Hillsborough versus Chapel Hill & Carrboro

[roguesmom]

for the most part, we are happy with the 1 school our kids are in. we live on the very outer edges of hboro (15 minutes from downtown hboro). we live in an older development, mostly small ranch homes on at least an acre. it would be great if there were more kids in our neighborhood but ultimately we love where we live. most of the kids in our n'hood go to durham schools, even the kids with hillsborough addresses. one of my hillsborough neighbors pays for her kids to go to durham schools. her oldest child started out in mangum (northern durham) & she didnt want to give that up for her younger kids....now oldest child is at carrington & they are happy. they tried a hillsborough school 2 yrs ago, but the school didnt have a full time AIG teacher, so they were not happy.

from what we have seen, between kids in our neighborhood & other kids we know, very often schools in durham will see their reputations suffer when schools become overcrowded. the overcrowding is usually the result of students being allowed to transfer out of their school right before school starts back after summer break. the transfers are offered to the students because the schools dont meet their progress grades. we know of one school that started with 4 classes per grade & by the 3rd day of school (after summer break) most of the grades had to increase a class size. this happened last year in our school but not on such a large scale. recently i heard someone complain that our school was very hard to get into, even if you lived in the district..apparently they stand very firm on the requirements to prove residency. the complainer said she had not been given such hassle at the previous school in hillsborough.

for entertainment, kids sports, groceries, shopping, etc. we usually end up in durham because its more convenient. we find there are more historical/recreational things to do in hillsborough compared to entertainment such as movies or decent family friendly/budget restaurants.

as for the original poster, you should know that there is only 1 school in hillsborough that is year round (h'boro elementary). we never hear talk about making other schools year round, which i think would help ease some of the overcrowding. elementary schools in hillsborough have very strong labels as a result of the fabulous (not) 'no child left behind' test scores. the only thing that we arent thrilled about is that the 'lines' (im sure thats not the official term) that determine where you child attends school seems to change about every 5 years...we came pretty close to being moved a few years ago, which i think is the downside of living so close to the durham/orange county lines.

politically, i recall seeing ALOT of non damaged republican signs from mid summer through the nov. election, particularly out here in northwestern hillsborough. there were so many election signs in downtown hillsborough, you had to be stopped at a light to figure out which party they were for. days before the election, a huge handmade obama sign appeared at the intersection of 70/86...within 24 hours it was destroyed.

those are my thoughts. after typing all of this, now im wondering if the original poster is still trying to figure out where to live?

[luckyladyblackbird]

Hillsborough has a good many well known writers living in the town, and from what I have read, abounds with historic houses. If you are itching for one of those gracious homes, be prepared to pay even more than you would in Chapel Hill. My husband and I are going to be stuck in crime ridden Durham for who knows how long it looks like, so pray for us.

[scorp200]

Originally Posted by luckyladyblackbird

Hillsborough has a good many well known writers living in the town, and from what I have read, abounds with historic houses. If you are itching for one of those gracious homes, be prepared to pay even more than you would in Chapel Hill. My husband and I are going to be stuck in crime ridden Durham for who knows how long it looks like, so pray for us.

Well you could move to one of the many areas of Durham that are safe, in the meantime.

Though I think Durham is great, I would LOVE to live in Hillsborough, it's my favorite. One of these days...but I'd want to buy there so have to wait a bit. If I do buy a house anywhere though it would either be Hillsborough or North Durham, depending on the house (must have front porch, must be somewhat old).

[barrmargaret]

I have lived in Hillsborough for about 5 1/2 years now and really love it! It is more of a rural feel than Chapel Hill/Carr but has plenty to do. The downtown area is really great and has lots to offer, great restuarants, organic grocery store, cute shops, and all local shops. It is very accepting to many types of people with a small town feel. I have kids and there is a lot of things to do with them near by. We also like living in our neighborhood, Wyndfall, because it is convinent to both Durham and Chapel Hill, without the Chapel Hill taxes and it has easy interstate access. My husband works in RTP and it takes him about 25 minutes. There is alot to do in Durham as well, but don't want to live there because of the schools. Hillsborough has a lot to offer.