Pittsboro - what's with the home prices? (Raleigh, Durham: transplants, for sale)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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So, we are relocating to the triangle area from New England in 2 months and still trying to find a place to live. I will be telecommuting to a job in Durham (going in to the office a couple of times a month) and my husband will likely be getting a job in Chatham County but he will have to commute to work everyday. This will make the Northern reaches of the triangle unfeasible in terms of distance but we determine that Pittsboro seems to be right in the middle. So I'm trying to get an idea of what this city is all about. My impression so far is that it's quite rural, uneducated, and somewhat poor (median income in the low 30s), particularly in comparison to Chapel Hill/Cary/Apex. We are not looking to buy right now but in looking around I've seen really high prices on houses there and in fact this website indicates that the median house prices are significantly above state average, around the same as Apex (). It does not seem in line with the other specs I've seen on the place. So what's the draw for Pittsboro? Am I missing something? Also, any other insight any of you could offer would be great. If it helps to know: we are a 30 year-old couple with a 1 year girl and a little dog. I have a PhD in Medical Science and my husband has a Masters in Rehab counseling. We are really simple, no-frills people and just want a safe, family-friendly place to live (and one that isn't too religious, ideally). Thoughts?
Chatham county is a little skewed when it comes to home prices because of Governor's Club and other wealthy developments in the NE quadrant. Much of Chatham is rural and fairly low-income, but if you have a number of multi-million dollar houses on the border of Orange/Durham it makes average home prices look high.
As for Pittsboro, I certainly don't find it 'quite rural, uneducated, and somewhat poor.' Yes, Chatham county in general fits that description (I guess, although it's hard for me to label my neighbors that way), but in our tiny town and its environs we have too many cultural activities to list, highly traditionally educated as well as self-taught people, and as for poor - of course there are poor people. There are also rich people. There are also middle of the road people. People here run the gamut of religiosity, too - Christian to Buddhist to Pagan to Jewish to atheist, I find Pittsboro a very tolerant place, in general. Maybe a bit too tolerant for someone who doesn't want to live amongst poor, uneducated, and not very religious folk?
Sorry for the snark, but IMHO you should probably visit a place before judging it based on real estate statistics.
Adrienne
Adrienne is right, you should come for a visit if you haven't already been here. I will give you some information about the area you can't find in stats. Not everyone in this area goes to church and if you don't no one will think you are a devil worshiper. The prices of homes are all over the place right now. Apex isn't where the most expensive homes are. I'm not aware of any "dangerous" places to live around here. I honestly can't tell the difference between people who are "rich" and people who are "poor". I've heard rich people with college educations say "I reckon" and I've heard poor people with no education speak very well. The main thing to know is that if you are nice people around you will be nice. If you see your neighbor coming or going wave hello, if you see someone that needs a hand give them a hand. If someone smiles at you smile back. If someone visits with you in the line at the supermarket it just means that they wanted to, not that they have a hidden agenda. With that I say, Reckon ya otta come on down south ya yankee and pour yerself a glass of sweet tea, keep yer rifle by yer side when yer rockin on the porch case there's a gator yonder. Just kidding!!! no gators.
In defense of the original poster, I think she meant "poor" just as low-income, as that is what it is. Sometimes scientists have a way of putting things in a very matter-of-fact way (I know, I am one) and it might come off as a bit blunt, but really what she was asking about what the discrepancy between the statistics in terms of home prices and income (again, she is a scientist, can you blame her for looking at data) and people replied saying there were some significant outliers (or maybe even a bimodal distribution). I do think it's reading too much into the question to think she is insulting Pittsboro or poor people.
Pittsboro has a little bit of everything - even a nearby winery, and a library in the middle of town that has great book sales. Compared to the prices in Chapel Hill, it's really affordable and yet you can be in Chapel Hill in about 15 minutes and Apex (which is also a lot more costly although not as much as Chapel Hill) in about 20 minutes. I'm still not sure yet what the sign on the highway is referring to, though, that mentions its "unique shops." Anybody know what that refers to?
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). It does not seem in line with the other specs I've seen on the place. So what's the draw for Pittsboro? Am I missing something? Also, any other insight any of you could offer would be great. If it helps to know: we are a 30 year-old couple with a 1 year girl and a little dog. I have a PhD in Medical Science and my husband has a Masters in Rehab counseling. We are really simple, no-frills people and just want a safe, family-friendly place to live (and one that isn't too religious, ideally). Thoughts?
no gators.
