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My husband and I are moving to Raleigh in September.We feel this will be a great fresh start for us because we've been through so much in the past year. This move is LONG overdue! We are so excited!!
Okay so now on to my questions...We are looking for an apartment in nice town(not that anyone looks intentionally for a bad town). We really like that small town look and feel but also like being close shopping, jobs, etc. From what I have read there are plenty of small towns like that around Raleigh but I am a bit nervous just to jump into a town knowing nothing about it. Here in WV there are plenty of small towns that fit that description but I wouldn't even tell my worst enemy to move there due to safety concerns. Money is a bit of an issue so we are looking in the low $600/month range or less for a 1 bedroom. Amenities are nice but we are just so ready to get down there that for the time being we will take what we can get. I am 27 and my husband is 28 we are not party people and tend to keep to ourselves so we'd like a nice quiet complex. We do have 1 dog and 1 cat so it needs to be pet friendly.
Hubby has a job interview next Monday with a job placement company so we're hoping he will be placed right away! For the time being we don't know exactly where his job will be just that it's in the Raleigh area. We don't really mind a bit of a commute as we already travel 20-30 min depending on traffic.
So can anyone suggest any apartments that might fit our needs? I have been looking at apartments.com, apartmentfinder.com and rent.com and there are some nice ones but some descriptive words can make even the worst ghetto sound lovely. We'll be there on the 24th and hope to look at a few apartments.
I also tried my best to search this forum before I posted this thread but everyones needs are so different that I thought I would go ahead and tell you about mine. That's why it's a bit lengthy because I tried to answer any questions I thought might be helpful. Thanks in advance!!
I know all about the small town feel; I grew up in Western PA.
We live in North Raleigh at Stonehenge Apartments. It's very quiet here (no college party types). It's in an established neighborhood with very nice homes. It's also very pet friendly. It's not small town, but it's safe and very quiet, yet convenient to everything. Not ghetto by any means!!!!
I know all about the small town feel; I grew up in Western PA.
We live in North Raleigh at Stonehenge Apartments. It's very quiet here (no college party types). It's in an established neighborhood with very nice homes. It's also very pet friendly. It's not small town, but it's safe and very quiet, yet convenient to everything. Not ghetto by any means!!!!
Best of luck to your husband!
You are right around the corner from my office! Welcome to the neighborhood. North Raleigh is a great place to call home!!!
We are not 100% sure that he will be placed right away so we have come up with a plan B. We have decent amount in savings we can live off of and our plan was for him to move down there ahead of me and then once he got a job then I would move down and search for one myself. In the meantime I'll stay here in WV with my mom and continue to work at my job until they hire a replacement. It will be hard but we've been told that it will be easier for him to find a job once he's actually living in Raleigh. That's why the area at this point doesn't really matter. We just want to get down there.
I would suggest the Brier Creek area... Lots of apartments, lots of convenience amenities (Super Walmart, Target, supermarkets, restaurants, etc.) and, most importantly, easy access to the entire triangle via 70, 540, 40 and then of course, surface streets. Could be far if you get a job truly in downtown Raleigh, but even that would be reverse commute so minimal traffic.
I rented at Inman Park Apts in Raleigh (right near Crabtree Valley Mall/ 440 and close to everything) when I first moved here. Those are quite nice and yes, pet friendly.
We rented at Olde Towne Carpenter Village in Cary before we bought our house. We loved it! It's an apartment complex that is nestled amoung a subdivision. There is a small lake with a trail that goes around it, plus plenty of places to walk the dog since all the roads int he community have sidewalks. You can even walk to the library on one of the trails. There are tennis courts, a 24 hour fitness room, and a pool. The only thing my husband complained about was that he could hear the cows from across the road (there's a cow pasture across from the apartments), but I liked it. It's situated in a part of Cary that's not as busy, but you are near shopping and restaurants. I believe a one bedroom starts at about $600 a month. There is also a public park close by that has a lake where you can rent a kayak by the hour (it's a 10 minute drive).
If your husband is more technical you might look in some of the stuff in Morrisville/Cary along NC54, as it would be closer to RTP. If he's more likely to be doing work in the city of Raleigh - government, legal, etc. - it's hard to beat Garner for value.
A lot of the jobs in "Raleigh" are actually located in Durham, by the way, which is nigh onto an hour away from Raleigh in rush hours, so that's something to consider. Durham is also much much cheaper, there are more apartments than renters, but older SE Durham isn't the most pleasant place to be at night. (That said, new SE Durham toward Morrisville, and everything west or south of the ball park, is fine.)
Since you won't be together, I'd suggest moving the minimum possible amount of stuff and expect to leave the first place when your lease is up; that way you'll be able to check out Knightdale, Apex, Wendell, and Zebulon, which have some small town character left. I suspect you'll have some trouble finding low-cost rentals in these areas quickly, though, and it's hard to appreciate how big the "Triangle" is until you've driven across it, every day, for a few months; location should probably be closely related to where the job ends up.
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