Raleigh to Greensboro? (Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill: travel, employment, hospital)

[kskblue]

Hi....my husband is considering accepting a position in Greensboro. We are originally from NJ, but have lived in OK for the past seven years. We have never been to NC before (except to drive through). I have been trying to learn as much as I can about the area, but it is difficult without first hand knowledge.

I have been reading the posts on both boards (Greensboro and Raleigh/Durham) but can not find any info on commuting between the two. My biggest concerns are school district and cost of housing. We hope to find something in the $200,000-$225,000 range. Newer or updated, 1800+ s.f., 3 BR, 2 BA in a great school district. Availablility of a wide variety of AP classes is a must. My daughter is a ninth grader, and has already taken (and aced) Algebra I, Honors Geometry, Algebra II, Bilogy I & II, Spanish I & II, and Pre-AP English. Aside from an excellent school district, we are also concerned about the commute to Raleigh from where we live. We will be making the trip to Raleigh at least 2 times per week, sometimes as many as 4 or 5. Living somewhere between the two (Greensboro & Raleigh) would be ideal. Are there any areas that come to mind that offer a great education with affordable housing? (What about areas with a great education but with much higher housing prices?)

We have looked into Chapel Hill and the Cary/Apex area .....but it seems that the commute from this area would be very long to Greensboro for my husband?

Any information is GREATLY appreciated.....thanks in advance for your time!

Kristi

[leighbhe]

I grew up in chapel hill, but more on the west side, and went to college in greensboro (guilford college) and it would take me about an hour, but from chapel hill I would go back roads and hit 40 near and around mebane (close to burlington). That was years ago and drive was irritating when I had to do it! The traffice on 40 going through burlington into greensboro is not fun. I cannot imagine doing it every day.
The biggest cities between raleigh and greensboro would be hillsborough (orange county schools, closer to chapel hill, still a haul to greensboro), mebane (very small town), and burlington. Burlington is probably the biggest town between raleigh and greensboro. My brother in law grew up there, I don't know much about the schools, but they seem fine?

He never raves about burlington, but I don't think he hated it either. You may want to do some research on living there.

Leigh

[rfb]

I personally would not want to commute from the Triangle to Greensboro. You are looking at a 1hr or more commute each way from Raleigh if you can avoid rush hour traffic. Chapel Hill would maybe shave some time off this, but it would still be a very long commute.

[kskblue]

Leigh and rfb...thanks for your input. I have looked into Mebane....they have great test scores on paper, but their curriculum is not very diverse. They offer 4-5 AP classess depending upon enrollment. Anyone with input regarding this school disctrict?

Hillsborough has 2 high scools and Orange High seems to offer what we are looking for just going by their test scores and curriculum. Can anyone tell me more about that area? The house prices seem to be very low. Is there a reason for that? What about commuting to Greensboro/Raleigh from there? Are there areas in Hillsboro to stay away from?

Thanks again!! The input from those on this board (even that which is not directed at my situation specifically) is invaluable.

Kristi

[leighbhe]

Originally Posted by kskblue

Leigh and rfb...thanks for your input. I have looked into Mebane....they have great test scores on paper, but their curriculum is not very diverse. They offer 4-5 AP classess depending upon enrollment. Anyone with input regarding this school disctrict?

Hillsborough has 2 high scools and Orange High seems to offer what we are looking for just going by their test scores and curriculum. Can anyone tell me more about that area? The house prices seem to be very low. Is there a reason for that? What about commuting to Greensboro/Raleigh from there? Are there areas in Hillsboro to stay away from?

Thanks again!! The input from those on this board (even that which is not directed at my situation specifically) is invaluable.

Kristi

I think hillsborough prices are "low" only because they have really controlled growth, the town is not that big, doens't have tons of strip malls, etc that are bringing people in. When people move here they tend to think of either raleigh and surrounding areas or chapel hill or durham. Hillsborough is the forgotten quaint becautiful town! Hillsborough would probably be right in the middle of the raleigh/greensboro commute. Maybe 45 minutes for each person>?

