Pros And Cons of Living in Clayton NC
Pros And Cons of Living in Clayton NC - Read Before You Move!
Are you looking to relocate to the Raleigh area and wondering if the town of Clayton, North Carolina is a good place for you and your family? Clayton is considered the number one best place to live in Johnston County and with just over 32, 000 residents, Clayton has increased its population by 277 percent since 2000.
So what's all the buzz about? Today I'll be diving into some of the reasons this Raleigh suburb has gained so much popularity while others have decided it's not for them. Okay let's just go ahead and jump right on in and we're going to start with a pro which is Clayton is one of Raleigh's top suburbs partially due to the fact that it happens to be one of Raleigh's most affordable suburbs to buy a new home in.
Now when we first relocated here from California six years ago Everyone was moving to the west side of Raleigh to suburbs like Cary, Apex, and Holly Springs. Not only were these suburbs still very affordable, especially relocating from states like California, New York, or Florida, where you could get a home that was three times the size for about a third of the price here.
Fast forward, many buyers are starting to feel the sticker shock you. in those areas and are opting to push out to the south or eastern side of Raleigh for more affordable housing while still maintaining a relatively good commute to all the amenities that Raleigh has to offer. Personally, when we moved here, we opted to live in Clayton as it still had that rural town feel with more space and resell homes on larger lots.
And again, coming from California, a 30 to 45 minute commute to other areas was nothing for us, especially if we could drive that without the congestion of the freeways we were used to driving. That was more like sitting in a crowded parking lot on Christmas Eve. So when we found a home on nearly an acre, Surrounded by beautiful green forests and 10 minutes away from downtown Clayton and only 30 minutes from Raleigh Away from the hustle and bustle.
I was like sign me up The cost of living in Clayton is just 8 percent lower than the national average which is quite a bit cheaper compared to Raleigh at 2 percent lower than the national average. And looking at other suburbs in Raleigh, you'll see just how far housing dollars can stretch here. In some areas, as much as 150, 000 to 200, 000 dollars Your money definitely goes further here in Clayton, which has contributed greatly to its surge in population.
There are so many sought after new Clayton home communities where you can still buy a fantastic new home on an affordable budget. From townhomes starting around 275, 000 to a single family resident anywhere from the mid to high 300 to 400 thousands. Some of our favorites are Flowers Plantation, Buckhorn Branch, and Wilson Walk.
There's also gated communities like Portofino, which is an equestrian center. And if you're looking for a 55 plus community, there's Carolina Overlook by Del Webb. Or the walk at East Village just down the way from downtown Clayton. Whether you're looking for a starter home, downsizing, or looking for a semi or custom home, Clayton has some great options in both new construction and resale communities to choose from.
If you want more land, then you may opt for a resale, and if you want less maintenance yards and don't mind living a bit closer to your neighbors, there's plenty of new construction communities to choose from. Speaking of all the affordable housing, another pro for many, and a con for those that don't like the continued growth of the area, Is the fact we are seeing new commercial developments popping up around some of the newer residential neighborhoods.
In Flowers Plantation, there's the Waterfront District, which will have everything from apartments to condos, restaurants, and even retail space. There will even be a waterfront hotel. And another new development on the way is the Copper District, which is a bit further out in time frame, but it's said to be three times the size of the shopping and dining area of Fenton and Cary.
which will bring much needed amenities, not only to Clayton, but to Johnston County. If you want to learn more about these developments, make sure to watch this video. where I talk about it more in detail about these new developments here in Clayton. These developments have not only paved the way for future developments in the area and provide great spaces for residents to enjoy additional outdoor space, green spaces, and parks.
Which brings us to our next pro, and that's the outdoor spaces. One of our daughter's favorite parks is the Municipal Park, which has a newer playground, splash pad, and basketball courts, along with picnic shelters and a walking loop. And then there's the Clayton River Walk on the Neuse River, which is a beautiful greenway that follows the Neuse River, which connects to the popular Neuse River Trail in Raleigh.
Not too long ago, the town completed the Sam's Branch Greenway that connects to the Riverwalk, as well as built a new access point. Clayton's Greenway system is pretty amazing. Its trails are part of the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail and the East Coast Greenway, which stretches 1175 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks, stopping at many of our state's most beautiful destinations along the way.
And a fun fact, Segment 11 of the Mountains to Sea Trail runs through Clayton, Raleigh, and Smithfield. These trails mainly follow the Neuse River and make up over 65 miles of greenway and over 26 miles of roads. Which brings me to another pro, which is the close proximity to the beach. We lived close to the beach in California, so when I found out you could drive to the beach from Clayton in less than two hours, I said, Yes, please.
Wrightsville Beach, which is east of Wilmington, was the first beach my daughter and I drove to and we loved every minute. It was still a bit of a trek as we were used to six miles away from the beach, but it was still a doable day trip without having to rent a hotel and have extra expenses. And I love exploring downtown Wilmington and all the fresh seafood restaurants overlooking the waterfront.
If you come down for a visit, Try to add it into your trip and explore. One thing I love about the south is the quaint southern charm downtowns you can find and Clayton just happens to have one of those downtowns. It's one of my top three favorite downtowns next to Wake Forest and Apex. Clayton has a more historic feeling downtown with some great boutiques, shops, and restaurants.
And in recent years, many new restaurants are starting to pop up as well. There's local longtime favorites like Manning's Restaurant. I absolutely love their shrimp and grits. And Clayton Steakhouse has a simple menu that is sure to please the steak lover. To new favorites like Crawford Cookshop with award winning chef Scott Crawford, who expanded from his Raleigh location, Crawford and Son, and brought his delicious Americana style cooking to downtown Clayton in a restored historic building from 1904.
