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I think that it's generally fair to say that there will be a strong correlation between local costs of housing and educational attainment. In Wake County, starting from the center of downtown Raleigh, you can basically create a "pie slice" toward the SW and arc across to the N part of the county to encompass the most highly educated parts of the city of Raleigh and its burbs. This would include Holly Springs, Apex, Cary, Morrisville and a huge chunk of Raleigh itself and, in particular, the north and northwest parts of Raleigh.
In the sub $400K budget, you'll have lots of opportunities to find a house. In fact, you might find that you have too many options. Using a quick RE search tool on a local company site, I find 1080 4 bedroom houses in Wake County priced between $270-400K. Sorry, can't link the source because it's against the City-Data rules.
Depending on the age of home, the amount of land you want & the desired commute to your job, start by looking in the following zip codes: 27606, 27607, 27609, 27612, 27613, 27614, 27615 (all in Raleigh) & all zips in Holly Springs, Apex and Cary (except 27519). If you job is near DT Raleigh, I'd personally avoid pushing too close to RTP because you don't want to be mixed up in that commute if you don't need to be. In my opinion, this would eliminate the west side of Cary (27519), Morrisville and 27617 in Raleigh. Apex and Holly Springs commutes will be further to Raleigh than the other Cary zips and most of the areas in the Raleigh zips already mentioned. 27614 in Raleigh might also be too much of a commute for you as well but I'm just speculating at this point.
If I were in your position and I wanted to be somewhat closer to things to do but still wanted a bit of suburban life, I'd be looking in 27612 and 27609 first. The houses are older and some are updated while others are not. Homes in these areas are usually on nice plots of land and are more convenient. 27609 in particular often carries a premium in price if it's close to North Hills but many find that premium worth it. In neighborhoods like Quail Hollow, Hickory Hollow, North Ridge, North Haven and others, moderate sized 4 bedroom homes can be had in your budget. http://u.realgeeks.media/popularrale...p-code-map.jpg
This is such an excellent, informative and exhaustive response to my queries. Thanks a bunch! Let me digest what you have sent and get back to you if I have any questions. I have to look for realtors who specialize in these areas if I end up getting a job offer
I know there have been many threads on this topic already and I have read some but I didn't find exactly what I am looking for after reading them. I will be working closer to the downtown Raleigh area, if a job is offered to me.
We are a childless couple in our late 30s. We are looking for the following:
1) Looking for a house in a suburb that's decent, not too pricey and not too far from the downtown. My budget is < $400K for a decent 4 BR single family home. For some reasons, people always talk about Cary v Austin. Correct me if I am wrong, I think Cary is pricey and already saturated.
2) Accessibility to a 24-hr gym, grocery stores, restaurants.
3) A neighborhood with middle-class, educated residents.
Red Raider here in Cary! We moved from West Texas a while back and really love it. We also lived in Austin for a while.
All of the zip codes that rnc2mbfl mentioned are good ones but educated people can be found all over our area. There are lots of neighborhoods that are gentrifying with young educated professionals that are not reflected in that list.
That list does give you more than enough to work with though.
At your price point you can get quite a nice house across our market. Not so much in Cary in a golf course community or DT Raleigh but most of our area is open to you and you'll avoid our critical inventory shortage for homes under $300K.
I disagree with 27617 not being a good choice. The demographic there fits right in with what you're looking for. The commute being bad is, of course, entirely dependent on where you're going. It is convenient to RTP but the population and construction in this zip has kinda exploded making the traffic much worse than it used to be.
27612 is West Raleigh and is a fairly convenient commute (as much as one can get) into Durham and RTP.
27609 is "Midtown" and part of north Raleigh which is convenient to Cary, DT Raleigh, Wake Forest, and Durham as well
To get a similar vibe as Austin I have to add zips 27701 and 27703 which are DT Durham. Durham has a great food, music, activist, and visual arts scene. There are lots of educated adults here also who are gentrifying the DT neighborhoods.