I had a friend who commuted from hillsborough to NC State and he had about 40 minutes, and the traffic was not horrible (we worked 8 to 5).

Hillsborough also has a great sportsplex. Back in the day hillsborough used to be the only place with an ice skating rink........daniel boone! My elementary school would take field trips there and have skating days!

Leigh

[MrsSteel]

KSKBlue, welcome! Where are you currently living in Oklahoma? I'm originally from there (Tulsa area).

Traveling to Greensboro from Raleigh or Cary sounds unnecessarily far to me. Your husband could easily spend 3 hours a day communting & there's just no reason for that in this state. I agree with Leigh that you should consider Hillsborough. I'm living there now and I think it is a wonderfully sweet town. I know of quite a few homes that went on the market here over the last year that fit nicely into your price range. The prices of homes here are definitely on the rise as people discover this town, but they stay lower (I think) because it takes about 45 minutes to get to Research Triangle Park from here. Some people just don't like to travel that far, but the 85, 70, and 40 run nearby so it isn't difficult to hop on a highway and get wherever you want.

Hillsborough has a lovely little historic downtown area with many little restaurants. A new library is currently being built as well as a new location for Weaver Street Market (a local co-op grocery store that is well loved in the area). The Triangle SportsPlex is a truly marvelous thing: ice rink, swimming pools, workout equipment, fitness classes ... all under one roof! I don't have any information on the schools as I have no children, but I can tell you that it is served by the Orange County School District. This is a different district than what serves Chapel Hill & Carborro just to the south, but I understand that it is very good.

Why don't you want to live closer to Greensboro? Is there a particular reason why you need to stay near the Triangle or are you just checking your options?


Edited to add: Coincidently, I'll be driving to Greensboro in a couple of days. I hear it should take 45 minutes to get there. If that's way off the mark, I'll definitely come back to post about it

[kskblue]

Thanks again, Leigh and thanks to Mrs. Steel, too....I think Hillsborough is sounding better and better.

As for why I want to be between the two.....my husband will be working in Greensboro. My youngest daughter plays ice hockey and the only girls team in the state is out of Raleigh. We will travel at least twice a week, sometimes 4 or 5 times a week to skate, so being close is important. My husband doesn't mind commuting (he has his Sirius radio and sees the drive as his down time), however, we would like to keep his commute under an hour one way. Me, on the other hand, I do not like commuting at all.....and since I am the one driving to hockey practice, I want to be closer! LOL

I am also very interested in working for Duke Medical.....I am an R.N. and their magnet hospital is of interest to me for employment. So again, being close to the Triangle would be beneficial.

We are actually from NJ (Bergen County), but have live in OK for the past seven years. We live in Skiatook, just north of Tulsa. My husband commutes 35 mins one way each day now. Plus we go to Tulsa for hockey, shopping, resturants, etc....so I feel like I make the drive constantly. Hillsborough sounds like it may be a good location. I am concerned about the amount of crime in the area.....according to city-data's crime statistics, they are well above the national averages for crime. Most smaller cities we have looked at are typically well below average. Have you found this to be a problem? How long have you lived in Hillsborough? Are there areas to stay away from?

Again, I appreciate the responses.....and look forward to hearing about your trip to Greensborough.

Kristi

[MrsSteel]

Don't listen to the statistics about Hillsborough. Seriously. The idea that this place is unsafe is absolutely laughable. Lord only knows how they gather their information, but it's got to be faulty. It's by far one of the safest places around. The latest population count for Hillsborough topped out at just under 6000 people. That's it. So if somebody, say, steals a book from the our little locally owned bookstore, it's going to have a much bigger impact on the per capita crime reports than in any other community in the area. At any rate, I think most of the crime that happens here is domestic. I think you would feel extremely safe here. No problem.

[MrsSteel]

I took a couple trips out to the Greensboro airport last week. From my front door in Hillsborough, it took me one hour and 10 minutes to make the trip (one way). Hope this helps!

[Nacht]

Burlington schools = okay.
Alamance County schools = not so much.