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Thanks so much for input! I have traveled to North Carolina for work over the past 20 years many, many times. I also have brought my family on 2 occasions.
I never was able to look in Chapel Hill but we did look in Wake Forest, Cary, Apex and Raleigh.
We will be renting a house wherever we decide to move and leasing our home in Southern California.
Just wanted feedback from North Carolina residents on what areas they like and why!
Very aware that Southern California CAN'T be compared to North Carolina in any form or fashion. My family fell in love with North Carolina because of the people, less stressful lifestyle and seasons.
Our realtors have said that no real shopping in North Carolina and that they take weekend trips to Virginia to buy clothes. Not really an issue for a family either way.
I'm not sure which realtors you have, but they aren't looking if they cannot find the good shopping here. I think you'd need to take a trip to NYC to find clothes on par with LA, but there's not much more in DC/VA, to be honest.
And with the kids, they'll be wearing what all the other kids wear, so unless it's a special occasion outfit (particularly for a girl) they'll be happy with the clothes here for everyday wear.
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Our realtors have said that no real shopping in North Carolina and that they take weekend trips to Virginia to buy clothes. Not really an issue for a family either way.
I am absolutely baffled by this statement. What do they consider "real shopping"?
I am absolutely baffled by this statement. What do they consider "real shopping"?
Yeah this is kind of a hilarious statement. Like we all need to go to Richmond to get high fashions lol
Anyway to address californiagroovygal's original question, the fact is you can theoretically buy in to a particular school here in that each house is assigned a specific set of schools (elementary, middle and high). However the problem as all of us here know is two-fold: that assignment is subject to change in the future (this is calming down somewhat) and the best schools are over-subscribed ("capped" as mentioned by meh_whatever), so even if you are assigned them no guarantee you get in. However you can use this lookup tool: Address Lookup and School Maps to see what schools are assigned to a particular house, as of now. You can also lookup a specific school and get a map of it's assignment plan to see where to look.
If having the best school is that important and you are able to afford it I would also highly recommend the private schools such as Ravenscroft, Cary Academy or for up to middle school Montessori School of Raleigh. These are all very high caliber schools that will set you back $18-25k per kid per year which is a lot but for sure they would be twice that in SoCal and three times that in New York. Then you live wherever the heck you like.
Thanks so much for input! I have traveled to North Carolina for work over the past 20 years many, many times. I also have brought my family on 2 occasions.
I never was able to look in Chapel Hill but we did look in Wake Forest, Cary, Apex and Raleigh.
We will be renting a house wherever we decide to move and leasing our home in Southern California.
Just wanted feedback from North Carolina residents on what areas they like and why!
Very aware that Southern California CAN'T be compared to North Carolina in any form or fashion. My family fell in love with North Carolina because of the people, less stressful lifestyle and seasons.
Our realtors have said that no real shopping in North Carolina and that they take weekend trips to Virginia to buy clothes. Not really an issue for a family either way.
Coming from SC, the 1/2 acre lots must look like farms. LOL! I like the area around Jordan Lake in Orange County 35.77792, -79.05732
If having the best school is that important and you are able to afford it I would also highly recommend the private schools such as Ravenscroft, Cary Academy or for up to middle school Montessori School of Raleigh. These are all very high caliber schools that will set you back $18-25k per kid per year which is a lot but for sure they would be twice that in SoCal and three times that in New York. Then you live wherever the heck you like.
There is a very highly regarded private school near me in the L.A. area that is 27K/yr for high school. There are certain things like this where you will pay proportionally more in NC.
Regarding shopping, Raleigh contains most of the run of the mill chain stores you can think of. There is more in NoVa like in Tyson's Corner, but its a 5 hour drive so hardly worth it.. Not sure about boutiques, but surely less.. Your dining options will be similarly limited.
If you like to wear boutique things not found in department stores, I can see why you wouldn't consider this area real shopping.
But this thread reminds me of the old joke: how do you know if someone is from California?
I did chuckle, but not all us California Natives (now transplants) are the same
Every family will make choices based on different criteria. When we moved here we made the decision that we wanted our kids to go to good schools, but we weren't going to try to work for the best.
Besides the fact I don't think test scores are a great representation of a good education, we also wanted to focus on the whole package. Not just sending our kids to the best school (which could change over time, especially in an area with so much growth), but we wanted them in an area where we felt they'd belong to the community, be around like minded people, and where we liked the homes (age, price, layout, etc).
If your top priority really is the schools, hopefully you find what you are looking for.
I personally advise that there is a big cultural difference (IMO anyway) between Wake Forest, Cary, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. Choosing one area over the other for a school will make an impact on where you shop, eat, your commute to work, activities, etc. All of these things will also make an impact on your kids, (as well as your daily life).
Last edited by lifeofJenn; 11-08-2013 at 04:22 PM..
Reason: typo
I am a NY transplant (almost 2 years). understand what you are saying about what you love here...all the things I do. I actually know a transplanted older couple from LA who moved here in the 80s after their son was born to raise him in a place that was less superficial. They never looked back even though they loved the weather there in LA. They picked the Chapel Hill Area for the schools. Schools were not an issue for us since our daughter was on her way to college when we finally moved.
As for the shopping, I am sure the realtor was just trying to let you know that the shopping is much different than the major shopping centers found in the LA area. It's not like NY either. if you live to shop, you wouldn't move to the triangle area. Charlotte has triangle beat on that score and it's still nothing like the larger cities. However, like you, it makes no difference to me.
All the areas you mention are beautiful but different. Sounds like you are doing your research. Coming from one of the top school districts in the country in Westchester County, NY, I would have picked Chapel Hill schools had I needed them. They residents there sign up for the highest taxes for in good part for the schools.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meh_whatever
I'm not sure which realtors you have, but they aren't looking if they cannot find the good shopping here. I think you'd need to take a trip to NYC to find clothes on par with LA, but there's not much more in DC/VA, to be honest.
Of course nothing compares to LA or NYC but if someone is into high-end shopping, there is definitely much more in DC than here. I don't even think there's a Neiman Marcus in the Triangle. Plus there are many high-end designer boutiques like Chanel, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Versace, etc. in NoVA that aren't here.
Not on the very high-end of the scale, it seems that when stores come to North Carolina, they often choose Charlotte first - such as Ikea, Neiman Marcus, American Girl etc.
So I can see if someone is very into shopping they would want to take shopping trips up to DC, Atlanta or at least Charlotte.
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I understand
