Area near Lions Park (DT Raleigh), good for active single guy? (Cary: cul-de-sac, fit in)

[Bmateo]

Looking at some housing options. I currently live in an apartment in Cary, and I love the location, the access to greenways and bike trails, access to restaurants, and ease to get just about ANYWHERE in the triangle.

I am going to look at a house near Lion's park, and I'm just wanting to know others opinions.

In addition to looking at it from the perspective of a young-hearted, active, single, male, what other thoughts do you have?
-property values increasing or decreasing?
-safe area, or not?
-good diversity?
-places to go in walking distance?
-not filled with crazy college kids?
-etc. (these are just some ideas...)

Thanks in advance.

[BoBromhal]

Originally Posted by Bmateo

Looking at some housing options. I currently live in an apartment in Cary, and I love the location, the access to greenways and bike trails, access to restaurants, and ease to get just about ANYWHERE in the triangle.

I am going to look at a house near Lion's park, and I'm just wanting to know others opinions.

In addition to looking at it from the perspective of a young-hearted, active, single, male, what other thoughts do you have?
-property values increasing or decreasing?
-safe area, or not?
-good diversity?
-places to go in walking distance?
-not filled with crazy college kids?
-etc. (these are just some ideas...)

Thanks in advance.

it's probably better for a single guy than other demographics.

stable property values - they bubbled as much as anywhere, based on simply being "ITB" and inexperienced agents coming downtown and selling homes there. It's a nice, lower-middle class area. As values across ITB, and in that price range, rebound, the Lions park area will see the same.

plenty of diversity

there's greenway access. You could walk to Seaboard and the burgeoning Person St corridor. but it's a bit of a hike.

college kids? No, I doubt it. There'll be plenty of rental properties though.

[cyn7cyn]

Hands down, I moved here last October and I have never loved a neighborhood so much. I am always raving about it as a great secret behind the gritty 401 corridor. It is the coolests mix of families,singles,a few old timers and hipsters in one place. I currently rent but can attest to many homes on the market selling within the last few months. These homes are great for first time buyers and those hoping to add on when needed. The yards are large and established. we have gardens,flowers everywhere and quirky yard statuettes. The area is very dog friendly, most yards are gated in the back and private. They have no HOA"s and really no need too. Walkability to places isnt he best but as dtwn extends this way that will chnage. The Cat bus goes in front of my house and from there the R line at seaboard station can take you around dwtwn raleigh. I know several single people living on my street and only a few college couples. I do most of my shopping around the wake forest six forks road area. Trader Joes,Costco, Kroger. I used to ride through these neighborhoods ten years ago and they have changed so much for the better. My kid and I walk around the nhood every day and there isnt a single sreet that is unsafe. If you would like to ask my anything else please feel free to message me. Its just cool to be in an urban enviroment that has a historic feel to it. My only complaint would be the much needed revitalization of the Raleigh blvd area to the east of this neighborhood. There is a large public housing development there and the closest shopping center consists of the usual culprits. It does have a sub station in it so it is still safe regardless of its looks. I just bring in friends from the other directions and we are none the wiser. Win win!

[tompope]

Bmateo, I would second almost everything that cyn7cyn said about the neighborhood. I, too, have lived near Lions Park for a few years and absolutely love it. I think the area is one of the best-kept secrets in the entire Triangle, and it seems to me like a reasonably decent place to invest in buying a house for the long-term (although as we've all learned in the recent downturn, thinking of any single-family residential real estate as a "sure thing" investment is probably a bad idea). In my personal opinion, I would expect average home prices to at least remain stable for the foreseeable future, and potentially go up quite a lot if and when the real estate market improves markedly.

No place is perfect, but to me this neighborhood is just wonderful, and has much or all of what you describe you're looking for. As cyn7cyn said, one drawback may be the part about "places to go within walking distance," although that of course depends on what kinds of places you like to go and how far you consider "walking distance." I'm a rather ambitious walker, so I walk all over the place, including walking downtown from here once in a while when the weather's nice, though that is a bit of a hike, and I even have found that it's a surprisingly quick and pleasant walk from here to the Five Points area if you're up for making the mad dash across Capital Boulevard. I think there are a number of other interesting destinations within a decent walking range, including Oakwood Cemetery, the Oakwood neighborhood, the St, Aug's campus, the Iceplex, and the greenway running along Crabtree Creek, although the area may be a little lacking for super-exciting landmarks. But as cyn7cyn says, it's such a short drive, bus ride, or bike ride from here to downtown Raleigh, Glenwood South, or anywhere else Inside the Beltline that there's never any shortage of access to amenities. In that vein, I would strongly suggest if you come to the neighborhood that you get a bicycle, since I have found that while it may not be super-duper-walkable, it is a fantastic place to bike, either on the greenway or the streets, and that with a decent bike you can have this whole section of the city at your disposal.

