Avoid Moving To Knightdale NC | Unless You Can Handle These 7 Facts

 Knightdale continues to be a fast growing area in the eastern part of Wake County, just nine miles from downtown Raleigh. It's an affordable alternative to other triangle towns and has so much to offer from its great location and affordable housing. What used to be considered a rural and hidden gem, with its small town charm and farm landscape a couple of decades ago, has now started to grow.

started to explode and become another one of the many triangle area booming towns with many new developments underway and many more coming to our area soon from both businesses to housing communities with all its rapid growth many are wondering if Knightdale is losing its small town charm that so many people are looking for.

Today I'll be sharing some facts that may have you wanting to avoid living in Knightdale. I like to keep it real. And I share both the good bad and even the ugly about living in Knightdale. And I'll be speaking firsthand as a resident of Knightdale. along with others in the community who have shared their frustrations and concerns on community pages or online sites like reddit.

com and let you decide if Knightdale is a place to consider home or if you'd rather avoid moving to Knightdale. all together. Okay, let's just go ahead and jump right on in. We're going to start with number one and that's Knightdale gets a bad rap for its location in proximity to distance to amenities around the triangle, including the RTP and RDU airport.

And many think unless you'll be working locally or commuting only as far as downtown Raleigh or even working from home, that this Raleigh suburb is just not conveniently situated. If you take a look at the map, you'll see Knightdale has several highway options for traveling, including I 540, which provides quick access to North Raleigh.

There's also US 64 that runs through town and I 87 runs just south. south of town, which can both quickly take you into Raleigh or the eastern parts of the state. Going back to the commute into the RTP without traffic, it's going to take you roughly 30 minutes as well as commute times to the RDU airport.

However, if it's during peak times, it can bump up to around 45 minutes. which has ultimately had some move away from living in Knightdale or avoid living here altogether. But if you're a transplant like me, I already located here from Southern California and a 30 to 45 minute commute. was the daily norm for us, if not longer due to that traffic.

Number two, it's getting too crowded. Now, earlier I mentioned Knightdale has been exploding and becoming a booming area in the triangle. Now with just over 20, 000 residents, Knightdale has experienced significant growth in recent years. More than doubling its population since 2000 and between 2010 and 2013, the population grew another 10 percent and there's no sign of it slowing down.

As a result, the wait times to eat at restaurants have increased. Since we've moved here and there are some traffic spots during peak hours. Now I will say many if not all of the Raleigh's surrounding suburbs have experienced this same kind of growth in the past few decades. and struggle with increased traffic and restaurant wait times.

And Knightdale's population is still relatively lower than other suburbs, especially compared to the western side of Raleigh. So there still is a lot more room to grow. And with how much available land there is, that brings me to number three. Knightdale is booming with new development, housing, and businesses currently under construction and many proposed.

subject to approval. If you take a look at this map, you will see just how many we currently have in the woodworks. We have everything from new hotels to commercial buildings, office and retail space, apartments, condos, two level and three level townhomes, and single family residents in the works. I roughly counted approximately 7, 000 residences that will be or are in the works of being built, along with around 600 apartment units available to be rented.

If you want to know more about the upcoming developments here in Knightdale, make sure to watch this video where I talk more about this information. But if you're not wanting to be a part of a booming town that is currently going through major growth and more to come in this next decade, Then you may want to avoid Knightdale.

Number four, it's boring and lacks amenities. Many people who either already live here or come to explore the area say there just aren't enough amenities to enjoy in Knightdale. Up until the recent additions to the new downtown Knightdale area, we just didn't really have a downtown. And that's due to a fire back in 1940 that burnt most of the downtown Knightdale area.

And I will admit, if you are looking for a town rich in amenities, you will not find it here in Knightdale. Yet. But, I believe it's coming. Currently, we do not have a movie theater or a bowling alley. There's no urban air, just to name a few. And if you have teenagers, a big complaint from many parents is the lack of things for their kids to do here locally in town.

There is a great outdoor park, Knightdale Station Park, with walking trails, sports fields, playgrounds, and a dog park, but they don't have tennis courts or basketball hoops. Harper's Park has some great tennis and now pickleball courts, since that seems to be all the rage these days, but many just wish there were more things.

for their teens to do. Number five, it lacks diverse restaurants and shops. We do have some of the typical box chain stores like Target, Kohl's, TJ Maxx, Best Buy, and HomeGoods is on the way. Now I'm personally excited about that one, but you won't find many unique boutique type clothing shops like you do in many of the other surrounding suburbs.

