Cary NC Pros

Pro #1 – Amazing Parks

Starting with the pros, perhaps Cary’s greatest attribute is its’ amazing park system.  With over 30 parks and 80 miles of trails, Cary prides itself in its’ park offerings and variety.

Cary has nature preserves, lakes to walk around and kayak in, and plenty of playgrounds for the kids.

But Cary continues to add more and more parks, highlighted by the recent completion of its’ marquee park in Downtown called the Downtown Cary Park.  

This state-of-the-art park is great for the whole family with an amazing playground, dog park, various places to eat, and beautiful scenery to enjoy.  

It’s also building a new 20-acre park off Carpenter Fire Station Road as well as McCrimmon Parkway that will have a variety of different sports courts, including pickleball, trails, playgrounds, and more.

Pro #2 – Great Downtown

Moving on, Cary has a great downtown that has undergone quite a bit of change as of late.

Cary’s downtown is rooted in history, and much if it’s character has remained throughout.  Places like the Cary Theatre, Academy Street Bistro, and the Mayton have been staples for quite some time and remain very popular.  

There has been quite a lot of development in the area as of late, adding mixed-use buildings for more apartment and condo style living with more restaurants.  But in my opinion, it provides the best of both worlds between a small-town vibe, mixed with a more vibrant feel on the weekends.  

Now don’t expect to see hopping nightlife, but there is a lot of activity on the weekends with its’ great restaurants, breweries and bars.  And its’ unique, new Downtown Cary Park has drawn large crowds on the weekend as it’s one of the coolest parks around for both youth and adults.  

Pro #3 – Prime Location

This next pro is the reason why Cary’s popularity has risen off the charts, its’ prime location.

Cary is located in arguably the best area in the Triangle, as its’ right in the middle of everything.  You’re short drives in to both downtown Raleigh, the famed Research Triangle Park, and even Durham, and you’re very close to all the entertainment of Raleigh.

It’s also right next to both I-440 and I-540 to quickly get you just about anywhere in the area quickly, and for those going out of town, you’re right off I-40 for quick access to the beach and mountains, and less than 20 minutes from the RDU International Airport.

So as far as location goes, it doesn’t get much better than Cary.

Pro #4 – Diversity of Food

Another pro of living in Cary is it provides a pretty good diversity of food offerings to cater to its’ diverse population.

There are plenty of Indian restaurants and even grocery stores, a variety of Asian cuisines, Mediterranean, Turkish, and so much more.

It also has some of the best New York style pizza in Di Fara’s Pizza Tavern along with the more Italian style Pizzeria Faulisi. 

This isn’t to say other suburbs of Raleigh do not have a diversity in food offerings, but you will notice the increased intention to attract these diverse restaurants and even grocery stores in and around Cary, NC.

Pro #5 – Top-Notch Neighborhoods

Saving arguably the best for last, Cary leads the area in having the best neighborhoods around.

Cary has a great mixture of neighborhoods that provide options for a wide variety of needs.  It has multiple luxury, golfing communities with country clubs that set the standard for the area, and has neighborhoods that are perfect for families and those who want a sense of community.  It’s Lochmere neighborhood even has lake house style homes located on its’ own, smaller lake.

One thing you will notice about Cary’s neighborhoods, and really Cary in general, are that they are beautifully landscaped and meticulously maintained.  The Town of Cary has high standards, and you really feel the difference when driving around town and neighborhoods.  

So while Cary can be on the expensive side, more on that in a bit, you will understand why and see the difference when visiting.

Alright, those are some of the main pros of living in Cary in 2024, but let’s now look at some of the cons.

Con #1 – High Housing Costs

First up, anyone who has looked into moving to Cary knows it is expensive.  

With such a high demand, naturally prices have increased over the years such that it’s now the most expensive suburb of Raleigh.  Over the past year, Cary home prices have averaged around $675k with a price per square foot around $265/SF.  

There are many luxury and golf course communities in Cary as well that elevate those averages, but even your typical suburban neighborhoods in Cary run higher in price than anywhere else in the Triangle.

And while there are certainly some lower priced, more affordable homes in Cary, they are typically pretty old and require quite a bit of work.

Ultimately, you get what you pay for, and Cary is definitely worth the high price tag if you’re willing to pay it.

Con #2 – Older Homes in Best Locations

Sticking with the discussion on homes, the next Con is that many of the best locations within Cary do not have new construction homes.

Cary is not only Raleigh’s largest and most popular suburb, it’s also one of its’ oldest.  So naturally, many of its’ neighborhoods in the absolute prime locations have been around for quite some time and have older homes.

There are new construction neighborhoods being built on the western edges of town outside of I-540, which is still a good location overall, but not nearly the same as the more central locations in Cary.  

Now there are some older neighborhoods that have started to see the smaller, older homes being torn down to build expensive, new construction homes, and small pockets here and there of new construction streets, but that is not as common as what you see in Raleigh’s North Hills and North Ridge.

So if you want a newer home or a new construction community overall, you’ll most likely have to look on the western edges of Cary.

Con #3 – Smaller Yards

Moving on to the next con, many of Cary’s new construction communities come with small yards.

The older neighborhoods previously mentioned do many times have 1/3 to 1/2 acre lots that are fairly wooded in general, but anything built recently has had pretty small yards overall.

On the northern side of town, most new construction communities will have 1/4 acre sized lots or even smaller, and even the new luxury communities are only slightly larger.  

This is different than the luxury communities of Wake Forest and Clayton where city sewer is not always available, thus requiring larger properties to accommodate the septic fields. 

Con # 4 – Crowded

Next up, Con #4 is that Cary is getting pretty crowded.

With the increase in demand mixed with the recent addition of many apartments, condos and townhomes, Cary is getting pretty dense for a suburb.  

The popular parks and shopping centers can get pretty busy on the weekends, but the worst impact from the population surge is the traffic.  

The worst areas to drive in the entire Triangle area are along I-40 and I-440, in and around the Cary area.  So, for those in Cary wanting to use those major roadways for commuting, expect those highways to get pretty backed up during peak times.

Now like Raleigh, the traffic is nothing compared to many larger cities around the United States, but relatively speaking, it’s the busiest of Raleigh’s suburbs.

Con #5 – Capped Schools

And lastly, Con #5 is that Cary’s best schools are typically capped.

Cary has arguably the best schools in the whole area, and while this is certainly a pro, unfortunately many of those top schools have reached capacity as so many people have targeted those districts to move to.

This has led to the schools becoming capped, meaning that anyone new moving into that district will be re-assigned to another area school.  Now, you know what the school re-assignment is for each area, so if you’re looking to move to an area with a capped school, you’ll know where you will be assigned to, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.  

Luckily, there are many great charter and private options available in Cary as well if you run into this situation.

Those are both the pros and the cons of living in Cary, NC in 2024.  I hope you enjoyed the blog and please check out our other blogs on Cary’s best neighborhoods!

If you need any real estate assistance, our team specializes in relocation and is one of the top teams in the Triangle, and we would love to help you.

Please reach out via our contact information below:

Phone:  919-504-5265

Email:  alison@thewgroupraleigh.com

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