Does anyone live in Sanford/Cary/Apex/Raleigh, NC?

[kathsmom]

Hi, everyone! DH just turned in his notice today and we will be moving from just outside of Atlanta, GA to NC. DH's company is in Sanford and we are trying to decide which of the above mentioned towns to live in. If you live in one of these towns, please let me know if you like it (and what you like about it) or dislike it (and what you dislike about it). We looked around Sanford over this past weekend and went to Cary. We would appreciate any help you can give us.



TIA!!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02) and soon to be a tarheel!

[mama2be]

EDITED FOR MY AWFUL TYPING SKILLS...PROMISE THAT I REALLY DO KNOW HOW TO SPELL (ATLEAST MOST WORDS)...JUST NOT THE BEST TYPIST...UGHHH....I HATE PROOFING....


I do I do...we moved from DC to Raleigh 2 1/2 years ago!!!!!

email me directly and I will give you my phone number if you want to chat about it... [email protected]

Cary (Apex) is probably the best place for "transplants" in that it is real diverse area and folks from all over. We did not move there, and I don't really regret it but do wish that I was surrounded more by "my type" of folks and think that would be the Cary area.

We bought (without looking anywhere else) int he town of Clayton...I never ever thought I'd live in a samll town (but it is growing rapidly)...BUT we moved into a nice neighborhood on a killer golf course...It is a 4 1/2 star (public for about the next 5 years) course...the neighborhood is large with a pool and club house, and the course was rated second only to pinehurst number 2 in NC.

Houses in the neighborhood run from about 210-upwards of 500 and though I think if you looked at a picutre of a house in Cary vs one in this neighborhood the prices would be the same, in Cary you would be overlooking another house where here you would be on the course, or even on the Neuse River (small non boat river)....

Do a search on Glen Laurel or the Neuse Golf Course if that in the least bit intriques you and I think both have web sites...if you can't find it I will call around and get the info...

BUT take my advice if you build a home make certain that you have your own realtor...and a good one (if you look here I can rec someone)...because if you go to the sales office of these places without atleast making up that you have one they represent the seller a lot more than they rep you....and they get double commission so it does not save you a penny to do this, though you would think it would...

I should look on a map because I have heard of Sanford but don't know where it is...we would be more than happy to show you around our home if that interest you at all... We have an almost 4,000 sq foot home on a great view of the course and we paid about 420,000 for it...we have tons of upgrades to it...

[nigele]

Congratulations to you and your husband on his new job! When does he start? When will you move?

Neve is right about Cary - lots of transplanted people. (They say Cary stands for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees." Ha, ha. There is some truth to it, though!)

[kathsmom]

Neve and Lisa,

Thanks for responding back to my post. I will be e-mailing you both tomorrow (wait it already is tomorrow!! - it's 1:00 a.m. and DS just went down for a couple of hours). I have a ton of work to do tonight now that everyone, except me, is in bed!!

Neve, one of my DH's soon-to-be co-workers lives in Clayton and I think he told DH that it was approximately 40 miles from Clayton to Sanford. DH is definitely interested in golf, but he said it is not a necessity that we live on a golf course. I am interested in having a swim/tennis club. I don't play tennis, but DH does some, and DD has really taken to swimming in the last year. We did look at a couple of golf course communities in Sanford, but the houses were a little small for us. Does your community have covenants regarding upkeep of the home? We have 2 neighbors who have let their yards get so overgrown and yucky. One of our other neighbors called the county on one of them and they threatened to fine him. We never were in favor of covenants until now!!

Lisa, DH will probably start December 1, 2002. He gave his 2 week notice yesterday, but is waiting to hear from his boss when his last day will be. The new boss is very flexible and wants to help DH leave his current job in good standing. We are going to put our house on the market in January 2003. We just put in a new ceramic tile floor in the kitchen, which was not cheap! We will have to replace the dishwasher and put in new carpeting throughout the house as well. I can just see our equity going out the window with all the things we have to do to get the house ready for putting on the market. The guy who put in our tile in the kitchen commented that a lot of people put off doing home improvement/beautification projects until they have to sell the home, and then they never get to enjoy what they have spent so much money on! Hopefully, the house will sell pretty quickly and we can buy a house up there before the interest rates go up again.

I love the acronym for Cary!! I didn't realize that it was a place that "Yankees" go to!! I was born and raised in the South, so I can certainly understand how people would like to come here!!

Thanks again, and I will e-mail both of you about more information on the area!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[Rachels]

Sounds like you've got it covered. I grew up in Charlotte, and if I were to move back to the Raleigh area, I'd choose either Cary or Raleigh. Both are great, and Cary's in good reach of Chapel Hill, which is fun.

