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Our family of 4 will be relocating to RTP area within 6 months. We have lived in CA, CO and VA and found there to be various pros/cons to each location. Please help me understand the pros/cons to this area and particular neighborhoods. Thanks!
Here is what we are most interested in and maybe you locals can help me ascertain where some good places to look might be:
1. Decent commute (25 min or less) to RTP
2. Area with strong sense of community, friendly people
3. Good schools would be great (emphasis on middle school and high schools). We don't have to have our children in the very best schools in the county-but a safe and positive educational environment is a big piece of the puzzle. I doubt we can afford any type of private school at this time, so we'll need to rely on public schools as we plan this move.
4. My husband and I are not interested in living in a lily white enclave-we enjoy a diverse community
5. We can rent something if the price of homes is higher than our budget. I'd rather rent and be in the right place than live somewhere that isn't a good fit just to own a house. Rent range ideally would be $1200-$1800 for a 3-4 BR. If we buy, we'd probably want to keep it under $300k.
6. We enjoy cultural and recreational activities. Currently my kids love things like indoor rock climbing, tae kwon do, art classes/visiting museums, and that sort of thing. Being near a community or public pool would be great for the summers, which I assume are pretty toasty.
7. Bonus for me would be a walkable neighborhood, small locally owned businesses nearby, organic grocery options and so forth.
8. A pedestrian friendly downtown area within a couple miles would be great, as we love supporting local shops, restaurants and so forth as opposed to the big chains.
Not all of these are must haves and I know I can't have it all. Forgive me for over sharing, I would just greatly appreciate your input on what might be a good fit for our family as we make this transition.
Where are you moving from? My wife, baby (more to come possibly), and I are thinking about moving there from LA, CA. I have not visited RTP yet, but if all goes well, I'll be visitin next fall.
From what I reading thus far, you best bets are Cary or Apex.
TY Francois-I meant to imply that the job we are relocating to is located in the RTP and the commute distance from that point is an important factor. Thanks for the scoop on NC speak-each region has its own specifics. So, I can refer to RTP as where he will work and the Triangle as where we hope to live, yes? Just want to make sure this newbie has it all straight. Any other lingo I should know about the area? Do share-I am all ears. Thanks, again! Now-why not suggest some locations for me!
Dxl-I worry that Cary/Apex may not be as racially diverse as other areas, but I will keep an open mind.
Yes, the area as a whole is called the "Triangle". From what you have described I don't think Cary/Apex would be the best fit for you. What I would definitely suggest is checking into: Durham Neighborhoods: Watts-Hillandale (new community center opening up soon), Trinity Park, Downtown Durham, Ninth Street, Old North Durham, all relatively walkable to local shop and restaurants. Also 10-15 min. commute to RTP depending on where in RTP you will be working. Carrboro: Smaller town on the other side of Chapel Hill very liberal and artsy and walkable. Great local market Weaver Street Market. Not all that sure on the commute I would assume its within 20-30 min, depending on traffic, from RTP. Chapel Hill: Home of UNC, overall cool place with alot of college students, but very liberal and progressive as well as the other two. Commute time around 15-25 min again depending on traffic and location. Raleigh Neighborhood: Inner Beltline would be your best bet as far as walkability and local shops and restaurants. Although the commute to RTP would be much longer from here seeing as traffic could be really bad at times, but still worth a look.
Hope this helps out a little Im sure you will get plenty of information from many other poster as well. Good luck with everything.
Bull City Culture gave good recommendations. My first thought was that if you are dead set on Raleigh then look around Five Points, Cameron Village, Wade Ave nr Ridgewood Shop Ctr (Wholefoods) area. But, most of the homes in these areas go for more than $300k; you might find a 1,000 sq ft home for that (?). Maybe try North Hills area?
There are some realtors on this site you might want to contact, Mike Jaquich, Vicki or Leigh, they'll know better than us what it would cost to live in a walkable area with the other criteria you have.
In terms of diversity, Durham is probably your best bet (if that is a criterion that is really important to you). Durham also tends to be a little more affordable than the other "central" municipalities - we recently purchased a home in Durham, primarily because we could buy a lot more for the money there than we could in Wake County. Chapel Hill is very expensive, although there are some deals hidden away in Carrboro and Hillsborough on that end of the triangle. Areas of Raleigh "inside the beltline" also tend to be expensive.
If schools are a big factor, then I would definitely think long and hard before buying in Durham. The conventional wisdom is that Durham City/County Schools are not as good as those in other areas (Wake County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro are generally considered the "good" districts). If you do look at Durham, Jordan HS (which is in the southwest part of the city) is generally considered the best in Durham. Hillside HS (in the south-central part of the city) is generally considered the least desirable. I'm not trying to say that these are the "truth", but that's the general consensus. We bought in Durham because our daughter is only 1, so we have some time before we need to worry about schools, but it is definitely the main reason why housing is so much cheaper in Durham than in neighboring communities (when we were looking a few months ago, a 4BR in southern Durham was going for somewhere between 225 and 275 depending on the neighborhood - a comparable house in Raleigh was at least 300, and closer to 400 in Chapel Hill).
As for nice, walkable communities, I like a lot of the ones that have already been suggested. Unfortunately, these are often the more expensive areas as well.
As for proximity to RTP, there are some good opportunities (this was actually one of my highest priorities when choosing a new house), both in southern Durham and in western Cary. These areas tend to be pretty suburban though. And be sure to try a travel time run at rush hour before buying anything. Our new house (in Lumley Rd area of Durham) is about 10-15 minutes from my office most of the time, but at rush hour it can take as much as 30 minutes. In general traffic between RTP and points east (Raleigh, Cary, etc.) is usually worse than traffic to points west (Durham, Chapel Hill). It is not uncommon for eastbound I-40 to be stop and go all the way from "the park" to US 1 in Cary in the afternoon rush. But in my experience the rush hour here is not usually as long as it is in other cities (if I leave work before 4:30 or after 6:00, I usually don't have much of a problem).
(And share all you want. I do. People are free to ignore us. )
Quote:
Originally Posted by gogogo
Any other lingo I should know about the area?
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Thanks, again! Now-why not suggest some locations for me! 
