Are school assignments more stable in town?

[mdp_az]

Originally Posted by paytonc

There are also a few New Urbanist developments (newer neighborhoods designed for walking) scattered around the farther suburbs, like Falls River in north Raleigh and Carpenter Village in Cary. However, they're probably more convenient to RTP than to downtown Raleigh.

I wouldn't call Falls River "New Ubanist", but rather a TND, or Traditional Neighborhood Development. New Urbanist developments contain a broad range of single family homes, townhomes, condos, work/live loft homes, and retail with the retail set up as a "downtown core" with condos above. Falls River does have most of these things, however they're spread out and the only retail is at the entrance to the neighborhood fronting a main road. The TND concept is one that has sidewalks, alleys with rear-load garages and pocket parks throughout the development, and this is what one sees in Falls River. Bedford may be a bit more New Urbanist than FR once it builds its commercial center at the tower and fountain, however I'd still classify Bedford as a TND.

Southern Village and Meadowmont in Chapel Hill adhere more to the New Urbanist ideals than other developments I've seen in the Triangle.

FWIW, one of the coolest NU developments I've ever seen is Prospect New Town in Longmont, Colorado. Very unique architecture and views galore! Prospect New Town

[raleighjayne]

Assignments are definitely more stable inside the beltline, but I agree with whoever said that you'd be hard pressed to find something for under $400K. If you've got $$$, you can get the best schools in Raleigh with little chance of reassignment.

[askmisterbrown]

Basically, assignments are more stable in any part of the county that has been developed for a while, where there are enough houses occupied by families whose kids are aging out of the school systems to make up for the younger families moving in. This includes Inside the Beltline and the older parts of North Raleigh, Cary and Garner, etc. There is not enough land in these areas to build large new developments that put high numbers of young children into the school system at once.

There are plenty of houses inside the beltline and in these other areas for under $400k, under $300k, under $200k, even under $100k. It all depends on what your requirements are.

[sandycat]

map_AZ, we actually know the developer of Prospect. It is a very cool development. Not your typical suburban neighborhood.