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I am currently in Maryland. We sold our house and have just 30 days to pack up and get out. Our original settlement date was in June, but the buyers demanded the change or they'd walk. As hard as it is to sell these days, we gave them what they wanted!
Anyway, we are NC bound and while we thought we still had time to check things out, we don't. We are coming for a few days next week and I need to know where to look in the Cary/Apex/Morrisville/Holly Springs areas.
Here is what I want:
MODERN - Newer city
CONVENIENCES - Restaurants (Family Places, ie, Applebees, Outback, etc.), Shopping, (Walmart, Target, maybe a mall), Banks, Movies...you get the idea.
SUBURBAN NOT RURAL or "the sticks" or "the back roads" or "where the redneck's are" (LOL these are all sayings I've seen elsewhere on CD)
SCHOOLS - I have 3 kids. 1 will be entering high school while 2 are in elementary - grades 3 & 4. So I will soon have 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high schooler. I am aware that there are reassignment issues, and I don't really understand that whole thing. I've gone to the WCPSS website and plugged in a few addresses from Realtor.com. They all showed the same schools for the 09/10 and 10/11 school years. So, this is why I don't understand the whole reassignment thing. Though, I've heard very good things about the schools themselves.
We are looking to rent until we get a handle on things. Single family or townhouse...NO apartments. Preferably 4 bedrooms but 3 would work as well, and we want to spent around $1200/ month.
So, please, all help is appreciated as time is not on my side here!!!
I would try and find something in Cary or Apex as these are the most central with good access to highways so you will be able to travel to the rest of the Triangle quite easily. A lot of rentals are on MLS, you could try realtor.com or contact a realtor. You might get an older 3 BR in your price range but if you could increase to $1400 you will find a lot more.
I agree that $1200 is on the low end. We are renting a 4-bedroom single family in Cary for $1700/mo and it fits with the description of what you want. You might try Morrisville for some less expensive options but watch what school you are going to - I don't know the details but have heard that some of Morrisville goes to Durham schools. (again I don't know the specifics but just keep an eye out.) We had better luck with finding a rental though Craigslist than any of the other sites.
I would focus on Apex. I think you may find Holly Springs a little too far to a lot of things you are used to (variety of restaurants, movies, kid fun spots). You may find yourself doing a lot of driving. If you rent in Cary, you may find when it comes time to purchase that the homes are too expensive for what you get in comparison to Apex. Apex middle school and Apex high school are excellent. Salem middle school is excellent also. All of the Apex elementary schools are, at minimum, good.
Here is what I want:
MODERN - Newer city
Holly Springs is "newer" and "up and coming" but if you want more "urban" and populated then you'd probably want Cary or Apex.
CONVENIENCES - Restaurants (Family Places, ie, Applebees, Outback, etc.), Shopping, (Walmart, Target, maybe a mall), Banks, Movies...you get the idea.
Cary or Apex would be your best options here. They have lots of chain restaurants (like the types you mentioned), shopping areas and a mall. Holly Springs has a few small stores, a new Walmart and some dining options but no chain restaurants yet. We do have a Target planned to come to this area. We have more than enough grocery stores, banks and drugstores.
SUBURBAN NOT RURAL or "the sticks" or "the back roads" or "where the redneck's are" (LOL these are all sayings I've seen elsewhere on CD)
You are probably safe with most of the areas, though it depends on where in town you buy. Apex and Cary still have some rural spots. Holly Springs probably has the most rural land but there is a lot of housing in the developed areas and it isn't considered "the sticks" or "where the rednecks" are. We do however, take a lot of backroads to places as we like the scenic route .
SCHOOLS - I have 3 kids. 1 will be entering high school while 2 are in elementary - grades 3 & 4. So I will soon have 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high schooler. I am aware that there are reassignment issues, and I don't really understand that whole thing. I've gone to the WCPSS website and plugged in a few addresses from Realtor.com. They all showed the same schools for the 09/10 and 10/11 school years. So, this is why I don't understand the whole reassignment thing. Though, I've heard very good things about the schools themselves.
It will all depend on where you live whether or not you will face reassignment. We have been here since 2005 in the school system and have not been reassigned (at the Elementary, middle or HS level) and are not scheduled for it in the 2010/2011 school year. We have been very happy with our school assignment. My children are in 5th, 4th, and 1st grade and we have one more that will enter in the fall. You will see that there are some people that are reassigned frequently, it all depends on your location and the growth that area sees.
We are looking to rent until we get a handle on things. Single family or townhouse...NO apartments. Preferably 4 bedrooms but 3 would work as well, and we want to spent around $1200/ month.
I would second hotpad but would also check out craigslist.
We never went through with renting as we found a house that we liked in a neighborhood that we loved after looking for just one weekend. We also wanted to purchase if we found something that fit our needs because we moved mid-school year and didn't want to move our children twice in one school year. It sounds like you may be coming here over the summer so that may not be an issue for you.
So, please, all help is appreciated as time is not on my side here!!!
You will also want to consider your proximity to employment. My husband works in Garner, but we chose Holly Springs as a good "mid-way" point being that the majority of the jobs in his field were in RTP. If he changed jobs he wanted to make sure we were "central" and not all the way to the East or West.
Also, consider your price point for a home purchase. In general, Holly Springs will be a bit more affordable, with Apex coming in second and Cary being the most expensive. Of course, you can find homes in Cary for a moderate price and in Holly Springs at jaw-dropping prices....it will largely depend on the subdivision you choose.
Good Luck with your search and move!
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 01-02-2012 at 08:40 PM..
You can always try Fuquay Varina which is very close to Holly Springs. We live off of Sunset Lake road, which takes you to "Uptown" Fuquay which has Harris Teeter, Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc. There are restaurants such as Ruby Tuesdays, Applebees. A new Kohl's opened up last year. The Other way takes you to Optimist Farm which has great Schools such as West Lake Elementary and West Lake Middle, and "across" the street is Middle Creek High School. Both Elementary and Middle have been 'School of Excellence' Many times! I wouldn't really say it's modern, more established, but there are new neighborhoods popping up all the time.
And as an example here is a rental for $1300.
Moderator cut: Links to real estate properties for sale are NOT allowed!
It's a nice established area, but that's just my opinion.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 03-15-2010 at 06:41 PM..
We rented a 4 bedroom, 2100 sqft house in Apex in the Hollands Crossing subdivision for 2 years. Would never buy a house in that neighborhood bc of the lack of trees and shoddy construction by Pulte Homes; but for a rental (the only time me or my wife have ever rented in our lives) it was great. We paid 1300 a month and that was a BIG bargain (Planit Properties were the owners/management). For elementary it was Olive Chapel which was literally right down the road. Middle School was Salem Middle which is a fairly new school but still in Apex (some prefer it to Apex Middle, some don't). Only drawback was it was reassigned to the new Panther Creek High School which is up in Morrisville and about 20-25 minutes away (it was originally assigned to Apex High which is more established within the community and has a better reputation).
Justthe6ofus--I'm really drawn to Holly Springs (at least online) and my husband will be working in Garner. Can you tell me anything about the drive? Are y'all reassigned schools every year. And most important is there a Target nearby--okay, I'm kidding--kind of... People talk about driving alot from there but I'm from Texas so driving is normal for me and even though I'm a few miles from a grocery store here--and Target of course, 2 no less!--it can take 15 minutes or more to get there. I'm wondering if Holly Springs is really that far from everything ~ thanks!!!
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