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Coming into this late, I feel like Cary layout has one of the better layouts honestly in the whole of the triangle, never feel like it's busy, everything circles back so it's easy to connect to where you need to be, and you don't have to take any major roads to get to Raleigh, RTP, Durham, or else where. Davis can take you to RTP or Durham, Chatham to Western can take you to Downtown Raleigh, so can Chapel Hill Rd.
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Also there's a difference despite what people say(not saying they're not similarities), sure some neighborhoods might be similar but that's not the same thing as the burbs being similar themselves because again, layout, ease to get to food, drink, recreation, etc matters.
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All that being said, quite honestly if the job is in Garner, since the triangle as a whole is growing, it's not like it's necessary to move some where, where it might extend your commute, if you don't want to be in Garner itself, and you don't want to be too far from downtown, just look towards middle grounds between work and there.
I appreciate the feedback! With housing going up and up I feel like I'm centering on Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Clayton. It definitely seems like housing is much more affordable in Clayton since it's Johnston County and one realtor that I had emailed (she does a lot of YouTube videos) said the schools in Clayton are about the same as what you'd expect from Wake County schools. Clayton to downtown Raleigh isn't that bad either. At the end of the day, all these burbs seems to offer a great lifestyle for families.
Since I'll be down in the area first I'm going to have my hands full getting all the ins and outs of the area. As long as there are good schools, a decent rec department with sports/activities for the kids to get involved in I'm good. The nearest Home Depot and Target don't seem to be all that far either!
I appreciate the feedback! With housing going up and up I feel like I'm centering on Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Clayton. It definitely seems like housing is much more affordable in Clayton since it's Johnston County and one realtor that I had emailed (she does a lot of YouTube videos) said the schools in Clayton are about the same as what you'd expect from Wake County schools. Clayton to downtown Raleigh isn't that bad either. At the end of the day, all these burbs seems to offer a great lifestyle for families.
Since I'll be down in the area first I'm going to have my hands full getting all the ins and outs of the area. As long as there are good schools, a decent rec department with sports/activities for the kids to get involved in I'm good. The nearest Home Depot and Target don't seem to be all that far either!
Thank you.
ANECDOTE DISCLAIMER
A buddy of mine lived down the street from us in Heritage WF. Our kids are assigned to Jones Dairy Elementary/Heritage MS/HS. Generally speaking, those three schools are fairly highly regarded.
He moved to Flowers Plantation in Clayton 2+ years ago and loves it. Rants and raves about his kids school (not sure which they attend) specifically (which admittedly caught me off guard as my direct neighbor is a Clayton native and she doesn't have much good to say about her childhood)
I would venture to guess that as a whole, on average, JoCo schools are probably not as good as Wake Co (realizing that so much goes into what makes a school great vs not; admin, teachers, engaged parents etc etc etc) but if you get into the right school, at a micro sense you could find it on par or better than schools in the Wake burbs.
@Heel82 - I definitely will. I think she was offering that POV because of Clayton's proximity to Wake (Raleigh) and their growth. Someone previously shared a link to research NC school testing data. While important to give a general picture, I tend to think parental involvement often trumps a lot of those stats. I was a teacher in New Brunswick, NJ (kind of a rough area) and had some kids that went off to NJIT and Rutgers....I also had kids that were eventually incarcerated. Kids that had mom and dad home and involved tended to not get swallowed up by the streets.
I guess the bigger question that I'd have to find out is whether the facilities between Wake and Johnston County schools are similar? It seems like there is so much growth in Wake that there are new schools after new schools being built. Is that the same in JoCo? Clayton?
You're in education so your child(ren?) will likely be fine as you will be able to identify any deficiencies and act accordingly. JoCO is about to experience the same explosive growth as Wake County and is probably way farther behind in planning for it than Wake.
@twingles - I forget, how long have you been down in NC? Did it take long for Wake County to adjust to all their growing pains? From a school ratings standpoint, it seems like all the schools are pretty solid, but I'd imagine that took a bit to get sorted out.
wake County is still adjusting. We've been here 11 years. There will be reassignments again in the next few years. Honestly it takes a while to figure out the inner workings of the district. My sister is a teacher here and I spent a year as a TA so I have seen the inner workings. Some of it is baffling.
Williams is leaving Alston Ridge (and the education field). Did you know that when you interviewed?
A buddy of mine lived down the street from us in Heritage WF. Our kids are assigned to Jones Dairy Elementary/Heritage MS/HS. Generally speaking, those three schools are fairly highly regarded.
He moved to Flowers Plantation in Clayton 2+ years ago and loves it. Rants and raves about his kids school (not sure which they attend) specifically (which admittedly caught me off guard as my direct neighbor is a Clayton native and she doesn't have much good to say about her childhood)
I would venture to guess that as a whole, on average, JoCo schools are probably not as good as Wake Co (realizing that so much goes into what makes a school great vs not; admin, teachers, engaged parents etc etc etc) but if you get into the right school, at a micro sense you could find it on par or better than schools in the Wake burbs.
Anecdotally I've heard that JoCo school system is a little easier to navigate simply because its smaller and some folks like that.
I also think that long term outcomes are a lot less influenced by the relative quality of the school (within certain parameters) than some parents think. Often times so-called excellent schools are excellent because of the demographics they serve as opposed to the relative skill of the people working there.
Anecdotally, if the school isn't saturated with underperforming students to the point that it saps the school's resources, it will likely be fine.
I'd not hesitate to send a student to Broughton over a HS that's more highly rated. That broughton has more kids from less auspicious backgrounds doesn't mean that bright kids can't access the IB programs they have. The Ratings don't mean that Broughton is worse than Apex HS.
While parental involvement is key, curriculum and teachers still matter. There simply are more resources for students on the two extremes of the bell curve in Wake. The difference for the middle is probably less.
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