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I think Davis Drive is one of the better if not the best elementary in Cary on a traditional calendar. The others I mentioned as well as the new ones are on a year round calendar. Some people don't like year round, but many people like it because it gives your kids something to do in the summer when it's very hot, you can vacation at off peak times and because there is no long summer break, there's less for the children to forget and have to relearn. Anyway, Highcroft is also very highly regarded, but any of the ones I mentioned are excellent and there are probably some I left off not to mention ones not in Cary.
What we did on our first visit down was had a real estate agent (buyers agent) show us around Chapel Hill one day(look at a sample of houses in our price range). Show us Cary one day, show us North Raleigh and Raleigh one day. We had meals in each town and visited some stores.
The next thing we did was narrow down area (for us it was Cary hands down).
Then we focused on schools within West Cary, then we picked a neighborhood based on schools in the entire area. West Cary has the best concentration of schools imo. We are in Highcroft.
Friends of ours drove around on their own and had no clue what they were looking at.
Our realtor helped us a great deal figuring out where we wanted to be.
We are thrilled.
We are also from Long Island.
Good luck!
What we did on our first visit down was had a real estate agent (buyers agent) show us around Chapel Hill one day(look at a sample of houses in our price range). Show us Cary one day, show us North Raleigh and Raleigh one day. We had meals in each town and visited some stores.
The next thing we did was narrow down area (for us it was Cary hands down).
Then we focused on schools within West Cary, then we picked a neighborhood based on schools in the entire area. West Cary has the best concentration of schools imo. We are in Highcroft.
Friends of ours drove around on their own and had no clue what they were looking at.
Our realtor helped us a great deal figuring out where we wanted to be.
We are thrilled.
We are also from Long Island.
Good luck!
I think the way you did it is the way we will do it to. Where did you relocate from?
I think Davis Drive is one of the better if not the best elementary in Cary on a traditional calendar. The others I mentioned as well as the new ones are on a year round calendar. Some people don't like year round, but many people like it because it gives your kids something to do in the summer when it's very hot, you can vacation at off peak times and because there is no long summer break, there's less for the children to forget and have to relearn. Anyway, Highcroft is also very highly regarded, but any of the ones I mentioned are excellent and there are probably some I left off not to mention ones not in Cary.
Did you find that the year round calendars cost more? Do they charge differently? Are they open to all if you live its particular area? How does that work. I like the year round calendars so long as they are flexible when it comes to vacationing and family time... Are these schools start and end the day at the same time? Or are they shortened since they are year round?
What we did on our first visit down was had a real estate agent (buyers agent) show us around Chapel Hill one day(look at a sample of houses in our price range). Show us Cary one day, show us North Raleigh and Raleigh one day. We had meals in each town and visited some stores.
The next thing we did was narrow down area (for us it was Cary hands down).
Then we focused on schools within West Cary, then we picked a neighborhood based on schools in the entire area. West Cary has the best concentration of schools imo. We are in Highcroft.
Friends of ours drove around on their own and had no clue what they were looking at.
Our realtor helped us a great deal figuring out where we wanted to be.
We are thrilled.
We are also from Long Island.
Good luck!
Exactly the way it should be done...less stress for the person relocating and less frustration. No screaming at hubby for not finding the neighborhood and no screaming at the kids cuz they are bored in the car!!!
My last two clients that relocated from Long Island ended up in Wake Forest.
I have always heard that Cary was the place to live. especially if your relocating.
What I have found is that you never really can know an area until you live here for a while. You only get a glimpse of how things are online. We were convinced we were going to live in Holly Springs. HS is nice, but once we found out where we would be looking for work and where everything was that we had interest in, we scrapped HS. We ended up buying in Southwest Durham, which I feel is a great location to learn the area from. Then we spent quite some time living here and learning the area. The more we learned about Cary and the more we explored Cary, we found that everything negative said about it was wrong. Once we actually met the people, drove up and down all the roads, found the parks, shops and restaurants, we fell in love with Cary. I have found it to be the best place I have ever lived. For me, it blows away North Raleigh or anywhere in Raleigh for that matter, Chapel Hill and Durham. It is by far the most well kept and beautiful town.
Cary has a incredible variety of homes, both in style and color, regardless of the false beige claim.
Cary has beautiful parks.
Cary has great roads - traffic is a piece of cake, other than downtown which they are going to redo.
Cary has great schools.
Cary is a great investment value.
Cary has managed growth tremendously well.
Cary has a ton of outdoor activities.
Cary is incredibly safe.
Cary is family friendly.
Cary has low property taxes.
Cary has an incredibly high quality of life.
Cary has a high percentage of highly educated people.
Cary simply has it all.
Most of Cary's attributes are noted in national publications, so a lot of this will not surprise you. What always surprised me and now I think is completely laughable is how people will cut up Cary with false statements about only beige homes or how Cary runs the HOA's or how Cary is boring (which if all one wants to do is bar hop, I guess it is) or how traffic is horrible here. It is endless, yet the people that are complaining about Cary (I am not saying here, just in general) are the ones that either really know nothing about it or are just upset that it is priced higher than other towns because of its popularity.
