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Clayton seems like a nice rural / residential area outside of Raleigh, but since it comes from a mostly agriculture background with a ton of undeveloped land, I wonder what it will be like in 10-15 years. Since there isn't a large downtown core area like in Raleigh and/or Durham, it seems like Clayton will just become a massive cluster of new subdivisions and strip malls. I know a lot of other parts of the Triangle are like that to a degree, but the other parts developed over many decades so there are both newer and older parts whih adds a bit of flavor to the pot. It seems like clayton everything is being built NOW. Does that concern folks who live there. I would hate to see Clayton just beome a massive bedroom community, but that seems like it is destined for that. Any thoughts?
Ah butterbeer-I think that is a very good question. I have lived in Clayton for 8 yrs and remember it in the 80s when I lived in Raleigh-BIG difference. I think this could be a real danger. The downtown area has really tried to grow and enlarge and there are some successes, but it seems hard for businesses to survive there. I think part of the reason for this is because Clayton is for a large part a bedroom town-most are not there during the day and stores must be willing to stay open longer hours, on weekends to survive.
Clayton does have its small town charm though. Spend some time downtown and go to the library. Very small townish and friendly. My kids have played all kinds of sports here and always very friendly with everyone. Shop Lowes Foods regularly and they will call you by name. I don't see that charm disappearing. I think when you move here, it just sticks to you. I really think that Clayton will not lose its flavor even when more development happens. But that development needs to be carefully planned and I'm not sure that is happening now.
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