Moving down! What do I need to know?

Wow...that is a great response dchu..


But I do have a honest question....is it really true that turn signals are optional? If so, I never knew that.

 

No, it is not true that turn signals are optional. lol

Sherry

 

Before I give out my address...are you hot? Post a pic of yourself.

 

You go to the pumping station where they pump sunshine to the deep backwoods, take the second dirt road on the right, go past the house trailers until you reach the broken down shacks, take the first left, go about 2 miles until you see where someone is living in an old school bus, turn right just passed the bus, go past the people living in tents and make a sharp left, go straight until you see a bridge. His cardboard box is the second one under the bridge. Just don't take any "billy goats gruff" with you as they do not get along well with trolls living under bridges.

:jester: opcorn: :cheers:

 

Classic, and true!

One more thing for you, we celebrate the 4th of July in Cleveland at the Fire Station (Volunteer where you'll be living, paid are closer to the city) It's always a good time. Parade (kids can join in, so be on the lookout for signups and such), community softball games, and fireworks. Last years show was great, my kids heard the first boom and were glued to the sky.

Oh and trash!!! This is a big difference. You get your choice of who you want to pick up your trash, for various rates, or you can purchase a sticker for the landfill (and convenience centers) for $65/yr (current cost, renews July 1) and haul it yourself. That one, I wish I knew before I moved here.

 

You guys are all awesome. Thanks for your help.
I promise to tell all the friends back home how horrible NC is. 8)

 

and I was beginning to think this site was finished!

 

I like your attitude!

 

Hey there! It looks like no one commented on the schools, so I'll chime in...

I have three sons, one in each school (elementary, middle, high). Next year I'll have a 4th grader at West View and a 7th grader in Cleveland Middle.

West View is the BEST. I honestly don't have anything to compare it to personally, since all mine have gone there since my oldest was in 1st grade. But I've heard horror stories about other elementary schools, and I'm thrilled with this one. One of the best around in my opinion. One thing I was unaware of when my kids started (I'm from upstate NY originally, all my kids were born here) is that A LOT of parents carpool their kids to/from school. I did it for the first few years then had enough of that. Morning's not too bad, but if you do it in the afternoons, be prepared to sit in line. For a long time. Like an hour! Or, just do the bus!

I am now on my second kid in middle school. I personally think middle school, in general, is tough. Not a lot of people like Cleveland Middle, but I honestly think it's just the way middle schools are. My oldest son hated it (he hates school anyway, and had some bullying issues in 6th grade that started him off rough) and my middle son doesn't think it's that bad. Just have your child prepared, it's basically run like the military. If he/she is a rule follower and doesn't cause problems, there shouldn't be too much of a problem!

Adams Point is great if you like to be involved in neighborhood type things. I've never lived there, but know a ton of families who do (half of the West View school is made up of Adams Points kids, I swear!) The pool there gets pretty crowded in the summer due to all the kids, but you can take that in a good way or bad. Your kids should make friends quickly! And I agree with a previous poster, it's a great neighborhood to go trick-or-treating, a lot of houses really make it fun there!

Pizza - LaPiazza for sure!
Neighborhood small restaurant/great food - Clubhouse (hidden treasure)
GCAA Sports - local organization for soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.

And the one thing I noticed when I moved here - it's gonna sound funny, but there are more banks and churches than I'd ever seen before in my life! (good luck with the church thing, if you're interested, I'm not getting into that topic here!)

Good luck with the move! I honestly think you'll love it here. I've been here 17 1/2 years and I still love it as much as I did at first.

One "downside" that drives a lot of people crazy, is the traffic is getting a little out of control. Not sure what, if anything, can be done here at our 40/42 area, but don't assume that running to the store a mile down the road will take 5 minutes...could be more like 20!

 

Clubhouse is ok, but their menu is old and ho-hum, boring.

Simple Twist is a great little restaurant and is owned by a wonderful chef and his wife.

http://www.simpletwistnc.com/SImple_Twist/Home.html

 

DMJmom, thanks for your detailed and helpful post. I didn't realize the traffic was so bad. That stinks. I was excited about so many businesses being so close by.
I also have a son who will be in 4th, and my oldest will be in 6th. Maybe they'll be friends!


What do kids generally do over the summer? Are summer camps popular? Is there a specific one you would recommend? We drove around Adams Point last July and it looked so quiet. No kids anywhere and the pool was empty. Do people just hide from the heat in the summer, or were we there on an off day?

 

My .02c If you are going to do carpool, time it to be there towards the end, whenever I take or pick up my kids, I make sure to get there right before carpool ends, and I'm in and out in 5 min

My daughter is an 8th grader at Cleveland middle, and its tough, but a good school, my older son went through as well. He graduated from West last year, which is where I believe you are zoned for, we had a great experience there, and am looking forward to my daughter going there.

I've been thru Adams Point during the summer, to pick up kids, and the pool was busy, so you might have been there on an off day.

We moved here in 2001 (2002 to the CLeveland area) and have never looked back!!! Welcome

 

moving down

These are the basic these you need to know.
1. Bulk grocery shopping Walmart, Harris Teeter for specials, meats, fish, etc.
2. Stay out of Wake county, too expensive... taxes, utilities, etc.
3. Get a Sheetz card... discounts on gas, great coffee, decent snacks.
4. If your house has propane tank for gas logs. Purchase your tanks and refill them yourself. Stay away from gas co., you will live to regret it.
5.Learned most of the above, from this forum. It was a great resource.
Friendly, helpful people here. Good luck in your move!

 

How do you purchase a propane tank and refill it yourself?

 

What will you be using propane tank for? Lowes has them up to at least 100 lb. http://www.lowes.com/Grills-Outdoor...ropane-Tanks/_/N-1z0wejg/pl?Ntt=propane+tank#!

 

Here is another previous thread on propane. http://www.4042.com/4042forums/showthread.php?t=38102&highlight=propane+tank

 

Gas fireplace....we've never even used it but I had no idea you could do it yourself without contracting a company. Also, we've lived here 6 years, who can we contact to check the fireplace and make sure it works? How much does that run?

 

Do you have gas logs in your fireplace?
NC Fireplace Company out of Sanford services this area. 919-774-1440. They can answer your questions.
Also Lowes Home Improvements sells gas logs and have installers. I am confident they can refer you to a pofessional installer to check out your current situation.

 

Look up at the top of the page. Dark gray area. See search. Click on that and type gas fireplace and hit search. All kinds of previous recommendations. 4042.com has one of the best search provions of any discussion board. Here is one of the discussions and some recommendations for local gas fireplace repairs/installation.
http://www.4042.com/4042forums/showthread.php?t=37695&highlight=gas+logs
good luck!

 

What I like for Italian food is 2 Cousins at McGees - this is not a pizza joint (it sells pizza is more of an Italian meal kinda place, price wise).

In the same plaza is the only half decent bagel place I've found in this area - Big Steve's Deli. You can follow him on Facebook for his special bagel flavors (like pumpkin around Thanksgiving time).

To the original poster: Where will you be working? There's a lot of traffic on 40...

If you are looking for a dog park, the only one in Johnston County is in East Clayton, and I think the next closest is Raleigh. Cary has one, but last I heard, you had to have a paid membership.

Be sure to brake for school buses - that seems to be a big problem here as is how quick the roads flood - be careful driving through standing water. It's probably deeper than it looks.

I have not found a newspaper I like here....

Finally, take care of your HVAC; you'll need your AC!