Relocating to Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham: for sale, real estate, mortgage)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We have a visit scheduled in a few weeks to check out the areas around Cary for possible (most likely) relocation in the next year. I have been reading forums and poring over real estate listings, but feel a little lost. I want to make the best use of our time there and find out where I want to focus my search in the future.
A little about us: My husband would be working in Cary. I am not sure yet if I will be working (as a teacher, or something else) or staying home with our children. Currently our daughter is 4 and our son is 2.
Schools are important to us, but I am not overly concerned with standardized test scores. We would like an area that is community based, has arts and culture (I own my own handmade business), has decent shopping, and I would love a walkable--possibly historic--downtown. I prefer older homes, and would love to find a mid century house that has not been updated too much. We are looking for 4+ bedrooms (I would like a studio, my husband needs an office), and I would prefer not to live in a cookie cutter development. We are hoping to find at least 2,000 square feet, or a home with a guest house/workshop in a separate structure. Our price range is up to 200K, but the lower we could comfortably go the more likely I will be to stay home (which is my preference).
We are coming from PA. I am originally from mid NYS, and my husband grew up in the Scranton area. I liked a lot of the homes in Louisburg, but it is way too far from Cary. (He is willing to commute up to an hour, but it seems like traffic is a huge consideration, and google maps does not account for that). Are there similar towns near Cary that I am missing? I have looked at Garner, Dunn, Fuquay Varina?
Any guidance or suggestions would be great. We are not against living in a more urban environment, as long as it is safe (Durham near Duke intrigues me).
If you like Cary (you want to give a general area of Cary that your husband will be working as the town is quite spread out) you might want to look in the area right around the downtown, which the town is working hard to revitalize. On a map, look at the area between the intersections of S. Academy and Dry ave and S. Academy and Chatham St. The surrounding area might fall into your price range.
You could also look in the area around Apex's little downtown.
I'm not familiar enough with the other areas you mention to say.
Cary has tons of mid-century homes that have not been updated too much. Cary has the smallest "downtown" area of pretty much all the surrounding towns, but it is nice and walkable... library, post office, cultural arts center, some shops and restaurants, music academy, etc, etc, are all walking distance. There is also an old timey drug store that still has an operating lunch counter.
You seem to be looking for towns other than Cary even though your husband works will be working in Cary. Is there a reason for that? Given your criteria I would think Cary would be a great fit for you.
If you like Cary (you want to give a general area of Cary that your husband will be working as the town is quite spread out) you might want to look in the area right around the downtown, which the town is working hard to revitalize. On a map, look at the area between the intersections of S. Academy and Dry ave and S. Academy and Chatham St. The surrounding area might fall into your price range.
You could also look in the area around Apex's little downtown.
I'm not familiar enough with the other areas you mention to say.
The 2000+ SF is hard to find in Cary.
Sub-$200,000, in Cary, 1600--1900 SF is typical.
But, to avoid two hours a day in the car?
I would find a way.
But, I'm a believer in short commutes. Walking to work. Riding a bike. Going home for lunch, if possible.
What frustrates many people is the fact that most of the local small towns have small town centers, small, if any, historic districts, because they were very small towns before the explosive growth started 30-40 years ago.
So, Apex downtown reflects the downtown of a population of a few thousand. As does the Cary downtown, which is in a forced evolution to larger status.
But, those two towns also have the tax base to put behind arts and entertainment, parks and rec. And the population to support those initiatives, with their feet and with their purses.
I am not against Cary exactly, just most of what I have seen for sale in that area is townhouses or subdivisions with new houses? Having a short commute would be wonderful. I will look more in the downtown-ish area. The walkability sounds great and I love that there is lunch counter!
Really, as long as the layout is good, we are flexible with square footage within reason. We mostly just want to be assured of enough space to have 3 bedrooms, an office, and a studio area. (Currently we have 4 bedrooms and I use the dining room as a studio--not the best scenario).
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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If you want an historic, walkable downtown, then you might want to consider Hillsborough. It also seems to attract artists and writers and one event they have is a "handmade parade" every year. It sounds like it would fit the bill for you. Not sure on the commute, but definitely less than an hour.
I went to school in PA, lived in NY and now live in NC. Lived in Raleigh before moving to Wake Forest (Not much of a move really). I like Cary and find myself there at least once a week, if not more. Commute is not that bad from Raleigh or Wake Forest (Except for rush hours). But I felt that I get more space for my money in Wake Forest than Cary or nicer part of Raleigh. Overall, I think Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Raleigh, Wake Forest are all nice areas. Overall Triangle is a great palce to live.
If you factor in the cost of gas for the commute to save money on real estate, you'll be throwing away a lot of money. At least if you have a house with a little higher mortgage payment, you'll get it back when you sell (more than likely in Cary). Once you've burned the gas, it's gone.
Get out a spreadsheet and google maps and calculate the amount of gas you'll use on the commute to any outlying house. Then see how many hundreds of dollars you won't be saving by buying far away.
If you LIKE living out in the country then buy outlying, but don't do it to save money because it's very unlikely that you will.
poprockpixie, for the sake of argument, do you know what specific part of Cary your husband will be working in? In terms of estimating/guesstimating commute times and hassles, that's significant. The majority of white-collar office-type jobs in Cary are either in the northern and northwestern part of town, towards I-40, the airport, and RTP, or else in the southern part of town, around Crossroads, Regency Park, MacGregor, and Apex, although there are plenty of workplaces scattered in the rest of Cary, too. And it can make a substantial difference as to getting around. For example, you mentioned Durham, which is a terrific place. And commuting between Durham and the Davis Drive corridor in Cary, let's say, or the SAS campus area, wouldn't be too bad, but personally I probably wouldn't want to try to commute from Durham to Regency (although the new leg of the Triangle Expressway has helped a lot with that specific case, actually). Likewise, one could commute pretty easily from some of the fun neighborhoods around downtown and Inside the Beltline Raleigh (although your stated size/price combination may also be a challenge there, too) to central or southern Cary, but having to go to the northern and western fringes of Cary from there (at least during standard weekday rush hour periods) would be a much greater pain in the ass.
I'd look into Apex. It has a cute little downtown area and Apex is practically enveloped by Cary these days to give you an idea of proximity. Even though the town is half the size of Cary, it has a nicer downtown IMO. Cary is starting a revitalization plan but it will be a few years, if it is successful at all.
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