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We are planing on calling Cary our future home, but need some advice from anyone whom has moved from California, specifically Northern California.
What is the housing like in Cary or in the surrounding area like?
What areas should we avoid?
What do you love about living there, compared to California life?
Is Cary "Dog-Friendly"?
What was the weather like for you... I'd like to know your experience as compared to Northern California's foggy days?
Jobs, we are not concerned about that right now... (I'm a EMT-Firefighter, & former LAPD officer) My wife, programmer and web-developer (RETIRED!!)
We like to know what your experience was like and any pit-falls to look out for?
I always have to ask......why on earth would you leave San Francisco for Cary, NC.....aside from the affordable housing....San Fran. has culture, diversity, scenic....Just gotta wonder why?
I guess they finally stopped drinking the Kool Aid!
Cary, NC is a GREAT place to call home! My friends back up North on the EAST Coast thought our move to CARY was....well to quote them "Why would you ever leave here?" OR "You're leaving these great schools on LI?
As if, LI is the only place with great schools
They must still be wearing their rosey colored galsses!
Don't knock it until you try it! Escape while you can!
I always have to ask......why on earth would you leave San Francisco for Cary, NC.....aside from the affordable housing....San Fran. has culture, diversity, scenic....Just gotta wonder why?
Where should I start?
1: schools, schools and a bankrupt district that has no clue what they are doing? Example., I am a third generation native, my father and I went to the same school, I live at our family home my grandfather built after the WWII. I was told that my son could not go the same school, he will be assigned to a school across town. I asked why, racial diversity mandates (my son is half Japanese) and according the lady, with a 47% Asian population in SF, they were under court-order to created equal opportunity for other races.
2: As a former police officer of LA, I tried to work in my home town. Again Racial Diversity quotes were the norm. I return to SF and trained a EMT-Paramedic and worked as one until last year when I was hired by SFFD. Upon returning from a 2 week vacation, I was inform that due to budget cut, the new class of hires would not be trained and our positions were being eliminated.
I later learned that the budget for schools, public service was being cut by 20% and 10% was being diverted to assist the homeless population in their care. I'm all for caring for the underdog, but to cut public safety and our kids to care people who only burden the economic stability of a city is unacceptable. Use the little resources to education the future tax payer, not the leaches of it.
3rd reason and the "final straw that broke the camel's back".
My house is small two bedroom, I wanted to expand the length of my house by only 15 feet by adding an additional bedroom and a deck. (my backyard is bigger then the actual house)
I was told I COULD NOT encroach the visual appeal of my surrounding neighbors, although I had FULL support of my adjacent neighbors.
It may sound like I'm a pissed off person, but I'm not. SF is great if your young, single or gay. However to raise a family here is not as welcoming. There is not that many FAMILY events, services or business chartering towards family needs. The elected officials are a joke, and FINALLY... I'm not giving up my Sig P229 or Remington shotgun because they feel it's not safe to have guns in ones home... tell the criminals to give up their illegal guns.
We've lived in East Bay (of SF). Have you considered some of the more established areas of Chapel Hill, Raleigh or Durham? IMO, Cary is the polar opposite of SF in personality or accessibility as you can get. If I were coming directly from a lifetime in SF I would want a pedestrian friendly neighborhood. Not to say you can't find one in Cary but you will have to look VERY hard.
Housing options are great in this area. Beautiful large homes abound. Caution: HOAs (Homeowners Associations) RULE Cary - many neighborhoods have fairly strict regulations, as does the Town of Cary. You have to get approval to do almost any improvements, even landscaping. You are supposed to get a permit from TOC if you want to hang a ceiling fan. I am not joking - look at the TOC permits web link. If you don't want to be told what to do this might not sit well with you.
Schools - if you are concerned about reassignments, that happens here too, though recently disallowed for reasons of diversity. Work in progress there - we hope. Budget cuts - ditto. Read the Wake County threads. Chapel Hill schools are rated tops. Many people want to move there but find the homes & taxes prohibitive. Coming from housing prices in SF that should not be a problem at all.
Dog friendly.? Uh, sure if you mean having to drive everywhere you take them and keeping them on a leash. Other than walking around housing developments (neighborhoods) there are very few areas in Cary where you can walk to from your home and sit out and enjoy dinner or drinks with your pooch awaiting a table scrap adoringly at your feet.
Weather - this week is absolutely DREAMY! Really, but June was another story altogether;Hot, Humid & Buggy. Many threads on weather in this are too.
Guns You betcha! They love 'em here in NC.
I don't mean to be a big downer. I am usually a big supporter of Cary, we actually live there. But coming from SF is like going from 60 to zero in 10 seconds. There is a running joke on this site that the color of Cary is beige. Just know you should be prepared for a serious cultural numbing. If it were me I would expand my search to a walk-friendly neighborhood with indy restaurants, etc nearby I think you would find a better fit.
See this site when you get closer to your search parameters... will let you know what is in close (walking) proximity. Walk Score of chapel hill nc
OR... Asheville, NC? It's a bit more Berkley-esque, though.
Instead of identifying the things about SF that you don't like look at what you DO LIKE about SF and seek that out - hopefully you will find the right fit in one of the area's MANY communities.
There are older neighborhoods that don't have HOAs.
Dog friendly, well there were a bunch of dogs at the 4th of July celebration today at Bond Park. Because the state of NC has terrible problems with their animal control programs, there is ample opportunity to get involved in animal rescue organizations.
We also moved from the west coast 2 years ago, have you considered Apex? we bought a house in apex in land (a rare commodity in Los Angeles) the old downtown is very family friendly and has a lot of family events, you can easily find a home still close to all the new shopping centers, theaters, etc. that has no HOA's. Also has the American tobacco trail that offers lots of hiking trails for dog walking or biking. worth looking into
I moved from L.A., but went to college in the East Bay.
1. Housing in Cary is basically all "the same." I'm not an architecture buff, but it's predominantly colonial. You might get some moderate variation on that, but since the vast majority of homes in Cary are not custom homes, they are strikingly similar. Haven't seen a Mediterranean or Spanish-style home, very few Tudors and very few modern homes. Expect to pay anywhere from 200-500k depending on your needs.
2. Downtown Cary is older and more affordable and west Cary is newer and housing costs more. No areas to "avoid."
3. Love housing affordability, good public schools, family-oriented neighborhoods.
4. My neighborhood is dog friendly. I see people walking dogs all the time and we're walking distance to a greenway which is very nice for walking/biking.
5. Weather is often too hot or too cold to hang out outdoors. Summer is the worst because not only is it hot and humid, but there are bugs which can be quite bothersome.
Sometimes I think I should have investigated outlying areas of L.A. before moving across the country, because Cary is basically like Valencia or Santa Clarita. I suppose the equivalent would be San Ramon or something like that.
Having moved from Mountain View, CA, I find Cary to be extremely boring. Cary feels like an east bay town. There isn't enough variety in housing for me. It also seems that everything is located in a strip mall, thanks to city planning. I haven't found any restaurants in Cary that I would compare to something in San Francisco. If you want really good food, you need to go to Durham or Chapel Hill, with a few good options in downtown Raleigh.
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I guess they finally stopped drinking the Kool Aid! 
"You're leaving these great schools on LI? 
reasons... do really wanna know?
