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TarHeel - like I said, I think I expected it to be more like Cary as far as having plenty of shopping options, which it does not at this point in time. I'm not disappointed in it, just got the wrong idea from hearing the word "exploding".. I think these magazines are using the wrong word. Also I was not comparing it to Wilmington because I know it is nothing like that, was more so giving you an idea and feel for the type of neighborhood we typically enjoy.
Those magazines are full of it.... Do rent first and check out Bell Apex apts.
Apex really only has one big shopping area at the moment, Beaver Creek Commons. Downtown is cute - I like how they have the community center, the skate park and the dog park pretty centralized. That's not far from TarHeelNick's mom's neighborhood.
You are definitely going to see a difference between even the suburbs here and Long Island, you could probably run down Salem Street naked at 8 p.m. most nights and no one will know. It is definitely sleepier here in that sense.
TarHeel - like I said, I think I expected it to be more like Cary as far as having plenty of shopping options, which it does not at this point in time. I'm not disappointed in it, just got the wrong idea from hearing the word "exploding".. I think these magazines are using the wrong word. Also I was not comparing it to Wilmington because I know it is nothing like that, was more so giving you an idea and feel for the type of neighborhood we typically enjoy.
Magazine articles are dumb. But if you've heard Triangle area residents say that Apex is "exploding" or "hopping" now..you have to remember it's all relative.
While Apex may seem like a sleepy suburban town compared to other larger more established suburban areas all around the country; for those of us who have lived here a while and can remember when Apex was a small railroad town of under 10k (note; I can remember this, and I am only 27) it has indeed exploded in the past two decades. Population has increased 10 fold since 1990 and there is way more shopping, neighborhoods, schools, traffic, etc there than most anyone who knew Apex in the 80's, 90s, even the early 2000's would have thought.
We are definitely renting first, but it's a townhome rental, not an apartment. I will never again in my life live in an apartment lol. I am very sure that natives see Apex as booming now. From an outsider though, booming still seems like the wrong word haha.. but I completely understand what you are saying with where the town used to be and all. However, I still think it will always be relative depending on the person and where they come from. Anyway, I'm happy to be starting a slower life so I know we will be fine. If not, a rental is temporary and we will figure out what area suits us best.
We are definitely renting first, but it's a townhome rental, not an apartment. I will never again in my life live in an apartment lol. I am very sure that natives see Apex as booming now. From an outsider though, booming still seems like the wrong word haha.. but I completely understand what you are saying with where the town used to be and all. However, I still think it will always be relative depending on the person and where they come from. Anyway, I'm happy to be starting a slower life so I know we will be fine. If not, a rental is temporary and we will figure out what area suits us best.
As a native, I can tell you that all I see is that Apex has more "stuff and people."
I don't think of it as "booming" or "exploding" or any of the terms that magazines like to use. It's just gotten more crowded and more shopping is now available. That's most of what has changed.
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The population has exploded. I was talking to someone who moved there 20 years ago and she said there were about 8000 people there. I can't imagine what the OP actually thought was happening there - you have to put everything you read in context. I mean if I hear that Ketchum, Idaho is teeming with celebrities I'm still not picturing Hollywood. Everything is relative.
There's going to be a lot more retail built there in the near future.
The suburbs here are not like Long Island where going from one zip code to the next is often VERY noticeable. Here you won't notice if you go from Cary to Apex to Holly Springs and back again.
Yeah, when people use terms like exploding it really does give the wrong impression to outsiders. 8000 to 40000 in 20 years is only about 8% per year. Strong growth, yes, but exploding??
As for shopping options in Apex, did you miss Beaver Creek? Also, if you live in Apex, they do let you use the shops in Cary. I think Cary does have some advantages over Apex, but shopping isn't one of them.
Apex really has grown tremendously. It's still rural on it's edges, but even a lot of that rural property is either under contract for development or soon will be. Some of that rural land has also quadrupled in price over the last 10 years. There are also other shopping centers coming within the next few years. Sweetwater is getting ready to break ground and will have another big shopping center less than 2 miles down rt. 64 from beaver creek.
Population (From Wikipedia):
1980 2,847 29.9%
1990 4,968 74.5%
2000 20,212 306.8%
2010 37,476 85.4%
Est. 2014 43,907 [14] 17.2%
The most recent town development report shows the estimated population hitting these figures:
2015 46,362
2020 56,678
2025 69,290
2030 84,708
That's some serious growth regardless of where you're coming from. Sure there is a lot of land left for growth, but when the area around Olive Chapel rd and New Hill Olive Chapel rd and up to rt. 64 at the Chatham County line starts emulate what it currently looks like in eastern Apex people will no longer recognize that area at all. By 2030 that will be reality. All you have to do is go to the town interactive development site and you can see all the current and planed growth. I can only imagine what the projects and additional growth will look like in another 10-15 years.
Yeah, when people use terms like exploding it really does give the wrong impression to outsiders. 8000 to 40000 in 20 years is only about 8% per year. Strong growth, yes, but exploding??
As for shopping options in Apex, did you miss Beaver Creek? Also, if you live in Apex, they do let you use the shops in Cary. I think Cary does have some advantages over Apex, but shopping isn't one of them.
8% a year IS exploding growth. That's tremendous growth!
8% a year IS exploding growth. That's tremendous growth!
Was about to say the same thing. That's 10x the annual population growth of the US which is at about .79% per year.
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