Anyone from Raleigh, NC area? Relocation help, please.

[momto4obkids]

My dh is flying back right now from his interview in Raleigh. The company is putting together an offer of employment to send him!! Eeek. I asked a few months ago about a possible move to Alabama and everyone was great on here. That job didn't pan out, but this one sounds like it is a go!

We will be looking for house to rent and have four kids in high school, middle school and elementary. So, I see there may be a mess with the school system down there? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Any areas we should focus on. The job is on the south side of Raleigh if that helps.

Thanks!

 

[disprincessatheart]

Is the job actually in southern Raleigh or south of Raleigh? The traffic here can be pretty bad, so it makes a difference. Cary, apex and holly springs are all good places to live with Cary being the most expensive, holly springs the least, but thats because cary is closer to more things, but they all boarder each other on the south west side of Raleigh. Schools in all 3 are good. The issue with the school board that is making news will be least likely to affect apex or holly springs since there's not a lot of bussing in that part of the county as it is, but it more affects north and east raleigh schools. If you have more specific questions feel free to pm. I moved here 10 years ago and never looked back!

 

[Frannie115]

We lived in Wake Forest for 5 years and are now in Rolesville (small town) but both are North of Raleigh. I believe other nice towns south of Raleigh are Fuquay-Varina and Garner.

We moved to NC 7 years ago and it is the best thing we ever did. Love North Carolina and its people. Our kids were 6 and 12 at the time. They have done really well and our daughter now attends UNC Charlotte. Many great colleges to choose from, too.

It should not be hard to find a nice place to live in the Triangle. Good Luck!

 

[momto4obkids]

The company is in southern Raleigh. It is just off 40(knightdale bypass) and 401 I think.

Anyone have any recommendations on who to rent a house through?

 

[disprincessatheart]

Sounds more south east than the places I mentioned before. I lived in knight dale for a year and it wouldnt be my first choice. I'd probably go with Cary if it were me. Sorry, no ideas on renting a house.

 

[Frannie115]

Cary is probably too far west of Knightdale and lots of traffic.

You may want to check out Wendell. Nice town. If it's off 401, you can also take that all the way up to Rolesville/Wake Forest area. My drive is to downtown Raleigh (convention center) and it takes about 45 min with traffic (35 min without). They are currently widening 401 up here to a four lane highway (it's one lane right now ).

I agree with disprincessatheart, Knightdale would not be my first choice.

 

[momto4obkids]

That helps! Thanks

I had actually looked at some homes in knightdale online.

I am interested in Wendell. I have found three houses there that interest us.

What about Garner or Clayton? Those two towns are close to the companies location.

 

[carymomof3]

I wouldn't limit myself and would probably base my decision on schools and town I like. The drives are not all that bad from the surrounding towns. I know many folks move here from larger metro areas and don't mind our "commutes" at all.

I grew up in Raleigh and have lived in Cary for 25 years. Raised 3 kids here and wouldn't have wanted to do it anywhere else. Cary gets a bad rap for being "elitist" sometimes, but I haven't found that. It still has a small-town feel even though it has such a growing population. Pretty town, low crime, close to Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and good schools. That being said, we have lived in the same house for 15 years, yet chose to send our three kids to three different high schools. One went to the neighborhood school, one to a private school and the last one is a junior at Enloe in Raleigh - a magnet school. (Current school "mess" here involves diversity debate.) I drive him there daily - it's actually quite close to Knightdale - and it's an easy 20 minutes.

Agreed that Knightdale wouldn't be my first choice. Wendell would be too far out for me and I'm not sure about the schools there. Everything else mentioned would be a good choice for our family: Holly Springs, Apex, Cary, Raleigh. Clayton is in Johnston County, so a different school system. That's a growing area and is well-regarded, so would be a good choice, too.

The airport is on the Cary/Durham side of Raleigh, so if that's a consideration ...

This area is a great place to live! Good luck with the job and the accompanying decisions. PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[marie1203]

We will also be moving to Raleigh within a year. My mom lives there. Previous poster gave you a good idea on areas. Keep in mind if you are going to live in Cary and have pets that there is a 2 pet max.