Sigh. I miss N.C. Please blow it a kiss for me.

-Rachel
Mommy to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mama2be]

I looked on a map yesterday and thought..."Oh she can't live in Clayton if he works in Sanford"...I didn't know where Sanford was.

I didn't realize that it is only 40 minutes/miles away it looked like it would be longer...but I think you'd miss traffic with that direction anyway.

We have very strict convenenets here in our neighborhood...and a lot of opinionated folks who don't have a problem enforcing them. I agree with you I am happy with that...My hubby is on the homeowners association and last year was the chair for the archetectural control committee so I know first hand folks get heated over this!!!!

I'm glad we are in a neighborhood since Clayton is still slightly country (but changing day by day, I think the fastest growing town in NC from what I have "heard"...)the good news for me is I am not having to drive by dogs attached to small leashes with no dog house etc, like you are in some of the country towns around here (and some of Clayton)...That is why I would have chosen Cary or Apex over the country had I known I would possibly be exposed to this. Foruntatly I am living in Glen Laurel and the commute to the neighborhood does not expose me to this...

and the commute to Raleigh is nothing to me (coming from DC). Some Raleigh folks think we are "way out" but when we compare their 5 mile commute to our 18 mile commute many times our commute is less time than theirs...which I highly believe when you see the traffic espcially in North Raleigh.

YOur hubby's co-worker might live in Glen Laurel it is a huge community...please keep me posted

[kathsmom]

Rachel,

I went to Queens College in Charlotte when it was an all girls school. I transfered in the middle of my junior year to Clemson University and graduated from there. By moving to the Raleigh area, I will be in the middle of ACC enemy territory during football and basketball season!!

I LOVE Charlotte and wish we could move there, because we are familiar with the area, even though it has really grown. Where do you live now? I will blow a kiss to NC the next time I cross the state line!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[blnony]

Hey! I can't believe so many people on this board like around here. We live in Morrisville. Actually, we are about 1 mille from Cary in the Preston area.
I used to work for a real estate firm here, and I would be happy to give you some names of people to talk to about homes and relocation information.
We relocated here last June, and its a beautiful place. We are from Little Rock originally, so this is very much like home.
Morrisville would be a little out of the way for you, depending on what you are looking for, each of the towns you mentioned are great.
Apex if you want more of a suburban small town feel, Cary for new growth and pretty spread out, Raleigh if you like being in the city atmosphere or close to everything, and Sanford for a very small town feel.
I really would recommend getting info about relocation, it could tell you more about schools and things like that which tend to change a lot.

[kathsmom]

Brianna,

Thanks for the information!! I am sorry about not posting sooner, but it has been a madhouse around here lately!! We had a wedding to go to this weekend and of course, my maternity clothes are too big and my regular clothes are too litte, plus my feet grew again with this baby (DH thinks I am just saying that to get a new shoe wardrobe. He should have seen my face when I gave my mom 4 pairs of almost brand new pumps that I can't wear anymore!!). So my mom loaned me a dress and I had to go buy new shoes!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. We are excited about moving to NC, even though we will hate leaving our friends here. DD is really upset, but when I told her we'd be closer to the beach than where we are now, she cheered up a lot. We met a real estate agent in Sanford when we went there for DH to meet the owner of the company he is going to work for. She is super nice and was recommended to us by DH's new boss. If we decide to live in Sanford, we will use her. If we decide to live in Raleigh/Cary/Apex, we will need an agent there, because I don't think she knows that area. We are not sure what we want yet. I want to get the most house for our money, which would probably mean Sanford (however, some of the new construction there is not that much less than Cary/Raleigh/Apex). Sanford does not have the shopping amenities that the Cary area has. I would have to drive 30 minutes or so to get to a mall or other stores. Of course, DH pointed out that I do that now here in Atlanta - due to traffic or distance.

DH will officially begin this job Dec.2, 2002. He will be working the job out of Atlanta, with trips to Sanford, until we sell our house. Hopefully, he can scout out the area when he is up there, because DD is in kindergarten and I don't like travelling that far with a baby!

I'll let you know what is going on and thank you for your help!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[Rachels]

Aak, Toni, I just saw this! I didn't mean to ignore your question. I live in Boston now. I love it for the stuff to do and the water and the theatre, but not for the traffic and definitely not for many, many months of winter. Also, I find people to be-- not rude, but just not as forthcoming and friendly. Once you get to know people here, they're delightful, but I find that it takes more time and more work.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02