Bedford vs. West Cary (Raleigh, Durham: transplants, real estate, to rent)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First of all, I should say that I have lurked and read countless threads on this forum and there are many helpful people who post on this board. From real estate agents who give their helpful perspectives to long time natives, to past and current relocators, I have learned a lot about the area here. I lived in Cary as a young, single guy in 97-98 and my how things have changed around here. So I had some frame of reference but nothing like what the area is really like today.
Anyway, my wife and I moved our two little girls (almost 3 and 1) from Bucks County PA to the area a few weeks ago. We love the area and the nice people in general and are having a great time exploring. My company provided temp housing until end of February but we can extend month to month if need be.
Looking for:
- Great public schools
- 4BRs, office, playroom, nice kitchen into family room flow and we are not opposed to repurposing rooms (eg dining and living room into office or playroom) so don't need
- great kid neighborhood
- some outdoor space - preferably a front porch and screened in porch
- commute to eastern side of RTP (by Quintiles bldg) in less than 30 mins
- budget up to 480K purchase price
In looking around, it seems to have come down to North Raleigh or West Cary. And specifically in North Raleigh, Beford, with an outside chance of considering going further up to Heritage in WF. We love Bedford and all it provides with the neighborhood, amenities, etc. We like some of the West Cary neighborhoods a lot also such as Cary Park, Highcroft, Carpenter Village. We liked Amberly also but figured if we went with that type of neighborhood we like Bedford over Amberly.
The problem we are having with Bedford is the schools past the elementary school age. Now, we fully understand that things in the schools may be COMPLETELY different when our kids are at that age, but they may not. And we realize we may not have the full story...which is why I come to you good people.
Why are Wakefield MS and HS not as well regarded as their elementary schools? Brassfield and other elementary schools that Bedford feeds into are just as good or better than W. Cary elementary schools. But then there's a drop in perception and scores at Wakefield MS and HS that doesn't happen in W. Cary. Is this blown out of proportion and.or how do you explain it? Do a lot of people in Bedford send their kids to private schools once they get to MS and HS?
Will keep an eye on this thread. We relocated from NY in October and had the same dilemma. Ultimately, we chose to rent a house in Preston (we have tenants in our NY house for the same term) in order to really get to know the area. We loved Bedford, but had heard that life there can be a bit fishbowl'ish. I work in RTP/Morrisville and a 12 minute commute was obviously a major factor. Plus, our child is only 2.5, so we have time. When we are ready to buy down here, I am not sure that we will stay in Cary. It's just so [insert adjective here], I think we will end up in N. Raleigh or Durham.
No, most Bedford parents don't send our kids to private high schools. If anything, the tendency has been in the other direction. It's more common for kids to go to private school for elementary and then move to Wakefield. The Estates section of Bedford has not been happy (historically - has changed) with the assigned elementary school. Also, the main assigned school for Bedford was year-round, and the traditional was a bit of a drive.
That said, my kids have been in the public schools since we moved here (7th and 5th grades).
esqyankee, have you formed that opinion of Cary since you've been down here? That it's so ______? Have you spent a lot of time in North Raleigh? I ask because I understand how Cary is very different from Durham and downtown Raleigh but I am failing to see how it's very different from North Raleigh. They seem very similar in demographics, neighborhoods, types of homes, shopping, etc. Yet somehow North Raleigh is cool and up and coming and Cary is so _____. I don't mean to single you out, I hear this all the time. Just not sure why...
I don't see much difference between Cary and North Raleigh. Both nice family oriented places. One isn't any more "up and coming" than the other. People who speak like that to you are just trying to justify their choices. Me, I would choose based on which provides the best commute to where you work. Good luck!
I don't see much difference between Cary and North Raleigh. Both nice family oriented places. One isn't any more "up and coming" than the other. People who speak like that to you are just trying to justify their choices. Me, I would choose based on which provides the best commute to where you work. Good luck!
I absolutely agree. I've lived in both places. There's no difference in terms of "up and coming-ness".
Geography and distance from point A to point B are the only real differences. I prefer Cary, but I work in RTP. Unless one chooses NW Raleigh (not Bedford, more like Leesville area) the commute to RTP is longer.
__________________
When in doubt, check it out: FAQ
esqyankee, have you formed that opinion of Cary since you've been down here? That it's so ______? Have you spent a lot of time in North Raleigh? I ask because I understand how Cary is very different from Durham and downtown Raleigh but I am failing to see how it's very different from North Raleigh. They seem very similar in demographics, neighborhoods, types of homes, shopping, etc. Yet somehow North Raleigh is cool and up and coming and Cary is so _____. I don't mean to single you out, I hear this all the time. Just not sure why...
Who do you hear this from?
I've never heard this, and I'm a native of the area.
Both Cary (particularly West Cary) and North Raleigh have seen huge expansions due to transplant activity over the past several years, in particular.
__________________
When in doubt, check it out: FAQ
I've never heard this, and I'm a native of the area.
Both Cary (particularly West Cary) and North Raleigh have seen huge expansions due to transplant activity over the past several years, in particular.
I know both have huge expansions and transplants, which is why the stigma confuses me. I hear it in this thread, other places on the board, from our realtor (who is native), from our mover (who is from TN originally but been here 20 yrs), from people I work with (one native and the rest relocators). And these opinions in real life come from all socieconomic statuses. I know it's a small size but an admin assistant in my office says "Cary is all soccer moms with snotty kids and it's congested. You should live in North Raleigh" Minutes later one of the executives says "You don't want Cary. I try to stay out of Cary except for when I eat at Umstead or An or when I golf at Preston. Everything you need is by North Raleigh" And you state your own location as the Containment Area
Just seems like there's a lot of disdain for Cary. And/or people saying there's so much more to do in North Raleigh. I have no dog in this fight and we are still leaning to North Raleigh, actually, so don't mean to advocate for Cary, but I just don't see how North Raleigh is near eveything and Cary is the pits, not near anything with cookie cutter homes and congested. West Cary is actually more centrally located to Durham, Chapel Hill, RTP, airport and is almost exactly the same distance to downtown Raleigh as some of these parts of North Raleigh. And like I said, a lot of the houses and neighborhoods look similar and the difference in congestion I see is negligible.
Anyway, I didn't mean for this to be a defense of Cary thread. I personally love both areas and see a lot of similarities in the two, which is why we are strongly considering both. I am more concerned with the public school differences or similarities.
It's hard to understand how anyone could consider Cary "congested". I think most areas populated by the minivan/suv set are fairly similar. Find the house/school/commute that works for your family and you'll be fine.
There are a lot of misconceptions about Cary. Oftentimes you'll find, if you ask carefully, many of the misconceptions are from people who've never been there.
Cary is a suburb - as are many other areas around here (and around the country). When people make statements about Cary I wonder if they've ever been anywhere else that's a suburb. One of my neighbors recently said to me "have you heard the expression Cary is a bubble? it's what the kids always say" - I said "do your kids know what definition of a suburb is???"
Seriously, there is nothing different about this place than there is about any other nice suburb. We moved here from the exact same kind of town in NY. Everyone always had something to say about it, would never live there, blah blah blah. I didn't worry about it then, don't worry about it now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
