Raleigh NC is Number 1 again...Well this is embarrassing!

Raleigh NC is Number 1 again...Well this is embarrassing!

We've know for a while that Raleigh and The Triangle were great places to get jobs, raise a family, retire. The reasons are many depending on your perspective, good schools and affordable housing for young families. Warm weather,access to great health care, active communities for retirees. High tech jobs for graduates and some of the top medical facilities in the country for doctors and cutting edge bio technologies for scientists.

Now there is a new report out from Portfolio.com, (a bizjournals property) that says that Raleigh offers the best quality of life out of all of the major metropolitan markets in the country.

Here are the factors that pushed Raleigh to the top over Washington DC and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

• Raleigh is growing at a rapid rate, no major market is expanding as rapidly as Raleigh whose metropolitan population has expanded by 37% since 2000.

• It has a vast inventory of new homes, more than half of all homes in the Raleigh area were built since 1990. Las Vegas is the only other market above 50% for new homes.

• It has an impressive supply of high level jobs. Forty -four percent of Raleigh's workers hold management or professional positions, surpassing all but three markets.

• It has a well- educated workforce. Raleigh at 41%, ranks sixth in the share of adults holding bachelor's degrees.

Other reasons include it's large percentage of young adults, it's historically low unemployment rate and it's impressive array of big houses and prices lower than most markets.

Read the report from Portfolio.com 

If you are thinking about moving here, there are many towns and communities surrounding Raleigh and the Triangle and something for every budget and lifestyle. Get to know them and what commuting will be like and keep in mind the distance to the beach and the mountains!

Clayton NC New Home Construction under $230,000, Tafton Subdivision

Clayton NC New Home Construction under $230,000, Tafton Subdivision.

Tafton Subdivision which is just outside Clayton and is in the newly incorporated town of Archer Lodge is a small development of about one hundred homes. Built by Homecraft Properties they currently have three homes for sale all under $250,000, in fact they go from $223,900 to $227,900

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417 Barrette Lane is listed for $224,000, it has 2200 sq ft of finished and 150 sq ft unfinished which could be a nice office, hobby room. Three bedrooms two and a half bathrooms, pantry, laundry room, screened in deck. Hardwood floors in the hall, dining room, living room, big bonus room upstairs, all on a .75 partially wooded lot.

377 Barrette Lane is listed for $223,900, 2232sq ft on .93 acre as of today still under construction scheduled to be finished by June. This one has extensive hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, island and loads of cabinets.

Next up is 355 Barrette Lane which is listed for $227,900, over 2300 sq ft on 2.2 acres. Hardwoods, stainless steel appliances, solid surface counter tops, screened in deck. Private wooded 2.2 acre lot.

Tafton is twenty five minutes from Raleigh, forty minutes from the Raleigh Durham International Airport and five minutes from Clayton. The Johnston County Schools web site has the schools as River Dell Elementary, Archer Lodge Middle and Corinth Holder High. The High School is not yet open and will open in the Fall of 2010 so check with the school district if you have a high school student.

Triangle IT Job Openings of 600 Jobs Boosts N.C. Tech Jobs 23% In April

Triangle IT Job Openings of 600 Jobs Boosts N.C. Tech Jobs 23% In April.

The Survey from the N.C. Technology Association showed 600 job openings in Raleigh and 900 in Charlotte. The sectors creating the most opportunities were in financial services, high tech and IT services, statewide IT job openings grew to 2,740 in April.
The break down of job openings was as follows:

• Systems engineering/support, 740 (520)

• IT management, 550 (520)
• IT architects/consultants, 430 (80)
• Software development, 490 (150)
• IT sales and marketing, 190 (60)
• Systems administration, 150 (150)
• Business/process design, 70 (60)
• Hardware engineering, 40 (10)
• Training/tech writing, 20 (10)
• Misc., 60 (50)

Horse Property For Sale in Clayton, Raleigh Area

Horse Property For Sale in Clayton, Raleigh Area

The finest equestrian community in the Triangle is  well under way at Portofino in Clayton. The almost four hundred acres features six miles of riding trails that follow a creek to the Neuse River. There are different phases depending on what size lot you are looking for. Homes start at $270,000 up to $800,000. A team of custom builders, some of the best in Johnston and Wake County are building at Portofino.

There are numerous paddocks with shelters and a twenty four stall, state of the art barn is under construction. The trails wind their way amongst the trees following two creeks with bridges and seats at certain points. The trails can be used by horses, walkers,runners. The plan is to have a canoe launch at the Neuse River. There is a pond for fishing, beach entry pool, stunning clubhouse and tennis courts are planned.

There is one outside riding arena with another planned with bleachers for weekend viewing along with an indoor riding area . So if a horse property in Clayton or Raleigh is what you considering, then come take a look at Portofino. Our newest phase is called the Churchill collection and these are custom built, farmhouse style homes. Mostly ranch plans with a minimum of 2,000 square feet on a half acre lots. A selection of nine different floor plans are available and prices start in the $270's. Phase one is the Belmont Collection with homes starting in the high $300's, lot sizes are from .65 up to 5 acres. Some of these lots have river access, creek access, most are partially wooded. The Saratogo are  estate lots from 1-6 acres, a small number are suitable for those who want to keep their horse on their property. Of course if a beautiful home in Clayton or Raleigh with amazing amenities is what you need....you don't need to be a horsey type to appreciate all Portofino has to offer.

