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We are planning to move to the Chapel Hill area next summer. We have a 6 year old daughter who is reading years ahead of grade level. We want to find a school that will benefit a gifted child and a safe town or community for us to live in. Our income is quite modest so private schools seem out of the question. The most likely choices for us are 1. renting a home in Chapel Hill so she can attend the public school in Chapel Hill (We can't afford to buy in Chapel Hill), 2. buying a home in an outlying county such as Orange or Chatham and sending her to the local public school, or 3. enrolling her in a charter school.
Hillsborough seems like a strong possibilty because it seems like a "real" town with walkable streets, library, etc., where we could feel like part of a community. The area of Orange just to the west of Carrboro seems interesting as well. Before we had our daughter, we lived for two years in Chapel Hill and our housing experience was poor. It turned out our duplex was close to several violent public housing complexes complete with gunfire at night. Someone tried to break in to our home one weekend while we were away. Fortunately our neighbor and his dog scared the thief away. So with that experience as a caution, are there any dangerous areas that we should avoid in Hillsborough or other parts of Orange County? If you have any thoughts about schools, the county, Hillsborough, or whatever, I'd love to hear them.
I grew up near chapel hill (in orange county) and I think you bring up some good questions. So, orange county and chapel hill/carrboro city schools are different. There has been some controversy surrounding them in that CHCCS voters approved a special school tax so that their school system ended up having more money, better funding, better supplies, etc. Orange county could not pass the same special tax and orange county said that their constituent base is not as affluent as CHCCS base so they deserved some money from that system to help their schools. CHCCS said no way. So, since I was in school (I graduated from high school in 1986), CHCCS were better academically than orange county. We ended up paying for me to go to Chapel Hill High School because I was in the orange high school district. I think the elementary schools have improved, but the CHCCS are excellent, and I don't know that I can say that about orange county schools.
I do love the town of hillsborough, great feel to it. I would suggest carrboro as a place to look as well. The houses are not quite as expensive as chapel hill, but it too has a great feel to it.
As far as crime goes, it happens every where, unfortunately. I would feel safe in chapel hill and carrboro though.
Thank you very much for your helpful reply. I talked with someone at the Hillsborough police department and with someone at the Orange County sheriifs dept. about the crime there. I wanted to find out why the crime index for Hillsborough on city-data.com was so high (~800) compared to Chapel Hill (~350), ~550 for Carrboro, and even ~600 for Durham. They both said that the drug problem in Hillsborough is mainly crack. The Fairview neighborhood had more than its share of crime. They said that out in the county things were better but there were some areas that had problems, too.
We'll visit the area in December and check out the possibilities. I think there may be a few more charter schools to check into. I need to get a better sense of what the schools are like.
Wow Alice, I'm so glad I read your post. I was planning to visit the sheriff's office of the towns I'm interested in anyway, but I'm not too happy with this info Crack sounds pretty bad to me - leads to stolen cars, home burglaries and worse. Maybe I should look for a cute 3 BR 2 BA plastic bubble...
I'm pretty discouraged by the crime rate in much of North Carolina. It seems hard to escape. Drugs are such a big part of it, too, and very scary as a parent. Here's more NC crime data, if you have the stomach for it, http://sbi2.jus.state.nc.us/crp/public/Default.htm. I love the idealic town we live in now in Central Pennsylvania; it's safe and a wonderful community. Alas, my husband insists that we move somewhere warmer and sunnier.
We are planning to move to the Chapel Hill area next summer. We have a 6 year old daughter who is reading years ahead of grade level. We want to find a school that will benefit a gifted child and a safe town or community for us to live in. Our income is quite modest so private schools seem out of the question. The most likely choices for us are 1. renting a home in Chapel Hill so she can attend the public school in Chapel Hill (We can't afford to buy in Chapel Hill), 2. buying a home in an outlying county such as Orange or Chatham and sending her to the local public school, or 3. enrolling her in a charter school.
Hillsborough seems like a strong possibilty because it seems like a "real" town with walkable streets, library, etc., where we could feel like part of a community. The area of Orange just to the west of Carrboro seems interesting as well. Before we had our daughter, we lived for two years in Chapel Hill and our housing experience was poor. It turned out our duplex was close to several violent public housing complexes complete with gunfire at night. Someone tried to break in to our home one weekend while we were away. Fortunately our neighbor and his dog scared the thief away. So with that experience as a caution, are there any dangerous areas that we should avoid in Hillsborough or other parts of Orange County? If you have any thoughts about schools, the county, Hillsborough, or whatever, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks,
Alice
Alice having relocated to NC several years ago and moving to Chapel Hill and now Hillsborough, I would be happy to share info with you.
The schools in Chapel Hill are excellent, highest ranked in the state, but not every school system is right for every child.
My children do very well in school and we are extremely happy with Orange County/Hillsborough schools. The physical plant may not be as nice as the newer CH schools, but incredible faculty and dedication.
My children are in elementary school now but there is an alternative to Orange High if your child needs more stimulation. The new Hillsborough high school , Cedar Ridge, has the International Baccalaureate Programme
I would also argue that Hillsborough feels very safe, it is a small town with a small town feel and I really don't think crime is much of an issue here.
Thank you for the vote of confidence for Hillsborough and the Orange county schools. We have been hearing good things about Hillsborough, aside from the sobering talk with the police. We'll be down in January and will visit Hillsborough, the county, and the schools.
Fern,
Thank you for the introduction to Graham. It looks like a very nice town that we will certainly have to check out. I looked at it on the map and it adjoins Burlington. How does that influence things? My only experience of Burlington was one trip to a factory outlet. I am in the process of checking out the River Mill Academy website. Thanks very much for the help!
Remember that police always have a vested interest in making it seem like there is more of a crime problem than there really is. That's how they get more funding. If crime is a non-issue, why increase funding for the police or sheriff?
Hi, Alice. I'd like to add a vote for Hillsborough Moderator cut: removed as well as lots of information about what is going on in town. Have you seen the state wesite on all the schools. Lots of information provided on each school at NC School Report Cards. My son lives in Mebane and greatly enjoys the family atmosphere of that little town.
Last edited by autumngal; 01-17-2008 at 08:55 AM..
Reason: removed link
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Crack sounds pretty bad to me - leads to stolen cars, home burglaries and worse. Maybe I should look for a cute 3 BR 2 BA plastic bubble...
