Single mom of 2(ages 3 and 11): Where to live??New job in Durham / New salary 85K (Raleigh: chapel, mortgage)

[jac808]

I have read many threads and tried to piece together my own assumptions about these two towns. I am a single mother of two girls. I have accepted a job offer in on the westside of Durham and am trying to figure out where to move. Based on comments about the "feel" of Cary and Chapel Hill-I think that we could be happy in either. We are coming from a large midwest city, where my girls attend private school. We are the "typical" suburban family-minus the father My salary offer is 85k and I am wondering(I will have daycare costs for 2) where would be the ideal location. I would like to use public schools, but they must be EXCELLENT! That is my first priority. My commute will be fairly important as well(I am used to 25 minutes)-time with the girls is my second priority. Finally, I want to be somewhere that offers plenty to do (parks, movies, etc.). Where should I be looking? **I have major concerns about the school reassignments that I have read about on the threads, so I would like to avoid that if possible if that is still a problem)**

Thoughts??

[jshallen]

I would look in the Hope Valley or Woodcroft sections of durham. I dont know if $85k will support a "nice" house in cary or chapel hill and 2 girls in private school.

Durham has good schools as well.

[mdp_az]

I would also suggest the Easley ES or Hillandale ES/Brogden MS/Riverside HS district in NW Durham.

Since you are concerned about school reassignments, you should erase anything in Wake County, including Cary, from your list.

[Waterboy526]

While $85k sounds like a pretty good salary (and it is for this area), I would think that you would want to get a nice house in a nice area, but one that won't make your mortgage too high. With possibly sending one to daycare and the other to a private school, I would think that you would want to stay under $250k for a house. IMO, this would allow you to do the things you want to do, live in a decent area, and save enough $$ for retirement and college for your children.

I too think that South Durham might be a good choice, since it's a nice part of Durham, you're close to good shopping, and you can find a nice house under the $250k price range that you will be able to afford and still have money left over for the other things you would want to pursue for yourself and your daughters.

I think if I were you I would also look into sending my 11 y/o to a private school instead of public (not that there is something tremendously wrong with public schools), which you could do if you bought a more modest house and lived within your means.

[mjohnson185]

I would recommend living in Chapel Hill in a townhome and sending them to public schools. I used to be an admissions counselor and the only school system I saw Harvard and Yale attend a college fair day was East Chapel Hill High. My husband works with someone who owned a nice big house on a big lot in Clayton and sold just so they could live in a townhome in Chapel Hill for the same price...to send their kids to Chapel Hill schools. Check out Coventry, Providence Glen, Erwin Village, Winchester Court. In the 250,000 range, you are not going to find many college students due to price. Anything below 200,000...you might find some college students there. When I would visit East Chapel Hill High as an admissions counselor I was SUPER impressed with the students....it was like visiting Ravenscroft in Raleigh. Just didn't remind me of the other 100's of public schools I visited and it left a lasting impression. Morrisville also has a great public school system. Town Hall Commons is right next to the schools. You will get more house for the money in Morrisville than Chapel Hill.

[durhammom]

Originally Posted by mjohnson185

Morrisville also has a great public school system. Town Hall Commons is right next to the schools. You will get more house for the money in Morrisville than Chapel Hill.

I'm surprised someone in admissions wouldn't know this but Morrisville is part of the Wake County system and doesn't have it's own school system. Therefore anyone moving to Morrisville would potentially be impacted the the school reassignment issues.

My only advice to the OP would be to look closely and deeply at the schools. There is no doubt that Chapel Hill Schools outscore other schools on standardized tests but the question becomes is that because the schools are better? or the students are better to start? With the cost of Chapel Hill these days, they get a higher proportion of highly motivated kids from well-educated and highly motivated families than say Jordan in Durham which has a much wider mix from the kids of MDs, JDs and Phds to those of high school dropouts. The wider mix in Durham tends to cause lower overall averages but it doesn't mean that the highly motivated will not get a good education -- they do. There are pros and cons to both -- you just need to decide which is most important to you.

In general I think you will get more house for your money in Durham and your overall economic level will be much more mid-range in Durham. Pretty much all the elementary schools in Southern and Western Durham are fine. For MS you probably want either one of the magnets or charters (there are so many these days just about everyone gets into at least one) or Githens or Brogdon possibly Carrington. Jordan and Riverside highs are generally the safe bets plus there is some likelihood of there being a new HS in West Durham before your 11 year old needs it. But I had a friend whose daughter got a great education in the Hillside IB program and Hillside's valedictorian from 2008 went to Harvard. So a good education can be had at even Durham's "worst" HS.

