Moving from FL to the Raleigh area, am overwhelmed, and could use some helpful advice (Durham: for sale, chapel)

[clg24]

Hello everyone. I have been pouring through these forums for months (thanks to so many of you who provide so much valuable info), and realized that the only way to get the answers and opinions that I am looking for would be to jump right in and ask. I am warning you up front, this will be LONG, so feel free to bail out now and save yourself the agony. For the brave and courteous souls who remain, oh and the realtors (j/k), here goes:

My wife and I are in our mid-thirties and have 4 children, ages 11, 9, 7, and 2. The older two are in gifted (IB/Magnet) programs where we live now, and the youngest is much like them. Our 7 year old has autism spectrum disorder, and would be considered moderate to high functioning, depending on the criteria. However, he has language and social communication problems significant enough to warrant a better educational situation than he is currently in. After lots of research and a campus visit, we decided that the Mariposa School in Southeast Cary would be great for him, and started planning our move. He will go half days at Mariposa and the other half at a public school, assuming that school is properly staffed and offers a reasonably appropriate program and classroom setting. Let me tell you, that is a big IF.

I tell you all of this because it has a huge impact on where we will choose to live. I am an attorney in a decent size law firm (lawyer jokes are encouraged) that happened to be interested in opening an office in the Raleigh area, and I was fortunate to get that opportunity. I also get to choose where that office will be (assuming reasonable rent, etc.), so we have flexibility on that end. I could even work out of the house for a reasonable period of time before choosing an office site. My wife is at home with the little one(s) for now, so our only commute issue is to and from Mariposa in the morning and again at lunchtime. For those who don't know, it is located just south of McGregor Downs near the intersection of Hwy 64 and Tryon (or is it Hwy 1?). Obviously, I am interested not only in the mileage of the commute, but equally in the traffic issues we would deal with from various directions/locations in the morning and at lunch time.

Here are our housing specs: budget is 350K to 500K, but could go higher if necessary. Minimum .5 acre wooded lot, but strongly prefer .75 acre or more - we want to have total privacy in our back yard, at least. At least 4 bedrooms and 3000+ square feet. Would love to have a basement or higher level with large bonus room, a screened porch, and a home office (could convert the formal LR). We are open to anything from new construction to 20/25 year old homes in great condition. We are the type of people who value our privacy, but would do anything for our neighbors, if that makes sense. Just looking for some balance between a nice neighborhood that will appreciate from an investment standpoint, but also provide some acreage and privacy at the same time. You know, the best of all worlds.

Honestly, with that being our wish list, I expected to find very little, However, to my surprise, I am staring at list of 40 to 50 great houses, and I really need to narrow my focus. Aside from what was already mentioned (good investment, acreage, commute to Mariposa, nearby reasonably priced office space, house specs), there are other factors: for our other children, what schools zones do a great job with gifted students, and which do not? Should we look to IB or magnet programs (Garner? Enloe?), charter schools, or are they too hard to get into? Which public schools best handle children with special needs such as autism? Should we definitely live in Wake County for schools, or do places like Johnston County offer plenty good options for special needs and gifted students alike? We really don't want to send all of them to private schools.

As for my search to this point, considering my criteria, I separated them into the following three categories: 1) southeast Cary/Apex/Swift Creek/Middle Creek/Southwest Raleigh area; 2) Fuquay/Holly Springs/Willow Springs; and 3) North Raleigh, meaning north of and just south of 540, both east and west of Creedmoor. A fourth wildcard group could emerge, that being northwest Johnston County/south Garner/Clayton, depending on what kind of feedback I get. I eliminated Morrisville/northwest Cary due to lot size, Wake Forest/Rolesville/Knightdale/east Raleigh area due to distance from Mariposa, and other surrounding counties due to uncertainty as to schools (and proximity to Cary). I don't want to spend the money it would take in Chapel Hill, and I have been advised strongly against Durham. Here are some neighborhoods/subdivisions that have homes for sale that fit my criteria:

1) Apex/Cary/etc. (2-8 miles from Mariposa): Dutchman Downs, Enchanted Oaks, Oaklyn, Oakton, Eagle Creek, Hallmark, Carolton, McGregor Downs, Edinborough Pointe, Summerwinds, Patrick Commons, The Park at West Lake, Jamison Park (540 issue?)

