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There's a law in North Carolina that all neighborhoods/developments built after 1999 of more than 20 houses have to have a HOA so keep those parameters in mind when you are doing your searches. I would much rather be in Wake Co personally than the outlying areas.
Wow! Thanks for that info about the HOAs, that's good to know. Do you mind if I ask why you prefer Wake Co. to the other areas?
You've got "family neighborhood HOA's" with a pool, amenities, and rules about your house appearance, garage doors, and parked cars.
The you've got (like above) - "State law requires an HOA, so here's this legal document that creates an HOA and says you can't put a mobile home on your lot. And there's no real Board".
Are you originally from SoCal, or have you lived elsewhere? Going from there to JoCo or Franklin could be a bit of a culture shock. Everyone thinks they want rural when they move here....it can mean more than wide open spaces.
When I say HOA I guess I'm thinking of the rules, emphasis on uniformity, and extravagant dues for amenities we don't need and probably wouldn't use. Here in CA they can also arbitrarily raise the dues up to 20% without member approval or notification, which makes me inclined to avoid them if possible. Hopefully in NC they aren't as ruthless lol.
Are you originally from SoCal, or have you lived elsewhere? Going from there to JoCo or Franklin could be a bit of a culture shock. Everyone thinks they want rural when they move here....it can mean more than wide open spaces.
Born and raised here in San Diego, and never lived anywhere else. So I definitely take your point about culture shock! This is why we are leaning towards perhaps Wake Forest so we can hopefully get the best of both worlds with a more space between neighbors but still close to conveniences. I may have to just cross the other counties off my list and narrow my focus. Thanks!
Do you mind if I ask why you prefer Wake Co. to the other areas?
I just like to be closer to things I like. Just going off your user name, do you like books? There are some great bookstores in Raleigh, like Quail Ridge Books. I'm a homebody too, but back in the Before Times I liked to go to a good library or bookstore, maybe a unique local restaurant (nothing fancy, just not McDonald's, etc), might like to go to Target or Trader Joes. According to Google Maps there is not a Target anywhere in Johnston County, and that's the more populated of the counties you mentioned, although there are some close ones in Wake.
I also like the terrain of the western side of the Triangle better. Just not that fond of east of Raleigh until you get to the beach, which I do like a lot.
I'd recommend doing some Google Streetview drives of the communities and areas you are interested in and see if they feel right to you.
I think it will be a big culture shock and weather shock from San Diego. Are you sure about this? Y'all have the perfect climate out there and here you are going to get heat and humidity and thunderstorms and tornado warnings and watches from about April until September. Not to mention the pollen. It's crazy if you've never lived in the South. I'm used to it, but for newcomers it's a shock. You may have allergies. It rains all year here. People think it's the "sunny South", but I believe we are actually the rainiest region as a whole in the country, more so than the PNW outside of Olympic NP. Raleigh gets more rain than Seattle and it has been getting worse with climate change. https://abc11.com/wettest-year-ever-...nfall/1075115/
Just going off your user name, do you like books? I'm a librarian And yes, I do!
I think it will be a big culture shock and weather shock from San Diego. Are you sure about this? Y'all have the perfect climate out there and here you are going to get heat and humidity and thunderstorms and tornado warnings and watches from about April until September. Not to mention the pollen. It's crazy if you've never lived in the South. I'm used to it, but for newcomers it's a shock. You may have allergies. It rains all year here. People think it's the "sunny South", but I believe we are actually the rainiest region as a whole in the country, more so than the PNW outside of Olympic NP. Raleigh gets more rain than Seattle and it has been getting worse with climate change.
I love the rain! We actually hate the weather here lol. We live 30 miles north and inland from San Diego city (where it is very mild and but ALWAYS the same: sunny with no seasons), at the far north part of San Diego county, and it is extremely hot and dry desert climate here. 100+ degrees in the summer and almost no rain year round. Plus we live in a wildfire prone area. I do agree it will probably be a culture and weather shock, but that is kind of the idea After almost 40 years living in the same 30-40 mile radius, we are ready to try something different. I really appreciate your comments and all the ones I have seen thus far on here. It is so beneficial to see all perspectives so we can go into this with eyes open and factor in the pros and cons of a new area.
Have you visited the South before? Some people really can't take the heat and humidity. I don't mind at all and would also rather have a severe thunderstorm every day of the week than the wildfires you get out there. I lived in LA for about a year a long time ago and have friends there still. We went out to visit with our teens a couple of years ago in August and ended up cutting our trip short because of all the fires. We flew back to RDU in the rain and a California mom was telling her little kids on the plane that the rain was cleaning the air. Not sure it really works like that, but it is a nice sentiment. The rain does get old, especially in the winter. It feels like it has rained so much this winter. Usually we get a few inches of snow, but not really yet, just a lot of cold, grey rain.
We do get heat in the summer, too, and it's pretty typical to get a day or two over 100 plus the humidity. The 90s are more typical.
Is there something drawing you to the eastern side of Raleigh? It's a long way from one side of the Triangle to the other. You might want to look somewhere more centrally located, but Clayton has gotten a bit of a buzz from relocators.
I moved from San Diego a year ago and live in Wake County (Apex) and love it here. I’m in a different stage of life than you but hopefully I can give you some insight. I looked into various areas and glad I’m in Wake. It’s close to Cary, Morrisville, Holly Springs and Raleigh itself isn’t far. If your husband will be working in Triangle, the commute would be fine, and traffic here is good compared to SoCal. Apex area is suburban/country. Unfortunately because of Covid I haven’t done as much exploring as I would like to have done. I will say that Raleigh and SoCal are nothing alike, but if you want to share what area in SD you live, I could give you better comparisons.
I enjoyed the change of seasons, which are mild, but note it does rain here a lot, which is why it is so green and beautiful. It very “outdoorsy” here and people are outside a lot, walking,
Bicycling, etc. v People here are friendly, and very polite, and helpful. There’s lots of people here from all over the country so you won’t feel like an outsider. Medical care is plentiful and outstanding. Let me know your questions and I’ll try to answer them as best I can.
When I say HOA I guess I'm thinking of the rules, emphasis on uniformity, and extravagant dues for amenities we don't need and probably wouldn't use. Here in CA they can also arbitrarily raise the dues up to 20% without member approval or notification, which makes me inclined to avoid them if possible. Hopefully in NC they aren't as ruthless lol.
When you come here to look around, take note of the neighborhoods and how they look. As noted you are looking at older construction or a home outside a neighborhood if you don't want an HOA .... and even with an older home you may have an HOA. Anyway - you can tell by the way the neighborhood looks how stringent the HOA is. The flip side of this is - rules do have to be enforced or the neighborhood can forfeit the right to enforce the rules at all. Kind of like if you let your kid get away with something for 15 years and then expect them to stop doing it when you decide you can't deal anymore KWIM? My HOA is real chill but we had some issues last summer and the HOA did have to enforce some rules or lose the right to do so at all. And honestly this was about keeping peace and when all was said and done everyone agreed the rule was agreed to be kept.
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And yes, I do!
After almost 40 years living in the same 30-40 mile radius, we are ready to try something different. I really appreciate your comments and all the ones I have seen thus far on here. It is so beneficial to see all perspectives so we can go into this with eyes open and factor in the pros and cons of a new area.
