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I thought I'd better ask before I get too excited. Dh would be working for Duke Med. Ctr. Is Wake Forest reasonably close to Duke?
Dh doesn't want to drive farther than 20 mins. And doesn't want to face tons of traffic during those 20 mins. if possible.
My intense research on Wake Forest (ha, I just looked at the homes on Craig's List) make Wake Forest look beautiful. Is it a full community w/ a town center? Or is it just a neighborhood? Or?
We homeschool and have two 8-year-old boys. They're very park oriented and love to swim. They would love a rock climbing center too if you happen to know of one.
Re: homes. We'd like to rent. We sold a home in CA and just don't want to deal w/ that kind of commitment again for awhile. We can afford up to about $1900/mo. in rent but don't want a house any bigger than 3,000 sf. In fact, that would be big for us. We don't want huge a/c and heating bills.
I would love a newer home. My husband wants a bit of acreage -- even just .30, but he would love more. (I don't know why. He avoids yard work like the plague.)
In other words I'd love an upscale area without the snooty people that generally seem to live in upscale areas (at least that's often the case in CA).
So, given all this -- and if you're still reading you're a wonderful person -- do you think we'd like Wake Forest? Any other neat communities you'd recommend too?
I thought I'd better ask before I get too excited. Dh would be working for Duke Med. Ctr. Is Wake Forest reasonably close to Duke?
Dh doesn't want to drive farther than 20 mins. And doesn't want to face tons of traffic during those 20 mins. if possible.
I hate to burst your bubble but Wake Forest is about 2 times as far from Duke as you're looking for (about 40-45min, depending on which way you go) if you go at a time when there's no traffic.
I hate to burst your bubble but Wake Forest is about 2 times as far from Duke as you're looking for (about 40-45min, depending on which way you go) if you go at a time when there's no traffic.
Thank you. That's what I wanted: to have my bubble burst now before it rents a house in the wrong place. When I mapped it it said that WF was 20 mins. from Duke but I know Duke is large and maybe I wasn't mapping correctly.
Based on my criteria can you tell me some communities that would be closer?
You can still live in Wake Forest but would need to find a home on hwy 98 the east west, two lane road that runs from Durham thru the northern part of Wake Forest. And would need to stay west of Capital blvd. Doing this, his commute would be 20-30 minutes. I have done this route many times and timed it. The home along this section would have large lots but not have the kind of community amenities that say Heritage subdivision in Wake Forest has. it is another 10-15 mins east. BTW - the schools in Wake Forest are excellent! You may want to take a look at them! You could also ask folks who live in Wakefield, a subdivision in Raleigh on the west side of Capital blvd - across from Wake Forest. What they commute is like now. Creedmoor would be another option if you home school. And there is Durham - some lovely communities out in the burbs there and only 10 mins from the university. Consider also Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, both great places to live. Strong resale values and close to Duke.
Just an overall suggestion, maps.google.com gives driving directions from where your looking from and to. The times they suggest, are generally accurate.
I just want to double check that you are talking about the main Duke Medical Center in Durham. If you mapped it and it came in under 20 minutes to Wake Forest perhaps you mapped to the Duke Hospital in Raleigh. I live west of Capital off of 98 and it is about to 30 minutes to Duke in Durham.
You would definitely have to look west of 98 and just north of creedmoor road (hwy 50)....so basically west and south on 98, so that you are still in wake forest - the commute is very easy to Duke and would take you between 20-30 minutes, but it also depends on where at duke you are going.
In that area, west of 98, you are going to find many homes that are not in subdivisions, and or homes in subdivisions that are on an acre or more. We live off of purnell road, in a subdivision, and we are on an acre. On that side of town, most homes are on septic so the lots have to be bigger and there is much less density of homes. I am sure you could easily find a home to rent in your price range.
I would look in Hillsborough. There's a neighborhood called Churchton Grove where the homes are new-ish (some are new construction and others are a few years old) but the homes are on a little bit of land (big yards and a little space in between houses). It's a really reasonable commute to Duke (directly down US-70 and then onto 85 it would take less than 20 minutes).
I know Hillsborough has a lot of parks, walking trails, etc. (the neighborhood has it's own park, in fact) but I'm not sure about rock climbing places in Hillsborough. However, I know there is one in Durham that is pretty nice. It's called Vertical Climbing Center.
Durham used to have a less-than-wonderful reputation, but that's changing as it becomes increasingly gentrified. We have friends that just moved from Raleigh to a great little neighborhood in Durham just off Cornwallis Road, and they love it there. Lots of giant oaks and big lawns, and they say their neighbors are great. We're in rural Wake Forest out near Stony Hill Road, but I wouldn't mind living in their neighborhood at all. Several homes for sale there as well.
I would suggest Hillsborough as well. Close to Duke. Great family oriented neighborhoods. Cute little town center.
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The times they suggest, are generally accurate.
