Anyone that was leaning towards Wake County and went with Johnston County (Clayton) instead? (Raleigh: relocate)

[pad3]

Our family was seriously considering Wake County, but after a lot of research we are now leaning towards Johnston County, Clayton inparticular. Did anyone else feel this way? Why or why not? We have only had our home on the market 2 weeks and although we have had a lot of showings are getting very nervous with our decision.

[jordansmommy]

Me and my Husband were looking at fuquay holly springs area for almost a year.Wake county schools looked fantastic, everything is developing nicely in wake, but then we stumbled upon Clayton. Particularly Cobblestone. Fell in love with in instintly. The schools are ranked pretty high as well as wake, although wakes stats are higher, the schools in clayton seem to be following close behind. Clayton is growing rapidly, and little things in the works like a 70 bypass are sure to raise propery value. I think we really made the right decision with Clayton. Ive been down there 4 times already and am considering moving there next month and waiting until my house is built.

[VickiR]

I have clients who will be working in Garner and hubby didn't want a long distance commute.

We found a few homes in Garner that fit the bill but the Wake County schools that were in the area weren't exactly what my buyers wanted.

We checked into Clayton (Johnston County) and found an absolutely wonderful neighborhood for them, with pool! We talked to neighbors and checked out the school scores for that area and they were excellent.

Still less than 30 min. to hubby's job so HE is happy. MOM is happy with the schools and KIDS are happy with the pool!!! Gotta love happy people!

Vicki

[leighbhe]

Based on what I have seen, clayton is certainly in the midst of development. Flowers plantation, in particular, is a wonderful area. Now, for people working in RTP, it is not a great commute, and some still choose to live there because the housing is cheaper than in most of wake county (although it is getting more expensive in clayton).

I think that if you have a job that make the commute from clayton, it is definitely a nice place to live and you can find homes with larger lots and more space, which is what many people tend to want these days!

Leigh

[cbruce]

I'm recently divorced white female considering Raleigh area to relocate. No kids and need advice on decent apts close to employment opportunities. All my experience is in automotive. Naturally, coming from Michigan. Looking for a safe neighborhood that isn't too conservative to make new friends and get a new life. I'm in my 30's.

[ferrickhead28]

How's this one?
Raleigh native, couldnt stand the high cost of living anymore, found out that Clayton was the best place to move to as far as getting a good size house on a good size lot for the money. I did research several areas (Fuquay, Apex, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill) and found Clayton to be my best choice.

I remember (years & years ago) when people were buying houses in Wake Forest, CHEAP. About 20 years ago, the joke with Wake Forest was, if you drive through it and blink, you missed the entire city. When I heard houses were being built out there and were very inexpensive, I thought.."no way..."
Now of course, those houses nearly tripled in value and I often kicked myself for not jumping on the band wagon.

Rumor has it, Clayton was going to be the next Wake Forest so I decided not to hold out.
I bought my house at the end of March & I absolultely love it out here!

[Njrover0216]

My husband and I are looking into moving down to the Raleigh area this summer. I have been doing tons of research since December. I first began looking into Wake county, but with the uncertainty of where my son would be from one grade to the next concerned me. I was not impressed with the overall school scores:middle and high schools. I really wanted my son to go to a traditional calendar school, but where is the guarantee that the school in Wake county will remain traditional? Then I stumbled upon Clayton. We went down to visit and we looked at homes in Clayton and I loved the place. It was nice, had some shopping and did not seem to be a too far of a commute to Raleigh. Good luck! I will let you know how I like it when I get there. It really does not matter to me if I am in a community with a pool, seeming I plan on putting my own pool in my backyard, since the lot sizes are much bigger@

[lauren4521]

We did our online research for quite awhile before moving down to Cary to rent while we house hunted. From long distance, I was SURE that Cary, Holly Springs or the Wake Forest area were our sure bets.

Unfortunately prices increased quite a bit during the process of selling our NJ home and getting ourselves physically down here. And what we found was that the houses that "we could afford" <just being very clear so no one gets offended> were not supplying the amenities that we wanted.

In our price range (around and under $200k) the lots were mostly hilly (bordering on cliffy....to the point where we actually wondered how one mows a lawn like that) and very close together. And the lots were fairly small. Houses were nice though.

So we started looking in Johnston County with the year round and bussing issues in the backs of our minds...Clayton is where we ended up and couldn't be happier.

We were able to get exactly what we wanted house wise, lot wise and neighborhood wise (very family oriented).

Yes, we're a little further out and my dh has a longer commute but for us they were "sacrifice" we happily made once we saw OUR house.

Lauren

[pad3]

Our realtor is trying to steer us away from Johnston and towards Wake, but won't reveal why. Is anyone else getting feedback from their realtor? Thanks

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by pad3

Our realtor is trying to steer us away from Johnston and towards Wake, but won't reveal why. Is anyone else getting feedback from their realtor? Thanks

This is dissapointing to hear. I think both Wake and Johnston County are great places to live. It just depends on what you are looking for that will determine which place may be the best fit for you, and in some cases they both might work and it will just come down to a finer detail. The botom line though is that you the buyer should be the one making this decision, not your realtor. If your realtor is "steering" you away or towards an area regardless of what area we are talking about, I think I would start considering working another realtor.