Can you please help me with what areas are really the best areas to live in Raleigh N.C.? We are heavily considering a move and would like to know your opinions of everything from schools to hospitals. Basicallyy the prime areas in where to move for families and access to ameneties.

Please, please, please…..even if you do not have in depth knowledge of the area, but you have a solid opinion of anything (i.e. hospitals, daycare, shopping, etc) please do respond. I am looking for general information as a whole, but would like the granular information as well.

I do know that North Carolina is a beautiful state to live in, so looking forward to your advice and opinions.

NOTE: Should I consider the Charlotte area versus Raleigh? At this point, I am focused on Raleigh, but if you have an opinion on areas around Charlotte that are better, please do let me know.

Thank you Everyone!!

Trying again...can anyone lend a hand here?

I've lived here all of my adult life. I prefer N. Raleigh which has good schools and lots of amenities.

Lots of people love Cary, however I abhor it. It's a giant cluster if you ask me and I wouldn't live there if you paid me to.

If you will be commuting to RTP, then take that into consideration because going back and forth from N. Raleigh to the park gets really old.

Hope that helps.

I am not a fan of Charlotte by the way. Too congested for my tastes.

Thank you, I appreciate the information!

born and raised in raleigh and still live in Wake County. Depending on your wish list/budget/work situation are can make the area you look at completely vary. With a little more info we can probably narrow that down for you

Essentially we will be looking for an area where we are close to food stores, day care, hospitals, hardware stores, standard shopping, parks, etc. Not sure about the location of the jobs yet, just in the area that I described. Will know more soon, but just looking for the areas where safety and distance to amenities are good. Because I am not familiar with Raleigh at all, I am not sure if it’s best to live in Raleigh, or just close enough to Raleigh. I do prefer new/newer housing, however we rehabbed homes appeal to me as well for old charm. I don’t wan to be near any water pooling areas or areas that are somewhat disconnected from amenities. What I mean by that is areas where your kids would have to constantly cross major roads just to get to a park or most of their friends. Sometimes they build subdivisions in remote areas where you have to drive long distances to everything. I prefer to be around 15 minutes from most major things. Hope that helps to describe what I am looking for.

Basically anywhere within a 30 mile radius of downtown Raleigh will meet your requirements for 15 minute access to standard amenities such as shopping, etc.

You have to move pretty far outside of Raleigh to be "in the country" so to speak.

Thanks for the information....that's good to know.

did you ever make a decision op?

Big thread revival, but definitely Raleigh over Charlotte. So much more to do and more development. Better school districts, better night life, more influx of money, more jobs. RTP is a huge tech and pharma area and Pittsboro will be expanded next. That being said, it's best to live on the outskirts of Raleigh. Morrisville is pretty good and Wake Forest on the NE corner. Garner or Durham can be cheaper options, but have drawbacks. Cary is okay, but can be expensive and it's becoming overpopulated. Best of luck, can answer any specific questions. I've been living in the Cary/Raleigh area 26 years.

Hey there! Did you get all your questions answered about North Carolina? I live just outside Raleigh and know quite a bit. We own a small family feed business and deliver animal feed all around the area!

Thank you so much for your input, this is on hold for now as life likes to throw curve balls. I will definitely bring life back to this thread when I know more. Thanks again!