Need information, advice on housing, North Raleigh/Wake Forest Area (Youngsville: cul-de-sac, apartments)

[BusterRantCasey]

Hello, I will be transferring to a new job in Youngsville and am looking for housing in the north raleigh, or wake forest area, I've made a 20 mile circle from the new office and have been searching the internet, but i'm not sure what are good properties and what aren't.
I'm a young male, 25yrs old. I've mostly been looking for a house with a fence, but have been open to apartments as well. I have a dog, a female german shepherd (hence the fence part). My price range is tentatively 900/mo max.

I'm not very familiar with Raleigh (the interview last week was the first time i've been there) so i'm not really sure where to look. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.


thanks

[brianjwagner]

Buster:

In my experience, you get a lot more for your money outside of Raleigh. My wife and I moved here and we had a figure in mind for a house. North Raleigh is more expensive than Wake Forest; you get much more for the same amount in Wake Forest. Its all about location, of course, as North Raleigh is a coveted area to live.

We ended up in Wake Forest and couldn't be happier. Its quiet, but if you want noise, North Raleigh is about 8 miles away, and downtown Raleigh is 17 miles away. Wake Forest has all the day-to-day amenities you need; grocery stores, Target, hardware stores, pubs, restaurants, etc etc.

You can get a place with a fence for $900/month, I'm sure. The difference in North Raleigh vs Wake Forest will be your square footage. At our budget, we got a 2200 sq ft. house with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths on a cul-de-sac on a .25 acre lot with a fence in Wake Forest. For the same price in N Raleigh, we would have sacrificed about 600-800 sq ft, and at least 1 bedroom.