Wake Forest or Raleigh? Or is it both? Projected annexation....

I lived in Charlotte, NC years ago and I sold real estate there as well. I remember vividly taking buyers out to show them property and one of their main concerns were, "We want to be in the county and not the city." I told them each and every time that the home they were purchasing was "county" at the time but there was no guarantee that would last. Charlotte slowly became synonymous with Mecklenburg County. And, to that end, the line between Rock Hill, SC and Charlotte, NC became VERY vague!

Well, I noticed here in Wake County a similar pattern that started years ago. An article just out points to even more annexation by Raleigh. City lines between Wake Forest and Raleigh are already becoming obscure. There is one light on Capital Blvd where if you stand on one side you are in Raleigh and if you stand on the other side you are in Wake Forest. Parts of Wakefield Plantation are Raleigh and others are Wake Forest. Heck, you can have a physical address of Wake Forest but a mailing address of Raleigh. It all can be very confusing!

They latest projection targets these areas:

"The areas being eyed for ETJ inclusion are as follows:

• 2,079 acres between the Neuse River and Rock Quarry Road along Auburn-Knightdale Road
• 2,058 acres between Mitchell Mill, Watkins and Buffaloe roads
• 975 acres between Louisburg Road and the ETJs of Wake Forest and Rolesville
• 665 acres off Capital Boulevard near the Wakefield Plantation development
• 150 acres off Louisbury Road and Blackley Lake Road
• 73 acres off Old Milburnie Road"
  The above was taken directly from an article that can be read in it's entirety on WRAL.com

So, with this new growth what will happen to the infrastructure? What impact will it have on natural resources such as water? How will this expansion affect the school system? The road infrastructure? Public services?

I will say that Raleigh has done a much better job of handling growth than Charlotte did years ago. While there are the typical growing pains and the "you can't please everyone" syndrome Raleigh seems to be planning much better and taking smaller steps at a time........

We Built This City.....

Well, the following article is tandem to the article a few days ago about growth creeping into Creedmoor. When I lived in Charlotte (years ago) the exact same thing had happened. Charlotte became synonomous with Mecklenberg County. I remember when I would get new clients back then they would specifically say, "We only want county taxes!" I had to disclose that I could sell them a house with county taxes but that there was no way I could predict when their home would be annexed by Charlotte. It was inevitable - everyone within the county was scopped up by Charlotte. Not only was Charlotte the same as Mecklenberg County -there was also a fine line between North Carolina and South Carolina. Rock Hill, SC was growing north and Charlotte (at the time) was growing South - the two met at one point.

My friends, the same is happening here. I am constantly getting requests from people that they want a house in Wake Forest (where I live), Cary, Knightdale, Apex, etc......my friends, it is all the same. There is rarely a defining line between the two and as evidenced by the article, soon there will be no difference between the "city" and the "county". It is the price we pay. We have some of the best schools in the country, best universities and colleges in the country, the biggest research area in the country, a fantastic cost of living and, interestingly enough, a slower pace compared to the rest of the country despite our achievements.......as I said, it is the price we pay.

Farmland Threatened By Wake Development

Busting and booming shucking.......