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We currently live in west Cary but my husband recently changed his job and will be working in Wake Forest, near Rodgers road. He has tried driving there. About 37 min door to door without traffic. He goes on 540 then US 1.
We are considering moving to WF but are concerned about the school district. Our current school district is good. I have checked school grade in WF. Heritage elementary is 10 and the middle school is 9 which is good but the high school is only 7. So I am really hesitate about moving to WF. Right now Panther Creek is 8 but I can expect the grade will be higher.
My oldest son is 7. Shall I worry about high school? Any suggestions are appreciated!
Personally I wouldn't want to do the Cary -> WF drive every day, but it's not one of the worst commutes I've heard about. Just the sheer mileage of it is enough where I'd try to move closer; he's not likely to hit terrible traffic but in the case of the odd accident or back up, that'd push a long commute to be painful some days.
As for schools, I'd say that since your son is only 7 there's plenty of time for things to change (which they often do in Wake Co) before he's in High School. I'm not as familiar as other posters are with WCPSS (aside from my own matriculation there a number of years ago) so hopefully someone will chime in on that aspect.
Personally I wouldn't want to do the Cary -> WF drive every day, but it's not one of the worst commutes I've heard about. Just the sheer mileage of it is enough where I'd try to move closer; he's not likely to hit terrible traffic but in the case of the odd accident or back up, that'd push a long commute to be painful some days.
As for schools, I'd say that since your son is only 7 there's plenty of time for things to change (which they often do in Wake Co) before he's in High School. I'm not as familiar as other posters are with WCPSS (aside from my own matriculation there a number of years ago) so hopefully someone will chime in on that aspect.
I get the point, I do. But I think about what a typical commute used to mean to me before we relocated and I laugh when I read such things. Nearly 50 miles in each direction, riding public transportation and consuming nearly four hours every day; that was an acceptable commute back in the day.
As for the original post, there is not a discernible drop off in the quality of education your child will receive in Wake Forest. I would totally exploit the quality of life gain and make the move if it's a viable option.
You've got a long time until your son goes to high school, so I wouldn't be too concerned about the high school rankings. I have several friends who live in Heritage in Wake Forest. The community there is quite similar to west Cary, lots of kids, life centered around kid activities, community pool in the summer. The commute to Wake Forest is tedious. I do it a few times a week because I've got kids who play hockey.
We currently live in west Cary but my husband recently changed his job and will be working in Wake Forest, near Rodgers road. He has tried driving there. About 37 min door to door without traffic. He goes on 540 then US 1.
We are considering moving to WF but are concerned about the school district. Our current school district is good. I have checked school grade in WF. Heritage elementary is 10 and the middle school is 9 which is good but the high school is only 7. So I am really hesitate about moving to WF. Right now Panther Creek is 8 but I can expect the grade will be higher.
My oldest son is 7. Shall I worry about high school? Any suggestions are appreciated!
My personal opinion is that you should NOT worry.
Your 7 year old has lots of time before HS. It is possible that he will be assigned to a different HS by that time. I've heard really good things about the Wake Forest schools but make sure you are not in Youngsville or Franklin County if schools are a priority.
Middle and HS students that are relatively smart will take Honors classes.
Parental involvement is very important and you should be fine in WF schools.
Panther creek school rating should not even be a factor if your son is only 7. By the time he is in HS, there will be many more school reassignments.
How stable/permanent is your husband's job ? what happens if he moves to a different job, then commuting FROM Wake forest will not be easy, as WF is quite far from rest of the Triangle.
If you decide to move, you might make a decent profit on your West Cary home and get something cheaper in WF.
My personal preference would be to stay in Cary, as it is a central location and commute to WF is mostly freeway.
I get the point, I do. But I think about what a typical commute used to mean to me before we relocated and I laugh when I read such things. Nearly 50 miles in each direction, riding public transportation and consuming nearly four hours every day; that was an acceptable commute back in the day.
Yeah, yeah, yeah we all know commutes and traffic in other places are worse. Along with the pizza/bagels/bbq/regional restaurant discussions, I wish this statement would crop up less often. But for the Triangle, I believe 37 miles one way is at the top range of what most people have every day (though I know some have longer trips, obviously). For example, downtown Raleigh to UNC Hospital is 27 miles and that's considered by many to be a long commute around here. And, since we're talking about the Triangle, it's entirely relevant to say that it's a pretty long commute so I'll stand by it and not try to qualify it in comparison to anywhere else that anyone else has lived or experienced.
37 miles is ridiculous here, and bad for the planet. What a waste of time and resources. I'd move to WF in a heartbeat.
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