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Yes,for "most" people, I can understand the confusion, but this poster LIVED in Wake County for over a year and routinely posts negative things about the area he actually knows nothing about. And then has the gall to post about NC people making ignorant comments about Texas. Too ironic!
but this poster LIVED in Wake County for over a year and routinely posts negative things about the area he actually knows nothing about.
Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, he's getting some of the so-called "negativity" about the area from someone who was born and raised there? No, gee, that could "never" happen, hmm? Well, guess what...it's true. He may have only lived in the area (and as he said, it was actually in Johnston Co., near the Wake Co. line) for a year, but I lived there for all but a few years of my 27 years walking this earth and let me tell you...I agree with ALL he's saying. The area is NOT all the pretty painted ponies you want to believe it is. It does have SOME good qualities but they are becoming few and far between. The traffic there is HORRIBLE (I'm sorry, but a 45 minute drive to cover less than five miles is NOT cool - hello White Oak Rd/Cornwallis Rd!), the school system is overcrowded and very sub-par, and a good majority of the people have this "stuck in the '50s attitude" when it comes to racial relations and diversity - and no, I DON'T mean that in a good way. I know how the state system works, I have various family members who work within the state system, the education system, right on down to the law enforcement system and I hear FAR more complaints about how backwards and wasteful the state government is with the taxes they pull in and with the "plans" they come up with.
But to keep this on topic, I DO like Cary Towne Mall and Crossroads Plaza. I'd much rather shop there than Crabtree. Also, although I haven't been there is several years, Lochmere's a pretty place, especially with the lake.
I have no idea where White Oak Rd/Cornwallis Rd is in Cary. I thought Cornwallis was in RTP? If so, what does that have to do with Cary?
And I'm curious to know how some people on this message board would solve the problems with teachers and cops being priced out of the area? I see two options...
1) High-rise apartment complexes. But that would cause eyesores, and then we'd hear even more complaints about traffic problems (which IMHO not a current issue in Cary except for isolated areas, but would be a widespread problem if they tried to put in high-density housing).
2) Replace some of the many nice public parks with landfills and sewer treatment plants. That should help bring down the property values, right?
But I think this problem is overblown, and will eventually works itself out anyway. If teachers and cops are unwilling to commute to Cary, then Cary will have a shortage of labor, which means they'll have to improve wages to attract workers enough to continue commuting to Cary. Plain and simple. That's the way it works everywhere else in the country where property values have priced out teachers and cops.
I hear constant complaints about how these supposed problems like "too-high" property values were caused by poor planning. I guess the town made the mistake of making the town too attractive....shame on them!!! How dare they have stuff like nicely landscaped streets, public parks, greenways, etc...!!!
Oh...and limiting growth is NOT going to solve the problem either. Limited growth means even higher property values due to the law of supply-and-demand.
Just a note about the school systems in North Carolina. There is one salary schedule for the entire state. However, each local district can and usually does give a supplement, based on the cost of living in that area. I know Chapel Hill schools are at 12% and, I believe, have the highest supplement, closely followed by Charlotte/Mecklenberg, Wake County, and Durham County. I could be slightly off on the orders here, as I haven't looked in a couple of years. Cary teachers, therefore, earn more than, say, Bladen County teachers, but a Wake County teacher who lives in Southeast Raleigh will come out better financially than one who lives in Cary. In fact, many clever teachers will work in a school district like Chapel Hill or Wake County and live outside the district, where it is cheaper to live.
It is a shame to me when city workers cannot afford to live in the city where they work. I have the sense that "affordable housing" tends to be shot down whenever it is proposed in Cary. I don't think that the majority of Cary residents have living in an economically diverse city at the top of their priority list. But to be fair, even liberal Chapel Hill folk tend to have a "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) point of view.
There's plenty of affordable housing in Cary if you look for it. I happen to live in one of those neighborhoods that is mostly police officers and teachers and the homes are WELL under 200K.
And it seems like most of the larger PUD-type developments that are going in that Cary is making sure that there is a mix or larger and smaller homes, townhomes, even apartments.
People that want to live in Cary but insist on a new construction single family home (starter castle variety) may well find themselves priced out of the market. They have two alternatives:
1. Buy a new home in a nearby community. Cheaper land allows for more affordable homes. Typically, the home prices lessen the further away you get from the main employment centers. The extra commute would be a downside. Is it worth it? Lots of people seem to accept a longer commute as part and parcel of why their home was cheaper to buy. Everyone needs to find their own balance of 'right house' and 'right location'. I can understand that people that keenly wanted to live in Cary may well feel resentment finding themselves in one of the outlying towns. It is a shame to not like the place where you live.
2. Consider a resale home in Cary. There are affordable properties in the older neighborhoods. Prices start at about $150k (town homes are less). My impression is that these homes do not stay on the market long. At the beginning of the year a house in my neighborhood went on the market and was sold within a week. There have been no other houses for sale since then (but my neighborhood consists of about sixty houses so it is small). People seem happy here. My neighbors are teachers and very pleasant. No police officers that I have noticed but they would be welcomed. The Cary-dwellers on this board represent their town well. Remarkably polite and positive people.
Farmington Woods is a magnet now huh? I went there for elementary school. My 1st grade year it was a brand new school. You can find 1/2 acre lots around that school no problem. My old neighborhood Farren Forest all had 1/2 to 1 acre lots and it backs up to Farmington Woods School.
Small world I lived in farren forest on thr turnaround right behind the school (brannigan pl), sold it four years ago moved to woods of kildare up the street. Both my kids went to Farmington woods one just got out last year, very good school no complaints.
I have no idea where White Oak Rd/Cornwallis Rd is in Cary. I thought Cornwallis was in RTP? If so, what does that have to do with Cary?
There are actually two Cornwallis Roads. One is in Raleigh, one is in Johnston Co. The one in Johnston becomes White Oak at the Wake/Johnston line and then it changes from White Oak to Jones Sausage when it crosses Hwy 70. And yes, it has nothing to do with Cary in particular, it was more of a response to lamishra's earlier response that traffic isn't that bad in that area.
But keeping this on topic, one thing that could be done to help off-set the cost of living doesn't have to be high-rises. Mid-rises could be built - they wouldn't be THAT much of an "eye-sore", especially if planners put some thought into the design. Barring that, 2 story apartment complexes could be built. Even at mid-to-lower income, some of them can be done beautifully. Also, landscaping does wonders to help keep things looking nice and that doesn't always have to translate into higher rental fees.
Honestly, though, a lot of this could be eased if the state government used better planning skills and more forethought when they are spending the money the state gets. A short-fall in the state budget shouldn't mean retracting raises just given to state employees. That hurts everyone.
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