Exploring Cary (Durham, Morrisville: transplants, custom home, neighborhoods)

[nu2durham]

We are interested in exploring Cary as the location of our next home in NC if we decide to stay in the area. I would appreciate if someone could give me some context on the area - i.e., different neighborhoods and communities and what each one is like as far as home prices and distance from shopping, I40 etc.

Thanks in advance.

[MikeJaquish]

It is a very broad question, that you will need to offer up some details as to what is important to you.
Cary is about 130,000 in population and offers the full gamut of housing choices.
"As the crow flies," as if we allow black birds in Cary, Cary is about 20 miles from NW to SE., with some non-contiguous areas.
The farther SE you go, past the center of town, the farther from I40 you will be.

There are neighborhoods in Cary that offer single family housing below $200,000. They tend to be in the center of town, homes 20 years old and older, and on larger lots with more trees than are currently popular in newer construction.
Irongate, MacDonald Woods, Royal Oaks, Willoughby Place, some in Silverton, are just a few.

Over $200,000 to $300,000 opens up a larger variety, from older to somewhat newer, and also some choices in the above list.
Many choices around the center of town and scattered, Parkway along the Cary Parkway, Oxxford Hunt, Park Village, Pirates Cove, Greenwood Forest, Maynard Forest, Stoneybrook Estates, Farmington Woods, Wimbledon, Wellington Park and Place, the list goes on and on.
That price point will also lead you to some newer construction in NW Cary, although not much in the low-$200's.

Above $300,000 opens things up widely.

Over $400,000? Even wider.

$1,000,000 plus? You will have a lot of secret admirers on CityData.....

[nu2durham]

We are thinking about Cary because we need to be close to Durham and I440, so from maps, it seems that we would only be interested in the area that is not far from I40.

We are looking for a home that is part of a larger community since we are transplants to NC and find that being part of a community makes it easier for us to meet people. While we would like to live on a larger lot, we find that it is more important to live in an area that won't isolate us.

We can go above 300 if we need to. Definitely not 1M plus.

[annesg]

What about schools? Are they important? I do NOT want to open up a big crazy "Wake County Schools" thread, just wanted to mention Brier Creek as a cool pocket to live in if you're not too worried about schools--they have an EXCELLENT elementary school but the middle/high schools are geographically at a long distance. For a couple without kids it's a central location with lots to do.

NW Wake, in the area bordering SR 55 and Chatham county (think Amberly, Weycroft, as well as as places like the Reserve and Highcroft) you'll find newer homes on small lots but pretty, custom and semi-custom homes. Lots of various kinds of amenities. Lots of minivans and new elementary schools abound. This is where much of the new developments seems to be going (rumors of a Target over there have me salivating).

There's over by Crossroads, which is off I40. I hate Crosssroads itself, but I love that whole general part of Cary--there's Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, BJs, the dance store where I spend all my money on my kids (LOL), and of course not one but TWO new self-serve yogurt places. That's a more established areas. The outlying areas like Western Cary and Morrisville require a bit more of a commute if you don't want to end up at Wal Mart.