Cary Area Facts

Area Score
Is This the Right Place for You? Local Insights Report
  • Uncover the key details before you move
  • Use local data to guide a smarter investment
  • Compare neighborhoods side by side
GET REPORT
Local Insights Report

Cary Reviews

Write a review about Cary Tell people what you like or don't like about Cary…
A Southern branch of NYC (and Asia) User Rating 2.5 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 21, 2024) We moved from Miami Beach more than 10 years ago, Florida looking for the ease of buying a house, peace of mind, security and work. We sort of found that, but we didn't figure out what kind of partnership Cary has.
The New York atmosphere already existed, but in recent years it h
...Read More as been flooded with New Yorkers, New Jerseyans and now, Californians. What was left of Southern hospitality before 2014, in Cary, is almost extinct today. The people are cold, apathetic and rude, it is very noticeable in the businesses, the customer service is horrible, not to mention the way they drive. In addition, there is an enormous influence from other cultures that want to erase everything that is left of Southern and many times, erase what is American that remains. I say it with sadness, as an immigrant, they do not integrate, they want to change EVERYTHING, to their comfort without thinking about the traditions of the people who built North Carolina.
Cary, sadly, is like an advertisement, false, does not represent reality, cold and calculating. Not even the progressives who are in power in the city are faithful to their ideas, they are destroying everything natural that was left in the city. Killing thousands and thousands of animals and vegetation, in the name of progress (and collecting more taxes). Read Less
The definition of artificial. User Rating 1 rating By Anonymous ( Jul 19, 2021) I guess I can say that Cary is a nice place to live if you don’t care about character or charm to a city. It’s a rich suburb for middle age families. A lot of outdoor things to do, dining, and other things. For me though, this place is so new and built up, I wouldn’t even c ...Read More onsider living here. There’s no charm to living here. In addition, the people who call Cary home are, let’s just say, definitely not southern hospitable. In fact, I’d be offended is someone ever said Cary was a southern town. Read Less
I want to Move to Cary NC User Rating 5 rating By Anonymous ( May 12, 2020) I want to move to Cary NC for lots of reasons It's great to raise a family it has low crime great schools affordable housing everything is a great stat for this place except the cost of living although the houses look clean and this city proper looks modern or new there are hardl ...Read More y any vacant homes in Cary NC which is why I want to Move to Cary NC so that's all I got! Read Less
so simple to figure out if you look at all the other bad reveiws User Rating 1 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 23, 2020) so funny how when you look at all the reviews for a place, its always a constant theme around here. nobody can take away the beauty of this place! but positively this is exactly where it ends!!!!! and the constant theme is the character of the people being bland,,,,, but what it ...Read More really is, that this place was the birthing ground of every soul in this country who could absolutely give a crap about anything but themselves,,, the reviews always say slow.. its not slow!!! its I don't give a crap about you or hurring, cause I don't give a crap about anything, having owned a business here and dealing with vendors , workers, and suppliers, it is a CONSTANT THEME HERE, nobody gives a crap about anybody but themselves here, its in there walk, its in there talk, its in there facial expressions, its in every facet of everything here from gas stations to restaurants. absolutely nobody has any personality here,,,, because they do not want to, they are the most lifeless careless souls around, it will wear you down like a lead blanket, so depressing. this place was founded on affordable housing and tech, many years ago, there is nothing here anymore, houses are around 500k, Raleigh has absolutely nothing to excite anybody, durham same, beach is 2 hours away. and the mountains 4 hours away with no skiing. you wanna talk about a sinking ship, run from this place as fast as you can if you are a person who gives a crap about anything Read Less
Show All Reviews
I want to Move to Cary NC User Rating 5 rating By Anonymous ( May 12, 2020) I want to move to Cary NC for lots of reasons It's great to raise a family it has low crime great schools affordable housing everything is a great stat for this place except the cost of living although the houses look clean and this city proper looks modern or new there are hardl ...Read More y any vacant homes in Cary NC which is why I want to Move to Cary NC so that's all I got! Read Less