The only point on which I disagree with cyn7cyn is that the Raleigh Boulevard corridor "much" needs revitalization. Of course it could be nicer, and I'd love to see some more stores and restaurants along there, but I don't think it's bad the way it is. I walk and bike all along Raleigh Boulevard multiple times a week, and I think it's a pretty pleasant street. I do the majority of my large-scale grocery shopping at the Food Lion at Raleigh Boulevard and Glascock, supplementing it sometimes with trips to the Trader Joe's and the Kroger that cyn7cyn mentioned, as well as the Kroger at Raleigh Boulevard and MLK, and some of the specialty stores along Capital Boulevard, and all are quite convenient and good shopping options. And if you come to the area, be sure to check out Jack's Seafood a block-and-a-half or so west of Raleigh Boulevard on New Bern for a bit of the "old school" flavor of the area. I absolutely love getting a plate of fish and grits there for breakfast on a chilly winter morning, or one of their daily seafood specials on warm summer evenings.

Best of luck!

[cyn7cyn]

I shop at the Food Lion too for basics but Im a foodie so I have to travel a little farther out. My point about the shopping center is it consist of Food LIon, Rent America,City Fashions,Check Cashing place,tobacco mart, Laundrymat and a lil caesars. And of course the sub station which is probably the only reason a sweepstakes hasnt opened yet.Oh and family dollar. I really dont expect these stores to change but I cant say its somewhere we go for a shopping experience per se. I see neighbors there rarely and its usually just to pick up milk etc... As a single male I think it would be a great living investment . These houses have so much character and so do the people that live here.

[cyn7cyn]

If you want to leave Cary. I think you will fit in fine at Lions Park. People that live here wouldnt move to Cary if they were giving it away. UGH!!!!!

[tompope]

Originally Posted by cyn7cyn

I shop at the Food Lion too for basics but Im a foodie so I have to travel a little farther out. My point about the shopping center is it consist of Food LIon, Rent America,City Fashions,Check Cashing place,tobacco mart, Laundrymat and a lil caesars. And of course the sub station which is probably the only reason a sweepstakes hasnt opened yet.Oh and family dollar. I really dont expect these stores to change but I cant say its somewhere we go for a shopping experience per se. I see neighbors there rarely and its usually just to pick up milk etc... As a single male I think it would be a great living investment . These houses have so much character and so do the people that live here.

Originally Posted by cyn7cyn

If you want to leave Cary. I think you will fit in fine at Lions Park. People that live here wouldnt move to Cary if they were giving it away. UGH!!!!!

Yeah, I can see that if you're a foodie, you may need to go a little further afield than just the Food Lion at Raleigh Boulevard and Glascock—or any other area Food Lion, for that matter. I find that to be a perfectly good store for all the basics, and I'm really not much of a "foodie," so I don't really care much about specialty stuff. But I do sometimes make side trips to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, the Farmers Market, and some of the ethnic grocery stores to supplement the Food Lion's offerings. And all those places are quite convenient to the neighborhood as well.

I basically agree that the rest of the Raleigh Plaza strip mall leaves a bit to be desired, but I don't think it's any worse than lots of other solid but slightly downtrodden strip malls all across the Triangle. As with many strip malls, I mainly go only to the big grocery anchor store, and seldom or never to the other stores. The one in question near the neighborhood, at Raleigh Boulevard and Glascock, does at least have Lam's Garden, which you didn't mention. I don't know about you, but I think Lam's Garden is at least average as strip mall Chinese places go, and usually actually a little bit above average. It's certainly not fancy, but I've had many a good, hearty meal there when I was craving Chinese food, and I actually think that the quality of the dishes is generally quite good. It's really kind of a hidden gem there, and if nothing else their prices are excellent. I also really liked the Southern Flavor and then Larry's Take-Out which had operated in that strip mall between the Food Lion and Lam's Garden. I was a fairly regular patron of each, and enjoyed both a lot, but was sorry to see them close. Obviously the restaurant business in general is a notoriously tough business, and the combination of the still-soft economy and location in a mediocre strip mall that doesn't draw a ton of traffic proved to be problematic for them. Hopefully something else will go in that spot or one of the others in Raleigh Plaza to provide another restaurant option.

Also, it's purely a matter of opinion, but I'm not sure I agree that "People that live here wouldnt move to Cary if they were giving it away." I know there's a tendency on the part of some Inside the Beltline Raleigh residents, or residents of Raleigh in general, or people outside of Cary in general, to view Cary with a certain amount of disdain. But I've known other people who are more open-minded about it, and personally I don't dislike Cary at all, and wouldn't necessarily mind living there. For one thing, Cary is a larger and more diverse place than it;s often given credit for, and so it's not all the same. Some of the older, inner parts of Cary inside of the Maynard Road loop are a lot more like our beloved area around Lions Park than you might think. Even beyond that, there is certainly something to be said for the peace and quiet of the cul-de-sacs and the homogeneity of Cary's sprawling suburban fringes. Overall, I much prefer it here near Lions Park or some place similar, but I can at least understand why people would want to live in Cary (or at least most of it), and I wouldn't object to living there if I had some reason or need to do so. To each their own.