And if you're looking for a nostalgic place to eat, this There's always Jones Cafe that's been around since 1958. You can try one of their delicious dogs. For coffee lovers, there's Boulevard, which has a great vibe and an indoor outdoor seating. And the newest sweet treat place, Bernie's Sweets and More, which has some out of this world sweet stuffed croissants filled with everything from custard to cream to different flavored fruit fillings.
Don't tell anyone, but I can eat about six of them myself. They actually have a few locations in the Triangle, so Clayton is definitely cheering. that they chose this town to open another location. And I can't forget Revival 1869, which is like a blast from the past, from their decor to their classic cocktails, along with some house invented favorites.
And they have one of the best charcuterie boards around. This area is definitely expanding and our choices and places to eat, which is definitely a plus for me and my hubby as we're total foodies. Now with all the pros we've been talking about, you may be wondering, why isn't this the most popular suburb of Raleigh?
So, let's take a look at some more of the cons. Starting with the public schools. Now depending on who you talk to, you'll hear some parents say that Wake County schools are better than Johnston County schools, while others will argue Just the opposite. In Johnston County, which is the county, Clayton is in, according to niche.com, it gives Johnston County as a whole a b rating, and Clayton schools rank a B minus in comparison to Wake County schools.
which rank an A. Aside from public schools, Clayton has a charter school as well as five private schools, including the newest Bailey's Academy. So if schools are important to you, just make sure to do your research on schools before you move. The next con is the fact it has a more rural feel. As I mentioned earlier, with some of the other Raleigh suburbs that fall into this category, this may be a pro for some people.
But one common complaint I hear from across the board from a lot of transplants, especially if you're coming from New York or Long Island, is the fact that Clayton is just over the top. so much bigger than they anticipated. And so far spread out measuring in at just over 16 square miles. It can easily take 30 minutes to get from one side to the other.
And personally, I really feel like Clayton has two sides between Flowers Plantation side and the Cleveland area side. So even though Clayton looks deceivingly small on the map, it really isn't that little of a town. Another con for many is there's limited entertainment and shopping options. Clayton is not known to have endless entertainment options as I previously mentioned It's more of a rural town and has a cute downtown with some popular restaurants bars breweries But there really aren't any major box chain stores.
There's basically Walmart and And then for major grocery stores, there's a really nice Newer Publix, and of course, one of my favorites, Harris Teeter, which is a grocery store, not the mayor. So, funny story, when I first moved to Clayton, my realtor kept talking about this Harris Teeter and how nice Harris Teeter was, and how I had to go to Harris Teeter.
And so finally I was like, who's this Harris teeter? Is he the mayor? And she could not stop laughing. It was definitely blonde moment at its finest, but in my defense, I had only lived here a couple of weeks and now one of my favorite grocery stores. Oh me. Well, I am happy to say I did finally get to officially meet the real mayor of Clayton shortly after.
Hey, Jodi. When it comes to shopping, if you live in Clayton, you'll need to head to Garner at the White Oak Crossing Shopping Mall that not only has Target, but it also has other major shopping chains like Kohl's, TJ Maxx. It also has a movie theater, Chick fil A, and everything else you can possibly want to go to, shop, or eat.
And then you'll have to travel into Raleigh for some major entertainment options. Which brings me to the next con, which is location. Clayton is located about 20 minutes southeast of downtown Raleigh. And while it's not located much further geographically than the other suburbs, many say it feels further due to the minimal development between it and Raleigh.
And when you consider it's neighboring suburbs to the north, like Nightdale and Wendell, Which are smaller in general and just like Clayton have seen some tremendous growth in the recent decades, but still have plenty of development opportunities in both housing and commercial development. And they also have plans for major future projects and growth, which I also talk about in another video here.
About Nightdale Boomtown developments, you can check out to learn more. The Outer Loop I 540 has been underway to be completed, which is set to be finished in the next few years. This will help connect Clayton to these other areas. And while some think it's not a bad commute into Raleigh with the continued new construction and growth, has led to the next con, which is more traffic and congestion.
especially on the country roads that haven't expanded with all the housing communities added. But, in the last six years since we moved here, the 42 widening project was underway and while it caused a lot of backups during rush hours, it's finally coming to completion. Still, Clayton can see its fair share of traffic as it relies on Highway 70 and I 40 to commute into Raleigh.
which is shared by just about everyone commuting into Raleigh from the southern and eastern areas, especially again during rush hour traffic, Friday date nights, and of course when an accident happens and everybody has to stop and see what's happened. But I 40 is expanding to try and help alleviate some of the traffic traveling during rush hour, which can be frustrating since it can easily add another 20 minutes.
to commute times as the highway starts to back up still it's nothing in comparison to traffic if you're coming from states like california florida atlanta or even new york but the traffic with the ruralness can be aggravating for some and if you're relocating to the raleigh area due to wanting to work in the research triangle park you may be disappointed to hear that Many think Clayton is not a great location when it comes to commuting into the RTP.
For those who want to work in the RTP or the western side of Raleigh, as the traffic stays heavy even once you get past the southern portion of Raleigh, commuting to the RTP can take well over an hour during rush hour. However, as mentioned earlier, improvements being made to the I 40 and the completion of I 540 should help alleviate some of this traffic and congestion in the near future.
By now, I think you're starting to see why Clayton may or may not be a great place to call home. 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 Clayton or anywhere within Raleigh or the surrounding suburbs and looking to buy a home, we would love to help.
All you have to do is reach out to me. My number is 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. Until next time, we'll see y'all later.
Brandy Nemergut, Realtor ~ eXp Realty Raleigh, NC
919-583-6895
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