2) Holly/Fuquay/Willow (9-16 miles from Mariposa): Duncan's Ridge, High Grove, Pine Meadow, Sunset Ridge, Sunset Lake, Sunset Forest, Fishermans Cove, Crooked Creek, Ogburn Farms, Landingham, Whitecroft

3) North Raleigh (17-22 miles from Mariposa): Victoria Woods, Banbury Woods, Adams Mountain, Wood Valley, Chandler Pointe, Sutton Estates, Saddle Ridge, Tadlock Plantation, Heritage Point, Sussex Acres, Olde Creedmoor, Manchester, Bent Tree

4) Clayton/Garner/Cleveland/Johnston Cty. (19-26 miles from Mariposa): Chadbourne, Drayton Downs, Swift Creek, Oakwood?

So, I hope you can understand my being overwhelmed and crying for help. considering our wants and needs, what areas would you emphasize, and which would you eliminate? For what reasons? I can't thank you enough, in advance, for any help or insight you could provide to help make this a little easier.

[frankpc]

I'd throw out 3/4 initially due to the commute time to Mariposa. Investigate 1/2 and see what you think.
You'll have lots of options (as you've found) at that price point.

And I have to ask ... care to share the basis of the Durham comments? Seems pretty early 80s to me ...

Welcome,

Frank

[MikeJaquish]

I agree with Frank on the distances from Mariposa.
If you get more than 10 miles out, and the 7 year old ends up in a school several miles away part days, you have more transport time than you do school time.
Would Mom be providing rides to school, and transfer at noon, and pick up in evening?

Throw an office location into the mix, and your family could be widely spread all school/business day.

I will yield to others on schools for gifted kids.

[clg24]

Originally Posted by frankpc

I'd throw out 3/4 initially due to the commute time to Mariposa. Investigate 1/2 and see what you think.
You'll have lots of options (as you've found) at that price point.

And I have to ask ... care to share the basis of the Durham comments? Seems pretty early 80s to me ...

Welcome,

Frank

Thanks Frank. The Durham thing came from a Triangle area law enforcement person. I asked about places to avoid, and he mentioned Durham and Garner specifically. I didn't get into details with him. Plus Durham is also too far away.

The more I think about it, and as much as North Raleigh seems to be a wonderful spot, I probably need to focus on locations 10 miles and in from southeast Cary. Hopefully, the public schools in that area will be good enough, the commute times will be manageable, and nearby office space will be in abundance. Also, you might be surprised that are, in fact plenty of .75 to 1 acre options in that area (Swift Creek and Middle Creek townships mostly, and a couple in HS and north Fuquay). Thanks again.

[clg24]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

I agree with Frank on the distances from Mariposa.
If you get more than 10 miles out, and the 7 year old ends up in a school several miles away part days, you have more transport time than you do school time.
Would Mom be providing rides to school, and transfer at noon, and pick up in evening?

Throw an office location into the mix, and your family could be widely spread all school/business day.

I will yield to others on schools for gifted kids.

Thanks. I think you and Frank are right. Focus on 10 miles and in as a commute and it narrows the search significantly. I assume from other posts have seen on the subject that the traffic will be bad from pretty much every direction. Thanks again.

[Janecj]

I agree with the others. I'd first try the closest areas to the school. You have some very nice choices (there are some areas of Lochmere in Cary that would also fit. It will just depend on how old of a home would satisfy you. Everyone has different views of neighborhoods and their commute. Some will think Park at West Lake is too far from a major highway (but with the new I540 going in - at some point but who knows when -) is all in what you want from a community. If you are willing to position yourself for the future or do you want it all right now? Are neighborhood facilities important to your family, etc? There is a lot to choose from and sometimes you just have to get that "feel" that it's right for you when going through a neighborhood.

[NewUser]

I think that your best bet is the southeast Cary/Apex/Swift Creek area. I live at the far south east corner of Swift Creek (intersection of Ten Ten and Lake Wheeler Rd). I take my 4 yr old son to preschool at the intersection of Ten Ten and Highway 1 twice a week and the commute is 12-15 minutes one way depending on traffic and how many lights I hit. Doing that commute twice a day every day would get VERY old VERY fast. I also take him to a drop in daycare once in a while and it is in the McGregor shopping center right across the street from McGregor Downs country club. That drive takes closer to 20 minutes. So. . . . . . . .my opinion is that you wouldn't want to go farther east than. . . say. . . .Holly Springs Rd and no farther south than Ten Ten. That would also keep you out of earshot of 540 when it goes through. There are plenty of nice subdivisions along Penny Rd and Ten Ten in that area.

