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i lived in Cary for a few mnths and then moved away. when i was there i was saying the same thing--"what is the big dea?"
now that i dont live there, i sometimes wish i did. Cary has everything right in town. any stores, malls, supermarkets, medical facilities, movie theater, etc etc that you can possibly need. i do sometimes miss it...
I agree that people are far too hard on Cary. Some people are prone to attributing some characteristics to Cary that can actually be found all over the Triangle.
True, you can find neighborhoods there with highly restrictive HOAs, but you can find them in every town in the Triangle. You can also find neighborhoods with reasonable HOAs and even with no HOA at all.
As for the business signage, the signs in Cary don't seem any different than what I see here in southern Durham or in Chapel Hill. Lots of communities throughout the Triangle have adopted the more subtle close-to-the-ground signage. If you're going to condemn Cary for those signs, you need to cast your net a little wider so that you're sure to catch all "guilty" parties.
All of that being said, I must confess that there is a certain someone who lives in my house who does not like Cary. The first thing that bothers him is that it's all just so new - a little too new for our tastes. When one used to live in a 150 year old house in an ancient city full of hundreds of other old homes, the shiny newness of Cary can seem a bit jarring.
Plus, it seems disturbing that there are far fewer housing opportunities in Cary for people who have less than $200K to spend on a house. Yes, there are some out there, but not as many as in some surrounding communities. For example, if you look at one of the realty websites & search for detached homes under $200K, you'll find 101 houses on the market in Cary. That certainly sounds like a ton of homes! But compare that to Durham. Durham's population is about twice as large as Cary. And yet Durham currently has 865 houses available right now in that price range. Per capita, that's four times as many homes available under $200K in Durham compared to Cary. Numbers like that are unsettling for people who prefer more economic diversity in their hometown. I do not entirely blame Cary for this, though. Even in Durham, I have seen very very little new construction (built in the past 5 years or so) that is worth less than $250K. With the influx of transplants from the north and the housing boom of the recent past, builders were focused on a particular customer. Maybe now that things are slowing down, the builders will build more houses for blue collar workers - even in Cary. Time will tell!
I don't understand the fasination with Cary! I haven't lived here too long, so maybe someone can explain it to me. What is so great about Cary? I get lost everytime I go there and it is super crowded. The houses are basically on top of each other. I heard that kids get redistricted in school a lot. Everything seems to be brand new...which can be nice, but I feel like it lacks character. I don't mean to bash the area. I just don't get it!
I agree that people are far too hard on Cary. Some people are prone to attributing some characteristics to Cary that can actually be found all over the Triangle.
True, you can find neighborhoods there with highly restrictive HOAs, but you can find them in every town in the Triangle. You can also find neighborhoods with reasonable HOAs and even with no HOA at all.
As for the business signage, the signs in Cary don't seem any different than what I see here in southern Durham or in Chapel Hill. Lots of communities throughout the Triangle have adopted the more subtle close-to-the-ground signage. If you're going to condemn Cary for those signs, you need to cast your net a little wider so that you're sure to catch all "guilty" parties.
All of that being said, I must confess that there is a certain someone who lives in my house who does not like Cary. The first thing that bothers him is that it's all just so new - a little too new for our tastes. When one used to live in a 150 year old house in an ancient city full of hundreds of other old homes, the shiny newness of Cary can seem a bit jarring.
Plus, it seems disturbing that there are far fewer housing opportunities in Cary for people who have less than $200K to spend on a house. Yes, there are some out there, but not as many as in some surrounding communities. For example, if you look at one of the realty websites & search for detached homes under $200K, you'll find 101 houses on the market in Cary. That certainly sounds like a ton of homes! But compare that to Durham. Durham's population is about twice as large as Cary. And yet Durham currently has 865 houses available right now in that price range. Per capita, that's four times as many homes available under $200K in Durham compared to Cary. Numbers like that are unsettling for people who prefer more economic diversity in their hometown. I do not entirely blame Cary for this, though. Even in Durham, I have seen very very little new construction (built in the past 5 years or so) that is worth less than $250K. With the influx of transplants from the north and the housing boom of the recent past, builders were focused on a particular customer. Maybe now that things are slowing down, the builders will build more houses for blue collar workers - even in Cary. Time will tell!
The land in Cary is very expensive... that influences the price of houses.
I think what I find amusing about this thread is how people contradict themselves. All over the NC board people who live in Cary talk about how wonderful it is, how much nicer it is than other areas. Then someone posts they don't like it, and the same people are saying "hey, it's the same here as anywhere."
It's not the same there as anywhere. That makes it great for some and horrid for others. Just like Hillsborough is wonderful some people and way too far from things for others. We all have our own taste...but it's not simultaneously so much better than other places AND the same as them!
I think what I find amusing about this thread is how people contradict themselves. All over the NC board people who live in Cary talk about how wonderful it is, how much nicer it is than other areas. Then someone posts they don't like it, and the same people are saying "hey, it's the same here as anywhere."
It's not the same there as anywhere. That makes it great for some and horrid for others. Just like Hillsborough is wonderful some people and way too far from things for others. We all have our own taste...but it's not simultaneously so much better than other places AND the same as them!
Yogi was right when he said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
IOW, picking at differences and ignoring similarities, or vice versa, is limited thinking.
It IS the same. It's just... different.
I think what I find amusing about this thread is how people contradict themselves. All over the NC board people who live in Cary talk about how wonderful it is, how much nicer it is than other areas. Then someone posts they don't like it, and the same people are saying "hey, it's the same here as anywhere."
Well, I was specifically responding to the statement that Cary has overly restrictive sign ordinances and HOA's - which is why I said other areas have the those very same things. It seems silly to dislike *only* Cary for those reasons.
I certainly don't think Cary is "heaven on earth" - but I'd question some of the statements being made about it whether or not I had the intention of moving there.
Thanks for your responses. I didn't mean to stir up controversy! I have been hearing about how great Cary is since I lived three states away. So, when I moved here and drove around I couldn't figure out what was so great about it. But, like I said, I don't know the area very well yet. I'm sure there are a lot of positive aspects to Cary. Someone mentioned that there are many parks in Cary...that is a positive!
Someone mentioned that there are many parks in Cary...that is a positive!
The #1 reason I want to move to Cary is to be within walking distance to this park -
Fred G. Bond Metro Park (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/facilities/bphome.htm - broken link)
I lived in a very park-like subdivision back in Virginia, and I really miss walking my dogs in an attractive setting. Eventually Apex will have a nature park, but it's quite a few years off. I'm not willing to wait, so off I go!
The #1 reason I want to move to Cary is to be within walking distance to this park -
Fred G. Bond Metro Park (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/facilities/bphome.htm - broken link)
I lived in a very park-like subdivision back in Virginia, and I really miss walking my dogs in an attractive setting. Eventually Apex will have a nature park, but it's quite a few years off. I'm not willing to wait, so off I go!
We live across the street from Bond Park. We walked to Spring Daze last weekend. It is awesome. We also love North Cary Park. There are at least a half dozen playgrounds in Cary my children and I frequent. It's nice because we never get bored. Plus, the town keeps everything so clean. We're moving back to Richmond in about four weeks and I know we're going to miss the parks here because there's nothing there that compares to the Town of Cary parks.
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