Possible move to Raleigh/Cary, NC

[rugbysecondrow]

What's up forum. My wife and I are close to pulling the trigger on a move to the Cary, NC area with our three kids (8,5, infant). I thought I would reach out here for feedback on neighborhoods, good areas, bad, good value or hidden gems or towns to check out. etc.

Also, do you have a realtor in the area you recommend?

Thanks all!


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[FlashUNC]

Drop me a PM with your contact info. Lots to discuss in the Triangle.

[rugbysecondrow]

Thanks Flash, I will PM you.

[rnhood]

Cary is very nice, being upscale with a good city management, and with plenty to do at your fingertips. Its hard to specify one area over the other there, as most areas in Cary are nice. Apex sits very close by and its also a neat little town. I live in North Raleigh and really like it. But if I was moving to the Triangle area today, I would probably pick Cary. You need to make a few trips and spend time in and around Cary. I think this is the best way to decide exactly where to live. Real estate prices can be quite high in Cary proper.

There are plenty of good bike clubs all over the triangle. Lots of group rides and events. Tomorrow we have the Raven Rock Ramble which will probably get between 500-600 participants. And there are some great rural cycling roads at your fingertips in the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs areas. I don't think that I have ever known someone in the Cary area that did not like it there. Since most people there work in the RTP, its considered a very professional community. That's another reason I like it. But for me, I'm happy in N. Raleigh.

Our greenway system is rapidly becoming state of the art. It offers another cycling option for winter or when you need a true recovery ride.

[SPOKE]

It will be a great place to live! I'm in north Raleigh but Cary/Apex is nice too. Most any place in the burbs will have great cycling. I've been back in the area since 1998 and find it a great place to live.

[1centaur]

I am resurrecting this thread because I am thinking ahead a decade to my retirement and the Raleigh area is my current focus. My worry for cycling is comments about lack of a shoulder on a lot of roads. In Massachusetts I have a lot of 1-2 foot shoulders to make drivers feel better about me. I will be heading down there to look around at the end of March.

This URL is very useful for thinking about where I would want to live if cycling routes are a priority:

http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#10/-...8778/gray/bike

[rnhood]

If you plan on continuing to work, in some capacity, even if light part time or as a consultant, its hard to imagine a better environment than Raleigh (or the Triangle). Our economy is great, our populace is diverse, generally well educated with plenty of very successful people, and we have all kinds of amenities at our fingertips. The Triangle is a professional community.

If you desire a bit more seclusion or a more remote getaway place, then the Triangle may not be the best place. You can get away, mind you, but it'll take a car to do it. However, within a reasonable driving distance you have beautiful mountains in one direction as well as a beautiful coastline in the other direction.

Cycling here is great....once you're out past the city limits. In the rural farmland areas it is outstanding. Near the city limits however, it can be a challenge with respect to your "road shoulder" concerns. Its a congested area within the limits and some drivers simply don't like cyclists. We have certainly had our run-ins. I live in NW Raleigh and like it. Cary is very nice too, as is a number of other surrounding communities. Our greenway here is first rate, and gets a lot of cycling use especially in the winter months. Since cycling is your priority, I would look hard at NW Raleigh and The Cary/Apex area.

[avalonracing]

Paul, you are missing the nicest weather of the year up here!

(Of course in six weeks you'll be 15 degrees warmer than we are )

[1centaur]

Originally Posted by rnhood

If you desire a bit more seclusion or a more remote getaway place, then the Triangle may not be the best place. You can get away, mind you, but it'll take a car to do it. However, within a reasonable driving distance you have beautiful mountains in one direction as well as a beautiful coastline in the other direction.

Cycling here is great....once you're out past the city limits. In the rural farmland areas it is outstanding. Near the city limits however, it can be a challenge with respect to your "road shoulder" concerns. Its a congested area within the limits and some drivers simply don't like cyclists. We have certainly had our run-ins. I live in NW Raleigh and like it. Cary is very nice too, as is a number of other surrounding communities. Our greenway here is first rate, and gets a lot of cycling use especially in the winter months. Since cycling is your priority, I would look hard at NW Raleigh and The Cary/Apex area.

