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Hello potentially new neighbors!
My husband is currently in the final stages of a job offer that would relocate our family to the triangle area from Seattle, WA. We have done fairly extensive research about the area and feel confident this would be a great move for our family. My husband will be in the area this week and will spend some time traipsing around different neighborhoods. It's a big area! We'd like to narrow down the areas worth looking at so we don't waste time.
Here are the criteria we consider:
1) He will work at RTP; a bus or bike commute would be ideal. We love public transit and have been a 1 car family since we were married. We'd like to keep it that way.
2) Strong schools. We have a first grader and a preschooler. Our first grader recently tested into the academically gifted program at her school. A strong school would be a must. We have relied on www.greatschools.org for this info. The school info on this site for Seattle have been pretty spot on; seem that way for schools in this area as well? I have been searching the WCPS website and the forum discussions regarding all the changes, so I'm aware of that.
3) We are mixed race family and based on what we know right now, understand that will not be a problem in the Triangle area. But in general, a diverse community would be great - specifically relatively access to the East Indian community for groceries and such.
4) We would love to purchase a home and our range would be around 250k, give or take 25k. We are small house people too - nothing over 1800 sf, so huge homes are not important to us. We would however like a bit of land. Are there places in this range??
5) Places of gathering and character. This is completely subjective, for sure. But in general, we gravitate to neighborhoods where people walk around, gather at parks or coffee shops, and have some kind of personality. We are looking for community for sure! Not just a place to live.
I hope that's specific enough! Some direction towards neighborhoods would be greatly appreciated. We're excited for the change and look forward to all the ways we can contribute to this great community.
The Indian community here seems to like to live in Cary and Morrisville - both very convenient locations to RTP. There is a temple in Morrisville and Indian shops in Cary - maybe Morrisville? However, these are suburban type towns so you are not going to get the city feel of somewhere like Seattle. Schools in both towns are good, you can't go wrong with any of them. Bear in mind that the school system is County-wide.
Perhaps others can address your remaining questions as I don't know enough about subdivisions there to make a recommendation.
We are also relocating to Raleigh, but not until next Summer. Based on the greatschool.org research we've done, you may want to look around Davis Drive Elem and Middle schools in some of the established neighborhoods for the price range you're in. We're also looking at Kitts Creek which is a new neo-urban development and Amberly Village Square, but the prices are higher there. The bike commute may be a stretch, but depends on where your husband's co is actually located in the RTP. I'll leave that up to one of the real estate agents that post on these boards--they're verrrrry helpful!
The problem many of us are facing with the new school selection model is that "hot" schools often have either no slots available or not enough for everyone who wants them. You may end up not getting into the school that is your closest proximity one as slots have been snatched up by others who recently made their selection. I don't mean to alarm you, nor be negative, but to be prepared I would read the Wake Co schools threads where folks here now comment on what they've experience with this new way of selecting schools. Having said this, you can't go wrong with any school in these towns, they're all good. My grandson went to Davis Dr, it's scores are good b/c there are many good students (India, Asian, etc) who go there. It's not that the teachers or curricula are better - again, it's a county-wide system.
The problem many of us are facing with the new school selection model is that "hot" schools often have either no slots available or not enough for everyone who wants them. You may end up not getting into the school that is your closest proximity one as slots have been snatched up by others who recently made their selection. I don't mean to alarm you, nor be negative, but to be prepared I would read the Wake Co schools threads where folks here now comment on what they've experience with this new way of selecting schools. Having said this, you can't go wrong with any school in these towns, they're all good. My grandson went to Davis Dr, it's scores are good b/c there are many good students (India, Asian, etc) who go there. It's not that the teachers or curricula are better - again, it's a county-wide system.
I agree with this. It's going to be really hard for newcomers this coming year to know what school they are going to be going to. I feel for you.
Western Cary and Morrisville are, again, your best bets. i will also add re: Davis Drive El that they have historically been a top rated school, and I don't think it's just because of the Indian and Asian population - it's because they really push the kids there. But, as mentioned - the curriculum is the same with only minor differences between the schools.
1) Western Cary and Morrisville seems to be an ideal areas. Specific neighborhoods in Morrisville are Beckenridge, Village At Townhall Commons, Twin Lakes and Carpenter Village. In Cary I would check out Cary Park, Amberly and Kitts Creek as far as newer neighborhoods.
Then there are some more established ( a bit older ) communities around Park Village, MacArthur Park and Excalibur in Cary.
2) Since you have done ample research on schools, so you know how it works from this year.
3) The whole Triangle area is quite diverse but Morrisville has a larger Asian population.
4) You can get a decent house in the range of 250K.
5) Places of gathering can be tricky. There are some decent ones like Stone Creek. But Starbucks kind of places are quite a few. There are not many " Downtown " feel places.
You may even want to consider downtown Cary in your search. A lot of the businesses around downtown Cary cater to the large South Indian population we have here. You would be close to the Amtrak station which will hopefully start including regular commuter trains in the next 2-3 years. Also the TTA buses that go from Cary to RTP make a stop at the Cary Amtrak station. There's a farmers market there on the weekends during the growing season. And from the NC-54 exit of I-40 you're a short drive from both RTP and downtown Raleigh without dealing with the horrible traffic of the US-1/I-440/I-40 interchange from hell.
Last edited by evaofnc; 02-13-2012 at 09:07 AM..
Reason: a
My husband is also Indian. I thought I'd chime in here. As for Indian stores, there are quite a few smaller Indian stores throughout the area, but I don't know that I'd plan where I lived around any of them. To be honest, they don't always have the best produce, so my husband and I get by on one or maybe two trips a month to buy things like spices, dal, and some frozen goods. We buy most of our produce and other perishables at other stores with higher turnover. My point being, if you want a neighborhood with character, don't feel like you have to live in Morrisville or Cary just because of the Indian stores - chances are you won't go so often. Also, there are quite a few Indian stores near RTP. If we need some Indian ingredient that day my husband will often pick it up during his lunch hour or right after.
I don't know much about the schools, but you may want to look in Durham. It's got much more character than most of Cary and Morrisville. Chapel Hill or Carrboro would be ideal, and they have an amazing school district, but you may have a hard time at your price point there. It may be possible, though, if you buy a smaller place that's not super upgraded, especially if you don't need a sfh. I don't mean to knock Cary or Morrisville. They are great places too. But definitely not full of character. Best of luck in your search and welcome to the area!
Last edited by irby; 02-13-2012 at 09:24 AM..
Reason: Punctuation
Thank you to all who posted, these are some good starting points. A few things that stand out from the posts that I wouldn't mind more elaboration on:
Davis Dr Elementary - they "push" the kids? Anyone care to expound on what that means? We are all to familar with the push for academic achievement amongst Asian communities, but frankly, we still want our kids to have time to watch the clouds and build bug habitats, etc.
Carrboro and Chapel Hill certainly have character and would be a good stomping ground for us - but how is the commute? I tried to navigate the TTA website but it wasn't very user friendly, especially for someone unfamilar with the area. As a side note - are there any bike trails that connect the three cities at all or is biking in the area a road experience?
Everything together, downtown Cary is looking attractive for a variety of reasons. Where is Stone Creek??
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