possibly moving to raleigh, kids job the works, need advice

[michgc]

Originally Posted by Dark of the Moon

How much would the OP have to pay to rent a 3BR property in Carrboro?

I'm not sure. In Southern Village, which is in Chapel Hill, a 3-BR townhouse would be about $1800. An older house in Carrboro would likely be less. Maybe about $1500?

[evaofnc]

Originally Posted by goodbyesnow

I don't think you could rent a home in downtown raleigh-and I don't get the "walkability" feel here. To me it all feels pretty suburban and spread out, so if you hate suburbs, you may not like the "feel" of it here. When we were looking, even in neighborhoods in Raleigh, they felt like little suburbs, not a walkable community.

There's plenty of rental homes in downtown Raleigh, but very few of them would be 3-bedrooms just by the nature of the older homes.

[poppydog]

Originally Posted by michgc

I'm not sure. In Southern Village, which is in Chapel Hill, a 3-BR townhouse would be about $1800. An older house in Carrboro would likely be less. Maybe about $1500?

I think that's about right. My neighbor was renting her 4 bedroom for $1600 I believe. We're in Chapel Hill and can walk easily to the bookstore and restaurants and park. But the OP was asking about buying not renting, no?

Chapel Hill/Carrboro might be worth a look. Very, very different from South Palm Beach. It's primarily a small college town with an academic, granola feel, although with plenty of non-hippie, non-academics, too. Much of the activities in town are tied to the University. I would quickly run out of fingers if I tried to count the number of people I know who work at UNC. The schools are very good, but it's not an urban environment. Carrboro is very walkable, though, if that's what you're looking for. Houses in the Spring Valley neighborhood are usually in the $200s.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Originally Posted by poppydog

I think that's about right. My neighbor was renting her 4 bedroom for $1600 I believe. We're in Chapel Hill and can walk easily to the bookstore and restaurants and park. But the OP was asking about buying not renting, no?

No -- she specifically asked about renting.

[ajnucch]

Originally Posted by danimacg

hello,

I am a stay at home mom with previous jobs in museums and fundraising(degree in history and art), my husband is a pharmacist with a big company and we have two daughters under 2. (and might have more)

we know that my husband will need to take licensing exams that are specific to NC and will prob need to commute until he gets a perm. store.

we would be moving from WPB fl because of the schools and cost of living. Two points that we hear raleigh ranks top notch. wpb has little to no community of middle class, consequently private schools, homes, clubs, parks are all either below our monetary ability and scary or way above our monetary ability.(only really poor and really wealthy) we would like a better quality of life and education for our kids, I have read that the raleigh area does choice schools for magnets and charter schools, this is part of our problem with PBcounty schools, there is only 1 grade A school that guarantees attendance if you live in the zone, and the cheapest home is 300k+ for a 1 bedroom 70's fixeruper, if you move into a "zone" for a choice school, you are not guaranteed that you will be allowed to go, its a lottery system with numerous people lying and causing over crowding in the best schools, the subsequent schools are horribly staffed with crime and violence.

questions are:

what areas offer downtown living (walkability) and good guaranteed schools?

what areas are safe but not suburbs? I hate suburbs haha

any cultural areas zoned for good schools?

what is average rent for a 3+ bedroom house/condo/apt in said area?

given our demographic and situation would you rec the move?

thank you very much.

Hi my advice, COME HERE AND VISIT FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN BEFORE MOVING HERE... I am a Native NY'er, and we moved here from Ft. Lauderdale having lived there almost 30 years, this is a VERY different place, unlike South Florida. Funny you want to move up here and I am thinking about returning to Florida, guess nobodys ever content ! It gets colder than I expected, if you like cold, you may like NC ? Good Luck !

[Francois]

Did you already read this thread that our moderator thoughfully put together, which links to discussions on all of the "common" questions about relocating here, including the ones you've asked?

this is part of our problem with PBcounty schools, there is only 1 grade A school that guarantees attendance if you live in the zone

You'll definitely want to read all the threads (or Google) about Wake county school assignments before considering coming here. It's a large system (16th largest in the US) and due to constant growth, there is a history of reassignments almost yearly for some areas. If wanting a "guaranteed" school assignment plan, Raleigh is unlikely to be the place for you in the near future.