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Hubby and I (late 30s, early 40s) have been chatting about a relo, possibly to the Raleigh area from Dallas. If we make the move, we'd want to rent for a few months as we better learn the lay of the land before purchasing a place. No children yet and both of us would work from home, so we're flexbile on rental locale.
Would downtown Raleigh be a good base?
Last edited by pinkgreenmover; 05-05-2010 at 12:21 AM..
We moved to Morrisville and rented for 9 months to get the lay of the land. You are within 30 minutes of just about anywhere in the triangle. Go to Chapel Hill for lunch on the weekend. . . .no problem. Head to Glenwood Ave in Raleigh for a beer on Sat night. . . . no problem. Falls Lake for hiking. . . . .again, less than 30 minutes. The only problem is that Morrisville is next to the airport. If airplanes flying overhead would bother you, then you may want to head further south into Cary.
We rented in Durham near the Southpoint Mall (I-40) for a year. Also a good place to explore from. Not far from Morrissville. Either of those would be good, central options.
I would think that somewhere within the Belt-line would be appropriate for a young couple. My wife, daughter (11) and I moved a bit further out, but still get into Raleigh, but don't discount downtown Raleigh, it is really a nice urban environment (Former NYCer), great food, Bars, coffee shops.
I totally agree with your strategy- rent then buy. Just keep in mind the job market is pretty tight here.
There are some nice condos for rent in downtown Raleigh at the moment. I would consider that. And, there isn't just Cary, which is a nice, safe, clean town on Raleigh's south western edge. You should check out Brier Creek in NW Raleigh, not far from airport and shops, restaurants.
If I were in your situation I would check out Cameron Village area for a rental house or condo and a very walkable area, downtown for condo or older house and walkable but no grocery store, North hills area for condo and the shopping ctr/restaurants across the street. Cary is more like a family friendly burb but you'd have to drive to downtown Raleigh for any action other than strip shop ctrs.
If U like older homes, check out Oakwood, Mordecai, or Five points...all close to downtown and part of old Raleigh areas. North Hills is a mix of build from 60's to present.
PS - consider downtown Durham around Brightleaf
Last edited by RaleighLass; 06-04-2010 at 05:59 PM..
Reason: ps
We rented in Oakwood until we sold our home in VA and bought in Apex. It's a fun neighborhood with a great community and a mix of old, young, kids, and no kids...it's a great place to live because it's close to everything downtown. We have 3 kids, so we opted to move to the burbs so they could have a yard to play in but it's fun to live downtown.
we rented in morrisville too - hated the apartment but we knew it would be a short stay and worth it in the end. Close to a lot of sound - the airport, 540, 40. But since we were spending as much time as possible looking at places to live, it was a good motivator, and as others have stated, it's a great way to be close to everything! Hope you like it here! We sure do!
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