so simple to figure out if you look at all the other bad reveiws User Rating 1 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 23, 2020) so funny how when you look at all the reviews for a place, its always a constant theme around here. nobody can take away the beauty of this place! but positively this is exactly where it ends!!!!! and the constant theme is the character of the people being bland,,,,, but what it ...Read More really is, that this place was the birthing ground of every soul in this country who could absolutely give a crap about anything but themselves,,, the reviews always say slow.. its not slow!!! its I don't give a crap about you or hurring, cause I don't give a crap about anything, having owned a business here and dealing with vendors , workers, and suppliers, it is a CONSTANT THEME HERE, nobody gives a crap about anybody but themselves here, its in there walk, its in there talk, its in there facial expressions, its in every facet of everything here from gas stations to restaurants. absolutely nobody has any personality here,,,, because they do not want to, they are the most lifeless careless souls around, it will wear you down like a lead blanket, so depressing. this place was founded on affordable housing and tech, many years ago, there is nothing here anymore, houses are around 500k, Raleigh has absolutely nothing to excite anybody, durham same, beach is 2 hours away. and the mountains 4 hours away with no skiing. you wanna talk about a sinking ship, run from this place as fast as you can if you are a person who gives a crap about anything Read Less
I Love Kickboxing User Rating 4.5 rating By elfielynn ( Apr 24, 2017) The I Love Kickboxing gym in Cary NC is amazing!!! The trainers are skilled, motivating, and make me feel like even I can do it!!! The other gym members are a great community of support as well. I am looking forward to my next fun and challenging class...Bring it on!Oh ya, and ...Read More Cary has been an awesome place for my husband (works in IT), myself (works in healthcare), and our 2 young children (tons of daycare options and a fantastic public school system)!!! Read Less
Nice for NE transplants..sucks for anyone else! User Rating 2 rating By peekeeko ( Apr 21, 2017) Comparing this area to Atlanta or any other city with tech jobs where there are suburbs with diversity and lots of retail..this place is horrible. Morrisvillem, next to RTP, is a 75% Indian community. There is a mass exodus of North-easterners to the area with 40+ moving here e ...Read More veryday so there is now an approved light-rail started. This growth has resulted in avg. of 30 acres of land destroyed daily. There must be over 200 apt. complexes in the RTP area and the rest 3 story condos and townhomes/patio homes in the $300k+ price range. The single family homes in Cary in the good school areas are over $500k and NONE of them have yards! None of the subdivisions have swim/tennis or playgrounds. There are no community pools or water parks so if your community does not have a pool(most do not) you are out of luck. Since CARY stands for "containment area for transplanted yankees", there are 2 Wegmans being built and 50-60% of the pop. is NE. The schools in Wake County cannot keep up with this growth so the elem/middle schools are a mix of year-round and traditional. If you get a year-round school in West Cary as we did, your child will be on 1 of 4 "tracks" with a schedule of 9 weeks on/3 weeks off on "track-outs" all year long. So every 9 wks. you have to find a "track-out" camp to send them to for about $200-400/wk if you work. If you have a child in middle school, they may be on a different "track" schedule. High schools are traditional since they cannot accommodate sports on this type of schedule. Then you have constant rezoning of schools every year. Our elem. school was zoned for Mills Park Middle and was rezoned for West Cary Middle the next yr. We would have not been happy had we purchased a home versus renting. In the RTP area you have 2 Target shopping centers and 1 movie theater....nothing else. Raleigh is a large town, not a city, so you do not have any ammenities for the 15-30 mile drive. No hospitals or access to healthcare either here...you have an ER-plex in Brier Creek and in Apex. Not to mention the maddening planes overhead from RDU. You will not be happy here unless you are leaving a high cost of living area such as NYC or San Francisco. Singles will die of boredom here. Read Less
The best city to live User Rating 4.5 rating By Alba ( Jun 29, 2013) I REALLY LOVE THIS PLACE AND I'M SUFFERING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I HAVE TO GO DUE TO A JOB TRANFER. I HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE FEBRUARY 2009 AND I JUST FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS TOWN. I NEVER SAW AN UNIQUE BEAUTY AND CLEANNESS LIKE THE ONE THIS PLACE OFFERS. I also fall in love with the aws ...Read More ome people I met here that I'll never forget. A place where values such as respect and courtesy still present. I hope with all my heart that I can return with my family to live here again. I love you Cary NC And I'll never forget this place that was part of God's plan for my life. Where I lived the most beautiful moments of my life. Read Less
Cary, North Carolina: The Best of Both Worlds User Rating 5 rating By Anonymous ( Jul 06, 2010) I moved to Cary ten years ago and find it a delightful place to live. Cary is a prosperous suburb with the largest retail shopping area in the state of North Carolina. A great attraction is Koka Booth Amphitheater in Regency Park. This beautiful outdoor venue is beside Symphony L ...Read More ake, surrounded by towering pine trees. The city of Cary is home to the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Outstanding players come from across America to participate in the program. Every summer, the largest arts and craft show in the southeast fills the streets of our picturesque village-like downtown. Lazy Daze accepts only the finest craftsmen. They come from many states to display their wares.