Lego Brick Magic Comes to Raleigh NC and We Went On Mothers Day!

Lego Brick Magic Comes to Raleigh NC and We Went On Mothers Day!

Yep, the boys mom Kelly, the best mom in the world encouraged us all to go to the Lego Brick Magic Festival on Mothers Day (moms got in free). Our boys are Lego fanatics and this was the Holy Grail of Lego. We met Derek a Lego designer from England, Kelly bought a wonderful book called LEGO: a love story.by Author Jonathan Bender who signed it, as did Nathan Sawaya the Guest of Honor, you might have seen his creations on Letterman or The Corbert Report.

The Festival was held in the ballroom of the North Raleigh Hilton and the boys eyes lit up when the first display we saw was a Lego Miners train! They say it's an adult festival where kids are allowed and when you see some of the creations it is no surprise. An engineering degree might have been required for some of these.

There were, cities, trains, spacecraft, boats, there was a working drag strip race. One display was a scene from every Harry Potter book.

The three day event was hosted by BrickJournal the internationally distributed magazine for Lego enthusiasts of all ages, which is published by TwoMorrows Publishing here in Raleigh NC. The Raleigh Lego store which is only a year old is already one of the Top US Lego Stores.
Oh and judging by the lines of people throwing money at the vendors for $8.00 Minifigures the recession is OVER!
Up coming events
BrickWorld (Chicago, Illinois) June 17-20, 2010
BrickFair (Washington DC) August 5-8, 2010
BrickCon (Seattle, Washington) September 30-October 3, 2010
BrickFest ( Portland, Oregon) held every other year.
Very Cool!

Clayton NC Homes For Sale, Wyndfall Subdivision Market Report for April 2010

Clayton NC Homes For Sale, Wyndfall Subdivision Market Report for April 2010

Currently there are four homes active in Wyndfall in Clayton, there is one home pending. Wyndfall has some great homes and most are on larger, wooded lots. Most homes are ranch styles. County water was added to some parts of the subdivision recently. The schools servicing Wyndfall are River Dell Elementary, Archer Lodge Middle and the new High School Corinth Holder which will only take certain grades this year.

Prices range from $139,900 for 261 Wyndfall Lane a three bed, two bath home on 1.8 acres, to $149,900, 114 Kirkland Court a three bed, two bath home on an acre with fenced back yard,hardwood floors, concrete driveway.

The pending home was listed for $152,500

Recent sales were 483 Wyndfall Lane which sold for $152,700, 164 Carrie Drive which sold for $112,900 (Foreclosure).

Wyndfall is centrally located approx five minutes drive from Clayton, twenty five minutes from Raleigh, two hours from the beach and about three hours from the mountains.

Wyndfall is now incorporated into North Carolina's newest town Archer Lodge.

If you would like to see any of these homes please call or text 919-601-268

Wine Tastings in Raleigh, NC

Wine Tastings in Raleigh, NC

OK It's Mothers Day, so you better have some good wines available for the Mom,Wife, Daughter yourself.
So at Total Wine at the North Hills Mall they will be tasting some nice wines for everyone to enjoy.
First up is the Blue Vin RieslingIts from Mosel, Germany and it is a great Riesling for $8.99, light and a little sweet but crisp enough for sipping in the summer, or some spicy Thai food that needs a friend.

Next up Dom Fontanyl Rose de Provence $11.99, a long name for a beautiful Rose which will draw out the summer days for you and make you forget all about white zin.......

Sonoma Loeb Chardonnay, $19.99 this is a douzy of a California Chardonnay with tropical, pear fruit, smooth, creamy and it's going to be full bodied too.

Ahhhhhh, River Road Pinot Noir Stephani Vineyard $19.99. I love this one, I love the Boschetti Vineyard better but this will more than suffice, creamy raspberry, elegant, goes with salmon, ham, pork, talking.

Ask for Fitz he has forgotten more than most mere mortals will know about wine.

So Friday  from 4-7pm and Saturday from 12-6, head over to Total Wine at North Hills and taste some great wines at really good prices.

Clayton NC, Farm and Community Market is Open For Business.

Clayton NC, Farm and Community Market is Open For Business.

The Clayton Farmers Market is now open on Saturdays from 9am-3pm at The Clayton Town Square. You had vendors selling, strawberries, tomatoes,honey,homemade sausage, baked goods. You can purchase organic vegetables in season from a farm a few miles down the road or eggs from chickens raised in a yard ( the marketers play hard and heavy with some of the descriptions they use to con us in the supermarket).

There is nothing like locally grown produce for taste and flavor, not being in a tractor trailer for 24 hours doesn't hurt either. The season's first weeks are normally a little slow as all the crops are not in from the fields, remember it is local so you get what they can grow.

The Farm and Community Market runs through the summer and they are still taking new vendors, so if you have something you think belongs at a local market contact them at www.clayton-farmers-market.org.
You can purchase dried shitake mushrooms and elephant garlic and a hand chiseled flute.

The area surrounding Clayton is primarily farmland and so the potential is there to have locally grown produce and poultry,pork,beef. The big question is will people support it and are there farmers willing to invest in it for the long haul.

I hope so, because I've tried growing vegetables and we would starve if that's all we had to eat!