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Hi all, I hate to ask a redundant question but looking to relocate from up North. My husband will be working in Raleigh or Chapel Hill. I'm guessing which city will depend on where its better for us as a whole to live. Can I ask the major differences between Chapel Hill outskirts and Cary (Raleigh suburbs)? We are a family of 5 with young kids so safety and school systems are super important. Budget around $420K. Thanks for your input.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I agree that there are no suburbs of Chapel Hill. It's just Chapel Hill - the town and the countryside that surrounds it. The advantage of Chapel Hill is that you WILL KNOW which schools your child will be attending. Period. Here is your address. Here are the schools you are attending. Pretty simple. No capped schools, no traditional vs. year round options, etc. No new way of assigning schools every other year.
Having said that, that might not be the most important thing to you. Cary is more centrally located and is more of a traditional suburb. Chapel Hill is farther from Raleigh and is a college town. Chapel Hill is more liberal, too. And taxes are higher. It's a bit more isolated - not in the center of things and pretty rural (of course that depends on what you're used to).
If you give a bit more details about yourself and your family, we might be able to steer you toward one or the other.
ok I see your point. I guess I was wondering if there were any suburb-y places outside of the center of Chapel Hill. I've never been yet so I'm guessing I'll see for myself. What concerns me about Cary and Apex is the strange school schedules and wondering which school my kids would be attending. We currently live in NJ....just a simple suburb town with an average school. I'm looking for a better school system with a nice neighborhood feel but not too crowded. Definitely would like to feel like I'm in the south
ok I see your point. I guess I was wondering if there were any suburb-y places outside of the center of Chapel Hill. I've never been yet so I'm guessing I'll see for myself. What concerns me about Cary and Apex is the strange school schedules and wondering which school my kids would be attending. We currently live in NJ....just a simple suburb town with an average school. I'm looking for a better school system with a nice neighborhood feel but not too crowded. Definitely would like to feel like I'm in the south
Chapel Hill and Cary are chock full of transplants. You'll feel like you're further south than NJ, but it won't feel like you stepped into another world or anything.
If all you require is at least average schools, either place is fine. I'd choose the one nearest your husband's place of employment.
ETA: Ahhh. You want better schools with no crowding. Avoid Cary. Crowded schools. Huge numbers of transplants. Though Cary is a suburb of Raleigh, it's bigger than Chapel Hill.
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ok I see your point. I guess I was wondering if there were any suburb-y places outside of the center of Chapel Hill.
Yes, certainly. There are large planned communities like Southern Village and Meadowmont, as well as newer subdivisions (many on the northern end of Chapel Hill and Carrboro).
Cary and Chapel Hill are both good communities - a visit will help you determine which may be right for you and your family.
Hi all, I hate to ask a redundant question but looking to relocate from up North. My husband will be working in Raleigh or Chapel Hill. I'm guessing which city will depend on where its better for us as a whole to live. Can I ask the major differences between Chapel Hill outskirts and Cary (Raleigh suburbs)? We are a family of 5 with young kids so safety and school systems are super important. Budget around $420K. Thanks for your input.
Where will your husband's job possibly be in Raleigh? There is so much more to the Raleigh metro area then just Cary.
If you are not in the Chapel HIll/Carrboro School System, you flush away most of the advantages you seek by being there. You can almost know if you are in that school system just by looking at the real estate prices. Being outside of Chapel Hill will put you in Orange County, Chatham County or Durham County Schools depending on the direction you travel.
FWIW, the suburban towns around Raleigh are among the safest in the state and rank higher in that category than Chapel Hill.
thanks all....we'll be down in a few weeks....staying in Cary and will buzz
around the area checking it out.
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