Yet another GSO info thread (Greensboro, Wilmington: transplants, house, transfer)

[dolphin40]

Hi all, DH is interviewing with a company near the airport. He's coming down in a couple of weeks for an intensive round of face-to-face interviews, so it sounds like it's getting serious. I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with about the Triad area to help make a decision should something come about.

A little background about us: we currently live in SE WI ("brrrr" is a good descriptor), but have lived up and down the East Coast during the past 17 years, including a year in Wilmington (NC) and three different stints in Atlanta. We have two children: a daughter in fourth grade and a son in first and would be looking to buy a home should we end up in Greensboro. We are aiming to have our next move be our last until the kids have graduated high school, so we are looking for a place that we can really settle into and get involved with.

So, here are my questions:
1. Schools are obviously important to us, and I have read that the NW Guilford area is very highly regarded, but what about the East Forsyth (Kernersville) area?
2. I know about the Fed Ex expansion at the GSO airport and are looking to steer very clear of the runway flight paths. We live 5 mi. from one of MKE's runways now, and lived 2 mi. from the runway in Cincinnati/ N Kentucky, which was awful since they had a DHL hub. In short, I'm tired of (directly overhead) plane noise. What areas near the airport are the quietest? We're leaning towards Oak Ridge, Stokesdale, Summerfield, and maybe Kernersville. Yay? Nay?
3. What are the property tax rates? Our current house in WI is appraised around $420K and we pay almost $9K annually. Obviously, it would depend on where we live, but can anyone give me a ballpark on what tax we'd pay for a similarly priced home there? I know it'll be less than what we fork over now!
4. I'm looking to go back to graduate school after we get settled, most likely UNCG. How long of a commute would it be from say, Oak Ridge, to the campus?
5. Last one! Are there any suburbs that are more welcoming than others? I only ask because we have had an awful time making good friends here in WI. We never had trouble anywhere else, but now we're a little gun-shy since Milwaukee has been so closed off. I'm hoping that since Greensboro has a lot of people moving in from all over that we'll have better luck since everyone's in the same boat.

Thanks for reading my novel and for any help you can provide!

[dolphin40]

Anybody? Help?

[YourGreensboroHome]

I can give you a ton of links to answer all of these questions (noise cone maps of airport noise, tax rates for Guilford County, etc.) but they are all on my site and I would get penalized for answering. I'm guessing Oak Ridge is about 30+ minute drive to UNCG.

[lisdar]

Dolphin, did you ever find an answer to your questions? I have some of the same questions posted.

Looking for some of the same things. My kids are 8 and 12, and we'd like to stay at the very least, long enough to get them through high school, and preferably longer. Hope someone can chime in for this thread or the one I just started. There must be plenty of people in the same boat...

[dolphin40]

Hi there lisdar! No, no answer really. I have found all of the info online regarding airport noise, but really want some real life answers. Noise cone reports don't give you the true experience with that; I would prefer input from people who live in the area with how plane traffic/noise really is. And, still nothing about the schools in Kernersville or property taxes. So, we'll see what happens, I guess!

Congrats on the job offer, BTW! So glad you were offered a buyout option - that takes away so much stress. Hope you get some info to help you out and that your DH finds a job in the area soon. Best of luck with your new job and move!

[DownInDixie]

I can't answer your questions with any huge detail but I'll try to answer some to a certain degree.

Northwest will be better than East Forsyth. There's not much else to say on that. Guilford County as a whole has some very good schools.

As far as airplane noise. I don't think you would hear much of anything in any of the towns you listed. Spent a lot of time out in Oak Ridge and the surrounding area and, yes, you pass the airport and yes, you see planes in the sky from time to time but never were the planes ever a cause of concern or consideration.

Can't help you with the tax situation...not quite old enough to get into that mess yet.

From Oak Ridge to UNCG...30 mins. is the very upper limit. You'd be fine with commuting everyday.

As far as, "open" communities. I think you should be fine as long as you come in with open arms and an open mind. People are nice in Greensboro and will be nice to you as long as you don't complain about how things "aren't like this back in ....[where ever]." The areas you're looking to live are a bit on the "country" side but have suburban elements to them and growing. There are transplants but many are southern folk willing to provide hospitality as long as it's reciprocated.

[dolphin40]

Thanks, DownInDixie, for your response. As far as coming into the area with open arms and mind, should DH get this job, we definitely would be doing that. Since 1994, we have made nine major moves (NC, PA, GA, MI, GA, KY, GA, PA, and WI) and love the excitement that comes with a new place, new people, and new adventures. We just have had a difficult time here (WI) and are NOT alone in this observation. Don't know why that is, but we miss people who are also in the same boat or who still have room in their lives for more friends, which seems to be the issue here since most people grew up here and stayed after college, or else came back. Granted, we lived on the coast when we were in NC last, but everyone was very friendly to us transferred Yankees. Should we end up in the Triad, I'm sure we could make a very nice life there.

[kevind1138]

Hi Dolphin

Don't know if you're still needing information but here goes.

Schools - If you're wanting to live centrally in the triad, you may wish to check out the Colfax area. A coworker of my wife's lives out there and really likes it. Your l/o would attend Colfax elementary which I've heard good things about, plus you'd be in the NW Guilford area for middle and high school.

My l/o goes to Summerfield elementary and loves it. I've also heard positives about Oak Ridge and Claxton Elementary. There are a few magnet and charter schools that are well regarded. There's Erwin Montessori, Brooks Global Studies, Jones Spanish Emersion, Morehead (music and arts focus), General Greene (science focus) and Greensboro Academy (charter school- very back to the basics). Entry for the charter and magnet schools are all based upon a lottery system, but if one child gets in, then any younger sibling can automatically enter kindergarten without having to go through the lottery process.

Mostly what I've heard about K'ville schools isn't positive, so I'd probably pass.

Noise - I live on the boarder of Summerfield and Greensboro. There was more airplane traffic than what I was used to. For the first couple weeks it would wake me up, but after that it didn't bother me.

Property Tax - I believe it's around .7 to 1.4 cents per 100 dollars of the value of the home depending on where you live, so this should be significantly less than what you are used to paying.

UNCG - it takes me about 15 to 20 min depending on traffic, so if you're further out a think 30 min is about right. One thing to keep in mind is that in the Northwest part of Guilford, a lot of the main roads are 2 lane, so they can quickly bottleneck during peak times. I went to UNCG and enjoyed it, so hopefully it will be a good experience for you.

Neighborhoods - generally everyone is pretty welcoming. I've lived in NC most of my life, so I don't really have anything to compare to, but usually transplants comment on how friendly everyone is.

Hope this helps - best of luck!

[dolphin40]

Thanks, kevind! That's the kind of info I was looking for; it's been a big help!