Our Visit, so far

[cakeprincess]

Hi, I'm a mail carrier and I deliver mails in Cleveland area. It's a nice area with great schools and housing. It's almost close to the shopping center, like Lowes, Food Lion, and more. I noticed that Cleveland is growing rapidly with more houses are being built. Even though I don't lives in Cleveland, I would move there if I wanted to.

[kmflan]

OK folks, sorry this has been so sporadic. We actually camped at the KOA in Smithfield. Wonderful time but slowest internet on earth, lol. So we waited to get up here to my in-laws in VA to post the rest.

Lizard lips- Yes, many of the trees were starting to fill in. The azaleas were amazing. The ugliest house looked gorgeous with even just a few azaleas framing the front. Even though I grew up on the east coast, I am always amazed at the azaleas and dogwoods.

North Raleigh Guy- We drove from Knightdale to RTP in late afternoon. So we were going against the tide. But truly, it took no more than 20 minutes. We were intentionally very aware of driving times. Once you get into RTP, I imagine it could take another 10 minutes for you to get to your company site, park, and get to your cubicle. But 540 flows great.

Honestly folks, even 440 flows great, and we drove it leaving RTP in rush hour traffic. The traffic in the triangle exists, but it is nothing like other major cities I have lived in. Capitol Blvd and Glenwood ave were much more painful to drive on than 440 or 540.

Raccemup- I thought FV was very affordable and with larger lots to boot! We loved it and it is still at the top of our list. I also think it will appreciate very well, but that is just my impression.

Jello212- Cleveland, anything rural, sounds great. Land for horses is really our ideal.

VickiR- McGees Crossroads. We drove through there several times and I don't remember seeing much for sale. I am going to have to go check that out. Thanks!

Part 2-

The 25th, we drove back up to Knightdale and looked at some specific resales, just drove by. We also went to Wendell and looked at some acreage, but it sold the day before. lol. We ate at Slice of New York Pizza in Knightdale in the Target shopping center. We had greek salads and wonderful east coast style pizza, floppy with the weight of the mozzarella cheese and piping hot. My word it was sooo good. They had a big screen TV with Americas Funniest Videos on. It ws a great kid-friendly place.

Part 3 coming up...

[kmflan]

The 26th was My birthday and we had a ball!
We got off 40 in Garner at that huge shopping center with the Best Buy and Pier 1 Imports and a thousand other stores. Very nicely landscaped shopping with a white splitrail fence around the whole thing. It looked like a thoroughbred farm in Lexington, Ky. Very classy. We then took 70 all the way into downtown Raleigh. The southeast side of Raleigh doesn't seem as nice as, say North raleigh. The "fixing up" was hit and miss, but it is coming. Downtown Raleigh was great. It was much smaller than the downtown of Kansas City, but that is what I loved about it. It felt intimate, yet chic and stylish. I loved the statues around the capitol building and all th trees and benches. There were lots of folks at Moore Sq park. The shops around it looked inviting. The trees just slightly hide things so it makes you want to go explore. There were a number of espresso cafes on Fayetteville Rd and some fancy restaurants as well. Plus one of the news channels had a ticker out front which made it feel very "big city".

We then drove on to Durham. We got lost and got off at a gas station on Holloway St in East Durham. There was a new Biscuitville nearby, but the gas station had bars on all the glass. East Durham did seem very run down, but some areas of it seemed nicely maintained. We then drove on into downtown Durham. As far as urban living is concerned, I loved Durham. I loved that it wasn't perfectly clean. There were these old large homes with overgrown vines. Very southern, almost like Savannah in some ways. Lots of people walking about, shopping, etc.. Durham gives you the impression that is has a wild hair and I like that. We stopped downtown and asked a taxi driver for directions to American Tobacco. He was very friendly and helpful. The downtown had extensive rehab going on, just like Raleigh. We at at Cafe Zen at American Tobacco. It was really good. The best Pad Thai I have ever had. Some of the kids got the temporeh(sp?) and my hubby said it was really good. We ate outside and it was perfect weather. The thing I lilked best about American tobacco was the water feature. The kids had a great time there and it was a nice break from being in a van all day.

On to Fuquay Varina
This time we went into the subdivisions in Holly Springs and FV. Gastric, yes, Holly Springs seemed very sloped. Beautiful lots tucked into treed slopes. Very attractive, but not practical for kids. Though, I know lots of families are moving into HS. So I must have missed something. In Fuquay, we drove down 401 into Harnett County, then back up and onto Judd Rd. We drove through s/d's there and even went in a couple of St Lawrence and David Weekley Homes. I really think FV is wonderful. Nice price range in homes. Older areas are beautiful. Some of the homes that front 401 are gorgeous. Trees, gentle hills, shopping, quaint downtown. We drove through Lakestone Village. We love the whole New Urbanism thing, but the houses are just too close together for us. They did an amazing job on the brickwork for the shops in Lakestone Village. It is red, but the mortar rounds the edges. It makes it look imperfect, old world european. Very nostalgic.

On across 42 to Clayton.
42 is a lovely rural drive.......dreamy
Clayton. We never did get into downtown Clayton. But 70 has every kind of shopping you would need, except maybe some upscale stuff like you would see in Cary. I like the feel of Clayton. Lots of trees, very mildly hilly, clean, some mom/pop places. We finally got out to Flowers plantation, and I have to say, I was smitten. If we don't go the acreage route, Flowers Plantation may be the next choice. There are 20 years of planning that have gone into this place and it shows. It's just a first class development. We did look at a few houses and build jobs look great, at least initially. The lots are reasonable, at least a quarter of an acre, and you you can get lots that back to woods. Also some builders are overstocked and are offering closing assistance. Very cozy, relaxing feel. We saw people using the trails, people at the village grocery. It has a very peaceful feel. Plus the drive out there with that stretch of white rail fencing and trees and the Neuse river.....birds chirping everywhere....and very affordable. Something for every price range. Form the Flowers Plantation entrance to the Walmart on 70 was 5 min at 6:30 in the evening. Very convenient. To RTP would probably be 30 min, more in rush hour. Resales in Glen Laurel look really good too, but we did not in there.

Anyway, I guess that's it. There are still places we wanted to get to , but didn't. Overall, the area exceeded our expectations which were already high. The truth is, we could live almost anywhere in the triangle and be content. A special thanks to the hospitable folks in Smithfield. We loved it there. If it were just closer in....

Thanks to all of you too. Because of you all, I had half a clue where to look. Maybe we will be down there in time for the next meet up. Have fun tomorrow!

I will try to post the pics tomorrow. We didn't take half as many as we wish we had. SO many times we simply forgot the camera.

[Nacht]

So you're still on the vacation high, huh?

[kmflan]

ROFL! We are winding down at my in-laws in Va. Thunderstorming here, but we are glad to be in a house as opposed to our van, which needs a serious detail job now. We have a new apperciation for upholstered furniture after a week of camping. We head back to KC this Friday. Then the real work begins.....getting our current house on the market.