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Stoneridge is not at all like what you describe, though, as far as walkability. If you're looking for that, look at some of the neighborhoods in Carrboro or downtown Chapel Hill.
Carrboro is a slightly smaller sister-town to Chapel Hill, but they are like conjoined twins with shared borders and really, for all intents and purposes as a walking citizen, shared downtowns. If you look at google maps you can find the intersection of Franklin St and Columbia St in Chapel Hill. That is the heart of downtown Chapel Hill. If you look at where Main St and Weaver St and North Greensboro St form a triangle shaped wedge that is the heart of downtown Carrboro. That stretch of Franklin St and Main St in between those two points is less than a mile and that's the main walkable area of CH/C with tons of restaurants and shops.
Many folks live off North Greensboro in Carrboro and walk. The mill houses in Carrboro (along Shelton, Oak, etc) are very popular and fairly pricey historic properties right in the middle of Carrboro. Off North Greensboro there are several not too old neighborhoods (80s, 90s) like Spring Valley, Bolin Forest and a little further out Cates Farm. There are many older neighborhoods in Chapel Hill (like mine) that are walkable, too. Most of the newer stuff that has some walkability are "village design" subdivisions like Southern Village and Meadowmont, Winmore and Claremont that have some shops and a nearby elementary school built as part of the development package, but are way too far out to actually walk downtown to the heart of town.
Stoneridge, where Barley Girl, said she lives is way, way out. It's not new, although it is lovely mid-70s-80s homes near Duke Forest for hiking as well as neighborhood amenities like swimming. It's barely in Chapel Hill, though. It's north of I-40 off Turkey Farm Rd off Whitfield Rd.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. My husband and I are coming over for another visit in a fortnight, to check out the areas you have all recommended. Looks like we will have to compromise on either walkability or large lot/nature trails. So hard to settle on an area when all have pros and cons. Be nice to the English couple if we bump into any of you! (And no, we are not from portishead but from near Cambridge, so I guess there really can be two British couples moving to CH imminently!)
If you get out of your house older neighborhoods like Lake Forest can be very friendly--lots of walkers, runners, dog-walkers. It would be nice to have more sidewalks but CH is blind on that point. Most houses in Lake Forest also belong to the lake which has a little private beach which is staffed all summer--great for kids.
Thanks, Isabella8. That's good to know. We really like Lake Forest but were worried about this no-sidewalk thing. We'll definitely be getting out and about, especially as we have a dog to walk every day as well as getting out with the kids.
Anybody got any thoughts on Hillsborough? I know it's a lot smaller, but it's also a lot kinder on our wallets! Do people reckon it might be harder to make friends there, being total outsiders, or is it very friendly? Cameron Park Elementary in Hillsborough looks good, from what I can see on the Great Schools website. Are the schools in Chapel Hill generally considered 'better'?
Chapel HIll schools have been ranked best in the state for some time now and our property taxes are a reflection of that. Still a lot of people associated with the university buy homes in Hillsborough and Durham. Believe me, your being from England will not stand out at all. Very international area.
Yes, the schools in Chapel Hill and Carrboro are considered better, hence the higher price tag for living w/in the CHCCS district. I think Orange County schools are pretty good, but many people who are moving into the Triangle area and have public schools as their number one priority move especially for the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools. If it's not the most important thing to you then I think Orange County schools are fine. They're not _bad_ schools or anything. For some people they just pale in comparison to CHCCS which is so close. Folks I know who have their kids there are happy, though. Hillsborough is a great little town with a lot of Revolutionary War era history. It's a friendly town. I don't think you would have trouble connecting.
You might like to check out the numbers on the NC Report Card site which is the state's site for rating the schools based on end of grade testing, etc.
Personally, I don't base everything on those EOG scores. It's really about how a school fits the kid for me. I have one kid in CHCCS and one in a public charter middle/high school because that was a better fit for her for several reasons.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I think Hillsborough is a very nice town. There is a housing development called Churton Grove that is very family-friendly with nice homes and nice lots. The downtown area is walkable with plenty of useful amenities - Weaver Street Market, the library, farmer's market (in season), restaurants, some shops, etc. We were very tempted to move there because we love walkable towns like that. And money-wise, it was a lot cheaper than Chapel Hill. But, the schools are definitely not as highly-regarded as Chapel Hill schools. That doesn't mean you can't get a good education there. But it doesn't have the reputation that CH schools have. Also, this wouldn't apply to most people, but our family is Jewish and one of my daughters is Asian. There are very few of either category there, and I didn't want us to be "the only ones."
So for us, we chose Chapel Hill over Hillsborough for two main reasons: the schools weren't considered as good and we fit in better in Chapel Hill, ethnically and religious-wise. Other than those concerns on my part, I would have preferred Hillsborough.
Hello, Laura. I'm very late in on the party, but just in case you're still reading...
I appreciate all of the other poster's very helpful words here, but I would throw in a few more of caution: check with both the Chapel Hill Town Council (and Carrboro's as well if you're looking out that way) for any impending construction/development projects going on/coming up through the development pipeline. As the push to develop more businesses within the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area grows (to stop losing sales to neighboring counties mainly), areas once thought residential/probably residential are now being considered for 'mixed use'...which I'm thinking may be not what you're looking for.
For instance, North Chapel Hill (near 3000 Eubanks Road) is in the crosshairs for mixed use development (read: big box store anchors, etc), that's near the intersection of Weaver Dairy Road and I-40 (that project was once called Charterwood, I think it's now being called The Edge). Additionally, concept plan applications were submitted for additional mixed use development alongside 15-501 and Southern Village (including a hotel and additional apartments, Obey Creek?). You probably already know of the apartment/condo/retail development up and down Franklin Street (which probably would not be a real consideration for your home), but it's also going on out on Hwy 54 East towards Meadowmont and beyond, by UNC Hospitals (an area which might be on your list). On the Carrboro side, an extensive road widening project has just started alongside the road to the new high school (Smith Level?? maybe also Culbreth??), and talk has been floating around for developing the property by the Carrboro post office by Hwy 54 (all retail, I think). All of these places (and I'm sure there are more besides these) are bound to have far more traffic when they are approved and/or when completed (some are already in construction now).
All of the above can be found from the Town records (maybe even from their websites??)...it's public information and also was discussed in detail at the Chamber of Commerce Development Meeting update last year. In short, a lot of areas are up for change/are being changed; find out as best you can what the 'planned corridors' are and avoid if possible, I think.
At the risk of sounding 'un-hometown', I would also suggest that you might look at neighboring Chatham, Alamance, and Durham counties for what you're looking for....especially for the quiet, lot size, etc., that you mentioned. I've been here 20+ years now and quiet and space are important factors for me...and 3 years ago I left for Chatham, unable to find what I wanted at an affordable price in Chapel Hill/Carrboro proper (and not wanting to drive from Hillsborough daily). What inconvenience I may have in driving a few more miles into Chapel Hill is very minor indeed when I look at the benefits I'm getting...and I love living here, too, btw...and those include a more favorable tax rate.
Don't move to Chapel HIll if you work in Cary! That is, unless you just LOVE traffic stress twice a day. Seriously, you will be making a huge mistake to put yourself through that on a daily basis. CH is expensive, hoity toity, and very congested itself. You could buy a palace in Cary for 600K and be in the best neighborhoods.
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