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I'm looking at a position in Fayetteville, but everything I've read about it pretty much dissuades me from living there. I'm 30, wife is 29; two kids (ages 7 and 2).
We're more accustomed to the larger metropolitan areas and think Raleigh would offer this better than Fayetteville, along with better schools. I could be wrong...
I figured we could stay in Raleigh and I'd drive to Fayetteville. Is this a relatively easy drive without a ton of traffic? Is there any suburb that's CLOSE to Raleigh that I could live in and make my drive shorter but still offer a nice place to live and nice schools? I don't want my kid to be the only black person in school; nor for her to be in a overwhelmingly black school as well; just a diverse school works for me. So if anyone has insights into areas that can offer that, that would help immensely.
Me and my wife are from Detroit, but lived in Milwaukee, suburban Atlanta, and now Wichita (which we will be glad to escape this place!)
We have friends that live in Holly Springs, he works at Ft. Bragg. Hour or so commute, but you are still in Wake County and 20 minutes to Raleigh.
You could also consider Sanford.
I live in Sanford, about 45 minutes from Fayetteville. Decent town, but not the metropolis you are hoping for.
I'd look into Apex or Holly Springs. Probably just over an hour, but you're in Wake County, and near all the ammendities of a bigger city. From there you just head south on US1, then take 87 to Fayetteville. In a couple years the Sanford Bypass will be complete, which will take some time off.
You could also check Fuquay Varina, but I'm not sure what the drive is like.
I did not do it, but I recommend you mapquest each of these places to see if the drive is doable by YOU.
(I live in Sanford and commute to RTP each day. 45-50 minutes each way. Not bad at all, and I'm totally "unwound" by the time I get home. It also helps if you can have a slightly flexible schedule, so you can go in and leave earlier or later than 8 and 5.)
EDIT> Funny, but I wrote that before I saw Frank's reply. Make that +1...
Don't base Fayetteville on what you read...there are many nice neighborhoods and good schools there. It is racially diverse and does have cultural activities for all. IMHO you should visit the town, meet with a realtor and give it a fair shot before you commit yourself to a long commute. I would move back there without hesitation if I had a good job offer.
In general I would say a family is better off having time together no matter where they live...a long commute is rarely worth time apart. Better to live in one of the nice areas of Fayetteville and spend time with your family.
librarySue is right - there ARE nice areas in Fayetteville, and it can be a culturally diverse area. And then you can make trips to Raleigh for certain shows, shopping, etc.
I can get to the middle of Fayetteville from my home in Knightdale in 1.25 hours. HOWEVER that's on the weekend, when 40E is clear. If you can do a suburb (and are set on being near Raleigh) try Clayton, Apex, Holly Springs, and possibly Fuquay-Varina. Depending on where you choose and where you have to be in Fayetteville, you're still looking at an hour - 1.5hr commute.
You would NOT want to live in "Raleigh proper" and commute to Fayetteville. Others have mentioned alternatives south of Raleigh that are still close enough to have "city access". Bear in mind that the corridor from Ral-Fay will be growing and thus traffic will be increasing, so even if a 1.5-hour commute each way for you is tolerable now, it likely won't stay that length for long. Holly Springs or Sanford would be my bets among those listed above.
I would not want to do that commute everyday twice a day. I am from Fayetteville and sometimes don't feel like making the trip down on the weekend. Do you really want to dedicate 3 hours of your day for this? But thats me, I will get a job and move close to it so I don't spend a lot of time in the car. lol
If you do check out Fayetteville, I would live in the Jack Britt High School District or in N. Fayetteville off of Ramsey Street close to Methodist College. I lived there for most of my life and loved it. Although that was my younger years, and I never experienced larger cities so I am a little biased.
thx so much for the info...I guess I'll have to check Fayetteville out--1 hour is fine, but if the area is developing and that may turn into 1.5 hours...that isn't so hot. I will look into the Apex/Holly Springs etc areas as well
I drive daily from Johnston Cty (exit 319) to almost downtown Fayetteville. It takes me 50 minutes via 40 to 95 to 295. There is no traffic on the interstates unless there is an accident which is very rare (maybe 5x in the 2.5 years that I have been making the trek). The longest part of the drive is going down Ramsey St. in the morning. I have co-workers that live in Garner near 40 and it takes them about50/55 minutes. We had considered Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs initially but driving up and down 401 in stop and go traffic did not appeal to me at all. I think it would be worthwhile for you to come down and check out the areas personally.
I drive daily from Johnston Cty (exit 319) to almost downtown Fayetteville. It takes me 50 minutes via 40 to 95 to 295. There is no traffic on the interstates unless there is an accident which is very rare (maybe 5x in the 2.5 years that I have been making the trek). The longest part of the drive is going down Ramsey St. in the morning. I have co-workers that live in Garner near 40 and it takes them about50/55 minutes. We had considered Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs initially but driving up and down 401 in stop and go traffic did not appeal to me at all. I think it would be worthwhile for you to come down and check out the areas personally.
My brother in law drives from Clayton (exit 312) to Fayetteville and it takes him 50 min. to an hour, each day.
Vicki
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