Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are now less than a year out from when our youngest graduates high school. College bound somewhere between NY and Savannah. So we aren't needing to be near schools. We are in our early 50's, so we aren't going to move until we both have job offers, that's a no-no. I want to know that I can pay the bills.
My late Mother was born and raised in Eden, Dad was from Danville, VA. All my family is between Richmond, VA and in the Wake Forest, Rocky Mount, Smithfeld, Greensboro areas. So we are looking to move into this area as it's close enough to visit them. My parents met at UNC after WWII. They moved to NY when Dad took a job in the early 50's with Texaco.
We are looking to be near enough things, but not in the center of the hub so to speak. We can drive to what we need to get to, have to do that now in Dutchess County where we live. We are planning for the future as we get older, not looking to deal with a big plot of property to take care of. We like the size we have now-about a 1/3 of a acre. Not totally sold on HOA's because of the horror story attached to them, but we are open to ideas there. We'd even consider building a house again-we did that in our mid-20's here. We are down sizing on bedrooms, but not size as I've got to combine some of my parent's and grandparent's furniture into our new place. I'd like to stay under 250K if not less because a nest egg would be nice as when we sell here we have no mortgage and can build or pay cash for the next place.
Where we are now is in a small village and it is walkable to get around. I wouldn't mind to stay in a area that is similar, but it's not a major requirement. We've lived early on in our marriage in a very rural area of farms. But a nice walk around town on a summer evening is nice.
I am a school bus dispatcher as of now. I am primarily in the office doing routing, computer stuff and talking with parents. I do have a CDL and drive when have to. I know there are plenty of districts there and hopefully I can get into another either doing secretarial or what I do now. Hubby was a concrete dispatcher here before the economy tanked-it's never come back here as building is pretty much gone. He was working for a durable medical goods firm filling oxygen tanks and delivering them to the local VA's. He'd rather go back into the concrete end, but he'll take anything he can get at this point. He's been job hunting here since June when the company moved and laid off everyone. He's planning on making a few trips down now to start looking for work and may stay if he finds one while I finish up here in NY.
Can you please give me some ideas where to look? We had friends that lived in Cary for sometime, but I know that's become a pretty busy place these days.
Your question is very vague. Given your budget and desire to not have an HOA, Cary isn't a good option. I think Johnston County has been suggested before.
Your question is very vague. Given your budget and desire to not have an HOA, Cary isn't a good option. I think Johnston County has been suggested before.
Information. I am trying to get ideas of areas to target looking and research. I want to find a place that will be our last forever home. Yes, Johnston County is on my list, not because it was suggested either. My grandmother had built a summer home in Smithfield in the 40's and my godparent's lived on 4th street there so I've been going there forever.
I get our budget isn't great-we aren't rich NY'ers, but yet we aren't paupers either-how else could I have paid off my home in NYS otherwise. Sometimes because I put down that I work with school buses it's a stereotype of the Forrest Gump driver-not very smart and poor is what people think about my profession. I don't want a cookie cutter McMansion. Never ever want to live that way. I live now in a nice cape cod style home. I have my building plans from when we built it ourselves back in 92, so I can always build the exact home down there on a piece of property. I just want to see what areas have to offer us. We have a few different areas we are targeting, looking at the jobs in those areas, looking at costs. We are looking at areas our youngest has applied to colleges if you must know.
Your issue is the need to work, so you will need to be in a job-rich county or nearby. Very nice housing options for good prices abound in Youngsville, Zebulon, Garner, Clayton. If you did not need to be close to an employment center you might consider the towns of Dunn and Selma. They are kind of cute, walkable, tidy, less expensive. But they are away from the big money towns where all the people are gravitating to.
Unless you are complete slobs I would look to move past the HOA "horror stories". In the areas that your other requirements will force you to focus on, the HOAs are not nearly as heavy handed as some of the ones in the areas that you will already be avoiding for other reasons.
Take a look at Mebane. It's a small town between the Triangle and the Triad and offers some walkability, lower housing prices, but is also growing (not a stagnant area). You could work for Alamance Burlington School System (ABSS) or Orange County Schools (OCS) or Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) or Durham Public Schools (DPS). Mebane is about 15-30 minutes from all of those.
Your issue is the need to work, so you will need to be in a job-rich county or nearby. Very nice housing options for good prices abound in Youngsville, Zebulon, Garner, Clayton. If you did not need to be close to an employment center you might consider the towns of Dunn and Selma. They are kind of cute, walkable, tidy, less expensive. But they are away from the big money towns where all the people are gravitating to.
We've been looking at Zebulon. A friend who is nearby there also told us it's a good choice. We briefly were through there this summer. I am not for big money towns, I am a small town girl and hubby grew up in more of a farming area here.
While I have a degree, hospitality and tourism, it's not getting much use and that area really won't use it either. I'll be looking at school systems down there this spring so I can either start over next summer or early fall. We won't move until we have something lined up for sure. We may rent first to get the feel for the area, I'd rather see if it fits us or another place. Visiting relatives for 50 years in the area is one thing, actually living there is another.
I think Mebane would give you more of a small-town feel. I don't really know Zebulon, just drive through it on the way to the Outer Banks, but I think it is always going to have the feeling of being a satellite to Raleigh, which is just mushrooming with growth.
I have relatives in Dunn and wouldn't want to live there myself.
Check out Hillsborough, too. It's a great small town. It's going to be a little more expensive than Mebane, but less than Chapel Hill.
He's planning on making a few trips down now to start looking for work and may stay if he finds one while I finish up here in NY.
Why not let the husband's job search determine primarily where to live? Honestly, if both you and he are in your 50's you are not going to find much choice of jobs. I suggest just moving within 20 miles of wherever the husband finds a job.
You have been given several good suggestions ranging from Mebane to Zebulon. They are about 70 miles apart. If he lands a job in Mebane, you certainly don't want to have your heart set on moving to Zebulon. You can certainly find suitable and affordable housing where-ever he lands a job.
Last edited by goldenage1; 10-03-2015 at 12:31 PM..
Why not let the husband's job search determine primarily where to live? Honestly, if both you and he are in your 50's you are not going to find much choice of jobs. I suggest just moving within 20 miles of wherever the husband finds a job.
You have been given several good suggestions ranging from Mebane to Zebulon. They are about 70 miles apart. If he lands a job in Mebane, you certainly don't want to have your heart set on moving to Zebulon. You can certainly find suitable and affordable housing where-ever he lands a job.
It may come down to that I end up with the job first depending on what school systems are hiring for down there when we start looking. It's all up in the air until spring, we'll know for sure what college the youngest is going to pick-or should I say pick her as she's a goalkeeper and she has a number of schools actively recruiting her. Then we can start on our journey once we know what she chooses. If it's a NY school, ugh we'll stay here until graduation.
We are only 50 & 51, another good 20 years of work ahead of us. Not looking to slow down any time soon. I don't think anyone in my age group is ever going to be able to retire, we'll all be working to we meet our maker.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are in our early 50's, so we aren't going to move until we both have job offers, that's a no-no. I want to know that I can pay the bills.
