May 3 - Clayton, Smithfield, etc. (Durham, Cary: houses, neighborhoods, middle school)

[TheThreeBs]

Well, today we did some driving and then some driving and even MORE driving. Did I tell you we drove around a lot?


We went back to Clayton as it seemed that that will probably be the area we move to. We like parts of Cary but realize it just isn't affordable for us. Clayton seems to be on the cusp of some real expansion and we'd like to get in before the really big boom.

We looked around the Cleveland School area. We passed an elementary school with "view" in the title also (on Cleveland Road). I think it opened last year. It looked nice also. We looked in the area around Cleveland School. It was kind of hit and miss. There was a subdivision in our price range that had some beautiful homes, but seemed to have a few houses where people were letting the yards grow up and had some broken down cars in driveways. I wish they wouldn't do that because I really liked the style of the houses. Around this subdivision were houses out of our price range (275k and up) that were really nice on about .25 acre and up lots. I wrote down the names of subdivisions and will post them later. I also took some pictures but will have to wait until we return home the 11th to download pictures.

We took an unexpected detour during the day and ended up in Smithfield. The drive there on 210 (?) was absolutely beautiful! It is just what I imagine when I think of NC. Beautiful wooded areas with lots of green. Country houses and some subdivisions. We would consider Smithfield but since my husband will most likely be working in Wake County it is just too far out.

My husband has a job interview tomorrow (keeping fingers crossed!), then we will be out towards Clayton again. I just have this feeling that, due to the abundance of trees, we didn't see everything. We will be going to the Durham Museum of Life and Science also tomorrow. I will try to get some pictures of that also. Now, I am feeliing out of it and need to rest! I think I am still a bit on Pacific Time. 7 am this morning felt REALLY early...

Will try to post more tomorrow.

[cary native]

That was West View elementary school. It is a nice school. I don't know exactly what you are looking for but another neighborhood you might try isWaverly Pointe, which is kind of in the corner of (but off the road a ways) hwy 50 and hwy 42. It's about 3 miles from I-40 and hwy 42.

[jello212]

You may want to look at Twisted Oaks. It's in the 40/42 area. There are a couple of phases of the subdivision. The latest phase has homes for around 240 to 250k. The lots are between 1/3 and 1/2 acres. The kitchens have granite counter tops. It is really a beautiful area.

[cakeprincess]

We lives in Flowers Plantation area since last October. We loved it here. The whole places are filled with trees and stuff that you're looking for. The places are growing: new middle school is slated to be open this August (Archer Lodge Middle School), new village will be open later this year or early next year, and so many more.

[lauren4521]

Dont' forget the other side of 70! The Flowers/Archer Lodge section!! Its beautiful here and not has built up as the 40/42 side, if that is what you are looking for.

Don't forget to breathe! And don't do anything off the cuff. Its a terribly stressful thing (relocating) with lots of pressure and hard decisions. You CAN take your time and find exactly what you want.

Don't settle and don't move into any neighborhoods that obviously don't have a proper covenant in place. It won't get any better.

GOOD LUCK and keep us posted.
Lauren