Relocating to the Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham: to rent, crime, chapel)

[merideth kemper]

Greetings! I will be a single 45 year old school teacher relocating to the Triangle Area next year. I will need a safe, clean, culturally rich neighborhood to rent/own in the area. Does anybody have any specific areas to recommend? I will be visiting for about a week in April. Money will be tight. Also, does anybody have a ball park figure for what an elementary school teacher with ten years of experience would make? How about a Montessori teacher with the same experience? Thank for responding. mck

[Chapel Hill Connection]

Hi Meredith,
You can check out the 2007-2008 pay schedule at:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/...8schedules.pdf

Looks like someone with ten years of experience would be in the low to high $40's, depending on whether you have a bachelor's or master's degree. I have a client who teaches in the Alamance schools and has a similar experience level; she earns about $45,000 per year.

There are many neighborhoods that would fit the bill as safe, clean and culturally rich. That actually describes a lot of the Triangle, which is what makes this area so very groovy. Many communities in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, and Hillsborough would fall into this category. (And the Wake county experts will have lots of suggestions, too.) Durham is huge and there are wonderful parts and not so wonderful parts. In Chapel Hill, Carrboro and HIllsborough, there are mostly wonderful parts, with probably a few streets to avoid in each area.

Another resource to mention, if you begin to look and are at all concerned about safety, is the local police departments. They will willingly share information about any crime in the area in question. Durham also has an on-line "crime mapper" website that you can access at Durham Police Department.

It's a wonderful, progressive, eclectic, fantastic place to live.

Best wishes!

[rcarrillo]

For information on Raleigh and Cary police incidents you can also search at: triangle.com | Know

There are many great areas that may meet your needs. Raleigh has a lot of different areas, depending on what specifically you are looking for. If you want to get into the burbs there is Clayton, Garner, Knightdale and more. Very close to Raleigh and nice places to live.