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I just started browsing the message board and I am trying to do my best to make sure any questions I have are not already answered somewhere else on the board.
My wife and I are just starting to look at new homes and are focusing on the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/Fuquay areas. We will be starting a family soon so schools are important.
We really liked the West Oak neighborhood in Fuquay and I wanted to see if anyone had opinions on that? I work at home and my wife works in South Cary so I don't think the commute is too bad. Only about 12 miles according to googlemaps(she currently commutes over 20 miles). We noticed a lot of homes for sale in this area which concerns us. Could it just be the gas prices and ppl want to live closer or is there some underlying reason? We drove by the neighborhood this weekend and it just seemed like the perfect neighborhood. They even had a 4th of July party going on at the neighborhood pool.
We also really like Sunset Ridge in Holly Springs, but most of those homes are out of our price range(330k or less). I think Fuquay may be a little too far out for my wife to live, but I love the land you can get and we are only focusing on the north western part of Fuquay. Schools seem to be okay there so I guess we just have to decide how far out is too far. Any advice would be great.
I live in Crooked Creek, which is right next to West Oaks, and I think West Oaks is a great neighborhood (love CC too). I think the area in general gets overlooked because of the Fuquay address, but it isn't much, if any, further from most of Cary than is Sunset Ridge/Holly Springs. It's about 20 min. (maybe a little less at non-peak hours) to Crossroads (where 40/440 and US1 all intersect) taking Bells Lake to Penny to Holly Springs Road. My husband works very near the airport, and his commute is 45 minutes (occasionally more) during peak hours, but he typically goes in and comes home very early or very late, and the drive can be as short as 30 minutes.
Elementary Schools are definitely fine (though they are opening two new ones in the area next year, so I am expecting some redistricting for 2009-2010, but if the neighborhood is affected by redistricting, it would probably be to one of the new schools, which shouldn't be bad.)
The homes, lots, etc. are great. And you can get anything you NEED 5-10 minutes away in Fuquay; will probably WANT to drive to Cary for some shopping, but not on a daily (or even weekly) basis.
As far as homes for sale, there are more of them EVERYWHERE in this market. Gas prices, competition from new construction (Brighton Forest, etc), etc., may mean that some homes sit longer, but I don't feel like there's a mass exodus or anything - and nothing inherently wrong with the neighborhood.
I just started browsing the message board and I am trying to do my best to make sure any questions I have are not already answered somewhere else on the board.
My wife and I are just starting to look at new homes and are focusing on the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/Fuquay areas. We will be starting a family soon so schools are important.
We really liked the West Oak neighborhood in Fuquay and I wanted to see if anyone had opinions on that? I work at home and my wife works in South Cary so I don't think the commute is too bad. Only about 12 miles according to googlemaps(she currently commutes over 20 miles). We noticed a lot of homes for sale in this area which concerns us. Could it just be the gas prices and ppl want to live closer or is there some underlying reason? We drove by the neighborhood this weekend and it just seemed like the perfect neighborhood. They even had a 4th of July party going on at the neighborhood pool.
We also really like Sunset Ridge in Holly Springs, but most of those homes are out of our price range(330k or less). I think Fuquay may be a little too far out for my wife to live, but I love the land you can get and we are only focusing on the north western part of Fuquay. Schools seem to be okay there so I guess we just have to decide how far out is too far. Any advice would be great.
Thanks!
Unfortunately, I can't help on the specifics of your question. My piece of advice, however, is that if you're starting a family soon -- even if your wife is pregnant -- you don't really need to focus on school quality when making a house selection. Your wee one is at least five and probably six years from starting kindergarten (depending on the child's birth date), so unless you're planning to make this "The House," you may want to be a bit more flexible. In my ever-so-humble opinion, you'd be well served by focusing your attention on those things that'll immediately matter to you, like size of house and proximity to stores and work and amount of land for the $$$., and less on things far in the future.
Thanks for the responses. Ill take a look at Crooked Creek as well. Love that name, lol. We are definitely looking for "The House" and stay there for a long time. I grew up in the same house my whole life until I bought my first house here in Raleigh and I definitely want my kids to have the same experience. I know you cannot tell what schools your kids will end up in with all the craziness in the Wake Schools, but I get the sense that the schools will be fine regardless of where we end up if we stay in the Cary to Fuquay corridor.
Do look at Crooked Creek - there are quite a few listings above your price range, but several within your range, as well. The houses are 2+ years old - no more new construction (newer than most of West Oaks, although I think they've started building again in West Oaks - and the lots in Meadowview and Forest Ridge are smaller). On some real estate searches, you have to look by the "sub-neighborhood" - Meadowview at Crooked Creek (sometimes listed Crooked Creek @ Meadowview); Forest Ridge, Westwood, etc. Oh, and there are tons of young children (babies, preschool and elementary) . . .
Thanks KymRenee. I did do a preliminary search in the Crooked Creek area this afternoon and saw at least one house I really liked. So we can add that to our search area.
I just started browsing the message board and I am trying to do my best to make sure any questions I have are not already answered somewhere else on the board.
My wife and I are just starting to look at new homes and are focusing on the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/Fuquay areas. We will be starting a family soon so schools are important.
We really liked the West Oak neighborhood in Fuquay and I wanted to see if anyone had opinions on that? I work at home and my wife works in South Cary so I don't think the commute is too bad. Only about 12 miles according to googlemaps(she currently commutes over 20 miles). We noticed a lot of homes for sale in this area which concerns us. Could it just be the gas prices and ppl want to live closer or is there some underlying reason? We drove by the neighborhood this weekend and it just seemed like the perfect neighborhood. They even had a 4th of July party going on at the neighborhood pool.
We also really like Sunset Ridge in Holly Springs, but most of those homes are out of our price range(330k or less). I think Fuquay may be a little too far out for my wife to live, but I love the land you can get and we are only focusing on the north western part of Fuquay. Schools seem to be okay there so I guess we just have to decide how far out is too far. Any advice would be great.
West Oaks has tons of character......big lots and big trees! Each house sits in its own space real nice.
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