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Old 04-25-2007, 09:40 AM
 
359 posts, read 1,836,080 times
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Whew! We got here Sunday and have been going ever since. Ate in Clayton Sunday night but haven't been back yet to see it in the daytime.

Knightdale- This was the first place we stopped Monday. The downtown is very quaint. A few shops, but could use a few more. Cute little red caboose beside the train tracks. There was a nice small playground area with lots of families and kids, tennis courts and a gazebo. All shaded and beautiful with the azaleas in bloom. The houses around the downtown area were older brick ranchers with large lots and immaculate yards. There were also some newer (last 20 years) houses with much smaller lots, but still, nice yards. What can I say. Even the animals garden out here. Then we got out onto 64 where all the new shopping is. All your major stores are there, chain restaurants also and a few mom/pop places. We also looked at other neighborhoods that were more recent but mature trees. Again, smaller lots but lovely yards. All in all, we really liked Knightdale even tough it was not originally one of our top choices. Oh, and RTP was about 20 min away on 540.

Rush hour traffic- We intentionally visited RTP at quitting time. 5:15 PM. Drove around a bit, and then tried to leave. It was a mess trying to get out of there. Just getting out of the park took 10-15 min. But once, you are out and on to the highway, it's not bad at all. 40/440 and 540 are congested at rush hour, but it is nothing like other places I have lived.

Wake Forest- Not as impressed as I thought I would be. It is very pretty, lots of trees. The area around the Baptist Seminary is gorgeous with lots of older homes. We didn't get into the some of the newer developments. We ate at the Armadillo Grill. It was good, but not great. Nice outside area, though, which is great for eating with kids The biggest drawback to WF is not WF itslef, but having to drive Capitol Blvd. It is a massive 8? lane highway with stoplights every so often. It just moves so slow. I guess we were spoiled by 540. We did try cutting across 98 and then coming down Creedmoor Rd. That actually went a little quicker and had prettier scenery.

North Raleigh- So far we have only seen north of 540, which is absolutely gorgeous. I guess because of the development restrictions in that area, all the houses are on larger lots with TONS of trees. The places look like something in fairytales. Way out of our price range, but stunning.

Cary- We expected to dislike Cary-though it would be beige and boring. Not at all. It was lovely. Every kind if shopping you can imagine. Lots of parks for kids. Everything close by and very convenient. Very attractive in look and feel. We asked a couple of policemen for a good local eatery. They sent us to Danny's BBQ by Wake Med. It was not traditional Carolina style barbecue, but it was good. The only drawbacks to Cary are that it feels somewhat "packed in". Just a little on the crowded side and most of the lots are very small, some barely enough room for the trampoline.

Holly Springs- We did a fairly quick drive through here. Very pretty, lots of trees, good location. Easy access to Cary, Raleigh, or even Durham, for good shopping. Some new s/d seem to leave lots of trees, some don't. Some are on large lots, some very tiny. Somewhat pricey though, compared to what you can get in older Cary, or F/V, or Knightdale.

Fuquay Varina- This was at the top of my list and really still is. We ate lunch a Nil's Bakery downtown. Very good, very fresh, and very cute. The place was incredibly busy. Then we went across the street and got coffee at the The Chocolate Bean. Excellent mocha. Not too sweet. Had some shopping like target and walmart. Some cute downtown clothing shops. But no Best Buy or Bed bath and beyond like Knightdale. I loved it though. Felt rural, but still had the really cute downtown and reasonable drive in to fancier restaurants, shopping and RTP.

Smithfield- Too far out for us, but really nice downtown and the people were so friendly.

Guess that's it for now. Got to head out again. Will post pics later
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Old 04-25-2007, 09:46 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
607 posts, read 2,427,458 times
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Kmflan;
Thanks, wow what great information. I almost felt like I was there with you. How are the trees? Are they all getting their leaves??? I know it has been warm there, any humidity?? I cannot remember where you are moving from?

I loved FV myself, it seemed very homey to me.
Well continue your quest and keep us posted, plus have soooo much fun.

