Where to live when work is in Morrisville and pre-school is in Durham? (Trinity: apartment, renting)

[Chicago37]

We are moving to the area soon and hoping to get some guidance on specific streets/neighborhoods.

My husband will be working in Morrisville. We're thinking about (hopefully) sending our daughter to pre-school in Durham. Ideally, we'd be no more than about a 15 minute drive from the school (which is on Watts) We'd like to be in a walkable neighborhood where we can walk to a coffee shop or something, but would also be ok with just being in a place where there are sidewalks and we can go for a long walk, even without a destination. We will be renting at first, so this does not have to be our final destination and schools are not really a concern yet. We're looking for a townhouse or a single family house, about 2000 sq feet or so with 3-4 bedrooms, not an apartment.

Any advice on where to start looking would be very much welcome.

Thanks!

[mia78]

When renting, you're limited to what stock is on the open market at the time you're looking so things can be a bit trickier if you're looking for something specific. I think the neighborhood of the preschool will probably fit your requirements, but I'm not so familiar with that area as far as the square footage of the homes.

[annesg]

You could try a n'hood like Breckenridge in Morrisville, which has a lot of sidewalks, and the townhomes at the front of the n'hood are cute and walkable to the grocery store and restaurants there on Davis and McCrimmon. You could try the Grace Park area as well (Davis and Morrisville Carpenter) and be walkable to a starbucks and restaurants and a Food Lion, CVS, Walgreens, etc.

I don't know Durham so I'll leave that for others. But hopefully you've seen the area and know that when I say "walkable" I am talking about newer areas that have sidewalks, not the charming early-20th-century era main street type of atmosphere. But there's still lots of greenways around for strolling (I run them and love it).

[Chicago37]

Mia78 - thank you! I've also heard good things about the area near the school, which I think is called Trinity Park. Whenever Durham comes up, the first thing people tell us is that schools are 'bad'. Any thoughts about that would be appreciated, if you have a second to share.

Annesg - thanks! Yes, I know exactly what you mean about newer vs older neighborhoods, though I've not been out to see the area yet. I love the idea of old neighborhoods, but living in a very old house right now, I do occasionally long for some new construction :-). We'll see how it all pans out.

[Green Irish Eyes]

You should spend some time at the Strong Durham Schools website -- lots of good information there.

[Chicago37]

Thanks, I'll have a look at that page too.

We're currently in Westchester County, NY where people are obsessed with schools and the difference of home costs between districts with "good" and "bad" schools is crazy. I grew up in the Chicago burbs where no one pored over all these test scores and demographics and one school was pretty similar to any other. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me as a kid :-).

[dcgrl]

well, if you're interested in the public montessori program at the George Watts school, you need to live in the walk zone immediately surrounding the school. Otherwise, you need to win the magnet lottery, which is about as likely as winning the actual lottery. So look in the 1/2 mile surrounding the school.

[peperoberto]

Originally Posted by dcgrl

well, if you're interested in the public montessori program at the George Watts school, you need to live in the walk zone immediately surrounding the school. Otherwise, you need to win the magnet lottery, which is about as likely as winning the actual lottery. So look in the 1/2 mile surrounding the school.

And it's worth noting that kids that go to Watts Montessori Elementary will get preference in the lottery for Lakewood Montessori Middle School, so if you get in the walk zone, there's a good chance you'll get in to a great middle school as well.

[Chicago37]

Interesting, thanks! Looking at the website for the Watts Montessori, it gives the impression that the only way to get in is by way of the lottery, no mention of a walk in district. Our oldest is only 3, so school is a few years off, but it's an interesting thing to keep in mind. I definitely need to do more research on the schooling options in the area.

[dcgrl]

Originally Posted by Chicago37

Interesting, thanks! Looking at the website for the Watts Montessori, it gives the impression that the only way to get in is by way of the lottery, no mention of a walk in district. Our oldest is only 3, so school is a few years off, but it's an interesting thing to keep in mind. I definitely need to do more research on the schooling options in the area.

all the magnet schools admit students according to certain priorities:
1. sibling attending
2. walk zone (1/2 mile)
3. sibling applying
4. general population

Watts starts at age 4 (must be 4 by Aug 31), so it's a good idea to start thinking about it now. if he turns 4 in the first half of next year, you should enter the lottery, which runs Jan 21 - Feb 17.

The Trinity Park neighborhood is a good one for walking and getting to coffee shops/restaurants/playgrounds, etc. It's a bit more than 15 mins to Morrisville, but not by much. My husband used to work in Morrisville, and we live a good 2 miles southwest of Trinity Park, and he would usually make it home in 20-25.

Also consider Watts Hillandale and Old West Durham. Watts Hillandale is a crazy popular neighborhood for young families.