For dining options, we recently got a Panera Bread, which was years in the making it feels like, and it's finally here. There's alpaca Peruvian chicken, and we do have Saltgrass steakhouse. along with a gem that just recently opened in the heart of downtown Knightdale, and that's none other than Depot on First, which is an upscale steak and seafood restaurant and bar.

They offer fine dining and fun events. And without having to travel into the Raleigh area. Tequilas has some great margaritas and quesaburrias. An El Hemador Mexican restaurant just renovated an old restaurant and it's been bustling ever since it opened. Then a local favorite that brings many to Knightdale from near and far, and that's none other than Prime BBQ.

that has the best biscuit around. Did I just say biscuit? I meant to say brisket. Y'all know I love biscuits. They're probably going to have to add that to their menu sometime soon. We do have a Starbucks and for a sweet treat, our go to is Cake town Bakery with their delicious Nana Pudding or Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcakes.

So when it comes to eating, you will have places to go and enjoy. a bite to eat, but your options will pale in comparison to heading into Raleigh. You can, however, drive a short distance to enjoy neighboring suburb cuisines as well, from Wendell Falls being just nine minutes up the way, or Clayton, Wake Forest, and Raleigh in less than 30 minutes.

But if you aren't one that likes to just If you just have a handful of options to go to eat in town, or you're not wanting to drive further out to enjoy other town amenities, then you may want to avoid living in Night dome. Number six is going to be the school ratings. Now one of the number one questions I get asked when families reach out looking for potential suburbs to live.

And they have school age children is which suburbs have the best school ratings. As a matter of fact, I asked that very same question and did my research on schools when we relocated to this area. Unfortunately, I was shocked to find coming from our California public school system with A ratings, our schools had 9 and 10 rated schools, to Knightdale's public schools with B ratings, with schools having 3s, 4s, and 5s.

Now to be fair, Knightdale is not the only suburb with low scores within the Raleigh area. Many areas suffer in this department across Wake County, Johnston County, and Harnett County. Even with these low scores, if you talk to many parents, students, and teachers in the public school, they will say that they absolutely love their school and they love their teachers.

Knight Dell And all the other suburbs also offer alternative schools ranging from charter schools to magnet schools and even some affordable private schools. So if schools are important to you, please do your research first to see if this suburb would be a good fit. Number seven is going to be crime and safety.

This is another top question I get asked And again, I asked the very same question when moving to this area. How is the crime and is it a safe place to live? One of the websites I like to use is NeighborhoodScout.com, which will show you a colored heat map based on crime levels in each region. I also like to use spot crime dot com.

You can type in an address and it'll show you what police have been called out for from domestic disputes to vandalism, thefts and arrest. You can also look at the trending report where they break down the most recent 30 days. Previous and past six months snapshot. For example, I'm recording this video July, 2024, and according to spot crime.com trends for Knightdale, it shows that month over month crime is currently down 39% while property crime has decreased 40%.

And violent crime decreased 27 percent month over month. And if you compare Night Dell's crime rate versus the national average, you'll find it rates 9. 6 percent compared to 22. 7. We also moved here from a major metro city being Long Beach, California in LA County. And we had many times where we didn't feel safe, or we just knew what areas needed to to avoid.

As I mentioned earlier in this video, I currently do live here in Knightdale myself. And personally speaking, my family and I feel very safe here and have never had any issues feeling unsafe. And in the last six years, we've lived here. We also have many friends and clients and local business owners who live here and are experiencing the same.

And fill it. It's a good suburb with great quality of life. We also have a supportive and active police department ensuring our safety. But if these numbers scare you, please do your research and come down for a visit. Get a feel for the town yourself. And let me know your thoughts. While there are many reasons you may want to avoid moving to Knightdale, if these items didn't deter you, please make sure to watch my other video about reasons why we love living in Knightdale.

If you found this information helpful, please click the like button below so others like you can find this information as well. And if you're considering relocating to the Knightdale area or anywhere within Raleigh or the surrounding area, And looking to purchase a home, we would love to help. All you have to do is reach out to me.

My number's right here on the screen. Whether you want to give me a call, shoot me a text or send me an email. We would love to chat. So next time we'll see y'all later.

Brandy Nemergut, Realtor ~ eXp Realty Raleigh, NC

[email protected]

919-583-6895

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