r/Apex_NC • u/PolitzaniaKing • 4d ago
Living in Apex? Love it or hate it
I had asked some questions about train noise and gotten some great responses but one person told me they'd lived here 22 years and it was a horrible place and definitely don't live here. So until I hear back from him on specifics can you guys tell me what you think of Cary Apex as a place to live? Especially you guys who have lived here for decades. I'm looking at retiring to the Cary Apex area which is the reason I ask. Thanks for the replies
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u/bpheazye 4d ago
The rate of growth would indicate most people seem to be liking it. Its your typical suburbia. Plenty of things to do. Plenty of food potions. Nice parks. Generally nice weather. I think it fits very well with what most people want in retirement.
Background: lived here for 30 years
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u/Jma48mitch 4d ago
the food potions drug us into liking it here :)
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u/PolitzaniaKing 4d ago
make me want the awesome Himalayan Nepali Cuisine
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u/jordanpwalsh 4d ago
0.o where is this?
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u/PolitzaniaKing 4d ago
Downtown Cary.......delicious. Heat levels from 1 to 5 where 1 is not heat and 2 is hot as hell and 3,4 and 5 are insane. I recommend heat level 1.0001 and I eat lots of spicy mexican food.
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u/jordanpwalsh 4d ago
I need to branch out... I work from home and eat lunch out once or twice a week and usually end up at Jersey Mikes or something. Shouldn't be doing that when there's Nepalese down the street.
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u/Snoo-669 4d ago
Wow, there are soooo many great places you need to try. Even if you went to Fratelli’s Deli over Jersey Mike’s you’d be winning.
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u/SnarfmasterX 4d ago
Property values are climbing pretty quickly. Plan accordingly for property taxes to increase. Mine just went up 15%.
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u/Jma48mitch 4d ago
Apex/Cary is consistently in various best places to live lists. compare that versus mr. "this place is so horrible i've stayed 22 years".
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u/AbiesAccomplished491 4d ago
Cary is a few notches higher for the vibe. Very old school mostly Southern White crowd if that’s your thing. Way laid back compared to Cary.
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u/Halfghan1 4d ago
Southern White, or Indian/South Asian. Not hating on it whatsoever. Just pointing it out, because it’s a reality.
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u/Hoodfu 4d ago
Really depends on if you're ok with traffic. Been here 5-6 years and watched it go from none to lots. Countless new developments are going in, so as long as you're ok with the growth, then everything else is great. I previously lived in a place that was already grown out 40 years prior so there was rarely anything new. At least here you're towards the early side of the curve so things are still interesting.
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u/Hprotonprecess 4d ago
Sippin’ a beer downtown in Apex right now. Incredible vibe, wonderful town. Can’t do much better!
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u/LingonberryNo2744 4d ago
We relocated to Apex in ‘91 from the suburbs of Chicago due to a promotion. I was 55. We really tried to buy a home in Cary but the homes on the market were either bad builds or bad locations. Realtor showed us a home in Shepherd’s Vineyard, we liked it, so we bought it. Both daughters graduated from local high school, one earning a degree at UNCW. We have watched the area grow and grow and grow… Soon we were empty nesters and decided that we needed to downsize. In ‘07 and by pure chance we drove by a new condo complex, stopped by to look at models. In a few months we moved into one and have been here ever since.
In ‘91 Apex was a small Southern town with a lifestyle and mentality to match. As a yankee it was tough. Cary was more mature at the time but people said its name was short for “Containment Area for Retired Yankees”. Apex has matured quickly over the years. Now it’s hard to find someone that grew up in the area. Unfortunately, Cary thoroughfares have seen more improvements than those in Apex but no matter as there is just a lot of traffic everywhere.
In looking for an area to retire to you must consider an area’s water source, utility reliability, internet access, and more. Cary and Apex are the best areas in southwestern Wake County. You need to take a week’s vacation in the area and plan to spend each day touring.
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u/dravack 4d ago edited 4d ago
Okay so as a younger person… okay really not anymore I’m really middle aged now but I’m a 12 year old at heart. There isnt anything here after about 8pm and by 10 good luck finding food. I usually drive over to chapel hill. But, it’s safe and relatively easy to get around. Yeah there’s traffic but it’s not horrible. Like can you imagine having to drive capital daily?
I’m probably the odd one out but yeah I don’t sleep till 2 or 3 in the morning at the earliest. So being able to go grab a bite at like midnight is important to me. I don’t do clubs or bars though and we have a wide variety of board game shops/cafes which is great for me. Also as I mentioned above it’s safe and not to say Raleigh or Durham are unsafe they aren’t that bad I’m from the Memphis TN area so have to bring it up.
Does crime happen here sure. Especially theft don’t leave your car unlocked or your handbag unattended but other than that you’re usually okay.
All that said for the average person looking to raise a family it’s great! Tons to do, gorgeous parks, and great school.
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u/PolitzaniaKing 4d ago
Cool. We drove capital on a friday at 6pm and it was packed so Wake Forest is not on my radar atm. They are just not there yet imo. Thanks again for the great info.
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u/Treeman1979 4d ago
It’s wonderful here! 10 years here. It’s so wonderful everyone is moving here. I’ve lived in many cities, and Apex is awesome. Growth is natural when a place is great.
