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Several months ago, I posted that my husband accepted a position in Raleigh. The move is supposed to take place at the end of this school year for my children(9th and 10th graders) and myself. My husband will go over in early May. He and I have been over to Raleigh since January looking for houses and unfortunately, we haven't found anything like we are looking for in our price range. Our kids are not happy about moving at this point in their lives and leaving our house we have. We live on a 7 acre lake and have room to hit golf balls in front yard, play with our dogs and fish, ride our four wheelers around a bit etc. We have about 3 acres and live outside our small town of approx. 16,000. in southern Illinois

We currently are considering Wake Christian Academy. They currently go to a small Christian school of about 125 total so we thought that school would be a good transition size. However, the realtor we are working with has said that we are not going to find a house like we are looking for with an acre or more lot close to school in the area. In fact, we found one house in Holly Springs(on a small lot but it backed up to woods) near a golf course(which is a plus for our boys) but the home inspection revealed too numerous of problems for us to pursue that home. We just visited over the weekend and showed the boys another home in West Oaks subdivision in Fuquay Varina but they- like my husband and I- don't really want to live in a subdivision.

So, now we are considering looking outside of Wake Country and trying public schools...is there a good area on southwest/west or possibly northwest direction that offers a good public school that would be in a smaller town? We don't want to live in the city at all and my husband would be willing to drive 30 minutes or so in order to find a house/school that boys like?

We are very discouraged at the thought of moving now as it is going to cost more to buy a home like ours there as well as the cost of school. My husband is seriously thinking of asking to back out of the job...but it may be too late.

Can someone please offer some positive input on areas to look at for a rural home and good school options outside the Wake County?

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I'm mostly bumping you... I went to high school in Durham. At that time there was an unincorporated area where the homes were slightly more spread out, and those kids went to Jordan High, which was a good school. Things have changed a lot since then. It's a pretty neat place. Good luck finding something.

:)

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A very close friend of mine lives in that area and attended Wake Christian as a teenager. Her whole family lives in the area. I'm betting that if you called the Sovereign Grace church in Apex (where my friend attends), the secretary could put you in touch with someone in the church who could answer your questions. They're really friendly folks. :001_smile:

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Take a look at Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Siler City, also Benson.

 

Not sure at all about schools, though.. sorry. I love Hillsborough-- and Pittsboro is nice too. I know a family with land out in Benson-- they love it there.

 

Good luck!

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Durham rocks. Some of the schools are quite good and they still have a magnet program. Others aren't. But if you want to be out in the country, then I'm not sure what all there is to offer or what the schools are like. The things that make Durham nifty are mostly in town.

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Several months ago, I posted that my husband accepted a position in Raleigh. The move is supposed to take place at the end of this school year for my children(9th and 10th graders) and myself. My husband will go over in early May. He and I have been over to Raleigh since January looking for houses and unfortunately, we haven't found anything like we are looking for in our price range. Our kids are not happy about moving at this point in their lives and leaving our house we have. We live on a 7 acre lake and have room to hit golf balls in front yard, play with our dogs and fish, ride our four wheelers around a bit etc. We have about 3 acres and live outside our small town of approx. 16,000. in southern Illinois

We currently are considering Wake Christian Academy. They currently go to a small Christian school of about 125 total so we thought that school would be a good transition size. However, the realtor we are working with has said that we are not going to find a house like we are looking for with an acre or more lot close to school in the area. In fact, we found one house in Holly Springs(on a small lot but it backed up to woods) near a golf course(which is a plus for our boys) but the home inspection revealed too numerous of problems for us to pursue that home. We just visited over the weekend and showed the boys another home in West Oaks subdivision in Fuquay Varina but they- like my husband and I- don't really want to live in a subdivision.

So, now we are considering looking outside of Wake Country and trying public schools...is there a good area on southwest/west or possibly northwest direction that offers a good public school that would be in a smaller town? We don't want to live in the city at all and my husband would be willing to drive 30 minutes or so in order to find a house/school that boys like?

We are very discouraged at the thought of moving now as it is going to cost more to buy a home like ours there as well as the cost of school. My husband is seriously thinking of asking to back out of the job...but it may be too late.

Can someone please offer some positive input on areas to look at for a rural home and good school options outside the Wake County?

 

I would consider looking in Willow Spring (it's partially in Wake, Johnston, and Harnett counties), but still close enough that your kids could go to Wake Christian. I would also consider the Angier area (Harnett County).

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Jenn, my husband met a guy yesterday that mentioned Willow Springs. Unfortunately, this entire upcoming move/promotion has been such a strain on our family for right at a year in May. The branch of gov't he works in takes a long time to get things rolling with promotions and relocations. The process of it all has taken its toll on us all. If only we had been able to move last August before the kids started this school they are attending this year.

