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I think Holly Springs is a great place to live too. We lived there for 3 years, until moving out of state in April. The library/ cultural center is wonderful, the Christmas parade is a lot of fun, and its proximity to Cary is just right, IMO. My kids attended Holly Grove Elementary, which is an excellent school. If we were to move back to NC, we would definitely buy in Holly Springs again...
Just found this thread as I prepare for a trip to Cary to see my son. Since I still have to earn a living I'm wondering how you all found jobs/income in the area, esp those of you living in Holly Springs, which sounds like a nice area.
Is there more of a central focus point to the town than there is in Cary? How far driving to Cary and Raleigh?
I hate to ask this but....any traumatic weather patterns in that area?
Holly Springs is approximately 10.7 miles Outside the Beltline. Charlton Dude can confirm.
Holly Springs to Raleigh is 18.6 miles. Holly Springs to the nearest corner of 440 is 12.6 miles. There is not a route to get from Holly Springs to 440 in less than a dozen miles. You could have easily calculated that by using google maps, as it has a great drag and drop feature. Maybe you used Mapquest to calculate a shorter distance, but I find MQ to be wrong a lot.
Nope. Just incredibly open minded to new things and new areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Taylor
Holly Springs isn't as nice as Apex.
Apex is not all that bad, but I think Holly Springs is better. Mainly because Apex seems to have a lot of development issues (IE abandoned developments), whereas Holly Springs does not. I also do not care for the Apex downtown area. They let the buildings go and they no longer look good. Paint is pealing and there is a lot of rot. They should spend some money to fix it up. It could be really nice, although very small, if they fixed up the buildings that are falling apart. You have to see some of them in person to have a good idea of what I am talking about. Pictures do show the true condition.
Last edited by Charlton Dude; 06-06-2009 at 08:16 AM..
Reason: Fixed Typo
I think the people of Apex have good reason to be proud of their downtown area. It is probably the nicest downtown area of all the smaller towns that surround Raleigh.
I like Holly Springs too. I go to the brewery there from time to time and have checked out their modest farmer's market. Unfortunately Holly Springs does not have anything that can be described as a real downtown area. I went to take pictures of it once but outside of the cultural center there wasn't much else there or going on. It is still a great palce to live.
In terms of development issues, it is more accurate to say both Apex and Holly Springs face their own set of challenges. The planning approach and development problems are quite similar in both areas. I know this to be a fact.
In the end, many people enjoy living in either area and you simply need to pick the one that is best for you. But I still suggest people check out downtown Apex if you are in the area. It is a nice treat!
Last edited by North_Raleigh_Guy; 06-06-2009 at 08:48 AM..
I have never been to Holly Springs and was going to ask if it was a lot like Mebane? But I see NRG mentioned that there is no real downtown, which Mebane definitely has. So maybe it's a combo of Holly Springs and Apex, or just a smaller Apex? I've never been to Fuquay-Varina either. Just trying to get a feel of the towns compared to the ones I know, Hillsborough and Mebane.
I have never been to Holly Springs and was going to ask if it was a lot like Mebane? But I see NRG mentioned that there is no real downtown, which Mebane definitely has. So maybe it's a combo of Holly Springs and Apex, or just a smaller Apex? I've never been to Fuquay-Varina either. Just trying to get a feel of the towns compared to the ones I know, Hillsborough and Mebane.
Holly Springs has some beautifully designed neighborhoods, golf courses, rolling hills and a lot of natural settings. There is no downtown to speak of. There is a lot of convenient shopping coming in and there is actually some good employment there.
Apex is a mini Cary, but has not developed itself to the level of Cary yet. It got stuck a little bit with the economy. Just at the time they were trying to build it out, things slowed down. Once things pick up a bit, it will get better. You can find some really good country land in parts of Apex. Downtown is small, but semi-quaint. The buildings are in serious need of repair, but once fixed up would be fairly nice. It's no Hendersonville by any stretch of the imagination. Blink and you will miss it.
Fuquay-Varina is more of a country setting with new quality subdivisions along with many well kept established properties. It actually has 2 downtown areas and a main shopping area with just about everything you can think of. Traffic is awful in the main shopping area (think Glenwood Ave), however once you are off the main road it is all beautiful winding country roads.
Coming to Cary in July. Anyone have any good ideas about what I should check out (not so much sightseeing, but more like parks, special affordable neat stores, walking trails, public transport, etc). I have a realtor lined up to show a few houses. On my list is Jordan Hall, the Rec Dept and the Sr. Center. Anything else, or in Raleigh?
Is it far to the Durham Perf Arts Center (in downtown Durham?)
Last edited by RiverBird; 06-11-2009 at 04:48 PM..
Reason: changed date of visit
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Taking a trip to Cary/Holly