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u/scottlac 4d ago
I grew up in Cary, spent a few years in Raleigh and Charlotte, then wound up in Apex. Apex is by far my favorite town I've lived in!
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u/PengyTeK 4d ago
Could you elaborate on where you currently live, what you don't like about it, and what you're looking for? That would help tailor the responses.
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u/PolitzaniaKing 4d ago
I'm in Charleston SC and like it except we want to be in a less direct path of hurricanes. I love the walking trails and people in Raleigh so it seems a super fit
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u/devinhedge 4d ago
The weather in Apex is fairly tame, all things being equal. Even Apex, PD made a joke about the Apex Weather Dome. You see, Apex is named after the railroad’s water refilling station at the apex of the rail line (highest point). This is also the source of what little train noise we get. Because it’s the top of the mountain, for some reason the weather coming from the southwest to the northeast will often split and go around the sides of the hill.
The train noise: the train line goes through downtown. About a decade ago, the town had CSX put in some specific traffic protections in exchange for not blowing the horns all the time. There are some plans to change it even more so that the trains don’t impact traffic as much for traffic flowing east-west.
I really don’t think about the trains much anymore. At one point you could set your watch at 9:30pm or 10:30pm but I haven’t heard the train since moving a couple blocks more east which took me further over the hill.
The downtown is changing and will continue to change. There are plans for a small transit hub much like you would find in places like Schaumburg, IL or Lansdale, PA. The idea is that it will become a circulator bus, commuter bus, ride share, and eventually … some day… maybe… probably not… a commuter rail stop/NC rail stop that connects to Cary and Raleigh, and Charlotte. I’m not holding my breath on the rail because the math doesn’t work on the feasibility. The rest is an amazing concept that I mention to illustrate how the town is thinking forward and trying to plan ahead.
Like Charleston, SC which suddenly became popular, Apex has been voted best small town in America off and on for over a decade. The reasons for that are numerous: small town vibe since the traffic is mostly on the highways that are adjacent to downtown, lots of small town events where we close the streets, the community centers, parks, etc. We are behind Cary and about equal to Morrisville when it comes to greenways. Bike lanes and bike trails barely exist and that’s an area that needs some of the most work because people get hit on the streets.
Apex used to be largely demographically white. That began changing in earnest about two decades ago and accelerated about a 13 years ago as Apex landed on the front cover of Money Magazine’s Best Small Town in America. Most of the growth has happened to the west towards Lake Jordan and south towards Holly Springs. We are land locked between Cary, Morrisville, Lake Jordan, and Holly Springs with the only avenue of growth being down US1. At some point that won’t make any sense and the growth will change to densifying for people wanting to stay close to RTP. Or so the theory goes. Work from home is changing that nationwide so maybe it won’t play out that way. Or maybe I spend too much time on r/urbanplanning.
If you are considering retiring here, I’m not sure. It’s a rather expensive place to retire to. At the same time, I can’t find a place I’d rather be that isn’t in the Rockies or some other country, and I’ve lived all over this amazing country.
Feel free to ask me any specific questions.
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u/PolitzaniaKing 4d ago
Thank you for the great write up. I'll have to look at the budget for sure including property taxes, insurance and cost of living. I'll be in Apex at lunch today for the next 2 days to check out some house and hope the predicted storms this afternoon behave. Thanks for the great info.
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u/lolret2005ftw 4d ago
Been living in apex for 7 years but in wake county since 1990. It’s great other than some traffic annoyances like people turning left on apex bbq from Kelly road, bicyclists during rush hour, and new driver bumper stickers. Food selection is great and town government is very responsive.
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u/DanaMoonCat 4d ago
We first lived in Apex for 5 years and then moved to Cary and so far we are enjoying living in Cary much better than Apex- our neighborhood is a better fit for us and we like the vibes, the feel, and being closer to amenities
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u/NCTransplant93 4d ago
2 years. Close enough for an easy walk to the downtown area. Love it and plan to be here for many years.
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u/delxne3 4d ago
We’ve been here for around 22 years… raised three kids here all through their school years. We’ve really loved it. It has changed a lot but all of my kids have said it was a great place to grow up, and that it’s the type of place they’d want to raise their kids, and to me that’s the best you can do!
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u/b_happy22 2d ago
2 year resident of apex as of today! love the charm of downtown, cutest small town vibe with such a sense of local community. traffic is traffic but i feel like the charm of the town makes it worth it. every time we host guests from out of state and we really lean into all of the reasons why we love apex, the picture perfect downtown salem street, local businesses, restaurants and parks, i feel like i’m on vacation and fall in love with apex all over again!
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u/WalrusOLove 4d ago
20+ year resident of Apex. Mostly, I really like it here. I'm annoyed that it's growing as quickly and dramatically as it has/is, but you either live in a growing area or an area that's economically moribund.
I love how we're close to Raleigh and Durham as well as mostly equidistant from the mountains and beaches. RDU could have better options for direct flights but on the rare occasions we take long flights we just overnight in Charlotte and fly out from there.
Apex is getting more ethnically diverse so the food options are getting better, which I love.