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as you can see from my post so far we are considering a relocation to Clayton. This is based on all internet findings and narrowing down. We started off with wanting to move to wake forest but decided to keep looking because of the redistricting and hoping to get a lower cost of living.
Can you all suggest any other areas to consider so I can make sure to research prior to our visit?
We are currently living in NJ. We are looking for a more relaxed life, for me to be home with my kids, and just a better way of life for us. Dh will have to get a job in the carpenter field. Thanks
as you can see from my post so far we are considering a relocation to Clayton. This is based on all internet findings and narrowing down. We started off with wanting to move to wake forest but decided to keep looking because of the redistricting and hoping to get a lower cost of living.
Can you all suggest any other areas to consider so I can make sure to research prior to our visit?
We are currently living in NJ. We are looking for a more relaxed life, for me to be home with my kids, and just a better way of life for us. Dh will have to get a job in the carpenter field. Thanks
I don't know, seems like you could find what you are looking for in just about any corner of the Triangle. Usually I recommend people focus on job location, but I gather that since your husband is a carpenter he may have work all over the place?
Have you visited the area yet? What towns appeal to you after seeing them first hand? I would definitely recommend visiting towns after your initial Internet search as you may find out things that are not obvious through online research. There are a lot of great areas to live here and personal choice is a big driver on what works best for the individual. Good Luck!
Wake County is the only one in the region that has redistricting for economic diversity. There are many other areas to consider IMO. Orange County, Durham County, Chatham County, Johnston County and possibly even eastern Alamance County depending on what you're looking for.
As for your husband, I'd strongly recommend he have work lined up before you move down. The economy has slowed here like everywhere else and jobs are tougher to come by. Also, if he has a sense of where he'll be working you can use that to narrow down the locations you'd consider.
In your price range, there are tons of areas that you could find something....Clayton is one, Fuquay, Wake Forest, Hillsborough, even Mebane, probably some pockets of Durham and Raleigh (I think you'd said under 200k?)
If your trip here will be at least 2-3 days and you aren't planning on really looking at real estate, you can easily visit all of these and get a "general feel"
If low costs and small towns are appealing, you could also head to the western edge of the Triangle & check out Mebane. There might also be some options around Hillsborough.
I don't know how wed you are to a particular region of the Triangle area, but another lower cost option you might consider is Sanford.
Sanford is growing and is very centrally located between Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham, and Fayetteville(all well within 30-60 min drive) so might provide a good home-base for a business like carpentry. Sanford also seems to have suffered a bit less from the housing/construction downturn, as we have a good bit of construction(mostly commercial historic downtown) going on. I bet at least 5-10% of downtown actual square-footage is undergoing some sort of renovation right now, and from the street-scape, it probably appears to be closer to 20-25%.
I moved to Clayton from Raleigh, and I also looked at Mebane. It seems nice, I reallly didnt explore too much into it but to me, it mainly consists of one major exit off of the interstate that everyone stops at to eat, get gas, etc. Maybe someone from Mebane can give more insight but Clayton appealed more to me because of the overall feel of the place. It had more life to it. I only checked out that one exit in Mebane, plus K. Hov homes so I really can't judge much on it.
We picked Clayton because the schools are awesome, the cost of living is cheaper and the town is extremely friendly. I lived in NC all my life so I remember Wake Forest as being a "one traffic light" small town waaayy back then. Its great to see it come alive in these past few years. Have you tried Knightdale? Apex? There's so many great towns/cities to check out, I think if you take a day or two to just explore, you will find one that is perfect for you.
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