Good luck with your decision. I'm very happy here in Durham but know it is a much tougher decision for those moving here.

[mjohnson185]

It's been 5 years since I was in admissions and we were not familliar with how the school systems were run. We were only concerned with getting seniors to enroll into our college. Every high school I visited had a different feel. Over 4 years of visiting high schools, I realized very quickly that each high school was very different from another. There were always great students at a poorer performing high school that ended up performing well in college and had great careers afterwards, but I do feel East Chapel Hill is special. They have 94% conversion of high school senior to college/university. That is an amazing number and one for them to be proud of. Also, over 60% of their teachers have a masters degree. I did see Harvard and Yale attend the college fairs at private schools, one public school in Atlanta, and East Chapel Hill. They may go to multiple public schools now, but at that time we didn't see them often at events. It was kind of the buzz when we saw them because it was rare.

[GopherBlue]

I second (third? fourth?) the Durham area, and in particular South Durham. It is quite possible to afford a nice single family home or townhome in this area, the public schools are quite good. There is plenty to do in terms of nearby shopping and entertainment - Southpoint, Durham Bulls, American Tobacco Trail, Jordan Lake, the historic renovated tobacco districts near downtown, and an abundance of unique and excellent restaurants.

I would also plug the proximity to Duke and UNC as a major upside to the area, thanks to activities such as sporting and other university events, an abundance of excellent healthcare providers and facilities, beautiful campuses (plus Duke gardens, Franklin Street, 9th Street, etc), and a well-educated community.

Of course, education and schools are critical. Durham takes a bad rap, as a whole, when it comes to public schools. The reasons for this are complex and the subject of another discussion. As most of us that actually live in Durham will tell you, there are many excellent public (and private) schools in Durham. You just need to do your homework. Much of South Durham is districted for Jordan HS, which has been named one of the top 100 schools in the nation several times since 1998 (by Newsweek). Creekside elementary opened in 2005, and is excellent (we have been very happy with our 2 kids who formerly attended Creekside). Overcrowding is a concern at Creekside, but one that is likely to be addressed with the Creekside expansion (underway) and the construction of a new school in south Durham (land was just acquired in May 09). Githens, Lowes Grove, and Roger's Herr (year round) are the districted public middle schools in South Durham. Everyone has an opinion of each, and since I do not have a child attending either of the 3, I will not comment (let's face it, any middle school is an unpleasant experience for a middle-schooler ).In addition to the 'districted' schools, there are many options for charter, magnet, and year-round options. Check out Voyager Academy, Durham School of the Arts (DSA), Kestrel Heights, Central Park School, WG Pearson Magnet, and many others. We currently have a child at Voyager (4-8 grade) and DSA (6-12 grade), and are very happy with the quality of education and opportunities they are receiving.

There's also something to be said for living near work, especially with children of school age. Less commute = lower transportation costs, less risk, quick trips to schools = more time and $ for family and fun.

Good luck!

[jill7930]

Originally Posted by mdp_az

I would also suggest the Easley ES or Hillandale ES/Brogden MS/Riverside HS district in NW Durham.

Indeed. Don't overlook NW Durham. There are good schools and well priced houses. Shopping is a bit more sparse out there, but you won't be too far from it.

[emanresu2]

I think you should have plenty of options. Both Chapel Hill and Wake county have excellent public schools, and I say that as a product of private education. My kids are in public elementary school in Wake county (in Morrisville, next to Town Hall commons, in fact), and I really don't believe that thier education or peer group could get any better without becomming overbearing. And please don't let people on here fear monger about school reassignment in Wake county. There are some examples of families who's kids have switched 3 years straight, but that is really not going to happen anymore, growth has slowed and the school system is putting school assignments on a 3 year calendar. And in the western part of the county it is basically just a product of shifting students when new schools open - not really something worth complaining about. If you move into an established area, there is a miniscule chance of your kids getting reassigned. And even if they do switch schools, I don't think you can find any school in western Cary or Morrisville that you couldn't describe as anything but excellent.

We used to live in Durham, and the schools there are very hit or miss - some seem great and some are downright scary. The elementary school assignment map where I lived was rediculously gerrymandered to basically ensure that schools were segregated along socio-economic lines. But these assignments are not set in stone either. However, Durham is cheaper so you could consider private school there if necessary.