Hey fellow Texan. My family has been in the Raleigh area for a little over 4 years. (I've only ever known TX) So, first things first. There isn't a comparison. It's not the same. Not even close. Especially if you are used to Austin. Similarities, yes, commonalities, some. But there is not a honest comparison. Foremost is convenience. It isn't convenient to live here. The second is cost of living. It's expensive. New Braunfels is a close comparison to the city of Raleigh, except Raleigh's prettier with trees. Boerne is close to some of the artisan prices of regular shops, but Boerne has nicer things that almost justify the prices. Like Gruene, it's fun for a day, but then you've seen it all & you're ready to go home. The town really loves the hipster vibe and caters to that clientel exclusively. Tyler, Bastrop & Nacogdoches is close to the climate & most of the mentality. It wants to be like Austin perhaps, because there really are a lot of talented people here and plenty of innovation, but not enough vision to do anything more than what is able to be seen right in front of them. Obviously this is over generalizing an entire population, but you would do well asking other Texans who have lived here a while to better serve your questions. By the way, there is nothing like HEB here. Coming from San Antonio, shopping has been a nightmare here & yes, still, four years later. That's part of the cost & convenience I spoke of earlier. So much time & money is simply wasted. This may seem like a bad review, but no. It's a beautiful place to live. It has seasons & rains to keep everything green. You just needed to hear that it is a different culture completely. You mentioned 24hr gym. That made me smile & is really what prompted me to respond. You are going to have to compromise. You would do well to pick THE most important thing to you & your wife and start there. A Lifetime Fitness was just built in the last year or so on Falls of Nuese Rd in North Raleigh. It is the single largest, modern new building in the area & people are in awe of its size, structure, cleanliness, etc. It is a fraction -literally- of what you would be used to & it's not always 24hrs. Good luck with your search.
I second this suggestion: "To get a similar vibe as Austin I have to add zips 27701 and 27703 which are DT Durham. Durham has a great food, music, activist, and visual arts scene." When I read your initial post, I immediately thought Durham!
Hey fellow Texan. My family has been in the Raleigh area for a little over 4 years. (I've only ever known TX) So, first things first. There isn't a comparison. It's not the same. Not even close. Especially if you are used to Austin. Similarities, yes, commonalities, some. But there is not a honest comparison. Foremost is convenience. It isn't convenient to live here. The second is cost of living. It's expensive. New Braunfels is a close comparison to the city of Raleigh, except Raleigh's prettier with trees. Boerne is close to some of the artisan prices of regular shops, but Boerne has nicer things that almost justify the prices. Like Gruene, it's fun for a day, but then you've seen it all & you're ready to go home. The town really loves the hipster vibe and caters to that clientel exclusively. Tyler, Bastrop & Nacogdoches is close to the climate & most of the mentality. It wants to be like Austin perhaps, because there really are a lot of talented people here and plenty of innovation, but not enough vision to do anything more than what is able to be seen right in front of them. Obviously this is over generalizing an entire population, but you would do well asking other Texans who have lived here a while to better serve your questions. By the way, there is nothing like HEB here. Coming from San Antonio, shopping has been a nightmare here & yes, still, four years later. That's part of the cost & convenience I spoke of earlier. So much time & money is simply wasted. This may seem like a bad review, but no. It's a beautiful place to live. It has seasons & rains to keep everything green. You just needed to hear that it is a different culture completely. You mentioned 24hr gym. That made me smile & is really what prompted me to respond. You are going to have to compromise. You would do well to pick THE most important thing to you & your wife and start there. A Lifetime Fitness was just built in the last year or so on Falls of Nuese Rd in North Raleigh. It is the single largest, modern new building in the area & people are in awe of its size, structure, cleanliness, etc. It is a fraction -literally- of what you would be used to & it's not always 24hrs. Good luck with your search.
My fellow Texan, to be brutally honest, it'd be hard for me to relocate to a place that's very different than Central Texas (I am in love with the area). I have traveled a lot and I feel there's no town like Austin or San Antonio, especially when it comes to cost, convenience, climate and culture (the 4 C's). So much to do, yet everything is so affordable. Having said that, probably the same reasons that took you to the Raleigh area are taking me there (lost my job, the best offer is from the Raleigh area. Other areas that I have received offers from are "different" like Iowa and remote North East. Not my type. Plain and simple).
I have been to Raleigh as part of my business trips and I'd say it's definitely very beautiful and thickly green. Having said that, it always seemed to be country and lonely at times except a few places in Chappel Hill, Durham and Raleigh.
Not having an accessible 24-hr gym is a big no for me but I might have to compromise with some martial arts club or cross-fitness meetups.
When you say, it's expensive, how expensive do you think it is?
Did you google 24 hr gym Raleigh? I got several hits. It's not my thing. At 3am I want to sleep, but apparently other folks in our area want to work out.
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