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I am looking to move to East Clayton and will be searching for a rental home. I'm looking for an excellent public elementary school. Secondly, I'd like a diverse area with relatively new homes where I can find a 4 bedroom, >2500 sq ft home with at least 1/3 acre for under $1800/month. Flowers, Glen Laurel, and Riverwood keep coming up but I am having a hard time figuring out the differences between these 3 subdivisions.
Can you please help me understand the differences between these 3 subdivisions and their respective elementary schools?
I am looking to move to East Clayton and will be searching for a rental home. I'm looking for an excellent public elementary school. Secondly, I'd like a diverse area with relatively new homes where I can find a 4 bedroom, >2500 sq ft home with at least 1/3 acre for under $1800/month. Flowers, Glen Laurel, and Riverwood keep coming up but I am having a hard time figuring out the differences between these 3 subdivisions.
Can you please help me understand the differences between these 3 subdivisions and their respective elementary schools?
Your time and advice will be greatly appreciated.
I can help!
I dont actually live in any of those neighborhoods, but I often drive through them. I know you can definately find what you are looking for in that price range, you will be happy with the diversity across all three neighborhoods and the elementary schools are excellent for all three.
Glen Laurel: Very beautiful neighborhood! I know they have a really strict HOA (which can be a good thing) because I dont think I have ever seen a house that is not prime. Lots of trees. Its a very picture-esque neighborhood, lots of friendly people who stop & wave when you drive through. They have a very nice pool, playground, and a really nice golf course.
Flowers: a little more spacious, the landscaping is very nice, not as many trees though. They have a really nice walking path, I havent seen the pool and I dont know if they have a golf course or not. I know the people are very friendly (Clayton is an overall very friendly town as it is) and they have alot of different home models.
Riverwood: this is actually divided into two groups. There's Riverwood Athetic and Riverwood Golf. RA is the one where the schools (elementary & middle) are located. They have their own community within itself. They have their own stores, childcare center, community center, church (coming soon) and they have different models of homes from townhomes to mansions. Very nice walking area, no sidewalks and no mailboxes (they have their own "post-office"). Everyone is super friendly here too. RG is really nice too, I know they have mailboxes and sidewalks. Of course, they have a huge golf course too. The elementary school is Riverwood and I have heard nothing but good reviews from it.
I"m not sure which elementary Flowers & Glen Laurel has. My daughter attends Cooper, which is a really excellent school. We just attended her awards ceremony, and about 95% of each CLASS ALONE gave an award for their students from everything from "most improved student to Principal list". We were very impressed.
Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I think once you tour the area, you'll know which one works best for you. They are all extremely nice, very safe and very friendly.
I think the biggest difference for me between the 3 when we were looking was that Glen Laurel has sidewalks and wider roads. Flowers is outside of city limits which means taxes are cheaper and the town does not supply electricity, trash, or water. I am told that is cheaper but for me, when I compare my size house with others who do not live within city limits, it seems comparable. But that is me and I live in a smaller house in Glen Laurel. Riverwood goes to Riverwood elementary, Glen Laurel goes to the new Powhatan, and Flowers goes to either River dell or East Clayton. All are great schools. People who have kids in any of those schools are very happy/ Middle schools are mainly Riverwood though parts of FLowers will go to Archer Lodge. High school is all Clayton High. As for diversity, not sure how diverse you are looking for but I think all those neighborhoods are mainly white.
Both of the PPs have given you good info. Flowers has several communities under the broad name of Flowers Plantation-different price ranges. They also have the new spa/healthclub that is very nice. I live in a Flowers community and my kids go to River Dell. We like it.
We rented in GL and were shocked by the water/electricity bill but many from other areas of the country do not find it unusual. We decided not to buy there because they are in city limits.
Riverwood is nice also-we just didn't like how close the houses are together. All a personal preference I know many who are happy to live there.
We have been at East Clayton and River Dell. Not much difference between the two-good parent support. GL has the new elem school but I know if will be great because of the support the school will get. Riverwood consistently has high scores. Can't go wrong with any of your choices!
Just to echo what everyone else has said, it's hard to go wrong with any of those 3 neighborhoods. My wife and I spent the past year house hunting, looked at all of those subdivisions, and about 3 months ago bought a house in Flowers Plantation. Our daughter will be attending River Dell, and every parent in our neighborhood that we've spoken to LOVES the school. Supposedly the principal is top notch. The houses seem to be a little more spaced than in Riverwood, but Riverwood also has more amenities. Riverwood Elementary is excellent as well, as we have friends that live in the neighborhood and really like it. I know this doesn't help with the question, but it's really hard to go wrong with any of them. Ferrickhead28 probably nailed it best. I think you'll like it here, and welcome!
