Is Cary overly Strict? (Raleigh, Chapel Hill: houses, places to live, shops)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Yes, Cary is strict. They will send you hate mail if your grass grows too tall. You can't find any businesses because the signs are limited to a couple feet high, and are usually hidden by shrubs anyway. The town is dead after 9 PM and there is no nightlife whatsoever. The Cary boys in blue like to run little DUI checkpoints and harass people just about every weekend. Usually they catch no more than 1 or 2 drunks, if that. Sure the place looks pretty but it's so fake. I think someone with enlightened views on the government, with a sort of libertarian slant like the original poster, would probably be happier somewhere like Chapel Hill or Carrboro. Or maybe Raleigh inside the beltline. I wouldn't live in Cary, it's just too much of a controlled environment. Feels like a theme park. Scottish Hills is probably the nicest neighborhood in Cary though, I must say.
Yes, Cary is strict. They will send you hate mail if your grass grows too tall. You can't find any businesses because the signs are limited to a couple feet high, and are usually hidden by shrubs anyway. The town is dead after 9 PM and there is no nightlife whatsoever. The Cary boys in blue like to run little DUI checkpoints and harass people just about every weekend. Usually they catch no more than 1 or 2 drunks, if that. Sure the place looks pretty but it's so fake. I think someone with enlightened views on the government, with a sort of libertarian slant like the original poster, would probably be happier somewhere like Chapel Hill or Carrboro. Or maybe Raleigh inside the beltline. I wouldn't live in Cary, it's just too much of a controlled environment. Feels like a theme park. Scottish Hills is probably the nicest neighborhood in Cary though, I must say.
Thank-you for that. Some of that is probably what this realtor was hinting about.
Originally Posted by Northbound81 Yes, Cary is strict. They will send you hate mail if your grass grows too tall. You can't find any businesses because the signs are limited to a couple feet high, and are usually hidden by shrubs anyway. The town is dead after 9 PM and there is no nightlife whatsoever. The Cary boys in blue like to run little DUI checkpoints and harass people just about every weekend. Usually they catch no more than 1 or 2 drunks, if that. Sure the place looks pretty but it's so fake. I think someone with enlightened views on the government, with a sort of libertarian slant like the original poster, would probably be happier somewhere like Chapel Hill or Carrboro. Or maybe Raleigh inside the beltline. I wouldn't live in Cary, it's just too much of a controlled environment. Feels like a theme park. Scottish Hills is probably the nicest neighborhood in Cary though, I must say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emilybh
Thank-you for that. Some of that is probably what this realtor was hinting about.
If you look hard enough, you will always be able to find someone on the internet who is willing to exploit fears with exaggeration and vague and inaccurate "information."
The name of the town will be irrelevant, and the unnecessary discomfort they cause will be their reward.
Thank-you for that. Some of that is probably what this realtor was hinting about.
Perhaps you are reading too much into a simple comment? Strictness isn't something that a Realtor can't discuss so I'm not sure why the Realtor you were speaking with needed to "hint" about it.
If people are going to discuss what Realtors can and can't discuss, they should educate themselves so as not to sound ignorant.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin.
I'd be the first to take a pot shot at Cary for the fun of it. But to be honest, what they've done works well. Most of Cary is so clean, neat orderly, etc. Just like any small town that experiencing growth, they've reacted and also been proactive with the best of intentions. Cary is a nice place to live, especially for families. No, it's not, just like other small towns, a hot spot for nightlife or young singles.
As for some comments made by Northbound, most cities around here have the same rules - grass too high = rats, snakes, and other undesirables, so get it cut. The DUI's, hate to tell ya they've been doing dui checks for decades in the entire triangle and no doubt elsewhere. It's not exclusive to Cary. Other towns/cities also have sign ordinances. But I agree, Cary's is to the extreme.
Hate to tell y'all, the govt is in Chapel Hill and Carrboro There's no escaping. Rather than staying away from Cary, I'd step away from those TV Libertarians that stir people up simply for ratings and job security. I don't think they'd be so exuberant if it wasn't their paying job.
As for shots being "loaded" with mercury, they aren't loaded. And formaldehyde is in nail polish, in the finish of fabrics, carpet, many things. I know that I absorb more from everyday living than I do from a shot.
Oh, geez. Really? I live in Cary on almost an acre not in a subdivision. I would like to see the livestock/poultry laws relaxed. I am allowed to have a clothesline and I am not forced to vaccinate anything.(However if you send your CAT to government schools you will have to vaccinate her for all kinds of things, but not rabies.) Anyway, I also like to tease about Cary's regulations. But, to challenge the poster who said that they will send hate mail if you don't mow your grass...he's full of it. I live on a major thoroughfair and haven't mowed the grass up near the road in ages. I haven't heard a thing. But Cary was perfectly willing to come pick up my trash for free last week when I forgot to put it out for trash day. AND they pick up and recycle motor oil for free if you change your car's oil yourself. They will also recycle vegetable oil into biodiesel if you save it from your cooking instead of dumping it in the trash. All for free. And the taxes aren't any more here than they were in Fuquay when we lived there. Cary is a little vanilla, kind of like living in a park. But I have to admit I've gotten used to it and like it.
I never liked or thought much of Cary before I moved here. I have to say, I really like the place and it's not the big, bad, control freak that everyone makes it out to be. Construction standards are strict, and so be it. High standards are good, especially when it comes to the safety and soundness of something like a house. The ONLY Cary ordinance that has interfered with my life or irritated me so far has been the whole sign thing and I think that's easing up some. You have to be IN a shopping area to really see what's there because the signage is so low key. My only brushes with the Cary police have been positive and reassuring. My only letters about property issues have come from the HOA, something entirely of my choosing and in my control. Cary is an extremely pleasant and attractive place to live. I wouldn't hesitate to move here again.
For what it's worth, Apex has a sign ordinance that's just as restrictive (or more so) than Cary's. For example, you can't have a directory sign within 50 feet of the entrance to a shopping center:
Non-residential logo/name directory signs internal to the site within an integrated development, multiple use development, or mixed use development shall be located not less than fifty (50) feet measured perpendicular from any vehicular entrance public right-of-way and at principal intersections within the site, where such intersections are not less than fifty (50) feet from any public right-of-way as shown on an approved Master Signage Plan.
All the fun Apex sign regulations are here: http://www.apexnc.org/docs/plan/udo/sections/section008_007.pdf (broken link)
I don't agree with the lack of signage in either Cary or Apex (or anywhere else when I'm driving around trying to find a business).
I've had no run ins with "over strictness" since moving to Cary two years ago. I have been very pleased, however, with the level of service provided by the town. I like that you can call for free pickup of leaves/pine needles during certain times of the year (in the late fall/winter they have a preset schedule). The "Citizen's Convenience Center" in downtown Cary is open seven days a week - great for when you have a large amount of yard waste/tree limbs to drop off, or have been doing a bit of house/garage cleaning on the weekends. I had a water leak in my crawlspace for two months and when I called the Utility Department a very nice lady helped me apply for a credit and saved me at least $100 off my water bill. When the town inspected my newly constructed screen porch they found a few very valid problems that needed to be resolved before I could get the CO. I've also enjoyed the town parks, and taken a few classes offered by the town. This morning I'm going for a two mile walk around Bond Lake, which happens to be located across the street from my house. I love living in Cary and hope to stay right here for the next 20+ years!
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There's no escaping. Rather than staying away from Cary, I'd step away from those TV Libertarians that stir people up simply for ratings and job security. I don't think they'd be so exuberant if it wasn't their paying job. 
