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My wife has the opportunity to work in the US for the next five years or so. We are a family of 3 (White Caucasian - if that makes any difference) - myself, aged 60 and retired (but with both feet firmly outside the grave) my wife, age MYOB and a daughter 14 (going on 21 - ie should leave home, get a job and earn loads of money, while she still knows everything!).
Our priorities are:
Schooling - quality high school (don't understand what year round schooling means, please enlighten)
Housing (the boss will be working from home or US-wide so airport access is relevant) - our budget is circa $300,000-$350,000 as we will be keeping our UK home ftb (just in case we get run out of town - or run ourselves out, for that matter).
Community - we want to integrate so community facilities, church, sports etc are relevant. Someone told us Southerners are 'the best' is this true?
Sorry, could write a book - but we would appreciate some hard information.
Only constructive replies please - don't need xenophobic nutters!
Regards
Steve Head
First lesson in integrating into modern Southern culture: Be polite. When asking for free advice, don't pre-insult based on Southern stereotypes.
A great many people here are from elsewhere, so don't worry about being an outsider.
Try Chapel Hill or Cary. In Cary, you'd be part of the Wake County school system. Here is a page describing year-round schools: WCPSS: Guide to Year-round Schools
You'll get more house for your money in Cary versus Chapel Hill.
Ok - sans perceived sharp as a tack wit and pith ... there was a thread nearly identical to this one about a week ago. try searching before insulting. thanks.
Year-round schooling is irrelevant to you as your child will be in high school and there are no year-round high schools in Wake County.
Use the search feature and read old threads. Everything you are asking has been asked before.
If you are more precise as to where your wife will work, people can make more specific neighborhood recommendations. What you want can be found in a wide range of places.
My wife has the opportunity to work in the US for the next five years or so. We are a family of 3 (White Caucasian - if that makes any difference) - myself, aged 60 and retired (but with both feet firmly outside the grave) my wife, age MYOB and a daughter 14 (going on 21 - ie should leave home, get a job and earn loads of money, while she still knows everything!).
Our priorities are:
Schooling - quality high school (don't understand what year round schooling means, please enlighten)
Housing (the boss will be working from home or US-wide so airport access is relevant) - our budget is circa $300,000-$350,000 as we will be keeping our UK home ftb (just in case we get run out of town - or run ourselves out, for that matter).
Community - we want to integrate so community facilities, church, sports etc are relevant. Someone told us Southerners are 'the best' is this true?
Sorry, could write a book - but we would appreciate some hard information.
Only constructive replies please - don't need xenophobic nutters!
Regards
Steve Head
If your OH has a real job to come to or has a business to bring, and which will pay at least $50K, you should be fine anywhere in the Triangle.
If not, I wouldn't bother coming here if you need an income to live on as jobs are think on the ground.
The best areas to live in are North Raleigh or Cary, but take into account the work location too for traveling time.
The East and South parts of Raleigh are generally not very nice and some downtown areas are pretty grim too.
Traffic here is quite good and nothing like most UK towns.
Driving here is a welcome change to the UK driving experience.
Your house budget will get you a lot of house in this area and you will be able to get yourself a great deal.
You can get even more house the further out you go but traveling times will increase markedly and finding suitable services, shopping, doctors, schools etc further out will be much harder and will become a major problem if you have not considered these things properly.
There's effectively no public transport here and you will probably find you need 2 cars.
Virtually nothing can be reached here by foot, except when you are in the small downtown area or live in one of trendy zones, like Cameron Village.
It might not be in your plan, but I would recommend that you consider renting an apartment for 6 months before you decide to buy, as this will give you a chance to check out many areas and you wont be rushed into buying something that may end up being a millstone around your necks., which can easily happen here with so many properites for sale and "bargains" to be had.
If you live in Raleigh itself, you will be around 30-40 minutes, or less, from the airport from almost anywhere you live.
Well,
You had me when you delivered "... xenophobic nutters..." so smoothly.
I have never figured out how to work "... xenophobic nutters..." into casual conversation. Afraid it would offend too many family members.
Truly, $300,000--$500,000 opens a wealth of opportunities.
N to NW Cary, N and NW Raleigh, SW Durham, Morrisville all offer good RDU access.
Schools? www.wcpss.net is one source, if considering Wake County, but as J_Lurk said, you won't have a year round school concern with a high schooler.
With an approximately 5 year window, you should buy wisely, with an eye toward resale.
Thanks,
Very constructive. Good points and the best answer to date. Some of the answers I've got so far seem quite touchy; two mentioned 'insults' although I wasn't directly accused. Was my original posting lacking in tact in some way - it certainly wasn't meant to be? My only point in the last para was that I didn't want to be deluged with 'smart' replies that didn't help in any way. (I'd looked at some of the forum replies and there's certainly a number of those around!).
Regards,
Steve
Seriously, pickings aren't too bad at $300,000--$350,000 either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve&helenhead
Thanks,
Very constructive. Good points and the best answer to date. Some of the answers I've got so far seem quite touchy; two mentioned 'insults' although I wasn't directly accused. Was my original posting lacking in tact in some way - it certainly wasn't meant to be? My only point in the last para was that I didn't want to be deluged with 'smart' replies that didn't help in any way. (I'd looked at some of the forum replies and there's certainly a number of those around!).
Regards,
Steve
Yeah, we can be a touchy lot.
And coming from the UK, you may not recognize how abrasive or sensitive we can be amongst ourselves over minor points of culture.
I was sincere with my appreciation of "... xenophobic nutters..." FWIW.
And we are pretty highly educated around here. So, most all replies tend to be "smart." Just that some smart replies are more helpful than others.
Hi! Will you have a chance to come visit before the move? And when is the planned move?
This area offers a wide range of options in housing, types of neighborhoods, schools, etc. And if you are not tied to one town/city, it's even more so. To help you narrow it down I suggest you go ahead and share what type of home and school environ you are seeking. For example, you can live in planned neighborhood with golf course, pool, walking trails, and be in Cary, Durham, Wake Forest, Raleigh in a new home on mostly a smaller lot of .12 to .35 or so. Or a recently built home on acreage of maybe .50 to couple of acres. Or you can live in the older (original) part of most towns/cities and have quaint older home on similar small lots. And then is downtown living. You can buy a condo, flat, loft for your budget (or less) and walk to restaurants, bars, museum, hotels, but not grocery stores. Of course I'm generalizing, but as you can imagine, it's hard to tell you what might work without knowing what you want/don't want.
As for schools...obviously you'll want to buy in a neighborhood that is assigned to a good school. There are more good than bad. Perhaps you can share what your idea of a good school is. Or by default, what you don't want in a school?
Good luck! This is a great area!
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