Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi,
I will be moving to the area within in the next few months with my family. I have been trying to do as much research as I can on certain areas around Raleigh-Durham. It seems that the Cary and Apex area are the top runners. I have a son about to start elementary school and an eleven month old so the school system is important. We are also a young family and like to be active. We are on a tight budget at least for a year or two so home value has alot to do with our decision. I thought some local insight would be great help since we live 15 hours away.
There are a lot of price points in Cary and Apex. There's a lot of talk about nodes and reassignment in Wake County, but the fact is that most of the schools in Cary and Apex are pretty good. Are you looking at buying or renting? Do you have an idea of a budget?
I have lived in the Raleigh area for 7 years. We have lived Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. We currently now live in Clayton which is just over the Wake county line in Johnston County. We have had good experiences in all 5 locations. It largely depends on where you are going to be working and what kind of communting situation you want. Cary and Apex are fairly central to things and located well, but can be very traffic-y. Housing prices are significantly higher here and houses tend to be built very close together. Some people like that and some don't, just depends on what you want. Fuquay is a growing area but doesn't have very easy access to I-40 for commuting. You can find good schools in all of these areas. We moved out of Wake county largely because we couln't find the house we wanted on a big lot, and we didn't want year round schooling at the time, but if that's not important to you, then you should do fine in any of these towns in Wake County.
I will be working in Durham. I think we are going to rent untill we know for sure where we want to be. Price point we are looking to be around would be less than 200,000.
If you are working in Durham, I would probably stick with the western side of the county but it depends on what you can deal with for a commute, I guess. Renting for a while is a really good idea. There is no way you can get a feel for so many different areas in a weekend visit.
Cary and Apex are good choices as is Morrisville, which is still in Wake, has good schools (from what I've heard anyway) but is even closer to Durham. All of them have good housing options but Cary will probably have the most limited housing options "on a budget" although it CAN be done. There are two fairly nice houses in my Cary neighborhood now selling for around 179K.
I will be working in Durham. I think we are going to rent untill we know for sure where we want to be. Price point we are looking to be around would be less than 200,000.
200,000 would rent quite a bit of house!
In all seriousness, though, from Apex and Cary, commute into Durham would probably be up NC Hwy 55, so looking around there would be a good place to start. For single family home and townhouse rentals, Craigslist is the best resource. There are also many apartment communities with a range of prices and amenities.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
where to live