I, of course, want it all. Defined as reasonable access to good medical (Duke may not be ranked like Mass General but that's mostly due to fewer specialities, most of which few care about), good grocery stores, and some sense of modern civilization while at the same time being able to slip into the country for quiet rides. Looking at the roads in that Strava URL, it's hard to figure the best transition points from one to the other because the reddest routes are the most urban by definition. Where I live now, tons of fairly rural routes are red. And the Raleigh area is growing so fast that the suburban buffer zones are getting overrun by new developments and busier roads, so what I would buy now may be wrong for what I buy when I retire.

I like the housing stock in North Raleigh and the big lots protected by Falls Lake on the north from encroachment, but the only way out to the country looks like Six Forks and that will lead to increasing development north of the lake. I am surprised the Strava density is not better going northwest from Wake Forest. I am thinking Bahama to Rougemont might not be bad 10 years from now for occasional access to the metro area but with a Whole Foods closer than Durham, by then. And north of Hillsborough is close to Durham but not close to RTP so might miss some of the people who prioritize commuting.

Cary and Apex are perfect commuter locations but you pay for that and lot sizes tend to be smaller than I am targeting. And of course as a cyclist I would like a basement for all my bikes but basements are fairly rare (due to clay and the frost line among other things). The biggest surprise in my research has been the ubiquity of HOAs, which has the potential to be a big negative.

The research is definitely part of the fun.

[zap]

My wife plans on retiring from her current job in 3 months and we have been planning on moving from metro D.C. to the Triangle for close to a year now. Our fourth trip to Chapel Hill/North Raleigh is coming up.

Access to quality health care is huge for us.

Cycling from the house is important for me......I have great access to country roads from our current home in Potomac, MD. However, narrow country roads with no shoulders is the norm.......I'm very comfortable with that and prefer it as the roads are twisty and narrow so if anyone texts while driving, they will hit a tree pronto.

We are focusing on two area's. North Raleigh Strickland, Six Forks up to the lake. Nice big lots and country roads. Also less air traffic coming to/from RDU. Whole Foods is not too far away and I understand there is a nice shop ride. But I too am concerned about development up in the Wake Forest area.

Chapel Hill/Carboro. Nice small funky town. During July 4th weekend my wife and I stayed in Chapel Hill and were wined and dined at a private gated golf community just south of town. We took our tandem down and did a club ride from Chapel Hill to Hillsborough. Wonderful country roads (many with no shoulders) and the drivers were super friendly. Cycling is very much a part of the Chapel Hill community.

I get the sense that development west of Chapel Hill/Carboro is going to be limited. Most will occur south to Pittsboro.

We looked at several communities in Cary but just not feeling it.

[Climb01742]

Thinking about where to retire is fascinating and complex puzzle. So many pieces.

Retiring down South certainly has its positives. I was born in Georgia and both sides of my family were nothing but Southerners. Even with that, I'm leaning toward going west, reconnecting with Oregon, probably Portland, where I spent the second half of my childhood.

When folks consider where to retire, do cultural attitudes play into it as well, alongside real estate, medicine, weather and riding?

Does the cultural conservatism of the South give anyone pause? Even North Carolina politics have taken a rightward swing. I absolutely cop to my left-leaning beliefs. And absolutely understand how a more conservative culture could be attractive too.

How much does this factor for folks? Just curious. I can see both sides.

[rugbysecondrow]

Oddly enough, my wife and I (both late 30's) were talking about places to retire. Should we buy a second home, visit different locations etc. It was more of a day dreaming conversation, the sort you have on long road trips.

We decided, screw it...why wait until retirement. We up and move to the Raleigh area in July and it has been great. We chose Cary for a few reasons, close to research triangle and jobs, great kid and family atmosphere (we have three kids), and we did choose a neighborhood which has a pool a block away. Our HOA is reasonable, and I think we get good value for our $45 a month, especially with the pool access, walking paths and fishing pond.

We also live less than half a mile from the White Oak Greenway, which has allowed plenty of access to the town, gym, Bond Park etc. We liked the Bond Park area, so we are pretty close to it, a 15 min bike ride.

