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Old 04-27-2006, 08:02 PM
 
16 posts, read 95,060 times
Reputation: 15

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My husband and I have a three yr old and one on the way. We've decided to sell our house up north and use the profits to live off of for about 2 years while his business takes off.

We're looking for an area with a great school system, low crime, nice homes ranging from $280-340,000. So far I've looked in the Wake County area and have found some nice homes but how are the neighborhoods? schools?

We'd like a change of pace from being up north, so we don't really want a place too busy, too much big city atmosphere.. but we also don't want some place that doesn't have ANYTHING to keep you occupied, or places to spend romantic anniversary dinners and things like that.

Thanks for any insight you're able to provide. Choosing an area, I think, is our biggest challenge.

oh, and also, can anyone tell me why none of the houses we've seen have basements??? lol

 
Old 04-27-2006, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Blue Ridge Mtns of NC
5,660 posts, read 26,915,433 times
Reputation: 3857
My theory on the lack of basements is that land is generally much cheaper in the southeast as opposed to the northeast. No real reason to dig a basement here when you can just get a bigger one or two-story house and the size lot to support it. With the price of land in the northeast, if you want more square footage, you build up and/or down, not out. Just my semi-educated guess.

Last edited by mm34b; 04-27-2006 at 09:24 PM..
 
Old 04-27-2006, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Raleigh
1,540 posts, read 5,548,117 times
Reputation: 794
Hi gottagetaway-I love the name. I had to get away also from the north, and feel I have choosen the best place. My children love it here as do I. I taught in Wake schools for many years to be involved with my children. You will find great restaurants here for romantic evenings also. I can give you names of a few if you like. I sent you a private message on this site with some info for you. Let me know if I can help. Best of Luck to you. This is an awesome place to raise a family.

Regards,

Debbie
 
Old 04-28-2006, 07:01 AM
 
Location: Snow Hill, NC
787 posts, read 3,573,449 times
Reputation: 311
I guess where you go depends on what you are looking. Rural or city? A lot of North Carolina is rural. But for cities, try Raleigh in Wake Country, Greenville in Pitt County, Winston-Salem and I am not sure which county that is in, Greensboro I believe is in Guilford County, Asheville and again I am from the coastal region so I am not sure what county that is in either and of course the largest city in the state, Charlotte in Mecklingburg county (and I hope I have that spelled correctly.) Greenville is the only one I mentioned that is on the coastal plains. But Wilmington in New Hanover county is nice and near the South Carolina border and Myrtle Beach, SC as well. Another consideration is the weather and climate of the area you choose. If you are accustom to a cooler climate and prefer to stay somewhat in that type climate, go in the western parts of North Carolina. The summers are humid and sticky and when I say summers, try nearly 4 months of this. We have had 100 degree days in May a full month before summer's actual beginnings. July and August are the worse months generally speaking but I have seen 80 degree days on Christmas Day. And during hurricane season which starts on June 1st and runs through November 30th although again like I said about the hot days, we had a tropical storm in the Atlantic in January although it didn't affect anyone directly, you have to consider if you want to "put up with that" worrying and wondering each year and if this is the year you will have your entire life rearranged for you. 1996-1999 were bad seasons for us. We got hit directly from Bertha and Fran in 1996, Bonnie in 1998 and then twice from Dennis alone in 1999 and Floyd two weeks after Dennis came roaring in here the second time. As a wind maker, Fran gets it hands down. But Floyd brought windspread flooding and about 42 deaths in the state in the various counties. While we personally didn't flood the county that I live in, (Greene) nearly 2/3 of the people here did lose nearly everything they had. Get informed about the three divisions of the state, Coastal Plains, Piedmont and the Mountains, learn about the pros and cons of each area and the things that are offered there and then you will be better able to make the move wisely. As for housing costs, you can buy just about anything you can dream up for what you have quoted as the amount you would like to spend. Oh and you would be bored silly where I live. We have no hospital, no bowling alley, no Walmart, no theater, not much of anything except what you have to have to stay alive such as a grocery store, two pharmacies and believe me I have no idea why we have two pharmacies, medical centers and schools. But we are located right in the middle of four counties that do have these things and are a mere 17-20 miles away. If that sounds like a lot, I visited my brother-in-law in Wilmington when he first got down there and he is like
"We need to run to the grocery store for something." Mind you, he gave us the impression that he was near these things. Come to find out that despite having a Wilmington address, it took us half an hour to weed through the traffic and some 15 miles to get where we were going. I could have taken the rural route here and got the 20 miles in the same time it took him to drive 15 miles.
 
