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My girlfriend and I just moved here a few months ago. We didn't do any research or visit our apartment complex ahead of time so needless to say we ended up in an awful area. It's kinda scary here with all the crime and some of the people here are quite shady. We're looking to move at the end of our lease and we're thinking about buying a place.
What I am wondering is what neighborhoods should we be looking at? We're both young professionals; I work in software development. We'd like to live somewhere with like-minded people while not being too far from a downtown area. We're also going to be limited I think by our budget which is like $200-225k. Being close to a park or just some nice walking trails or sidewalks would be a big plus.
We're both very busy and we haven't even had a chance to really go and look at any neighborhoods. We're open to living anywhere in the triangle: Cary, Chapel Hill, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I'm not in Raleigh, but I'm hoping to move there soon as soon as I land a job there. I'm also in software development. Given how often us IT folks end up having to change jobs, wouldn't it make sense to live out in Cary where you can be conveniently located to Chapel Hill, Durham as well as Raleigh? I haven't visited the area and I'm on this forum to gather more info about the area, precisely to avoid the situation you're in now. I'm sure the folks here can give you a better idea of what areas to look at. But having moved to a new city a few years ago, I learned the hard way to get a place that's centrally located in case you have to change jobs suddenly. Nothing worse than having your job search limited by where you live.
I would second SW Durham. It is a great area for young professionals who want to be close to everything in the Triangle. Cary is great for families, but I think you would get too bored there. I personally know a few who are clients of mine who live around Southpoint and in Woodcroft. You can find great homes in your price range in Woodcroft and there are plenty of newer townhomes in the area as well. It's close enough to downtown to enjoy and of course really close to Chapel Hill as well as Raleigh. You could always rent in the area for a few months to see if it feels right for you. When doing your search check out the 27713 zip code. I don't know where you work but you mentioned you were open to living anywhere like Cary or Chapel Hill, so Durham being in between I would assume isn't too far for you.
My girlfriend and I just moved here a few months ago. We didn't do any research or visit our apartment complex ahead of time so needless to say we ended up in an awful area. It's kinda scary here with all the crime and some of the people here are quite shady. We're looking to move at the end of our lease and we're thinking about buying a place.
What I am wondering is what neighborhoods should we be looking at? We're both young professionals; I work in software development. We'd like to live somewhere with like-minded people while not being too far from a downtown area. We're also going to be limited I think by our budget which is like $200-225k. Being close to a park or just some nice walking trails or sidewalks would be a big plus.
We're both very busy and we haven't even had a chance to really go and look at any neighborhoods. We're open to living anywhere in the triangle: Cary, Chapel Hill, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I think you would be thrilled with Cary. Safety seems to be a concern of yours and Cary just got ranked as one of the safest places to live for the 10th year in a row. If you want a lot of bars and clubs right next to where you live, Cary will not be for you. But if you want a really safe and beautiful town that offers tons of amenities that can reduce or even eliminate most travel, provide great parks & outdoor activities, provide fantastic shopping & dining and have a great atmosphere with professional people, then Cary is your town. We absolutely love it here.
I'm not in Raleigh, but I'm hoping to move there soon as soon as I land a job there. I'm also in software development. Given how often us IT folks end up having to change jobs, wouldn't it make sense to live out in Cary where you can be conveniently located to Chapel Hill, Durham as well as Raleigh? I haven't visited the area and I'm on this forum to gather more info about the area, precisely to avoid the situation you're in now. I'm sure the folks here can give you a better idea of what areas to look at. But having moved to a new city a few years ago, I learned the hard way to get a place that's centrally located in case you have to change jobs suddenly. Nothing worse than having your job search limited by where you live.
What you say makes sense, and makes Morrisville worth consideration, too.
Don't live in Cary if you'll be commuting to RTP/Airport Area
Quote:
Originally Posted by DennyCrane
I'm not in Raleigh, but I'm hoping to move there soon as soon as I land a job there. I'm also in software development. Given how often us IT folks end up having to change jobs, wouldn't it make sense to live out in Cary where you can be conveniently located to Chapel Hill, Durham as well as Raleigh? I haven't visited the area and I'm on this forum to gather more info about the area, precisely to avoid the situation you're in now. I'm sure the folks here can give you a better idea of what areas to look at. But having moved to a new city a few years ago, I learned the hard way to get a place that's centrally located in case you have to change jobs suddenly. Nothing worse than having your job search limited by where you live.
