Wake vs. surrounding counties? (Raleigh, Durham: HOA, new home, neighborhoods)

[bookworm38]

We are planning on moving to the Raleigh area from southern CA. We are quite interested in Wake Forest, Wendell/Zebulon, Fuquay, but are also looking into Clayton and Youngsville. My question is what is the advantage/disadvantage to Wake co. over say Johnston or Franklin. I see that schools are often cited as the big consideration, but that is not as much of a factor for us for a lot of reasons. Are taxes lower/higher in one over the other? Better/worse local governance/ordinances, etc.? Or any other considerations I have not mentioned? Appreciate any input, thanks in advance More about our situation:

Looking for:

larger lot >0.5 acre
smaller home 3-4 bedroom <2500 sq. ft
no HOA
no preference between existing and new construction, as long as there is no HOA
husband works remote so commute time not a factor
one child in high school
budget under $500k

[MikeJaquish]

As Hubs works remote, be sure you have good internet service to support his work.

Do you care about being close to services and retail, or is rural good?
How about well water and an onsite septic system?

[m378]

Is it a guarantee that your husband will always work remote? If not, what industries would he like to be within a reasonable commute to?

[hey_guy]

if you have no ties you will be much better served, happier, and better urban located going to, say, winston or greensboro than Johnston County

[bookworm38]

reasonably close to services and retail would be ideal (10-15 min. drive). We are ok with well and septic.

[bookworm38]

Originally Posted by m378

Is it a guarantee that your husband will always work remote? If not, what industries would he like to be within a reasonable commute to?

This is a good point, thanks. He is a software engineer so if he needed to change jobs or work on site, I assume most software jobs are in RTP?

[m378]

Originally Posted by bookworm38

This is a good point, thanks. He is a software engineer so if he needed to change jobs or work on site, I assume most software jobs are in RTP?

Yeah the vast majority would be in RTP, with some in DT Raleigh, DT Durham, Cary, etc.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

I would take a long hard look at what kind of stores you want 10-15 minute access to and what kind of activities outside of school your child would be participating in. Is grocery shopping at Food Lion OK or do you want a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods nearby? Do you eat out much? Do you prefer local places or are chains more your scene. Is shopping at Target and Khol's your jam or do you want nearby boutique stores.... stuff like that. Once you start looking at what is nearby vs what will be a 45 minute drive each way and how that may impact your day to day life you will start to get a lot clearer on what county might be a better fit.

FWIW, I think the schools in Wake and Johnston are better than in Franklin. Is the HOA a deal breaker? Most if not all new construction will have and HOA. Good Luck!

[bookworm38]

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

I would take a long hard look at what kind of stores you want 10-15 minute access to and what kind of activities outside of school your child would be participating in. Is grocery shopping at Food Lion OK or do you want a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods nearby? Do you eat out much? Do you prefer local places or are chains more your scene. Is shopping at Target and Khol's your jam or do you want nearby boutique stores.... stuff like that. Once you start looking at what is nearby vs what will be a 45 minute drive each way and how that may impact your day to day life you will start to get a lot clearer on what county might be a better fit.

Is the HOA a deal breaker? Most if not all new construction will have and HOA. Good Luck!

HOA is definitely a deal breaker. As far as shopping/dining, we do regular grocery stores, target, sometimes Costco. We eat out maybe once or twice a month. Basically we are big homebodies (even pre-covid) and our biggest priorities in a new home are space and privacy.

Willing to drive a reasonable amount to shopping/dining, but not living in the middle of nowhere status if that makes sense lol. It seems like some parts of Wake Forest or Zebulon would fit the bill, but I'm wondering if we should keep going further like Youngsville or Clayton, or if there is something other than schools that make the surrounding counties undesirable.

[poppydog]

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.