UnionJack Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Can anyone share thoughts on Cary, NC? I see online that it has about 160K people... Is it spread out? or more centralized? What are neighborhoods like? I see that is close to Raleigh; is it easily accessible to Raleigh? How is traffic? Are there any cute areas with independent shops/restaurants? What sort of character/feel does it have? I'll be visiting in a couple months and am excited to look around... What sort of nearby activities are there--whether as a one-day visitor (I'll be spending most of my time with friends in Charlotte) or if we were to move there.... e.g. hiking? any nearby lakes, etc.? Does anyone know anything about Cary Christian, Cary Academy, or Grace Christian School? (Any local impressions or firsthand experience?) I frequently see Cary = "Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees"... Does that have an implication? or just that there are a lot of transplants living in Cary? Thanks for any insight anyone has! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Ha, ha about the acronym. I know nothing about Cary except that a church family recently relocated there from the northeast after doing considerable research as to best spots in NC to move to! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 ok the CARY comment is funny. Long ago IBM moved to Raleigh and all these Yankees moved with them. I worked with several women whose husbands worked with IBM. They were all long time IBM people and yes, they had all moved down from the north. We have lived in Raleigh area before(twice), and a short stint in Cary/Morrisville area as well. I love the area. Loads of trees. Easy to get between the cities, although like anywhere traffic is always getting worse. Cary was your typical suburb and very family friendly. I liked the neighborhoods there but most are HOA, so while charming b/c it looks nice, some look a lot alike. It's the trees that make it so nice though. We loved all our friends that lived out in Cary, just good people. Even if many were from the north. NC has so many people moving to it, I doubt the yankee comment can be applied like it used to be long ago. There is hiking in that region as well as mountain biking. Think rolling hills, not steep mountains. Which makes it nice to get outside when it's not too hot/humid. Museums in Raleigh and Durham. We haven't lived in the area for a long time now, but we liked it a lot. Sadly it just didn't work out for us to stay(job related stuff). We would move back to that area in a heartbeat. I know you said you are visiting a friend in Charlotte...I like Raleigh area much better than Charlotte(lived there for high school). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 (edited) Well, I'm familiar with some of the area. We went to church in Cary for over a decade, as well as worked over there...but we live further west now. I think of Cary as being spread out, sprawling/merging with surrounding areas (Apex, Morrisville, etc). Totally easily accessible to Raleigh; literally minutes from our church in Cary (near Cary Town Center mall) to downtown Raleigh. Obviously, traffic can make that longer, particularly during rush hour. Cute areas: downtown is cute with locally owned stores and restaurants. All of the surrounding downtowns have pretty "hip" downtown scenes with music and food trucks and such. We like a little shopping area called Waverly Place. They have outdoor concerts there. http://waverlycary.com There are fair number of parks and greenways in the area. Also several lakes within short driving distance. We are partial to Jordan Lake but it's just closest to us. https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=lakes&find_loc=Cary%2C+NC Pullen Park is technically in Raleigh, but it's close and really nice. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g49463-d277317-Reviews-Pullen_Park-Raleigh_North_Carolina.html I have no personal experience with the schools, but our former church had a teacher at and several families that attended Grace Christian. But all you need to know is that (supposedly) Cary will be getting an Ikea within the next year or two, so there ya go. ;) Edited January 25, 2018 by alisoncooks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 No, no. It's Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. ;) Truthfully, I think there are transplants from LOTS of places in the whole RDU area. DS22 is at UNC and will be taking a job at RTP after graduation. So I'm only familiar with the area in a "know Chapel Hill and been apartment hunting around RTP with DS" sort of way. So take what I have to say with a grain of salt. It seems to me the whole area is very convenient. I get confused whether we're in Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary or Raleigh. To me it's easy to go from one to the other w/o knowing you've crossed into one town or city from another. Traffic is busy but not awful. Jordan Lake is very popular. There are museums in Raleigh and lots of things to do at UNC (like Morehead planetarium) and Duke (like the gardens). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 It has one of the lowest crime rates in the state. That's about all I know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Sending you a pm! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Kid sister found out her job is moving them to Raleigh sometime this spring or summer - would Cary be close commute to downtownish Raleigh? I do not have the address of her new job yet... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Kid sister found out her job is moving them to Raleigh sometime this spring or summer - would Cary be close commute to downtownish Raleigh? I do not have the address of her new job yet... Yes. Many people commute from Cary to Raleigh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 ok the CARY comment is funny. Long ago IBM moved to Raleigh and all these Yankees moved with them. I worked with several women whose husbands worked with IBM. They were all long time IBM people and yes, they had all moved down from the north. We have lived in Raleigh area before(twice), and a short stint in Cary/Morrisville area as well. I love the area. Loads of trees. Easy to get between the cities, although like anywhere traffic is always getting worse. Cary was your typical suburb and very family friendly. I liked the neighborhoods there but most are HOA, so while charming b/c it looks nice, some look a lot alike. It's the trees that make it so nice though. We loved all our friends that lived out in Cary, just good people. Even if many were from the north. NC has so many people moving to it, I doubt the yankee comment can be applied like it used to be long ago. There is hiking in that region as well as mountain biking. Think rolling hills, not steep mountains. Which makes it nice to get outside when it's not too hot/humid. Museums in Raleigh and Durham. We haven't lived in the area for a long time now, but we liked it a lot. Sadly it just didn't work out for us to stay(job related stuff). We would move back to that area in a heartbeat. I know you said you are visiting a friend in Charlotte...I like Raleigh area much better than Charlotte(lived there for high school). Thanks!! This is helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Well, I'm familiar with some of the area. We went to church in Cary for over a decade, as well as worked over there...but we live further west now. I think of Cary as being spread out, sprawling/merging with surrounding areas (Apex, Morrisville, etc). Totally easily accessible to Raleigh; literally minutes from our church in Cary (near Cary Town Center mall) to downtown Raleigh. Obviously, traffic can make that longer, particularly during rush hour. Cute areas: downtown is cute with locally owned stores and restaurants. All of the surrounding downtowns have pretty "hip" downtown scenes with music and food trucks and such. We like a little shopping area called Waverly Place. They have outdoor concerts there. http://waverlycary.com There are fair number of parks and greenways in the area. Also several lakes within short driving distance. We are partial to Jordan Lake but it's just closest to us. https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=lakes&find_loc=Cary%2C+NC Pullen Park is technically in Raleigh, but it's close and really nice. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g49463-d277317-Reviews-Pullen_Park-Raleigh_North_Carolina.html I have no personal experience with the schools, but our former church had a teacher at and several families that attended Grace Christian. But all you need to know is that (supposedly) Cary will be getting an Ikea within the next year or two, so there ya go. ;) Thank you! Lots of trees in that video, like tess in the burbs said :-) Aside from Apex and Morrisville, are there any other towns we should consider? Waverly Place looks fun...We like places like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 No, no. It's Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. ;) Truthfully, I think there are transplants from LOTS of places in the whole RDU area. DS22 is at UNC and will be taking a job at RTP after graduation. So I'm only familiar with the area in a "know Chapel Hill and been apartment hunting around RTP with DS" sort of way. So take what I have to say with a grain of salt. It seems to me the whole area is very convenient. I get confused whether we're in Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary or Raleigh. To me it's easy to go from one to the other w/o knowing you've crossed into one town or city from another. Traffic is busy but not awful. Jordan Lake is very popular. There are museums in Raleigh and lots of things to do at UNC (like Morehead planetarium) and Duke (like the gardens). Ah, *Containment*! :lol: Glad to hear traffic is not awful. Thank you for the links! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samba Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 We know several people who have moved to the Cary area. Some parts are busy but others are spread out. We also know people in Apex and Fuquay-Varina. They all love it there. My friend is an agent in that area if you are looking for someone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Can anyone share thoughts on Cary, NC? I see online that it has about 160K people... Is it spread out? or more centralized? What are neighborhoods like? I see that is close to Raleigh; is it easily accessible to Raleigh? How is traffic? Are there any cute areas with independent shops/restaurants? What sort of character/feel does it have? I'll be visiting in a couple months and am excited to look around... What sort of nearby activities are there--whether as a one-day visitor (I'll be spending most of my time with friends in Charlotte) or if we were to move there.... e.g. hiking? any nearby lakes, etc.? Does anyone know anything about Cary Christian, Cary Academy, or Grace Christian School? (Any local impressions or firsthand experience?) I frequently see Cary = "Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees"... Does that have an implication? or just that there are a lot of transplants living in Cary? Thanks for any insight anyone has! Are you also looking at Charlotte? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 My friend used to live in Durham, downtown, and then moved to Cary. She preferred the artsy hipster nature of Durham, and says Cary is a bit too soccer-mom suburban for her tastes, but that's her only complain. As a single woman with no children,t hat makes sense :) Although, she just got engaged and is considering kids in the next few years, so her opinion my change :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Can anyone share thoughts on Cary, NC? I see online that it has about 160K people... Is it spread out? or more centralized? What are neighborhoods like? I see that is close to Raleigh; is it easily accessible to Raleigh? How is traffic? Are there any cute areas with independent shops/restaurants? What sort of character/feel does it have? I'll be visiting in a couple months and am excited to look around... What sort of nearby activities are there--whether as a one-day visitor (I'll be spending most of my time with friends in Charlotte) or if we were to move there.... e.g. hiking? any nearby lakes, etc.? Does anyone know anything about Cary Christian, Cary Academy, or Grace Christian School? (Any local impressions or firsthand experience?) I frequently see Cary = "Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees"... Does that have an implication? or just that there are a lot of transplants living in Cary? Thanks for any insight anyone has! Cary borders Raleigh and is very, very spread out and sprawly. Traffic is bad on I-40, and at times on 55. If you'd be interested in commuting via bus, check it out before you start looking for places to live. LOTS of parks and outdoor things to do in Raleigh/Cary. There are some cute little shops in downtown Cary near the Amtrak station. You might also like Cameron Village in Raleigh, and the flea market every weekend at the state fairgrounds. The state art museum is in western Raleigh as well (Blue Ridge Road area). Variation on the nickname that I've heard: Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. Just lots of transplants who've come south for jobs, especially in Research Triangle Park. The population has boomed in the last 40 years. It's a 3-hour drive from Charlotte. Cary is close to RDU airport in Morrisville. I can't comment on those private schools specifically, sorry. I didn't read other responses yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 I'd be open to Charlotte but don't think there would be employment opportunities for my husband there, unfortunately. :( (That's where some friends are, though; that's my main reason in visiting!) Are you also looking at Charlotte? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 I'd be open to Charlotte but don't think there would be employment opportunities for my husband there, unfortunately. :( (That's where some friends are, though; that's my main reason in visiting!) Interesting. We wanted to move to Raleigh and there were no opportunities for my husband there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 By the way, I am jealous. I keep trying to get my husband to consider moving up there. But he just got a promotion at his current job so that's not happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.