Moving To Cary NC- Where To Live
Exploring Cary, NC: Discover the Best Neighborhoods and Areas to Live for
Every Lifestyle
With just under 200, 000 people, many still talk as if Cary is a small town. However, it feels more like a small city and can easily take 30 minutes to drive from one side of town to the other. And there are several distinct locations within the town. Now, depending on where you're moving from, Cary may seem like a small town.
I know personally, we relocated here from Southern California and lived in a city just under 500, 000 people, so Cary seemed smaller to us. But in comparison to many of the surrounding suburbs of Raleigh, This is one of the biggest towns. Today we'll be exploring the five different sections of Cary and the pros and cons of each part just from my point of view and living here the past six years.
Starting with the inside of Maynard Circle area, you'll hear many refer to this area as Old Cary as it's in the oldest part of the town and homes in this area are generally older than other surrounding areas. However, you will notice there are some older homes being flatlined and replaced with newer homes being built.
Maynard Road combines Highway 54, which is also called Chapel Hill Road. This inner area has become a highly desired area of Cary. Which doesn't surprise many as Cary has done an excellent job of planning and developing the downtown area. When we first moved here the downtown Cary area was sleepy and in the past few years the downtown Cary Park has finally transformed from its 20 years in the making.
to a 69 million investment that features a bar, a dog park, splash pad, a skywalk children's play area with staircase and slides, fire pits, and some great restaurants. It's a great gathering place for festivals, concerts, or just day to day relaxing and soaking up the sun and the fresh breeze. So the Maynard area includes downtown Cary along with the neighborhoods surrounding downtown Cary.
Downtown is generally considered Academy Street and Chatham Street, and the rest of the inside Maynard area is pretty walkable to downtown Cary, which is what makes it so desirable. There's pretty good sidewalk access to many of these neighborhoods, and as I mentioned earlier, inside Maynard is the oldest section of Cary.
Which takes us to the next area that was developed, which is just outside of that within the Cary Parkway loop. Now the Cary Parkway isn't a full circle, but the neighborhoods inside this particular loop were all built during a similar time frame and it has a similar feel. Although you'll find a multitude of types of housing available in this area.
One of the things many love about Cary is the walkability of areas and that's due to the early beginnings of the town's creation as well as the thought out planning and designing of the roadways. The walkways and greenways in the area. Now a fun fact, Kerry has more than 30 public parks and natural areas and greenway system of more than 70 miles.
In fact, bond Park is a central hub for the Greenway system in Cary. which is 310 acres. Most of the trails throughout the town accumulate up on this park with the two longest trails in the town being White Oak Creek Greenway along with the Black Creek Greenway. With a combined distance of just under 7.
5 miles, White Oak Greenway extends 7 miles to the American Tobacco Trail and Black Creek extends around 7 miles to Lake Crabtree. And Bond Park Lake Trail is a 2. 1 mile loop. You can enjoy birdwatching, hiking, or running. So if you love the outdoors as much as we do, you will fall in love with this area's parks and greenways.
It's absolute heaven. There's some really great neighborhoods in this area that have access to the Black Creek Greenway and there are some really nice developments in here that sit on much larger lots than many other locations in Cary. Especially the ones with newer construction houses. I love the Wessex community where you can find homes with half an acre all the way up to three quarters of an acre, lots of space.
with beautiful mature trees landscaping within the community as well as having access to the black creek greenway trail that's right here at the end of the street. In this northern section you're also close to I 40 and it's pretty much centrally located to just about anywhere you'd want to go in the triangle area from this location.
In around 20 minutes you can be in downtown Raleigh or downtown Durham. The Research Triangle Park is roughly about 15 minutes from the or even Chapel Hill in less than 30 minutes. And on the southern side of the parkway, you'll find some of Cary's most affordable neighborhoods. neighborhoods like Kildare Farms, which was one of the first master plan communities in Cary.
Started in the 1970s and completed in the early 90s, this community offers a variety size of homes ranging from 1200 to 2700 square foot, along with some great amenities. like the Kildare Farms Racket and Swim Club and right across the street from here you can walk to Trader Joe's and there's some other great little shops and restaurants in this shopping center.
Now if you love Mediterranean food definitely check out Saskool's, it's one of our favorites. And then on the east side of the loop, kind of in between Maynard Road and Cary Parkway, there are some older homes generally built in the 1970s in neighborhoods like Walnut Hills. or even Pirate's Cove. And these communities are located where we've seen some big changes in the last years within Fenton Opening.
