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Hubby and I plan to relocate with our three children (12, 9, 3) and need a place to live (a home in the $225K range) within a decent commute of Forsyth Tech. Hubby will follow me and get a job wherever we "land."
Here's the catch...
1. the commute has to be decent (20-30 minutes) for me
and
2. we would like a really good schools - elementary through high school
Hi Kate, and welcome to Winston-Salem! There are lots of threads already on this forum about where to live, so if you haven't already done so you should look through them. Forsyth Tech is centrally located and convenient to I-40, so you could live just about anywhere in the Triad and be within a 30 minute commute. There are also a number of nice neighborhoods that would be within a 5 minute commute, including Ardmore, Washington Park/West Salem, and Sherwood Forest, among others. Forsyth Tech is about a 12-15 minute commute from the suburbs of Clemmons, Lewisville, and Kernersville, all of which are very desirable and great places to raise kids.
In general, the "preferred" high schools are West Forsyth, Mt. Tabor, Reagan, and Reynolds. These are located on the west to northwest side of the county, except Reynolds which is downtown. They and their feeder schools are all considered to be good, but that's a huge generalization as there are lots of good things going on at other schools as well. You can find lots of info at the Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co. schools site, as well as searching "winston-salem schools" on this site.
And for what it's worth, I just want to mention that Forsyth Tech is very impressive. I've had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Green on several occasions, and he and his team are very passionate about their mission. I hope you'll like working there.
Consider going south to Davidson County, just a short drive from Forsyth Comm. College. Taxes are a lot cheaper and schools are better, not as much of the inner city kids to deal with. A little longer drive is Davie County, great place to live. There has been an mass exodus leaving Forsyth County for the last 20 years and either going South or West. Look at all the housing developments and you will believe me. A lot of people were fed up with Forsyth County and left, I did.
Consider going south to Davidson County, just a short drive from Forsyth Comm. College. Taxes are a lot cheaper and schools are better, not as much of the inner city kids to deal with. A little longer drive is Davie County, great place to live. There has been an mass exodus leaving Forsyth County for the last 20 years and either going South or West. Look at all the housing developments and you will believe me. A lot of people were fed up with Forsyth County and left, I did.
Thanks!
Do you have suggestions for specific towns?
North Davidson county is a township called Arcadia, but most of the addresses come up Lexington or Clemmons, so you will need a realtor to help you not be in Lexington city. There is also Midway in North Davidson county. I am in Arcadia and only 5 miles from southern Winston-Salem and about 12 miles from the college. It would be a 20-25 minute drive on city streets. I do it every day for preschool.
Clemmons and Lewsiville are very popular towns for families. They would be Forsyth county, but feed into good schools.
Consider going south to Davidson County, just a short drive from Forsyth Comm. College. Taxes are a lot cheaper and schools are better, not as much of the inner city kids to deal with. A little longer drive is Davie County, great place to live. There has been an mass exodus leaving Forsyth County for the last 20 years and either going South or West. Look at all the housing developments and you will believe me. A lot of people were fed up with Forsyth County and left, I did.
The facts would suggest otherwise:
--Yes, taxes are cheaper in Davidson County. The rates for Davidson and Forsyth are .54 and .67 respectively, for a difference of .13. So for a $150,000 K house, the difference is $195 per year, or about $17 per month. One would easily spend more than that in gas costs to commute from Davidson, so the tax difference is really not a valid argument for living there.
--Schools are better? Depends on the school, but several Forsyth County high schools are consistently ranked among the best in the state using various measures (e.g., EOG scores, SAT averages, etc.) I know Ledford and N. Davidson are good schools, but they are typically ranked lower than the best Forsyth Co. schools.
--Mass exodus? A quick visit to Forsyth County's city-data page shows steady population growth every period since 1900, including the last 20 years. Apparently a lot of people aren't fed up with Forsyth Co. as you are. I'd say most of them think it's a great place to live, as I do.
True on the tax rates but consider Forsyth County appraises a lot higher then other counties, so a house selling for 200K has might be appraised at 95% in Forsyth where a house in Davidson County would use 80% of the value therefore a big difference in taxes.
The mass exodus is evident in the number of housing developments just across the county lines built in the last 20 years, I wonder why? The city was so aware of the white flight of the residents they were considering a tax for people driving in from other counties. Check your history on that one! Apparently there were a LOT of people fed up with Forsyth County to buy all those houses!!
