County or City? (Raleigh, Cary: transplants, neighborhoods, pros and cons)

[pilotriley]

We are currently in Cary but were thinking of moving out into just "Wake County" to be out more in the country with more land. Are there any reasons why we may not want to do that? I know taxes will be lower, but we will not have city water or trash/recycling service. Can you all give us any pros and cons that I may not have thought of? Thank you...

[BoBromhal]

you won't receive city services, like water/sewer or police. you'll have to arrange private trash pickup. you' either be on community water/sewer, for a fee, or you'll have a well and septic system, which also requires some expense.

[Ellen Pitts]

It's about $300 every 1.5-3 years to get your septic tank pumped. The cost of private trash pick up is about $15-$20/month...pretty comparable to city services. Keep in mind that there aren't city ordinances. You might have stray dogs roaming onto your property. If you want them to stay off you have to fence them OUT. I have had this happen on pretty much every country property I've lived on. You may have roosters crowing at all hours (like 2am...seriously). Your neighbors might burn a ton of brush and the smoke will waft onto your property.

It's likely a wash financially as far as the exchange in the cost of gas to get everywhere and the decreased property taxes. But your property may not increase in value as much as in the city limits, depending on location, of course.

All that said, I like country living. I like the open space and freedom to do what I want on my property. We live in the Cary ETJ now so don't have that freedom or even the space (although we have a 1/2 acre lot). If I could choose again, I'd probably go a little further out and get more open space.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

It really depends on the exact location you are talking about. Living in the county can mean very rural and "out there" or you could still find yourself in a neighborhood much like within city limits but you simply have a well & septic. The neighborhoods off Durant Road between Falls and Six Forks come to mind. They are larger wooded lots, wells & septic, but otherwise you would think it is was a neighborhood like any other part of Raleigh.

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by pegotty

It's about $300 every 1.5-3 years to get your septic tank pumped.

Every 1.5 to 3 years? What are you putting down your drains? We pumped ours when we first moved in 7 years ago, and then again last year. So that's 5-6 years between pumps. The guy said it was still in OK condition and we could have waited a bit longer

[pilotriley]

Thanks for the comments. I hadn't considered alot of those.

Another thing, I know the Cary police is quite responsive and always seem to be around town. Are wake county sheriff deputies as good? Also, do you know if you call 911, are the people who respond the same (ambulance, fire, etc.) as if you lived in city or county? And if I remember correctly, Cary does it's own snow plowing. So county roads probably aren't maintained as well?

[919 rtp]

If you move to the county, you might end up back in town after a forced annexation of your land.

[goodbyesnow]

Cary does snow plowing??? Ok, I'm moving to Cary!

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by goodbyesnow

Cary does snow plowing??? Ok, I'm moving to Cary!

Cary is pretty quick with the plows, as Southern towns go.

I blame it on the transplants.

[CHTransplant]

Originally Posted by 919 rtp

If you move to the county, you might end up back in town after a forced annexation of your land.

Less likely under the 2011 Annexation Reform Act.