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Old 02-25-2006, 05:42 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,612 times
Reputation: 37

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We currently live in NJ, wife and 4 kids 2-9yrs. We visited Cary approx. 5 months ago, only 2 days, and liked what we had seen. We live in a great town in NJ, great schools etc. but you cannot buy a house in a decent town for under 600K(and that is a shack) with 10-12k in property taxes!! Our home if in Cary, is approx. 350-400K. Our home in NJ is 930K! It is sick!!! Utility bills (gas+elect) 500 month!! And that is holding back!! We want to make the right move, schools are #1 priority, crime etc. Is cary the place, or should we look elsewhere? We do not want to spend more then 350-400k for a home. Kids are very active in sports as well. If anyone can give us some advise, we would apreciate it. Also 2.5 feet of snow last week isn't helping!!!
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Old 02-25-2006, 08:18 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,027 times
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Default Great little town

I don't know much about Cary, so I won't venture to advise for or against Cary, NC. I do know of a small town just south of Charlotte, NC. The name of this town is Fort Mill and is located in South Carolina just across the border from North Carolina. I live in Rock Hill, SC which neighbors Fort Mill. I work in Fort Mill and have reatives there. This town is far enough from Charlotte to be out of the everyday headache, but close enough to be convenient. Fort Mill is right on I-77 which makes travel to Charlotte, Rock Hill, and Columbia quick and easy. Crime is really low, and to the best of my knowledge, the schools are awesome. A couple years ago, I saw on the internet where Fort Mill was on the list of top 100 small towns of the United States to live. As far as properties are concerned, they should fit your budget nicely. About 4 years ago, my aunt bought a new built brick home with 2 car garage on 1/4 acre for around $350K, but the area is growing and prices are starting to rise. Her home has around 5 to 7 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. She told me that the square footage for the house is roughly 3500. Relative to NC, particularlly Charlotte, the taxes is low. One other thing, this area has had ZERO inches of snow this year. You may even want to consider the neighbor town of Tega Cay. It is a lakefront community.
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Old 02-26-2006, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
4,975 posts, read 11,661,437 times
Reputation: 3392
Hi NJ Devil,
We are relocating in 2 weeks to the Raleigh area from NJ (Ocean County). We visited Cary in January and really liked it. We are really trying to keep our next mortgage at a more reasonable level, so we are looking to buy in Garner or Clayton. I've also heard that Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina are good places. We moved to NJ from Wisonsin only 8 months ago, but have found life in NJ so expensive and hectic that we decided to cut our losses and move again. Before we buy in NC, we've decided to rent a townhouse so that we can really get familiar with the whole area before buying a house again. The housing market is so much better in the towns that I've mentioned. Cary seems to be more on the pricey side (for NC anyway). In Clayton and Garner I've seen 2400 square foot houses on 1 acre lots for under $200k.
Good luck with your move! You won't regret it!
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Old 02-26-2006, 01:50 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,612 times
Reputation: 37
Default Cary area

hOLT4FAM -We hear about NJ families leaving for NC often, even our realtor is moving to Cary. We picked Cary because it seems the schools are a little better, and it sort of has a NJ feel to it. My parents live in Ocean county and will be moving with us as well if we make the move. What led you to the area? A friend told us about it. Do you have kids? That is the only thing making me have second thoughts. Unless you live in rural NJ, I don't know how people can continue to survive. The entire north east is out of control! Good luck, and if you come across any helpful info, feel free to share it with us.
Tom
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Old 02-27-2006, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
1,540 posts, read 5,549,616 times
Reputation: 794
I love this are so much. If I can show the are to anyone just let me know. I have my NC real estate license and would love the chance to show you around. This is one of the biggest investments of a persons life and it has to be right for you. I say check all your possibilities before making that very large decision. Good luck to all
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Old 02-27-2006, 02:04 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
4,975 posts, read 11,661,437 times
Reputation: 3392
Hi NJ Devil,

What led us to Ocean county was my husband's new job. He actually works in Monmouth county, but it's too expensive for us there. We live about 20 minutes from Toms River. My husband's commute is 50 minutes on a good day (NJ traffic won't be missed by us!). Here are some links that I've found helpful while researching NC:

www.ncreportcards.org
http://www.wcpss.net/
www.greatschools.net
www.homebuilder.com
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum..._Carolina.html

Hope this helps! The last link has a lot of postings regarding moving to/living in NC. It's very informative and I've gotten lots of responses to questions I've posted. We have 2 kids in grade school and the quality of the school system was also our main concern. From what I've read though, Wake County schools are supposed to be some of the best in the country.
Good luck with everything!
Alex
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Old 02-27-2006, 02:28 PM
 
5 posts, read 11,658 times
Reputation: 27
NJ Devil,

You are not alone!

I too live in NJ. Along the shore in Ocean County. I've been researching NC for about 2 months now and my wife and I are planning to visit next month.

The taxes are just too high in NJ and you get absolutely nothing for it!

My wife and I are looking at the Wake Forest area. I can't belive how much house you can get for the money! As for jobs, they seem to be abundant. The schools system i'm still trying to get informatoin on - my son is only 2 - but i've got to believe that being in an area with so many D1 schools - the education would be one of the best in the country.

Good luck.
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Old 02-27-2006, 02:43 PM
 
Location: Raleigh
1,540 posts, read 5,549,616 times
Reputation: 794
Default Moving

Schools are the best in the country in my book. I moved from New england and raised my children here. I also got a job in the school system to check things out myself. I loved what I saw and was impressed with everyone I came in contact with. Now wanting to learn much more about the area I got my real esate license. If I can be of service to anyone just let me know. I would love to send you any info that could help you make your decision that much easier. It is one of the biggest steps you can make to move so far from home. I will tell you though if you pick the RTP area, your choice will be the best I'm sure. Good luck to all who are planning a move.
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Old 02-27-2006, 08:58 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
4,975 posts, read 11,661,437 times
Reputation: 3392
Craigc,
We also live in Ocean County. We're moving to Apex in 2 weeks. We're renting at first to get familiar with the Raleigh area. I've heard that Wake Forest is supposed to be a very nice. Also Garner, Apex, and Fuquay Varina. Houses and property taxes are SO much less expensive there! And the people are so friendly. The schools in Wake County are supposed to be excellent. Check out the links I mentioned a few posts ago. They're very helpful.
Best of luck with your move!
holt4fam
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Old 02-28-2006, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
1,540 posts, read 5,549,616 times
Reputation: 794
You are so right about the school systems here. Go to www.wcpss.com and then click on the individual school web pages. It will give you a feel of the schools here. I worked in the school system in the past and was very impressed on teacher and parent involvement. We even have people here going into local schools for reading programs that don't have any children themselves. The whole community gets involved the way it should be.
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