My kids go to River Dell and we love it too. And the principal is the BEST! Seriously.
To add, there's a new high school being built for the East Clayton area..its on Applewhite Rd. I think the plan is for it to open 2010 but haven't heard anything in awhile.
I'm sure you'll be happy whichever you choose. Have you found rentals in all 3 communities?
Lauren
My kids go to River Dell and we love it too. And the principal is the BEST! Seriously.
To add, there's a new high school being built for the East Clayton area..its on Applewhite Rd. I think the plan is for it to open 2010 but haven't heard anything in awhile.
I'm sure you'll be happy whichever you choose. Have you found rentals in all 3 communities?
Lauren
Just to add to what Lauren said, while we were visiting the schools last month we were told the new Archer Lodge HS should be completed by sept of 2011.....this was a ? of ours since our oldest will be going to Archer lodge ms next month when we move, but will have to go to Clayton HS for one year until they open the new HS and then they will switch the kids back...
to the original poster....do you have a specific development in Flowers that you are looking at? Flowers Plantation consists of many developments (The new area Pineville, North farm, mill creek, watsons mill....we just purchased in walker woods, and also encorporates a few others that have their own hoa's.......from plantation pointe also taft woods is within flowers but not part of it..... every sub has a different feel....there's basically something for everyone....
glen laurel is a beautiful neighborhood and as mentioned every home is meticuliously kept....we weren't interested in any of the homes avail when we went down to buy but it was a big contender, also I do agree with the additional costs of living there for the utilities....I'm sure it could add up quickly.....
Riverwood...we never visited the golf side but did look at the athletic side and it just wasnt for us.....when you first enter past the schools thru the town its really nice with a nice feel but I felt it lost that feeling once you pulled into the res sections....the homes are close together and with the drain gullies it didnt seem to neat in some areas.....also we viewed a couple homes and were shocked that the main office allowed us to see these homes as quite a few had huge water damage and actual leaks going on from the ceilings, door and window frames.....which concerned me.....we were turned off by that big time....
I'm sure many are happy in all three. and I'm not trying to knock any......the schools from all my research are all top notch, you might not find alot about Powhatan since they just opened in sept but I have called over there and there were nothing but very helpful with all the ?'s and over at riverdell I met with the asst Princ and she was absolutely great....I cant wait for the boys to start there next month....
Thanks for the great advice! Sounds like all 3 are great subdivisions with beautiful homes in each of them. Among the community resources, the ones I'm most likely to use are the fitness center, pool, and tennis courts. From what you've told me, here's what I'm thinking:
Flowers Plantation - Sounds like it matches what I am looking for. Does it have a community pool? Can anybody tell me more about which development(s) within Flowers you would most recommend? I've heard good things about River Dell school. Is East Clayton also very good?
Glen Laurel - Has dropped down a bit on my list due to the relatively newer elementary school and higher utilities costs.
Riverwood - Sounds nice but I don't like homes to be so close together. Somebody mentioned that there are larger homes there too so I'm hoping that those are more spaced apart. Are tennis courts only on the athletic side? I like the idea of having the elementary school and post office close within the community.
Additional Questions:
1) I'll be working at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield. Would any of these locations offer a much quicker drive to Smithfield?
2) Diversity / Religious Tolerance - I'm from the Indian subcontinent and have heard that Smithfield is quite a bit more close minded to diversity than Raleigh. How is Clayton with regards to this? Are there many Hindus or Muslims living in Clayton?
Thanks again for taking the time to help me out -- I really appreciate all the great advice!
Glen Laurel is one of my favorite neighborhoods just because of the way it looks...so well maintained! Kudos to the HOA!
ALOT of the folks that live in Glen Laurel work for Caterpillar. The last time Caterpillar laid off a bunch of people, there were some lowering of prices in Glen Laurel. Keep your eyes and ears open!
I would not discount the new elementary school for Glen Laurel. Majority of the parents were from East Clayton and you would not believe the amount of parental involvement. The school is well run and in my opinion, just as good as the others. In terms of HOA involvement, I do live in GL but have not had any issues with the HOA. I have many friends who live in Riverwood who get letters if their grass is too long or their cars are parked on the street too long. As for utility bills, it probably depends alot on the size of your house and your habits and obviously use. I live in a 2500 SF house and my electric bills run from a low of $100 to maybe $250 in the heat of summer- still cheaper than what I paid in NE. I think the cost of outside water use is the very expensive within city limits. I agree with Vicki about the housing prices- I know of one house for sale that is priced well below appraisal becauseof a relo and it is gorgeous.
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