Liz
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Old 04-25-2007, 10:14 AM
 
709 posts, read 931,609 times
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Fuquay Varina- This was at the top of my list and really still is. We ate lunch a Nil's Bakery downtown. Very good, very fresh, and very cute. The place was incredibly busy. Then we went across the street and got coffee at the The Chocolate Bean. Excellent mocha. Not too sweet. Had some shopping like target and walmart. Some cute downtown clothing shops. But no Best Buy or Bed bath and beyond like Knightdale. I loved it though. Felt rural, but still had the really cute downtown and reasonable drive in to fancier restaurants, shopping and RTP.
[/quote]


I told people in other posts fuquay is really a great spot in Wake county.

Take a look at some subdivisions, duncans ridge, lakestone village, ballentine.
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Old 04-25-2007, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Holly Springs
281 posts, read 1,106,637 times
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Southern Wake County is booming now...good price per square foot
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Old 04-25-2007, 10:33 AM
 
Location: Oxnard, CA on the way to Raleigh NC
306 posts, read 1,191,082 times
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Great description! Nice to hear a newby say their first impressions. Keep it coming, I am listening (or reading)
Char
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Old 04-25-2007, 10:48 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
799 posts, read 3,221,231 times
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Wonderful posts! Thanks everyone! My hubby and I are planning our first road trip down there mid-May or early June.

Let me know how you like any of the Barnes & Nobles down there, if you happen across any for some maps! This is where we work and will transfer to. Again, thanks for the information - especially the lot sizes and trees. It all makes a huge difference, like when you said Cary felt a little more "packed" than you had imagined. Interesting stuff.

Have fun! *waving*
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Old 04-25-2007, 10:57 AM
 
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kmflan, thank you for the descriptive post! Can't wait to see your pics! Have fun!
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Old 04-25-2007, 12:07 PM
 
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We're looking forward to some good BBQ
My brother in law visited last year and at the top of his list was
Q Shack
2514 University Drive, Durham, 919-402-4227
he know's his bbq so I don't think you could go wrong...

keep the posts coming...
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Old 04-25-2007, 12:40 PM
 
Location: North Raleigh
578 posts, read 3,077,943 times
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I'll throw in my $0.02 as a recent home buyer in the area. I made two trips and have seen nearly everyplace listed here.

CARY - Loved Cary and is where I truly wanted to live. But a significant portion of Cary is on the airport flight path and that annoys me. Another portion is simply too expensive for me personally. That doesn't leave much of Cary for me to look at. But I like the density, shopping, and proximity to everything.

NORTH RALEIGH - Heh, the fairy tale comment is just about true. We ended up buying in Falls River and it's truly better than I could have dreamed. Parks everywhere, sidewalks everywhere, tons of mature trees, great well kept houses, little kids everywhere. Our Realtor told me yesterday there's 21 kids of varying ages in our cul-de-sac alone with 3 being boys my son's age. It gets better every day!

HOLLY SPRINGS - I was less than impressed with the areas we saw. They were by the highway which was noisey, the lots were all sloped significantly, and was kind of depressing due to the lack of mature trees left in the developments. Kind of felt like shiny new houses dropped into the middle of nowhere.

WAKE FOREST - With th exception of Heritage I felt the same way about it as Holly Springs, though I found Wake Forest to be much more attractive visually. For RTP cut across 98 instead of going down Capital, though that depends on where in WF you end up living.

I never made it to Fuquay Varina, though I did visit Clayton briefly and drove by Knightdale.

There's a lot of great areas out there. Definitely something for everyone.
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Old 04-25-2007, 12:52 PM
 
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Great Information KMFlan! Very good of you to take the time to post such detailed comments. One thing I was wondering about though was this comment about Knightdale:

"Oh, and RTP was about 20 min away on 540."

I am just curious what time of day you drove from Knightdale to RTP and made it in 20 minutes? Was it in the middle of the day perhaps? I just don't think it is really possible to get to RTP from Knightdale in 20 minutes during your typical commute times.
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