Coming to Raleigh (Cary, Apex, Wake Forest: condo, how much, townhouse)

[desirea49]

My husband and I are coming to Raleigh on Sept. 7th. We are checking out neighborhoods that we would want to move to. We are not looking at specific homes yet because we have to sell ours in FL first. We want to narrow down our neighborhoods so that when the time comes it will be easier.

We are looking for a community that has a pool (unless the town itself has swimming areas). We are looking for new or newer construction. We would really like sidewalks since we have 2 boys.

We were thinking about the Apex or Holly Springs area. We would also consider parts that are still Raleigh.

We want 4 bedrooms and would like to stay under $250k.

Anything come to mind? Any websites would be helpful also.

Thanks!

[MikeJaquish]

Holly Springs:
Bridgewater by Anderson Homes.
Braxton Village
Holly Glen
Oaks of Avent Acres
Oak Hall
Arbor Creek
Valleyfield


Apex
Crockett's Ridge
Hollands Crossing
Sunset Hills

All built since 2000. Many with sidewalks.

[Ed O]

Originally Posted by desirea49

My husband and I are coming to Raleigh on Sept. 7th. We are checking out neighborhoods that we would want to move to. We are not looking at specific homes yet because we have to sell ours in FL first. We want to narrow down our neighborhoods so that when the time comes it will be easier.

We are looking for a community that has a pool (unless the town itself has swimming areas). We are looking for new or newer construction. We would really like sidewalks since we have 2 boys.

We were thinking about the Apex or Holly Springs area. We would also consider parts that are still Raleigh.

We want 4 bedrooms and would like to stay under $250k.

Anything come to mind? Any websites would be helpful also.

Thanks!

My wife & I just got back to CT from Raleigh today. We spent 1 wk there doing exactly what you will be doing in Sept. If this helps, here is my brief assessment that may help speed things along for you...

In your price range you will find many homes on the market in the areas of Apex, Holly Springs, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, and Raleigh itself. However, you should go with the idea of how much property you want and have some idea of where you might be working. Newer homes in your price range are built on smaller lots closer into the city. So if you want more than 0.25 acres land, you may find yourself outside the more desirable areas of Apex, Cary, or Raleigh. However if all you want is 2500 sq ft of nice newer house close to Raleigh to minimize job commute times, and you can deal with 0.25 acres or less property because your boys are old enough to walk to the pool, then you should be able to find something in the areas you mentioned. Also, Apex is more like a spillover of Cary, and Fuquay-Varina is like a spillover of Holly Springs. These spillovers are further away, have newer homes, and will offer larger lot sizes the further out you go into boonies. My goal was to not be so close that I end up living in an overpriced condo, and not so far out that I'm driving thru sheep & horses. Somewhere in between would be nice. Best of luck to you folks in FL. Who knows, we may end up neighbors

[desirea49]

We are fine with being on .25 or a little less. I don't want to be so close that it is like a townhouse.

[VickiR]

Thats a great way of putting it...

Cary used to be a "spillover" of Raleigh until Cary became a town of its own.

Apex is a "spillover" of Cary.

Now Holly Springs is a "spillover" of Apex and Cary.

Wake Forest is a "spillover" of North Raleigh.

Rolesville is becoming a "spillover" of Wake Forest.

Makes sense?

Vicki

[Kaligirl]

Vicki and everyone,
Can you tell me a bit about North Raleigh and "spill over" Wake Forest? What do residents there love about it and dislike about it? Are there any "bad areas" of North Raleigh? I know you'll ask what do I mean bad, but I mean what the locals would consider not the best neighboorhood to live, or schools etc. and warn a friend about if they were house hunting.

Is this part of the Triangle Area I am reading about? Are there parks, lakes close by? I just have a ton of questions, but am so excited I don't know where to start. So since I am just starting to look at this area more seriously, I would love any info you think I just need to know.

Thanks so very much for your time.
Kali
PS Can you tell me what would be good zipcodes to consider. Schools, community, recreation/sports etc for our three children is our main priority.

[Anne Jackson]

Coming into this area to look at homes and trying to find "kid friendly" neighborhoods is the most popular thing people from Florida and other states have been doing.

I lived in North Hills when first moving to Raleigh in 1969 from Nashville, TN and had 2 children in elementary school at that time. Eventually, we raised all 4 children in Wake County and they received good educations in the Wake County school system. I have lived all over Raleigh, Cary, Swift Creek, Holly Springs, Apex, Fuquay-Varina and know the best places to live, shop and play.

[leighbhe]

Originally Posted by Kaligirl

Vicki and everyone,
Can you tell me a bit about North Raleigh and "spill over" Wake Forest? What do residents there love about it and dislike about it? Are there any "bad areas" of North Raleigh? I know you'll ask what do I mean bad, but I mean what the locals would consider not the best neighboorhood to live, or schools etc. and warn a friend about if they were house hunting.

Is this part of the Triangle Area I am reading about? Are there parks, lakes close by? I just have a ton of questions, but am so excited I don't know where to start. So since I am just starting to look at this area more seriously, I would love any info you think I just need to know.

Thanks so very much for your time.
Kali
PS Can you tell me what would be good zipcodes to consider. Schools, community, recreation/sports etc for our three children is our main priority.

I believe, because the triangle is such a big area, people tend to chose the places they live based on their commute to work, the schools, the amount of land they want, etc. We lived in holly springs, then moved to apex (which is now cary) and now wake forest. We chose wake forest for a couple of reasons, more land (we are on an acre), commute to work for my husband (he works in the park) and he can get to work without using interstates, I liked the "feel" of apex. Truly has that small town feel that I wanted. I didn't get that in any other place we lived. My daughter is in kindergarten, and so far, I have been impressed with the schools. As far as lakes go, falls lake access is close by (10 minutes from where I live, but people on the other side of wake forest - the east side - probably add 10 minutes onto that). The parks system in wake county is excellent, so you will not miss where ever you chose to live in the area.

It is difficult to search for homes based on zip codes, because they are not really great indicators of much here. The better way to search is areas, as in wake forest, cary, apex, etc. I would really think about where you are going to work and determine how much you want to commute from that point.

Leigh

[Kaligirl]

Thank you for your input and posts.

For our work we need access to a major airport within 30 to 50 minutes would be fine. I was just curious how can one determine which is a good neighborhood within the cities of let's say Raleigh, Wake Forest, Apex etc. If you don't live in the city you dont know which places would be better to avoid and which are the places to be if you can financially make it work. That's why I was trying to narrow down zipcodes to look for in North Raleigh and Wake Forrest since those are the areas we seem to be leaning toward at this point. So any ideas here on how I determine which neighborhoods to house hunt in and research schools in etc.? I'd love your input. Also is Falls Lake a boating and swimming lake? Any idea how far a distance to the coast for weekend trips, which beaches do you head to?

Thanks again so much for your help! Also, if I am taking over the previous post I am sorry. I can repost a new one if that would help. Please let me know.

Regards,
Kali

[beckycat]

Anne,
Tell us about those places to shop and play.