I am In Town and looking!

[clodhopper]

Some folks might think I 'm crazy but Granville Co. outside of Durham is really neat.

[MariGirl]

Originally Posted by tarp

Traffic in Cary is not bad at all. I find the traffic on Capital Blvd (US-1) from the Beltline up to Wake Forest to be much worse. At least Cary has limited-access freeways connecting it to the outside world. From Wake Forest, there is no way out without hitting a bunch of stoplights.

The best choice would be Chapel Hill or Carrboro if you are working in RTP. The commute will be from the other direction, with much less traffic, you have the downtown pedestrian friendly atmosphere, and the small town feel. You will need to spend $350k to $500k on a house for that areas though.

Sanford is out of the question for access to RTP.

I'm not sure why TARP thinks Sanford is out of the question for access to RTP. On the contrary...there are a number of people who live in Sanford and commute to the RTP.(Yes, I know them personally. Have also made the drive myself.)
There are several ways to do it, but the most pleasant is to go around Jordan Lake. It's about a 40-minute commute, low stress, few traffic lights, great scenery... especially this time of year with the trees changing color.

[tarp]

40 minutes is the kind of commute that, I would say, is doable if you already live there and just happened to find a job 40 minutes away. If you are moving somewhere and getting a new job, why not find a place close to the job, or at least closer to the employment centers where you are likely to find jobs? Why waste gas and an hour and a half of your time each day on the road?