Consider just south down hwy 150 or you can go west to Clemmons (Forsyth County), nice community, I lived there for more then 15 years, traffic is getting bad though. More rural is west just across the river to (Davie County), turn south and there are thousands of homes in community a called Advance. Going north of the Advance exit is pretty rural, not many developments due to poor soil for septic tanks, but really nice.
Having lived and owned houses in four different counties, my favorite is Davie County, very rural and clean, next would be Stokes county to the North but a hard drive in the morning. Both of those county governments are easy to deal with, Davie being the best.
To the south is Davidson county, go too far down hwy 52 and it gets trashy, good barbecue though. Be careful going south, the city annexed some in Davidson county which would double your taxes.
True on the tax rates but consider Forsyth County appraises a lot higher then other counties, so a house selling for 200K has might be appraised at 95% in Forsyth where a house in Davidson County would use 80% of the value therefore a big difference in taxes.
The mass exodus is evident in the number of housing developments just across the county lines built in the last 20 years, I wonder why? The city was so aware of the white flight of the residents they were considering a tax for people driving in from other counties. Check your history on that one! Apparently there were a LOT of people fed up with Forsyth County to buy all those houses!!
Consider just south down hwy 150 or you can go west to Clemmons (Forsyth County), nice community, I lived there for more then 15 years, traffic is getting bad though. More rural is west just across the river to (Davie County), turn south and there are thousands of homes in community a called Advance. Going north of the Advance exit is pretty rural, not many developments due to poor soil for septic tanks, but really nice.
Having lived and owned houses in four different counties, my favorite is Davie County, very rural and clean, next would be Stokes county to the North but a hard drive in the morning. Both of those county governments are easy to deal with, Davie being the best.
To the south is Davidson county, go too far down hwy 52 and it gets trashy, good barbecue though. Be careful going south, the city annexed some in Davidson county which would double your taxes.
I admit I don't know about the appraisal standards for the two counties. But even if your numbers are correct, the difference in your example would only be about $200 (30,000 @ the .67 tax rate)--not enough to base a location decision on in my opinion. I still think that "cheaper taxes" is not an overriding factor in deciding in which county to reside.
And while you are correct that there has been tremendous housing growth "just across the county lines", there has been just as much or more growth within Forsyth Co. I would suggest the growth in the surrounding counties is not so much "white flight" from Winston, but simply an accommodation for the large number of people relocating to the Triad from other areas.
My family (wife, and kids 3 and 5) visited in Oct. of 2010 and are anticipating a move in the Spring or Summer of 2011. The area was beautiful and the people were extremely friendly. We received helpful advice from several people that we met. You can find almost anything that you want as far as houses (price, size, location, yard size, rural, suburban). We found the search a bit overwhelming, and we tried to focus on neighborhoods that we liked and schools.
If you want to be closer to Winston Salem, I would recommend the West Side of Forsyth (Robinhood/Meadowlark and Lewisville, though it may challenge your $225k budget), this will give you the most options as far as schools. In addition, I would recommend talking to someone with Forsyth county schools. The school assignment system, using preferences and choices, is a little different from anything that I have seen before. You also should know about the areas of emphasis at the different elementary and middle schools before you choose. Forsyth County Schools publishes a booklet that has all of this information.
Kernersville seemed very family friendly, appears to have good schools (though there is mixed opinions on the Middle Schools), a little more affordable home prices, and for a trailing spouse more employment options (Greenboro is the same distance as Winston from Kernersville).
Clemons and Clemons’ schools seemed highly regarded by the locals with whom we talked, but seemed pricey.
Be careful going out Renolda Rd. or Robinhood Rd., traffic is absolutely terrible in the morning and at night. Stick close the the major highways such as I-40, 421, Hwy 52, or Hwy 150 is your best bet. Realtors will try to sell you a house there and never mention the traffic problems. Coming down 52 in the morning can be pretty nasty as well as going home in the evening also. West or South are your best bet. Be aware of the city limits as taxes double. Also be aware of areas that could be annexed, the city can be pretty agressive grabbing new areas trying to increase there tax base. The city has not had a good track record in getting services to new annexed areas so you will be paying for services not installed.
Be aware if you go to Kernersville, there water bills use to be very high, more then electric sometimes. A friend of mine use to have an $80 water bill in an apartment!
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Go South