He spoke to his supervisor yesterday morning and asked to stay here rather than put us through any more stress. The two districts are now in discussion as to whether it will happen. And to add stress upon stress, now after the boys told us they didn't want to move...they said maybe it is the right thing to move. They couldn't believe Dad called yesterday and asked to stay here. Honestly, we are all so confused but it is out of our hands now. We should know something this week and go from there. Thanks for the location suggestions. I'm making a list of them in case my husband has to go ahead with the job. We dropped our realtor we were working with and will find another that works more in that area. We have moved 6 times with my husband's work but never has it been so difficult. Teenagers, moving across country from aging parents, higher cost of living/housing/schooling/traffic...I just guess even though we like being close to a city that we are not a city people really.

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When we were looking to move to NC, we were sure we would only consider Raleigh, so we came out twice (from CA) looking at houses. We found two that I really liked. One was in Wake Forest and on 3 acres. The other was 2 acres in Cary. The one in Cary was kind of a sub-division, but it was one where everyone bought land and built their own houses so they didn't look the same. There was no HOA.

 

Turned out the job offer came from Charlotte, even though he interviewed in Raleigh, so we didn't actually move there after all.

 

Dawn

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There are tons of places arount Raleigh to live. My SIL lives in Wake Forest and her husband is a realtor. He's a really good guy. If you want someone to give 150%, he's the man. He lives in Wake Forest and could probably find something like you want- land. I do understand what you are saying. We have five acres and a pond. We are NOT subdivision ppl.;)

 

If you think you need anymore help, just let me know and I can put you in touch with him.

 

Good luck!

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does anyone know about the high school that someone in Angier would attend? I think that it said the high school was Johnston county? Is it a good school? It is an area mentioned to us and there are couple of houses on realtor.com that I found that might be worth taking a look at if we should have to take the position. My husband did turn in his request to step back from the promotion but we haven't heard if it will be accepted. We have mixed feelings about the situation as there are trade offs to staying here in southern Illinois vs. moving east. We all love being that close to the beach, having nice shopping, fun activites(hockey games, mall, restaurants) butI cost of housing/property and school situation and being far from family are big issues.

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I think Angier is in Harnett county... I could be wrong about that, though.

 

I don't know much about that area, but I do know how it feels to move from the midwest to NC. We left my entire extended family (although my mom did move here a few months after we did) when we moved here.

 

We wanted a change-- loved the idea of being closer to the ocean, more to do culturally speaking etc.. It was tough. Very difficult transition. People here are... different. I hadn't expected that at all. Naive, I guess.

 

I've grown to love NC though, and wouldn't go back now. But it took years for me to feel comfortable; and there are still moments when I just miss midwesterners. :001_smile:

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I would consider looking in Willow Spring (it's partially in Wake, Johnston, and Harnett counties), but still close enough that your kids could go to Wake Christian. I would also consider the Angier area (Harnett County).

 

Jenn,

What high school would the kids go to if we found a place in Willow Spring or even Angier? I am having second thoughts about Wake Christian and wondering if we should consider a public school if we should have to look further out. We currently have a 30-40 minute drive to school and my youngest son wants to have a shorter drive so he can be more involved. We have been told that the public schools in Wake County are sort of a nightmare but are do these towns have their own public schools? Would you recommend them? We are STILL waiting to hear if they will approve our request to stay here or if we have to move. The waiting is the hardest part right now.

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Also look in New Hill and Moncure. The drive to Wake Christian will be longer, but they will more likely have the land you want.

 

Cheryl,

I see that you live in Cary so you should know the area and schools for sure...if we are considering looking PAST Wake County public schools and maybe even considering the boys not going to Wake Christian Academy, is there a particular town or county that you would recommend for public schools? We realize the size of the schools will be much larger than Wake Christian but if we could find a small town out about 30-40 minute commute for my husband, then we might consider a public school. My husband's new office I think will be on the west/southwest side of Raleigh...Wesvill Court is the street I believe.

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Jenn,

What high school would the kids go to if we found a place in Willow Spring or even Angier? I am having second thoughts about Wake Christian and wondering if we should consider a public school if we should have to look further out. We currently have a 30-40 minute drive to school and my youngest son wants to have a shorter drive so he can be more involved. We have been told that the public schools in Wake County are sort of a nightmare but are do these towns have their own public schools? Would you recommend them? We are STILL waiting to hear if they will approve our request to stay here or if we have to move. The waiting is the hardest part right now.

 

I believe they would go to Harnett Central High School (Harnett County) if you live in Angier. Willow Springs is in Wake, Harnett and Johnston counties (depending on where you live). If you live on the Wake County side, they would probably go to Fuquay-Varina High School. I'm not sure what school they would go to if you lived on the Johnston County side of Willow Spring--maybe West Johnston High School?