In long, Cary is the best town I have ever lived in or seen in my entire life and I cannot imagine ever moving away. It is simply incredible.
What I have found is that you never really can know an area until you live here for a while. You only get a glimpse of how things are online. We were convinced we were going to live in Holly Springs. HS is nice, but once we found out where we would be looking for work and where everything was that we had interest in, we scrapped HS. We ended up buying in Southwest Durham, which I feel is a great location to learn the area from. Then we spent quite some time living here and learning the area. The more we learned about Cary and the more we explored Cary, we found that everything negative said about it was wrong. Once we actually met the people, drove up and down all the roads, found the parks, shops and restaurants, we fell in love with Cary. I have found it to be the best place I have ever lived. For me, it blows away North Raleigh or anywhere in Raleigh for that matter, Chapel Hill and Durham. It is by far the most well kept and beautiful town.
Cary has a incredible variety of homes, both in style and color, regardless of the false beige claim.
Cary has beautiful parks.
Cary has great roads - traffic is a piece of cake, other than downtown which they are going to redo.
Cary has great schools.
Cary is a great investment value.
Cary has managed growth tremendously well.
Cary has a ton of outdoor activities.
Cary is incredibly safe.
Cary is family friendly.
Cary has low property taxes.
Cary has an incredibly high quality of life.
Cary has a high percentage of highly educated people.
Cary simply has it all.
Most of Cary's attributes are noted in national publications, so a lot of this will not surprise you. What always surprised me and now I think is completely laughable is how people will cut up Cary with false statements about only beige homes or how Cary runs the HOA's or how Cary is boring (which if all one wants to do is bar hop, I guess it is) or how traffic is horrible here. It is endless, yet the people that are complaining about Cary (I am not saying here, just in general) are the ones that either really know nothing about it or are just upset that it is priced higher than other towns because of its popularity.
In long, Cary is the best town I have ever lived in or seen in my entire life and I cannot imagine ever moving away. It is simply incredible.
Simply AWESOME response!! I really appreciate it. If you dont mind, which area of Cary do you live in? Do you find some areas to be nicer? Do you feel certain schools have a better reputation? If money wasnt an issue (within reason), where in Cary would you move to or suggest?
Yes, Cary is the most perfect place in the world and I can't even imagine why more people don't live there...
Oh, but soon we all will. Its slowly going annex more and more of the Triangle. Soon, the whole state will just be one sprawling suburb of Cary. And then, eventually, we will all be citizens of the United Subdivisions of Cary. Hail to the President of the USC HOA!
Simply AWESOME response!! I really appreciate it. If you dont mind, which area of Cary do you live in? Do you find some areas to be nicer? Do you feel certain schools have a better reputation? If money wasnt an issue (within reason), where in Cary would you move to or suggest?
We prefer new construction over old, so we moved to the western side of Cary. If money was absolutely no object I would probably buy a house in Prestonwood Country Club, but I would need 1 to 2 million dollars for that. I am a little bit short.
The only area of Cary that I do not care for as much is the downtown area and that is because I prefer new and shiny and the downtown is older. They are pumping in 35 million dollars to redo downtown, so I guess I will be loving that also. That type of commitment to the downtown area should tell you a lot about Cary.
I feel all the schools on this side of town are excellent. I would be splitting hairs between them. The parents I have spoken to love the schools. This area is this dang popular for a reason.
I always try to give accurate information here. I can honestly tell you that I feel you would LOVE Cary if you moved here. No question in my mind.
Let me preface this by saying we are all different, we all like and gravitate to different things. That's what makes the world such an interesting place. We are all entitled to our opinions. The OP was asking specifically about Cary. When we first moved here, we visited many different areas. I found things I loved in each place we visited - Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill and Apex.
Raleigh is a fantastic place but the areas we fell in love were ITB and beyond our reach monetarily. Chapel Hill is a wonderful town, rich in history, art/culture. Many of it's neighborhoods reminded us of New England. There were also areas of Durham we found absolutely charming and very attractive. Apex is also a very nice community with a great little historic downtown.
Because we weren't certain exactly where we'd be working and wanted to be centrally located, we pared down our search to North Raleigh and Cary which would have enabled an easy to commute to any of these towns. My DH and I wanted an area that was "walkable" with good access to the major roads and highways. We happened to find a community in West Cary that is idea for us. Our townhome community is very conveniently located minutes from Rt 54, 55, 540 and I-40. We walk to the grocery store, dry cleaners, pharmacy as well as many other little shops and several restaurants. We bike to Bond Park. Downtown Cary is also charming, with many local merchants/restaurants. Overall, Cary is a lovely town with many great neighborhoods. There are a multitude of parks and greenways for recreation. There is also shopping galore withing 10-15 minutes in any direction.
I guess what I am saying is that the Triangle is a fabulous area overall. there is something for everyone here - be it Raleigh, Durham, CH, Cary, Apex etc etc. C'mon down for a visit and see it for yourself. Visit each area and see which town is a right fit for you. You areally can't go wrong no matter where you choose to settle.
I think the way you did it is the way we will do it to. Where did you relocate from?
I moved from Commack. I grew up in Port Jeff/Mt. Sinai area.
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