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Not sure from where you are relocating, but a 45-50 min commute is not mandatory in this area. It is one of the benefits of living in the Triangle at this point in history. Carefully weigh the impact on that extra hour in the car will have on your family life vs. looking to settle in some place like south Durham where you can be 15-20 min from Morrisville.
Can you recommend what zip codes in Durham have good schools? We tried to glance around there online but the schools we saw were not promising. Of course I can only see the scores and such which I know is not the entire picture.
Seems our budget is the biggest issue when it comes to schools in any area, including wake county. Unless I am just looking st the wrong thing (school digger, great schools)
But then I also look at wake county schools and many I pull up in Raleigh are scored horribly. So I’m confused all the way around.
There's something like 1.1M people in Wake County - it's large and economically diverse. Generally school quality, income levels, and real estate prices are all related.
I think it comes down to what your definition of "good" schools is. It's impossible for us to know what you consider good. If you're going only by scores on Greatschools or something like that, then the "good" schools generally won't be available in your budget if you're going for higher scores.
There's something like 1.1M people in Wake County - it's large and economically diverse. Generally school quality, income levels, and real estate prices are all related.
I think it comes down to what your definition of "good" schools is. It's impossible for us to know what you consider good. If you're going only by scores on Greatschools or something like that, then the "good" schools generally won't be available in your budget if you're going for higher scores.
Somewhere way up thread I clarified but basically good teachers, good administration, high parental involvement, more or less a true good quality education. And the less time kids are on technology in elementary the better (though I know this specific thing is probably a pipe dream). Standardized test scores are not the most important thing to me.
Right now we are zoned to a highly ranked school but my 1st grader does TONS on computers/iPads and ALL of their at home work is and I hate it.
250K doesn’t seem low to me. That’s $125/sf in a 2000sf home.
Don't know where you're coming from, but that's not a generous budget for here. Maybe check out Garner or Knightdale? Not sure how the commute to Morrisville would be.
Per City-Data's info, the mean price for Detached houses in Raleigh is: $322,631. If you're willing to do a condo or townhome you should be able to find something for $250k w/o much of a problem, but if you want a single-family detached home you'll have to do some bargain hunting and compromise on the age of the home, etc. They are out there, but your budget is not high.
Quote:
Estimated median house or condo value in 2016: $242,500 (it was $152,400 in 2000)
Raleigh: $242,500
NC: $165,400
Mean prices in 2016: All housing units: $290,660; Detached houses: $322,631; Townhouses or other attached units: $184,500; In 2-unit structures: $155,395; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $197,014; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $239,580; Mobile homes: $58,460
Estimated median house or condo value in 2016: $323,724 (it was $160,700 in 2000)
Morrisville: $323,724
NC: $165,400
Mean prices in 2016: All housing units: $302,143; Detached houses: $326,470; Townhouses or other attached units: $193,810; In 2-unit structures: $155,395; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $159,124; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $210,372; Mobile homes: $72,925
Estimated median house or condo value in 2016: $332,800 (it was $193,000 in 2000)
Cary: $332,800
NC: $165,400
Mean prices in 2016: All housing units: $347,838; Detached houses: $376,800; Townhouses or other attached units: $226,216; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $116,575; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $173,929; Mobile homes: $54,873
(City-Data has the exact same info for the Mean prices for Garner and Knightdale as it does for Morrisville and they don't add up to a median home values, so I'm not sure about that and didn't include that data.)
Can you recommend what zip codes in Durham have good schools? We tried to glance around there online but the schools we saw were not promising. Of course I can only see the scores and such which I know is not the entire picture.
Zip codes around here cover wide areas. 27713 would be a place to look in Durham County, but it also covers some of Chatham. Don't let people here scare you away from Durham.
Listen to the advice of rent first, explore the area, then buy.
Can you recommend what zip codes in Durham have good schools? We tried to glance around there online but the schools we saw were not promising. Of course I can only see the scores and such which I know is not the entire picture.
Look at 27713 and 27707. Neighborhoods of Woodcroft, Woodlake, Hope Valley Farms. There are some newer ones as well, but most of the houses in those are larger than 2000 sq.ft.
There's something like 1.1M people in Wake County - it's large and economically diverse. Generally school quality, income levels, and real estate prices are all related.
I think it comes down to what your definition of "good" schools is. It's impossible for us to know what you consider good. If you're going only by scores on Greatschools or something like that, then the "good" schools generally won't be available in your budget if you're going for higher scores.
So I live in western wake county, zoned in schools that a large number of people relocating are clamoring for. They have served the oldest of my 3 children very well, but he would have excelled in just about any environment. But they have not been the right fit for my 2 younger children as there have been challenges with bullying, a pervasive entitlement mentality and a complete lack of socio-economic diversity. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed in Durham, instead of moving here before my oldest started school.
Somewhere way up thread I clarified but basically good teachers, good administration, high parental involvement, more or less a true good quality education. And the less time kids are on technology in elementary the better (though I know this specific thing is probably a pipe dream). Standardized test scores are not the most important thing to me.
Right now we are zoned to a highly ranked school but my 1st grader does TONS on computers/iPads and ALL of their at home work is and I hate it.
As I noted upthread, you may find a house in one of the better rated school zones but you will need to adjust your requirements. Only you can decide which is most important, and in what order - size of house, school reputation, length of commute.
As I also noted, there is a lot of technology in the schools here, but my kids do plenty of written homework (especially the one who just graduated from middle school).
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