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I believe they would go to Harnett Central High School (Harnett County) if you live in Angier. Willow Springs is in Wake, Harnett and Johnston counties (depending on where you live). If you live on the Wake County side, they would probably go to Fuquay-Varina High School. I'm not sure what school they would go to if you lived on the Johnston County side of Willow Spring--maybe West Johnston High School?

 

Do you have any comments to offer on the Fuquay or Harnett Central...possibly schools around Jordan Lake....saw some homes on Realtor.com that we might be interested in that were located there.

We have always homeschooled up until this year and the boys are currently at a small(approx. 125 total students)Christian school. We drive about 35-40 minutes to school now so we thought if we did find a home in a town further out that the boys might consider going to a public school...my problem is finding someone that might be able to offer any comments about those schools...good quality schools, positive atmosphere and teachers...etc.

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Do you have any comments to offer on the Fuquay or Harnett Central...possibly schools around Jordan Lake....saw some homes on Realtor.com that we might be interested in that were located there.

We have always homeschooled up until this year and the boys are currently at a small(approx. 125 total students)Christian school. We drive about 35-40 minutes to school now so we thought if we did find a home in a town further out that the boys might consider going to a public school...my problem is finding someone that might be able to offer any comments about those schools...good quality schools, positive atmosphere and teachers...etc.

 

Fuquay is Wake County--- the schools in Wake County have trouble with overcrowded classrooms and parents who aren't happy with year round Vs traditional calendars. Like most places, you'll have good schools and not so good schools. There is a charter school in Fuquay http://southernwakeacademy.org/ You could check into that.

 

If you're looking near Jordan Lake, could you be looking at Orange County or Chatham County? There is a charter school called Woods Charter http://www.woodscharter.org/ out that way.

 

I don't know how old your kids are... but those are 2 free options for high schools.

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My dd homeschooled her whole life and started public school for high school. We are in Johnston County and it has been a great experience. We moved from Raleigh and have about 10 acres. Things can be confusing but here is some help:

West Johnston High - good school, large, good sports, great band program. The addresses that feed into it is confusing because it pulls from a community that is unincorporated but locals call it Cleveland or 40/42. It is not located near these towns but the addresses will be: Benson,Willow Springs, Angier, and Garner. ( most of these towns straddle multiple counties so it would be in the Johnston County section.

Cleveland High-this is the same area as West. Brand new school and is smaller with a great community feel to it. Cant say a negative about it! Again, it is in unincorporated area so addresses are really odd and aren't in these actual towns. You will see mostly Garner, Clayton, and a small section with a Smithfield address.

Wake Christian- we have lots of friends there as well. You will see kids from Raleigh, Cary, all over the Johnston County and Harnett County

Good luck. We really like our community. Feel free to PM me if I can help any further.

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There are tons of places arount Raleigh to live. My SIL lives in Wake Forest and her husband is a realtor. He's a really good guy. If you want someone to give 150%, he's the man. He lives in Wake Forest and could probably find something like you want- land. I do understand what you are saying. We have five acres and a pond. We are NOT subdivision ppl.;)

 

If you think you need anymore help, just let me know and I can put you in touch with him.

 

Good luck!

 

please give me your brother-in-law's name....our main concern is that we would like for the boys to go to a small school. We are now having second thoughts about Wake Christian. Our thoughts are that we might be able to find a house with more property and like we want in a smaller town out from Raleigh. My husband's new office is going to be located on Wesvill Court which I think is on the west side of Raleigh. He and I are considering him having a longer commute if we could find a small town with a good school out a ways...any thoughts? Please send me his realtor's site if he has one so I might be able to look at properties.

thanks...

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Take a look at Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Siler City, also Benson.

 

Not sure at all about schools, though.. sorry. I love Hillsborough-- and Pittsboro is nice too. I know a family with land out in Benson-- they love it there.

 

Good luck!

 

We have always homeschooled up until this last year...now that the boys have been in private Christian school, they do not want to go back to homeschooling for the rest of the high school years. Can you tell me high schools that you know of that are out in a rural area...they currently go to a school of approximately 125 students. We realize that this is probably not possible in a public school but we would love to move far enough outside of Raleigh that they could go to a smaller high school that would allow them to connect with kids their last years of high school. This move is killing my husband--he feels extremely guilty for moving the kids at this time. He and I have only been over about 4 times looking at houses( in fact, we have had two houses under contract which have fallen thru due to home inspections) but we are very discouraged due to house prices and lack of space compared to our home/acreage here in southern Illinois. I would appreciate any comments and advice. We are flying over again this week to meet with new realtors and start a search for schools and homes once again. His report date is June 4th and we don't know where to start our home search again.

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