Fenton is a new shopping district that recently opened mid 2022 in East Cary, right next to the Cary Soccer Park. It's a great place, outdoor space, with seven restaurants, 20 retailers, and even a movie theater. In the winter, they have an ice skating rink and hot cocoa, which is always a hit. It's like a smaller version of the North Hills area in Raleigh, which also has a lot of outdoor shops and restaurants.
This area is nice as it's walkable from these older neighborhoods. Now switching over to West Cary, this part of Cary has the newest developments and generally If you see new construction, it's probably going to be in this area. Now, again, there are exceptions to the rule, though, as there are a lot of filler lots and teardowns.
But generally speaking, this is the spot for new construction. One thing you'll notice about the west side is even though it's a beautiful area, you will notice it does have a different feel from the rest of Cary. Many people like this side if they're looking for more real estate options. with more diversity.
You can find everything from condos to townhomes, as well as larger estate type homes. And they all are newer and don't typically need a lot of updating like you'll find in other parts of Cary. One thing that I noticed about West Cary is You really can't tell when you're in Cary and when you've crossed over into Morrisville.
Now, I know that sounds really weird, but I can literally be driving and see a Cary sign and then a Morrisville sign and then be back in Cary again, just blinking. And I'm like, what? One of the benefits of living closer to Morrisville is that it's about as close as you can get to the Research Triangle Park without actually living in Morrisville with the least commute times.
But there are also other parts of Cary that are similar as well. One of the cons about living in this area is the fact it doesn't have easy access to any highway that'll take you east into downtown Raleigh. If you need a drive from West Cary to downtown Raleigh, You're going to sit at some traffic signals and there are also some spots in this area, particularly in Morrisville that don't even have traffic lights.
So some of the roads can be quite challenging, especially if you need to make a left turn. Personally, I turn right and then try to make my turn into somewhere else and then back around, which can be a lot faster and a lot less hair raising for me. On a positive note, If you want to stay within the Wake County schools, but work in Durham, this is a great spot.
You can easily head up to Durham right quick from here. And finally, the next part of Cary I'm going to talk about falls into Chatham County, which interestingly enough, there are some homes with a carry address that are not part of the Wake County school system. And you also don't have to pay carry taxes in these area, which is nice.
But the biggest complaint I hear about the Chatham County as opposed to Wake County is the fact that the bus ride to get to school tends to be long. Chatham is still more rural. And if your kids are in Chatham County schools, they're probably going to be driving through the country roads to get there.
Now if you're a transplant like me, it might not seem like a big deal. But, some parents don't like the fact that the school can be about 25 minutes or so away from home. And if kids are in after school activities, it may be inconvenient if you don't want to drive that far. Again, personally, I don't think it's a big deal, but something to be aware of if you're looking for homes in this part of Cary.
Definitely double check if your child will be attending a Wake County school. For all you golf lovers out there, South Cary is what I like to refer to as the Southern Golf Courses. There's a lot more here than just two golf communities, but two particular neighborhoods. We have Lock mere and McGregor Downs, which are a big presence in Southern Cary.
Both communities were built starting in the 1970s and as some of the first planned golf communities in the area. South Some of the other great features of South Cary are Cocoa Booth Amphitheater. They have everything from concerts to some really cool events all throughout the year. Many of the neighborhoods in this part of the town are very walkable, and there's the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.
which has some great nature trails, scenic overlooks, and you can even bird watch. It's a very peaceful place to visit, and a fun fact, this is the only place outside of the mountains in North Carolina where you can find the eastern hemlock trees, and it actually feels like you're in the mountains. It's even noticeably cooler in temperature.
Also, on this side of town is one of our daughter's favorite parks. Jack Smith Park, which has a nice splash pad for the kids, rock climbing, and for shopping, Waverly Place is a shopping center where they have a nice grassy area and they even hold summer concerts during the season. There's a Whole Foods, some great dining options like Famous Toaster.
I absolutely love their avocado toast and mimosas. There's Gonzo Tacos, Shake Shack, and Rides. And they even have a dinner and movie concept theater, CMX Cine Bistro. After 6 p. m. it's only 21 years or older, but if you want to relax, unwind, grab a drink, an appetizer, and dinner, and then enjoy popcorn and a movie.
Here we go. From old Cary to new Cary, it's close proximity to amenities and outdoor greenways. There's something sure to please everyone here depending on the lifestyle that you want to live. 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 Cary or anywhere within Raleigh or the surrounding areas and looking to purchase a home, we would love to help. All you have to do is reach out to us. My number's right here on the screen. Whether you want to give us a call, send us a text or send me an email. I would love to chat till next time.
We'll see y'all later.
Brandy Nemergut, Realtor ~ eXp Realty Raleigh, NC
919-583-6895
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