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Old 11-07-2020, 07:47 PM
 
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Hi there, we will be moving to the RTP area from the Boston suburbs in the near future, probably this spring. My husband's office is located a little bit NW of the airport (Meridian Parkway near the Raleigh-Durham Doubletree), and we're trying to decide where we should focus our home search. A friend of mine who lives in Durham suggested we look into Chapel Hill or Morrisville. We are in our late 30s with 3 yr old and newborn boys, and I'm a SAHM. Would love recommendations for neighborhoods/areas with other families of young kids (preferably where the lots are a little larger and the houses aren't right on top of each other). Are the public schools pretty good, or should we consider private (and if so, which ones)? I'm a little stressed bc I was told if we want to go private we pretty much need to be admitted for pre-k or we won't ever get a spot. Would love some insights into parts of Chapel Hill, Morrisville, and/or any other places we should consider that are a good fit for families and not too far from work (though not particularly interested in Cary). Thanks so much!

Last edited by amalia2150; 11-07-2020 at 09:04 PM..
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:23 PM
 
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Boston area transplant here - there's a few of us on here. Happy to answer any questions.

Just curious why Morrisville and not Cary? Morrisville is basically Cary with less to do, no downtown, fewer greenways, etc. Also it's mostly newer developments with very small lots and little space in between houses. Not sure if that's your thing or not. If you're going on what other people say about Cary, I suggest you see for yourself.

Wake County School system is a lot to deal with when you're coming from a small school system in MA. If you want to go where the "best" WCPSS schools are, you're going to deal with the threat of reassignment, some school overcrowding, etc. Not all these reassignments are due to overcrowded schools or new schools opening - some are for diversity purposes, and there will be more of these in the future as we have a very "progressive" school board (all except one were just re-elected). Some areas/neighborhoods are assigned to year-round schools, which can be a change when you're used to a traditional calendar. You can always apply to a traditional calendar school, but there's no guarantee you will be allowed in. I can't speak for Chapel Hill, but they have their own school system, it's not county-wide.

If I knew what I knew now about the Wake school system and was moving here now, I'd go private if I had the means to.

Last edited by m378; 11-07-2020 at 08:46 PM..
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:56 PM
 
59 posts, read 52,349 times
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Originally Posted by m378 View Post
Just curious why Morrisville and not Cary?

Boston area transplant here - there's a few of us on here. Happy to answer any questions.
We've heard that Cary is exploding in growth and there's constant school redistricting. Also from what we've seen the houses seem to be built really close together. It seems like a wonderful place for families, but just not up our particular alley. I honestly know nothing about Morrisville aside from my friend's recommendation.

We will be moving from Winchester! How do you like NC compared to Boston area? We've only been in MA for 2 yrs. after time in VA and IN. I'll miss the proximity to the ocean and the seasons (well, maybe not winter) but not the traffic and cost of living!
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Old 11-07-2020, 09:08 PM
 
9,265 posts, read 8,201,365 times
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Originally Posted by amalia2150 View Post
We've geard that Cary is exploding in growth and there's constant school redistricting. Also from what we've seen the houses seem to be built really close together. It seems like a wonderful place for families, but just not up our particular alley. I honestly know nothing about Morrisville aside from my friend's recommendation.

We will be moving from Winchester! How do you like NC compared to Boston area? We've only been in MA for 2 yrs, but a job opportunity came up and it'll bring us closer to family so we couldn't pass it up. I'll miss the proximity to the ocean but not the traffic and cost of living!
Cary is nearing 100% development at this point, so growth has been slowing for quite some time now. The huge growth now is south of Cary in Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, etc. Morrisville is a smaller town, but there's really not much to it. You will find much more space in between houses in the older neighborhoods in Cary versus almost any neighborhood in Morrisville. And by "older", I mean neighborhoods that were build in the 90's/early 2000's. I think you would regret Morrisville over Cary. Cary is an amazing place to live and the town government does a pretty decent job. The downtown area is very up and coming.

As far as school reassignments, Morrisville is definitely no different than Cary.

Winchester has an amazing school system. Schools in Wake County are good, but again I think you'll be in a little bit of shock considering where you're coming from. If public schools are most important, I'd take a hard look at Chapel Hill - it wasn't our cup of tea (we like the conveniences of Cary, and an easy commute to RTP was really important for us), but it may be for you.

We don't miss MA at all, but we do sometimes regret moving away from family (especially these days). Day to day living is just much easier here. There's less traffic, the roads were built for cars instead of horses, there's a much higher sense community in neighborhoods, every store I could ever need is within 10 minutes of my house, you won't have to wait an hour to eat at a restaurant on a friday or saturday, etc. Cost of living is less, but it's a trade off - real estate here does not appreciate at nearly the rate it does in MA (especially in a place like Winchester). Not to say that real estate isn't a good investment here, it's just not nearly to the point of the northeast yet. As land availability diminishes, this will likely change.

Last edited by m378; 11-07-2020 at 09:40 PM..
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Old 11-07-2020, 09:45 PM
 
59 posts, read 52,349 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m378 View Post
Boston area transplant here - there's a few of us on here. Happy to answer any questions.