 

[eeyoremommy]

South of Raleigh on 401 is Fuquay Varina. We lived there from 2002 - 2004 and loved in. We were technically in Willow Spring near the Wake - Johnston County line. Johnston County has some very good schools in that area. I used to teach in one. The commute is not bad. Clayton and Garner are there too. Garner is Wake County. We still have a lot of friends there that really like it. The convenience of Johnston County is that you get all of the perks of the city but get to feel like you still live away from it all. I-40 and 42 was a growing area then, but I think it has all grown up now. I know there is a new high school that was just built in the Cleveland area near Clayton and West Johnston High is relatively new. There are several newer elementary and middle schools in that area as well. The Johnston County schools in that area are as good or better than the Wake County schools nearby, and they are not going through the same "challenges" that the Wake County schools are having. Good luck.

 

[RRL38]

I live in Holly Springs and LOVE it! I'm a teacher in Wake County and commute about 35 miles each way and I don't mind it at all. We have lived here for 8 years and never looked back.

 

[Priorityonecb]

We chose Clayton because we didn't want to deal with the Wake school mess. We love the schools and it's a quick ride to anything we need/want. We also got way more house on several acres for our money than if we had bought in Apex where we were also looking. Dh works in Morrisville, I work in Holly Springs.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My DH works in Raleigh and we chose a small rural town of Angier in Harnett County. DH has about a 40 minute commute which he doesn't mind. I'm happy with the schools my kids are in, if you have any questions about the Harnett Central schools I can help you, I have 5 kids and they've been in all of the schools here.

Another thing to think about is I think the Wake county schools are year around schools (are all of them? I'm not sure).

We found our house to rent on Craigslist. HTH.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Congrats to your hubby! We're hoping to relocate soon, too. How exciting, I hope it goes smoothly for you!

 

[momto4obkids]

Right now my dh drives thirty swix miles one way to work, so as long as it isn't more than that he's good!

I was wondering about jobs in healthcare down there? I just graduated with my associate in applied science for medical assisting and passed the AAMA certification exam. Will I be able to find a job?

Thanks!

 

[Muushka]

We will also be moving to Raleigh within a year. My mom lives there. Previous poster gave you a good idea on areas. Keep in mind if you are going to live in Cary and have pets that there is a 2 pet max.

I have lived here in Cary for 15 years and did not know that! I have 2 cats, good thing I didn't have any more!

As was mentioned, the mess is attributed to some wanting 'diversity' at the expense of driving children up to an hour to and from school. And some want to be able to have their children go to the school in their neighborhood. It is a consideration as to which school you choose and whether or not your kids would be bussed.

Can't help you on the healthcare job issue, but check www.trianglehelpwanted.com
to get an idea. Good luck!

 

[cheerky]

Clayton is a great place to live. Riverwood is a planned community with great schools. On the other side of town- the Cleveland schools have a great reputation also. I would recommend staying OUT of Wake County if you plan to enroll your kids in public school. The districting/ track-out issues there are a nightmare!

 

[Gr8dan2]

My sister has lived in Holly Springs, NC and has loved it and the schools! Some of the schools are on multi-track calendars, others are traditional school year. She thought they'd hate the multi-track but actually love it because they travel much more than they ever could and very often its 'off-season' rates when they travel.

 

[Diabolicdesire]

I live in Knightdale and like the area. I am not far from Raleigh and there is quite a few stores/restaurants in the town itself. I work in Raleigh and it takes me about 15 min to get to work if traffic is good. DH works on the Raleigh/Knightdale border and it takes him about 5min. This is who I rent from. http://www.hrwrealty.com/bin/web/re...TIVATE_FRAMES/RENTALS/Raleigh/1280777764.html

If you choose to live in Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay it's a bit of a drive, but if you don't mind they are nice areas too. Clayton/Garner is nice but traffic can get pretty bad coming up I-40.

Schools in Raleigh are not the greatest but my DD attends a magnet school in downtown Raleigh and loves it. Not in a great area but Academics are great and there are a ton of electives. The magnet and charter schools here are based on a lottery, I think applications for next year are due in early march.

 

[marie1203]

I have lived here in Cary for 15 years and did not know that! I have 2 cats, good thing I didn't have any more!

www.trianglehelpwanted.com
to get an idea. Good luck!

We have been looking at houses and as you can see we have a lot of pets so that is one must. Our real estate agent told us about 2 pet limit in Cary, so it is out of our search.