Old 04-28-2006, 08:48 AM
 
16 posts, read 95,060 times
Reputation: 15
i was kinda shocked to see people really replied! lol

what part of wake county are you in??


last night I also started looking in the charlotte area. I hear mercklenburg (sp.??) has great schools as well. I'm kind of concerned that since Charlotte is so big, we'll be back in an area similar to the one we're in now... and we're really looking forward to a "slower" life.

where do you live??

we're REALLY trying to avoid hurricanes. LOL


thanks for all the info!

You know...I'm really surprised by the lot sizes of many of the homes we've looked at so far. Most of them have less than a quarter acre. But 3,000 sq ft of living space! That is huge! (I think) lol.

Last edited by Marka; 04-28-2006 at 09:10 AM.. Reason: merged
 
Old 04-28-2006, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Snow Hill, NC
787 posts, read 3,573,449 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gottagetaway
where do you live??

we're REALLY trying to avoid hurricanes. LOL


thanks for all the info!

I live in Greene County, Snow Hill to be specific. I wouldn't recommend the coast for you then if you are trying to avoid hurricanes. Of course some of those that Florida has been getting in the last few years have taken a more westerly course into the state than I would have thought they would. But I am about 50 miles from the Pamilco Sound region and some 90 miles inland from Morehead City and Wilmington. I would get at least as far inland as Raleigh if I was trying to avoid hurricanes. But that is not impossible for it to get to Raleigh. Fran in 1996 hit Raleigh hard as well as the rest of us. And Asheville suffered from some of the renaments of the Florida ones of the past 2 years.
 
Old 04-28-2006, 09:10 AM
 
16 posts, read 95,060 times
Reputation: 15
Default wow, interesting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bethanytedder
I would get at least as far inland as Raleigh if I was trying to avoid hurricanes. But that is not impossible for it to get to Raleigh. Fran in 1996 hit Raleigh hard as well as the rest of us. And Asheville suffered from some of the renaments of the Florida ones of the past 2 years.

so really, no place is "safe" LOL
 
Old 04-28-2006, 09:21 AM
 
Location: Snow Hill, NC
787 posts, read 3,573,449 times
Reputation: 311
Well, I guess you could say that. But I wouldn't be honest if I told you that the western part of the state never got hit by at least what was left of a land falling hurricane further south. If you had asked me this 5 years ago, I would have simply told you to get at least as far as Raleigh and you would probably be safe from hurricanes period. But from what I have been reading on the subject, we are in a weather pattern now that will probably be this way for another 25-30 years. And thinking back to the 50's when I was a child, we got hit with Hazel in 1954 following almost back to back years with Carol, Diane, and another one that I can't recall. Then things settled down in the late 60's and I don't recall that much action until 1979 when David came to town. In the 80's Hugo was the biggie around but even that one took a detour to Charleston, SC instead of Wilmington, NC were they had projected it to hit. The the bottom fell out around 1996 here any way. And we took hit after hit hardly getting through with one before the next one came in. I know people that didn't even had the insurance check from Bertha before Fran moved in six weeks later. And the storms seem to be stronger. Fran was a Cat. 3 and she was quite and impressive wind maker. But she was no Camille, Katrina, or Rita. So before you get down here and get your life turned upside down by something you don't know about, I rather give you the facts from someone who is about 14 miles from where they were born and probably will never leave. We have had Isabelle in 2003 and last year we got Ophelia. But Ophelia was a mere baby compared to most. Isabelle did her most damage right on the coast because I don't think she actually made landfall. At least the eye didn't. But hurricane force winds and tropical storm force winds can spread out 100 or so miles in all direction long before the eye gets to you. So just remember that when you make a decision where to go. And I still say I would get at least as far westerly as Raleigh if not further and perhaps we have seen the last of the Mountain hurricanes. I mean how many times can Florida be hit? The law of averages are favoring the east coast and even as far north as the coast of New Jersey.
 
Old 04-28-2006, 10:21 AM
 
192 posts, read 652,393 times
Reputation: 445
Quote:
so really, no place is "safe" LOL
They can dramatically affect areas far inland, occasionally. So that is true, but...

just take heed that the Coastal Plain is a whole different ballgame than that--it's a fact of life for those of us here. If you want to minimize your chances, you really need to go further inland, than the Coastal Plain of NC. Generally, the Coastal Plain is everything east of Raleigh....41 counties & the whole eastern third of the state.
 
Old 04-28-2006, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Blue Ridge Mtns of NC
5,660 posts, read 26,915,433 times
Reputation: 3857
Here's a image depicting "luckydog's" post with the 3 NC regions.


Last edited by mm34b; 04-28-2006 at 10:55 AM..
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