Relocating: Apartments??? (Raleigh, Cary, Greenville: rent, transferring to, safe neighborhood)

[NCSTUDENT]

My boyfriend and I are transferring to NC State in the spring. I've been looking up apartments in the Raleigh/Cary/Apex area, and I'll see good reviews here and bad reviews there. We're looking for a 2B apartment for under $1000 that is in a safe neighborhood, but it's hard to which apartment is the right one when you can't see it in person or what it'll be like at night. I really need some recommendations, so please help. Thanks.

[BoBromhal]

Assuming you're looking for a "student rental" with access to the Wolfline bus system, there shouldn't be any issue with safety or your budget. Now could be a tough time to find one before may, and the places that will be available after May may not be showing up yet. There's several newer complexes between Lake wheeler Rd to the east tryon rd area to the south, and I40 to the southwest/west

[don6170]

If you are looking for a pet friendly location, the Wake County Animal Center has put together a list of apartments that do not have breed restrictions.

http://www.wakegov.com/pets/adoption...sing_guide.pdf

[NCSTUDENT]

@BoBromhal: We're not looking for a student rental. Honestly, we would rather be away from other students.

@don6170: Thanks! We actually have a pet that we're bringing with us.

[ab0628]

Originally Posted by NCSTUDENT

@BoBromhal: We're not looking for a student rental. Honestly, we would rather be away from other students.

@don6170: Thanks! We actually have a pet that we're bringing with us.

I just finished a month-long apartment search since I am moving to the area from Greenville, N.C. where I pay about $500 per month with a utility included. I read hundreds of reviews on all of the major sites and visited dozens of properties.

During my search I found almost nothing that was lower than $800 for even a 1br/1ba. A Two bedroom, even in a sketchy area and especially if you don't want student housing, is going to run a minimum of $1,200 without utilities. Most of what I found in OK areas for 1br/1ba were $900 and up and included no utilities and all apartments in the area go incredibly fast.

Application fees range from $100-200 and there also now are "administrative fees" which can be $150-$200. Pet fees (not refundable and not a deposit) were about $250-$400 and everywhere also requires a pet rent now at about $20-$30.

Others may disagree but I'm unsure how realistic a budget of less than $1,000 is for a two bedroom, especially if you don't want to be near students.