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For $200,000, you can get a really nice home in the Wendell, Knightdale, or Clayton areas. You can certainly find homes in Raleigh for that price, but they'd be older and need some work.
"Reality: I need to know what I can realistically get for $200k."
1. older home. 7+ years. someone moving to downsize.
2. small yard. few trees. but you still get all the pollen.
3. close to schools or box stores but not both.
I've been looking for a home for less than 200,000 for a few months now. I've been looking in Western Wake since my husband works in Chapel Hill, but it's almost impossible to find a home at that price point there. Western Wake for less than 200,000 will give you a 2-3 bedroom townhome without a garage. Almost all of them will have multiple offers. We almost purchased a townhome off Capital, but the drive would have been close to an hour for him
Facts: Late 30's couple with two kids, 5 and 8. Single income at roughly 90k. Have lived in Las Vegas long enough to know that it isn't the best place to raise a family. Plus we're tired of the brown desert and lack of good things to do for the kids e.g. museums, outdoor activities, camps, etc.. Fortunate enough to work for an employer that allows me to live anywhere in the continental US. 10+ years in the IT industry, mostly in Ops and Networking but have moved on to software development in the last year. Luckily, I will not need to look for employment as I will stick with my current employer because I love them. My wife wants to focus on the kids until the youngest one is in the 1st grade then she will likely go to work. Currently we live in a master planned community. It's very suburban, cookie cutter, safe, family oriented, good schools, box stores, chain restaurants, you get the idea. We're comfortable, but bored.
Given: I've been to NC twice but wife and kids have not. I drove around parts Morrisville, Apex, Cary, and Holly Springs, but only because that's what was suggested to me at the time. I wanted to hit more of Raleigh and also check out Durham, Fuquay Varina, Garner, Wake Forest, and Willow Springs.
Initial Thoughts: If it were a lateral move, the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs area's make the most sense but maybe we don't need lateral? Maybe we need something with slightly more culture and activity but still very family friendly. Then again because the suburban life is what we're used to, it would make the most sense to stick with it. I 'hear' bad things about Durham but I must say there are some nice homes for good prices there. I see the same for Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, and Willow Springs. Preston was really nice but pricey. Apex looks cute. Cary looks identical to what we have now but with more trees. We like trees. Morrisville looks old but I didnt get to see it all.
Reality: I need to know what I can realistically get for $200k. Ideally it would be 3+ beds, 2+ bath, 1800+ sq ft house, 5000+ sq ft lot. We're open to both new and older homes. The most important factor for us is education. I understand school ratings can be skewed but one would assume that they are relative. Close to lots of shopping, schools, and general activities. My wife is spoiled with being able to get to Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Walmart, all within 20 minutes of each other. We're not into the night scene much since we're more focused on the kids for now. We absolutely love the fact that we can drive to the beach in 2+ hours or the mountains in 3+ hours. We absolutely love the fact that we can take our kids to the lake and go fishing! We absolutely love the fact that we'll be able to drive to the neighboring states and discover them.
Other mentions: We used to have Denver, CO on the list but it's getting pricey. Employer HQ is in Atlanta, GA and other office is Philly, PA. Wife's family is based out of Baldwin, NY. Other states considered are Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusettes, Vermont.
I'm open to any and all feedback, even if it's not NC. Most appreciated folks.
I am going to also support what others have suggested and say you should check out Winston-Salem. You'll get more house for your money there and a little quieter pace of life, as well as proximity to all of the natural features you mentioned (lakes, mountains, few hours to beach, etc). The one thing I'm not sure about are the schools there. I know there are good schools in that region, but I don't really know what the real estate market is like for the homes that feed into the better schools there.
The reality here in the Raleigh-Durham area that your price point is going to make it difficult for you to get into a single family home in a neighborhood that feeds into the good or great schools in the area. Knightdale and Wendell have cheaper housing stock but they will not give you the schools you are looking for. If you're ok with a townhome, then you'll have more options (but I have two kids just a little younger than yours and wouldn't dream of sharing a wall with our noise level, and IMO kids need a little space outside to run around and exert some energy). I say this as someone who is also very conservative with our housing budget and who bought in an area with a mixed bag of schools. We always thought we'd sell our starter home to move into a part of town with the "good" (at least "better") school ratings once our kids reached school age, but we've seen prices shoot up so far that, even with the equity we'd gain from selling our home, the gap in price is too much for us to stomach... We don't want to double our debt load just for an extra bedroom, a smaller lot, and the decent schools that come with it. I hate that this is happening to this area but the truth is money talks here in ways that are quickly becoming inequitable for those looking to carefully and rationally build wealth from scratch AND raise a family. It tends to cater to those who arrive here from higher COL areas now. It's one of the reasons why we'll be moving out of the area soon.
I'd consider W-S, parts of Virginia outside NoVA and the extreme southern and western parts of the state, and several cities in the Midwest to get what you're looking for (the latter would cut out the ocean beach option though).
If my job allowed me to live anywhere, it wouldn't be in the Raleigh Durham area. I like the mountains so for me personally in the Southeastern US I'd look at:
If my job allowed me to live anywhere, it wouldn't be in the Raleigh Durham area. I like the mountains so for me personally in the Southeastern US I'd look at:
1. Knoxville, TN
2. Roanoke, VA
3. Greenville, SC
What about Asheville if you used to live in Denver? Not sure how that is in terms of places to live.
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