It is also a great deal cheaper than where we lived in Maryland.

With all the hassle of moving, selling and buying a house, packing, relocating and learning a whole new area, there has not been a day I woke up and regretted the decision.

Nice weather, great jobs, educated population, strong economy, great parks and recreation, biking and greenways, schools are strong...it is hard to go wrong.

Lastly, and this is going to sound like an odd observation, but people are happy here. So many people are from elsewhere, and it seems many purposefully moved from elsewhere to be in this area, so they generally seem happy and seem to enjoy the area. THis is a contrast from Maryland or DC where many people "have" to be there, vs "want" to be in Cary/Raleigh. It makes a huge difference in how people approach their days.

[rugbysecondrow]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

Thinking about where to retire is fascinating and complex puzzle. So many pieces.

Retiring down South certainly has its positives. I was born in Georgia and both sides of my family were nothing but Southerners. Even with that, I'm leaning toward going west, reconnecting with Oregon, probably Portland, where I spent the second half of my childhood.

When folks consider where to retire, do cultural attitudes play into it as well, alongside real estate, medicine, weather and riding?

Does the cultural conservatism of the South give anyone pause? Even North Carolina politics have taken a rightward swing. I absolutely cop to my left-leaning beliefs. And absolutely understand how a more conservative culture could be attractive too.

How much does this factor for folks? Just curious. I can see both sides.

I can't speak for the rest of the state, but Cary is more conservative than Maryland, but nothing extreme or dramatic. I haven't noticed much cultural conservatism, but that might be because so many people are from elsewhere and there is a strong blend of East Coast, Mid West, and international people.

Just my observation.

[1centaur]

Living in Mass, and having lived in the Bay Area, I have never lived in a right-friendly (or even tolerant) community. From what I understand, the Raleigh area has so many transplants from the north it's not that right compared to the standard view of the south.

I have studied many, many climate comparisons and certainly the Pacific Northwest got my attention. Then I read the New Yorker article on a Cascadia earthquake (at least 50 years past due). That looks SO much worse than a big California quake, it makes no sense to take the risk. Could be a total wipe-out of home equity, which is a real threat to retirement. It's one thing to be fatalistic about one's life, but another to see a giant chunk of lifetime savings wiped out in a few minutes without really knowing the odds.

I've looked at the front range too, but water scarcity there as well as physical limitations are a turn-off.

Raleigh has a crummy summer, but otherwise has a lot going for it.

[redir]

Originally Posted by 1centaur

I, of course, want it all. Defined as reasonable access to good medical (Duke may not be ranked like Mass General but that's mostly due to fewer specialities, most of which few care about), good grocery stores, and some sense of modern civilization while at the same time being able to slip into the country for quiet rides. Looking at the roads in that Strava URL, it's hard to figure the best transition points from one to the other because the reddest routes are the most urban by definition. Where I live now, tons of fairly rural routes are red. And the Raleigh area is growing so fast that the suburban buffer zones are getting overrun by new developments and busier roads, so what I would buy now may be wrong for what I buy when I retire.

I like the housing stock in North Raleigh and the big lots protected by Falls Lake on the north from encroachment, but the only way out to the country looks like Six Forks and that will lead to increasing development north of the lake. I am surprised the Strava density is not better going northwest from Wake Forest. I am thinking Bahama to Rougemont might not be bad 10 years from now for occasional access to the metro area but with a Whole Foods closer than Durham, by then. And north of Hillsborough is close to Durham but not close to RTP so might miss some of the people who prioritize commuting.

Cary and Apex are perfect commuter locations but you pay for that and lot sizes tend to be smaller than I am targeting. And of course as a cyclist I would like a basement for all my bikes but basements are fairly rare (due to clay and the frost line among other things). The biggest surprise in my research has been the ubiquity of HOAs, which has the potential to be a big negative.

The research is definitely part of the fun.

You would like it there then. Not to mention you can ride year round unlike the snowmagedon and frigid cold of mass.

Greenville SC is another location in that area that is a bit more low key but has easier access to the mountains and miles and miles of beautiful roads and trails.