Oh. . . .and regarding McGregor Downs. . . . .you might have a hard time finding something in your price range. I walked around that neighborhood the other day and saw a 1960's fixer needing lots of work and it was listed at $450K.

[annesg]

Have you checked out GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community What I like is the parent comments. the test scores help too.

Where are you coming from in FL? We moved from Tampa to the NW Cary/Morrisville area 1.5 years ago and agree, it's pretty overwhelming--quite a shock to me for a while (even though I'm a VA native) but in a good way Prepare to be impressed! DM me if you want.

[clg24]

Originally Posted by Janecj

I agree with the others. I'd first try the closest areas to the school. You have some very nice choices (there are some areas of Lochmere in Cary that would also fit. It will just depend on how old of a home would satisfy you. Everyone has different views of neighborhoods and their commute. Some will think Park at West Lake is too far from a major highway (but with the new I540 going in - at some point but who knows when -) is all in what you want from a community. If you are willing to position yourself for the future or do you want it all right now? Are neighborhood facilities important to your family, etc? There is a lot to choose from and sometimes you just have to get that "feel" that it's right for you when going through a neighborhood.

Thank you for responding. I don't think it's as much "wanting it all now" as it is not wanting to move (AGAIN!) for a long time. With that in mind, we are willing to pay for what we want now, or close to it. Who knows if prices will ever be any lower than they are now. Tough to say, although it seems that Florida RE started tanking long before the RT area, and maybe Florida is closer to its rock bottom point. Scary thought for us right now. You guys would have a much better idea on that than we would.

Neighborhood facilities are nice, but nowhere near the top of our priority list. It seems the higher acreage neighborhoods are less likely to have those, so we don't consider it much. We'd like to have our own pool, but I'm not seeing very many on the market. will probably need to put one in over time wherever we buy.

I agree with you about getting a good feel for neighborhoods. That's a huge thing. We were there in late March visiting Mariposa and got a chance to drive around a bit. We drove north on Hwy 1 from Tryon Road and then West on Cary Parkway. We could see right away that the area was not what we were looking for. We then drove back down to 64 and went east until reaching Highway 1 again, then went south. We came back up towards town via Holly Springs Road, and drove through several surrounding neighborhoods off HSR from its most southern point all the way back to Tryon. We really did get a good feeling about that area for the most part, and would have enjoyed looking at many other areas east of HSR all the way to Lake Wheeler Road and south as far as Optimist Farm Road or Sunset Ridge. I guess that's what they call Swift Creek Township, and that appears to be our best shot. There seems to be very little on the north and west portion of Apex, but maybe we are missing it.

Thanks again for your response!

[clg24]

Originally Posted by NewUser

I think that your best bet is the southeast Cary/Apex/Swift Creek area. I live at the far south east corner of Swift Creek (intersection of Ten Ten and Lake Wheeler Rd). I take my 4 yr old son to preschool at the intersection of Ten Ten and Highway 1 twice a week and the commute is 12-15 minutes one way depending on traffic and how many lights I hit. Doing that commute twice a day every day would get VERY old VERY fast. I also take him to a drop in daycare once in a while and it is in the McGregor shopping center right across the street from McGregor Downs country club. That drive takes closer to 20 minutes. So. . . . . . . .my opinion is that you wouldn't want to go farther east than. . . say. . . .Holly Springs Rd and no farther south than Ten Ten. That would also keep you out of earshot of 540 when it goes through. There are plenty of nice subdivisions along Penny Rd and Ten Ten in that area.

Oh. . . .and regarding McGregor Downs. . . . .you might have a hard time finding something in your price range. I walked around that neighborhood the other day and saw a 1960's fixer needing lots of work and it was listed at $450K.

Great information, thank you!

Currently, we have a great neighborhood elementary school for our 7 and 9 year olds that is 2 miles away, but our older son's Middle School is a good 20 minute drive each way, and my wife is OK with it. I think when you start talking 30 minutes each way, that's just too much. And you're right about McGregor Downs - the affordable ones either need too much work or back up to Highway 1. Thanks again.