To DENNYCRANE, I live in Cary, and every day I am thankful that my job takes me to downtown Raleigh in the morning. This is because the traffic on the 40 in the opposite direction (i.e., RTP, Durham, Airport) is most often a crawl. You don't want to commute Westward on the 40 in the morning. Take my word for it. It's a crawl. Move to Chapel Hill or Durham. Don't commute that way from Cary.
Thanks for all the replies! To answer some questions, I am currently working from home but that's likely to change sometime in the future. When? I don't know. I think we're focused on the Cary area because it is kind of centrally located. Also, when we go out, it's usually to Cary (we're big fans of Trader Joe's--but I think N Raleigh is getting one too!). I've had to experience rush hour traffic on 40 and that's a huge pain. I haven't really been to Durham but we'll definitely have to check it out before we buy anything.
Thanks for all the replies! To answer some questions, I am currently working from home but that's likely to change sometime in the future. When? I don't know. I think we're focused on the Cary area because it is kind of centrally located. Also, when we go out, it's usually to Cary (we're big fans of Trader Joe's--but I think N Raleigh is getting one too!). I've had to experience rush hour traffic on 40 and that's a huge pain.
Just about everything we do is in Cary. All of our fun and entertainment is here, along with all the shopping we could ever need. We travel to RTP for work, but that is only 9 miles away. We NEVER have a need to be on 40. There are so many different ways to get around from our part of Cary. Traffic is never an issue for us. You are correct about Cary's central location. I find that it cannot be beat if you like having great access to different towns/cities, but don't want to get stuck living in one of them. Cary is HUGE, so it will take a lot of time to figure out what part you want to live in.
Actually, the new downtown Raleigh condos are not necessarily out of his price range. There is a pretty wide range, and if he's just looking for a one-bedroom, there are brand-new, convenient, nice condos that he should check out!
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 12-04-2008 at 01:24 PM..
Reason: NO REAL ESTATE LINKS
The traffic from Cary to RTP is terrible on most major arteries. I've done the drive up 54 on more occasions than I care to remember, and never before has it taken me that long to go 5 miles.
If you have no commute to RTP then do not worry about it, but if you think that's a possibility, to me it was one of the biggest negatives about living in Cary. Unless you are in extreme West Cary and can go up 55 which I'd assume would be better, but I've admittedly never tried it.
To me it ALL depends on commute. If you are commuting to RTP I believe SW Durham is the best option. If you are working from home you have many choices. If you are commuting to downtown Raleigh then you can look at other areas like N. Raleigh, Wake, Cary, etc (although N. Raleigh and Wake Forest suffer from some of the same issues along Falls of Neuse and Capitol that Cary does with 54)
Downtown Durham I'd look at North Durham...Chapel Hill I'd look at SW Durham yet again.
Or you could do what we did and buy a house right in the middle of everything in extreme SE Durham, about 1 mile from the RTP boundary and about 4 miles from Brier Creek. My wife commutes 15 minutes to N. Durham, I commute 10 to south RTP, and if one of us ever got transferred we'd have very little chance of having over a 25-30 minute commute anywhere in the triangle.
d5dq...there is also a Trader Joe's in Chapel Hill aside from the N. Raleigh one coming up. As a native Californian, I am very happy to see them expanding here.
If you want a lot of bars and clubs right next to where you live, Cary will not be for you. But if you want a really safe and beautiful town that offers tons of amenities that can reduce or even eliminate most travel, provide great parks & outdoor activities, provide fantastic shopping & dining and have a great atmosphere with professional people, then Cary is your town.
I'm glad you brought this up. Not all young people care for bars and clubs. It does get old after a while. Some of us would gladly give that up to live in a safe neighborhood where you get more living space for your money, less congestion, and access to parks, biking trails, and good shopping and dining options. It seems that no matter which forum you go to, there's this city vs. suburb rivalry. People paint the city as fun and exciting and the suburbs as boring and conservative when the truth is, it's never that black and white. Some suburbs are better than others and some parts of the city are better than others. Living in suburbia doesn't have to be terrible for young people. As long as you're within a reasonable driving distance of the city, you get the best of both worlds. The peace and quiet and space of suburbia while still being able to enjoy the nightlife of the city.
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Don't live in Cary if you'll be commuting to RTP/Airport Area
