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We like moderately upscale shopping and dining, ie.. World Market, Cheesecake Factory. We don't like snooty people or trashy people. Something in-between would be nice to find... friendly neighbors who keep their yards clean would sum up what we're looking for. I'm dreaming of a place like that within a 15-25 minute drive of both a good hospital (work) and good shopping like at Crabtree Valley. We'll be looking to spend $175,000 to $200,000 on a house around 1800 to 2000sqft, which will surely limit our options. Any responses will be appreciated.
I would say just about anywhere in and around Raleigh. Your price is a little low for what you are looking for. But the area certainly offers friendly neighbors, clean yards, clean water, trash removal weekly, and good shopping! Good luck in your search!
You can probably find something in that range in Holly Springs. I live there and like being 10 minutes from WakeMed and 25 minutes from Crabtree. Prices have gone up since I bought 3 years ago, but there are still some options in your square footage. I like being central between Cary (there's a World Market right off Walnut St and Hwy 1) and Apex (lots of newer shopping there as well), but still a friendly, affordable area without much of a commute.
You can probably find sections of Cary that are in your price range (Trappers Run, Oxxford Hunt) that are not too far from Rex Hospital, Western Wake Medical Center (WakeMed Cary), Crabtree Valley Mall (Raleigh), Cary Towne Center, or Southpoint Mall (Durham). The neighborhoods are pretty solid middle-class (neither snooty nor trashy).
We like moderately upscale shopping and dining, ie.. World Market, Cheesecake Factory. We don't like snooty people or trashy people. Something in-between would be nice to find... friendly neighbors who keep their yards clean would sum up what we're looking for. I'm dreaming of a place like that within a 15-25 minute drive of both a good hospital (work) and good shopping like at Crabtree Valley. We'll be looking to spend $175,000 to $200,000 on a house around 1800 to 2000sqft, which will surely limit our options. Any responses will be appreciated.
I think you just described my neighborhood: Woodcroft in southern Durham. From my front door, I'm about 2 miles from Southpoint Mall, which is home to Nordstroms & hundreds of other stores. There's also a Cheesecake Factory there. Across the street from the mall there's World Market, Pier 1, Linens & Things, Best Buy, Babies R Us, Old Navy and ... well, I can't even remember what else! Just west of the mall there's Super Target, Michaels, Home Goods, and on and on. Again, ALL of this is within about 2 miles of my front door. The same can be said about dozens of restaurants, doctors offices, 3 grocery stores ... you name it, it's close. Plus, we're about 2 miles from I-40, making it very easy to drive anywhere else within the Triangle.
And yet, the neighborhood is very quiet. That has a lot to do with the heavily-treed lots. I posted some photos of Woodcroft in the following thread: //www.city-data.com/forum/ralei...ft-durham.html
In the last year I have seen a lot of homes in Woodcroft with about 1800sf sell for around $180K - 200K. The only downside is that there are very few homes on the market in your price range right now. That was not the case last spring, so I imagine things will look better this spring, too. As you probably know, that's not at all unusal. Plus, home prices may dip slightly compared to last year, so you might be able to land yourself a nice deal.
Other neighborhoods in this area that fit your criteria are Hope Valley Farms & Woodlake. I'm sure a realtor who is familiar with this area could find even more.
If you can spend 250k, go up to North Raleigh and look at Falls River or neighborhoods like Durant Trace or Durant Trails. Anywhere in NW Raleigh off of 70 might be OK, but again the price may need be adjusted or you would have to settle on a older home, or townhome.
Unfortunately, Raleigh doesn't have a lot to offer for 200k or less in real good locations.
We like moderately upscale shopping and dining, ie.. World Market, Cheesecake Factory. We don't like snooty people or trashy people. Something in-between would be nice to find... friendly neighbors who keep their yards clean would sum up what we're looking for. I'm dreaming of a place like that within a 15-25 minute drive of both a good hospital (work) and good shopping like at Crabtree Valley. We'll be looking to spend $175,000 to $200,000 on a house around 1800 to 2000sqft, which will surely limit our options. Any responses will be appreciated.
You may be surprised to find that you can find a ranch around that sq. ft. in N. Raleigh...Northclift and a few subdivisions off of lead mine road are prime areas which are not outrageously priced.
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