Just curious why Morrisville and not Cary? Morrisville is basically Cary with less to do, no downtown, fewer greenways, etc. Also it's mostly newer developments with very small lots and little space in between houses. Not sure if that's your thing or not. If you're going on what other people say about Cary, I suggest you see for yourself.

Wake County School system is a lot to deal with when you're coming from a small school system in MA. If you want to go where the "best" WCPSS schools are, you're going to deal with the threat of reassignment, some school overcrowding, etc. Not all these reassignments are due to overcrowded schools or new schools opening - some are for diversity purposes, and there will be more of these in the future as we have a very "progressive" school board (all except one were just re-elected). Some areas/neighborhoods are assigned to year-round schools, which can be a change when you're used to a traditional calendar. You can always apply to a traditional calendar school, but there's no guarantee you will be allowed in. I can't speak for Chapel Hill, but they have their own school system, it's not county-wide.

If I knew what I knew now about the Wake school system and was moving here now, I'd go private if I had the means to.
I appreciate the insight about Morrisville and Wake schools, thank you! We'll definitely give Cary a look. Any particular neighborhoods we should check out?

We don't have experience with the schools here since our oldest is only 3, so we won't really know what we're missing. Winchester is lovely, but like you said there isn't a strong community feel here and everyone pretty much keeps to themselves (though circumstances were certainly unusual with covid in the mix). Didn't expect to leave so soon, but our families are in VA and FL so we jumped at the chance to be closer after being so isolated up here. I'm definitely excited to live in a neighborhood again (and drive on roads made for cars, haha- so true!).
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Old 11-07-2020, 10:07 PM
 
9,265 posts, read 8,201,365 times
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Originally Posted by amalia2150 View Post
I appreciate the insight about Morrisville and Wake schools, thank you! We'll definitely give Cary a look. Any particular neighborhoods we should check out?
Much will depend on if your husband and yourself are commuting, and whether or not you choose to go with public schools or private.

We chose our neighborhood because of the schools, and the fact that it was an easy commute to where I'd most likely be working throughout my career, even if I changed jobs. If I didn't have to worry about those things I would prefer to live somewhere else in Cary (Cary is very large geographically, and has over 160k residents).

Here's my favorite neighborhood in Cary just as an example. We didn't choose this neighborhood because it's not a great commute to RTP, and the schools aren't as highly rated as other parts. But there are lots of neighborhoods in Cary with 0.25+ acre lots, space between houses, and trees. Morrisville, not so much.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ktB2dYl-U

Last edited by m378; 11-07-2020 at 10:19 PM..
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Old 11-07-2020, 11:12 PM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
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You’ve been given some good background on the schools. But what you haven’t mentioned is a budget.
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Old 11-08-2020, 05:06 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,032 posts, read 76,548,777 times
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Originally Posted by twingles View Post
You’ve been given some good background on the schools. But what you haven’t mentioned is a budget.
And, a description of the house.
What size and type, and number of bedrooms?
New construction, or older?

And, what size lot would be sufficient?
A small lot to some is a large lot to some, and vice versa.
Would you accept a septic system to get a larger lot, say 3/4 acre or more?
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Old 11-08-2020, 05:26 AM
 
Location: Cary...."Heritage Neighborhood"
803 posts, read 822,028 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amalia2150 View Post
We've heard that Cary is exploding in growth and there's constant school redistricting. Also from what we've seen the houses seem to be built really close together. It seems like a wonderful place for families, but just not up our particular alley. I honestly know nothing about Morrisville aside from my friend's recommendation.
That is West Cary with the explosive growth, constant school redistricting and homes close together. Also, might I add traffic congestion. This is happening not just in West Cary but in many other new-build areas of the triangle (Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Wake Forest). East/"old" Cary is totally different.... much more "chill". Larger lots with mature trees -more mature trees and privacy everywhere really (along roads, around businesses etc.). Absolutely beautiful this time of year with the fall foliage... but I digress. Anyways, school assignment are more stable in East Cary as well. Less traffic congestion too. Part of this I think is that this part of town was better planned/designed with larger and better placed roads capable of handling the traffic vs old 2-lane country roads being inundated with new neighborhoods and thus flooded with cars in new/newer-build areas of metro.

Depending on budget Weston Point comes to mind. Larger lots and stable schools. I believe Morrisville Elementary is the assigned year-round option for this neighborhood and it's very well thought of; it tends to score very well on tests and rankings. In fact, for what it's worth, Triangle Biz Journal, in it's annual rankings, just ranked it the top elementary school in all of Wake County (btw, one of country's largest school districts) https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle...ml#g/471722/21

If you still decide to go private, Weston Point is very close to Cary Academy (4 minutes per google maps). Also, St Michaels Elementary (7 min) feeding into Cardinal Gibbons (9 min from neighborhood and a Catholic HS that is an academic AND athletic power) ain't a bad option either.

Central location convenient to many things. Per google maps, for your husband's current work, it is 10 minutes to the RDU Double Tree. Jobs can come and go though and Weston is situated almost perfectly between the area's two major job centers (RTP and DT Raleigh -approx 15 minutes toll free driving to both). Evan's Rd, Harrison Ave, Weston PKWY, and Cary PKWY make it easy to scoot around. As a general rule, developers tend to build the "best locations" first.

Conveniences, cultural and recreational opportunities (North Cary Park for starters) galore.... but that is another post.
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