Relocating- School help (Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville: apartment complex, leasing, how much)

[RayMom1]

Hello all,

We are moving to RTP area in second week of June with our 7 and 1 yr old. We have narrowed down to Morrisville and Cary to find apartments in. Have couple of quick questions as I have already read many threads on relocation questions.
First and top priority for us is schools. Am not able to understand how assignment works in Wake county as it looks pretty complicated for someone who has no knowledge whatsoever about it. I have read quiet a lot to understand but still confused. If the base schools are assigned by the addresses which apartments do you suggest in Morrisville and Cary. We can go up to 1500 a month for 2/3 bed. That said how to find out base school without having address. I tried using the leasing office address for couple of apartments but to no avail.
We will be traveling this weekend to look at the apartments and check out the neighborhood, so any suggestions for apartments with good base schools is highly appreciated.
Second question is how bad is the traffic. We have lived in Vienna, Va for more than 12 yrs and have seen worst traffics but both our offices have always been 10-15 min commute.Now that my husband will be working in RTP and let's say I end up getting a job in Raleigh, how long will the commute be for me if I choose to stay in Morrisville or Cary. We both are in Software industry.

Thanks a lot in advance.

[BC1960]

Originally Posted by RayMom1

Hello all,

We are moving to RTP area in second week of June with our 7 and 1 yr old. We have narrowed down to Morrisville and Cary to find apartments in. Have couple of quick questions as I have already read many threads on relocation questions.
First and top priority for us is schools. Am not able to understand how assignment works in Wake county as it looks pretty complicated for someone who has no knowledge whatsoever about it. I have read quiet a lot to understand but still confused. If the base schools are assigned by the addresses which apartments do you suggest in Morrisville and Cary. We can go up to 1500 a month for 2/3 bed. That said how to find out base school without having address. I tried using the leasing office address for couple of apartments but to no avail.
We will be traveling this weekend to look at the apartments and check out the neighborhood, so any suggestions for apartments with good base schools is highly appreciated.
Second question is how bad is the traffic. We have lived in Vienna, Va for more than 12 yrs and have seen worst traffics but both our offices have always been 10-15 min commute.Now that my husband will be working in RTP and let's say I end up getting a job in Raleigh, how long will the commute be for me if I choose to stay in Morrisville or Cary. We both are in Software industry.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Here is a link to elementary school base zone maps: Address Lookup and School Maps

[michgc]

Originally Posted by RayMom1

Hello all,

We are moving to RTP area in second week of June with our 7 and 1 yr old. We have narrowed down to Morrisville and Cary to find apartments in. Have couple of quick questions as I have already read many threads on relocation questions.
First and top priority for us is schools. Am not able to understand how assignment works in Wake county as it looks pretty complicated for someone who has no knowledge whatsoever about it. I have read quiet a lot to understand but still confused. If the base schools are assigned by the addresses which apartments do you suggest in Morrisville and Cary. We can go up to 1500 a month for 2/3 bed. That said how to find out base school without having address. I tried using the leasing office address for couple of apartments but to no avail.
We will be traveling this weekend to look at the apartments and check out the neighborhood, so any suggestions for apartments with good base schools is highly appreciated.
Second question is how bad is the traffic. We have lived in Vienna, Va for more than 12 yrs and have seen worst traffics but both our offices have always been 10-15 min commute.Now that my husband will be working in RTP and let's say I end up getting a job in Raleigh, how long will the commute be for me if I choose to stay in Morrisville or Cary. We both are in Software industry.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Hi and welcome to the Triangle! I cannot answer your question about the schools and apartments in Morrisville and Cary, but I moved here from Vienna, Virginia 5 years ago after living in Vienna for 12 years. Where in Vienna were you? I was in the Town near Meadow Lane Park. Loved it there!

The traffic will be NOTHING like Vienna. The traffic and the parking are a breeze, comparatively. No Maple Avenue backups, no I-66 standstills, no timing out-of-town trips around rush hour, no HOV lanes, etc. It's like going back in time 30 years, trafficwise. Having said that, I can't answer your commute questions, but most people around here think a 30-minute commute is long.

[annabanana123]

I don't know about the schools in Cary and morrisville but from what I hear you can't go wrong over there. We have been happy with WCPSS as a whole though. Best of luck with your move!

[twingles]

Well, there are only two elementary schools in Morrisville. One of them, Cedar Fork, is capped. The other is Morrisville Elementary. Both popular and highly rated. Cedar Fork is traditional and Morrisville is year round.

Cornerstone Apartments in Cary is zoned for Davis Drive which is popular. I'm not sure if there are any others zoned for Davis Drive.

The Bradford is a new complex. Corner of High House Rd and Davis Drive. I *think* they are assigned to Weatherstone Elementary - not sure on that though.

Some other elementary schools you'll want to check on that list (which is LONG) are Green Hope Elementary, Carpenter, and Turner Creek. Mills Park is also in Cary but it is capped.

No idea how much any of these rent for.

[BoBromhal]

use the link(s) that BC1960 provided. Use them in conjunction with the Assignment finder if you need, to find an address nearby the apartment buildings.

Commuting from W Cary/Morrisville to Raleigh will be easier than the opposite direction.

[RayMom1]

Thanks for all the inputs.
Base school locator was very helpful if I plan to rent a house or townhouseas the address is readily available on listings.
However when I try base school locator for apartments , it won't work if I give address of apartment leasing office and may be it needs a residential address to pull up those records. Thanks a ton BC1960.
michgc-- I live right across Vienna metro and yes Maple ave traffic is still the same and I doubt I-66 will ever be smooth drive in rush hour or lunch hour or weekends ��

[rangerwolf]

Originally Posted by RayMom1

Thanks for all the inputs.
Base school locator was very helpful if I plan to rent a house or townhouseas the address is readily available on listings.
However when I try base school locator for apartments , it won't work if I give address of apartment leasing office and may be it needs a residential address to pull up those records. Thanks a ton BC1960.
michgc-- I live right across Vienna metro and yes Maple ave traffic is still the same and I doubt I-66 will ever be smooth drive in rush hour or lunch hour or weekends ��

That same website has school district maps that could be useful. Just locate the apartment complex on Google maps, and locate the closest school out of the several listed in this thread. That is just a starting point, not guaranteed to be your actual school.

Once you have located the closest school, look at the map on the WCPSS website and see if the apartment complex is in that district. If not, look at the next closest school and so on.

http://wwwgis2.wcpss.net/addressLookup/

Google Maps allows you to save locations if you are logged in. You may want to log in and save all the Morrisville/W Cary Elem schools (they show up as stars on Google Maps once they are saved) so you can get a handle on where they are in relation to your housing search.

[RayMom1]

Thanks. That's a cool idea.. will do that.