Chapel hill area?
2. Which is the best school in Orange county?
3. Do I need to live Chapel Hill inorder to get admission into Orange scholl system? Are there any other better places?
4. Are there any schools in Cary, that do not reassign schools every year(ofcousre, not private schools
5. Which are the best apartments/communities to rent in Chapel Hill or Cary areas?
6. After renting for 6 monts, we would like to buy a house? Which are is the best to live, if price is not a criteria?
7. How about allergies? like pollen and other. Is it more or less compared to other areas?
8. If I visit Raleigh, who can give the above information like govt agencies, chamber of commerce..etc?

Again we'll be very grateful to whoever provides the above information.

Thanks in advance

Well, to answer just a few things:

IMO, I think Cary is currently safer than Chapel Hill. Crime in Chapel Hill is going up. Lot's of negative press lately.

Both Cary schools and Chapel Hill schools provide good education. I believe Chapel Hill is not on a year round schedule, where Cary is.

Cary will provide a better value than Chapel Hill and is also more centralized.

Pollen is about the same as any area that has a lot of trees and plants. This year however, there was something extra in the air that did not agree with me. All better now though.