Seeking moving advice: Triangle Area, NC.

iposter

I know some of people here at AI are in the Triangle area of NC, I am seeking moving information/advice on the region. I am being medically retired from the Navy which means this is a short notice move and we won't have much time to look for a place before I get out. (June/July)



My parents live in Chapel Hill, so I know a few things about the area and where not to look (Durham, etc.) but would like to get some info from people who might live in other areas. We looked online at Apex/Fuquay but don't want our kids being bused around to different schools. And what's with the high crime level in Hillsboro?



Keep in mind I am going to be living off of Navy/VA disability, at least until I can finish school and see what kind of work I'll be able to get, so Chapel Hill/Carboro and Raleigh are out money wise.



Thanks for any advice!

hardeeharhar

Ahem... Research Triangle Park...



Not that I have ever lived in RTP, but what specifically is wrong with Apex?



I just did a google search, and it seems like a nice community with schools that perform really well. Being bused is far less of an issue than how good the schools are -- i was bused for an hour to and from magnet schools, and it really made no difference to me especially in light of the quality of education I recieved...

iposter

Quote:

Originally posted by hardeeharhar

Ahem... Research Triangle Park...



Not that I have ever lived in RTP, but what specifically is wrong with Apex?



I just did a google search, and it seems like a nice community with schools that perform really well. Being bused is far less of an issue than how good the schools are -- i was bused for an hour to and from magnet schools, and it really made no difference to me especially in light of the quality of education I recieved...

Well quality of schools is important, but there is a difference between busing middle/high school kids to a magnet school and busing elementary school kids across town just to tweak the demographics. We dealt with busing in a different state, and it was a huge impact on the quality of life for my kid. He would not get home from elementary school until 5-6pm and was burned out and irritated from the bus ride. And that school district changes the busing areas every school year. My dad has talked to people he works with that live in that county, and their kid's school changes almost every year, no consistency/community building. One person's kid has been on 3 different football teams in the last 3 years, etc.

hardeeharhar

Well there is nothing wrong with attempting to equalize demographics (because it actually does work to everyone's benefit) if you do it well (that is consistency and reasonably short bus routes).



I wouldn't trust personal narratives to get a sense of what a school district's policies are... You should probably directly ask the school district what the busing times are and frequency of school changes.



I have never understood the growing anti-busing tendencies of parents.

his dudeness

Well, I have two more years to go before I retire from the Navy. I'm on limdu right now.



I'd move to Chapel Hill in a heartbeat. Awesome town and it's also home to the Heels, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Stay away from Durham. It's a dirty old town, and it's also home to the Puke Blew Devils!!!!!!!!!!! Boo hiiiisssss!!!!!!



But Chapel Hill is nice, Raleigh is nice. But I'd rather live in the outskirts of Charlotte myself. My dad lived in Mathews for a few years and it's a nice town.

e1618978

Stay away from Wake county - the cross town bussing of students is a nightmare (I know families with multiple kids going to multiple schools, one across town, and they change your school on you sometimes). The problems with Wake county bussing are constantly in the local news, and the population has grown much faster than they have been able to build schools, so there are tons of portible buildings and such.



Durham is actually getting pretty nice - they are rennovating all the brick tobacco buildings into high end condos, forcing the poor people out. But Durham is a place for young, single, hipsters - I live in Durham county, but out of town.



Apex is a soulless wasteland. Houses all look the same, and there are tons of strip malls with places like "Panera Bread" that sell good looking/lousy tasting food.



Pittsboro is wonderful and cheap, but has lousy tasting water. Bynum is also good, also with lousy water quality. I would live in Chatham county if I were in your shoes (but I am not sure how good/bad the schools are).



My local high school (Jordan high - durham county) is supposed to be as good as the Chapel Hill schools, and houses in Durham county are a lot less expensive than Chapel Hill. The Orange county schools outside of Chapel Hill are supposed to be quite bad - there is a big uprising whenever they talk about merging the two school districts.



But the best option is get cheap land as close as possible to the Waldorf school, and send your kids there. Eventually developers will overrun you and buy you out for a boatload of cash - as we are supposed to have high population growth over the next 20 years or so.

outsider

I'm out of city limits of Durham, and like it enough coming from up north. Mass transit is a joke and my daughter is not young enough to be going to school yet but if you are far enough away from the dense urban areas of Durham, it's pretty nice.

iposter

Thanks for all the advice everyone!



Hopefully things will clear up after we are able to get up there and start looking around...