The best school site to go to, I've found, is the one put forth by NC schools:
www.ncreportcards.org Type in which school you want more info about and then scroll down the PDF and you'll be able to see how many acts of violence or crime occurred during the school year, see the average test scores, see the teacher turnover rate---all good indicators of how "good" or "bad" a school is.
We just moved to Raleigh from NJ back in November and are currently renting until we figure out where we want to buy. We've been going out every weekend since about April I guess and driving around neighborhoods, subdivisions, etc. We talk to as many people as we can, occasionally we go to see a house with a realtor even though we aren't ready to buy for another month or two and ask him/her questions, etc. We're trying to be as informed as possible.
Maybe you would consider renting when you first move down here? I'm so happy we decided to do that---it's really helped us to get to know the area and learn more about the "good" areas versus the areas that are "not as good." Hope this helps!
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