To me, Cary is the best of both worlds. Living here provides the opportunity to enjoy a friendly, small-city type atmosphere, but also have the resources of the state capital nearby. State science, history, and art museums, fairgrounds, IMAX Theater, NC State University, and much more are only a few miles away.

Occasionally, the traffic can be heavy in Cary. Some mid-summer days are warmer than we prefer, but there is never a reason to be bored. Read Less

How Do You Rate The Livability In Cary?

1. Select a livability score between 1-100
0
Awful
25
Poor
50
Average
75
Good
100
Great
2. Select any tags that apply to this area
View results

Cary Awards

City BadgeCity BadgeCity BadgeCity BadgeCity Badge

Compare Cary, NC Livability

City Image
    City Default Image
      vs

      Cary, NC

      A suburban city that offers numerous amenities to make residents and visitors feel at home, Cary is located in Wake County. This is a city that is located right in the center of political action in the state of North Carolina as well as numerous festivals and special events. Even though Cary can feel like the restaurants, homes, and shopping centers are close together, the friendliness that you'll experience from the residents and the variety of activities can aid in spreading out across the city.

      The real estate numbers in Cary are a bit higher than in other areas of the state and the nation. Homes are owned by most residents in the state with a small percentage being rented. Many of the homes that are owned are located in the rural areas of Cary with rentals being found mostly near the city. Owned homes are usually older and feature charming details that make them stand out instead of following a template design.

      When you're in Cary, you'll feel like you belong and like you're a part of a large family. From the greetings that you get while you're walking on the sidewalks to the events that are held for all ages, you're sure to fit right in as soon as you arrive. The Koka Booth Amphitheater is home to several musical events during the year as well as movies for the family. The Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ festival is also held at the amphitheater.

      The schools in Cary are exceptional. They are rated at a level above others in the state of North Carolina and offer a variety of ways for students to engage with each other whether it's through sports or academic clubs. Universities in the area include Duke and NC State. Even though there are several colleges and universities in and near Cary, the students tend to stay on or near the campuses.

      If you enjoy four seasons during the year, then Cary has just what you need. The winter season, although filled with a few inches of snow, is usually mild compared to states to the north of North Carolina. Hurricanes are sometimes a threat if they are in the Atlantic, which is something to keep in mind during the summer months. Spring weather is usually filled with warmth, and the fall season tends to be filled with colorful leaves on the trees.

      Since Cary is located close to larger cities, it's beneficial to have a car so that you can easily travel from one location to another. If you work in the city, you can park in one of the garages and walk to where you want to go during your lunch break. Garages are usually open on the weekend as well so that you can walk around the city with your family, enjoying the fresh North Carolina air and the beautiful views of nature.

      A Amenities

      Are there many local amenities in Cary? Yes, there are lots of amenities close to this location.

      Parks

      Bond Park
      Bond Park
      Lazy Daze Playground
      Bond Park
      Preston Soccer Complex
      Bond Park
      Dorothy Park
      Bond Park

      Entertainment

      Sertoma Amphitheatre
      Compost Education Center
      AMC Park Place 16
      Cary Arts Center
      Amphitheater
      The Cary Theater
      Park West 14
      Cougar Stadium

      Food & Drink

      Wendy's
      The Corner Tavern & Grill
      Quiznos
      Nakato Express Japanese Cuisine
      Miso Ramen Bar
      Jersey Mike's Subs
      Bruegger's Bagels
      Back 9 Pub

      A+ Commute

      Is public transit available in Cary? Of all people who commute, 0.3% take public transportation in Cary.
      Drive to Work
      74%

      2% lower than the US average

      Take Public Transit
      0%

      5% lower than the US average

      Walk to Work
      1%

      1% lower than the US average

      A+ Health & Safety

      Is Cary a healthy and safe place to live? Yes, there are many hospitals, police and fire stations.

      Hospitals

      UNC REX Healthcare
      UNC REX Healthcare
      WakeMed Cary Hospital

      Pharmacies

      CVS Pharmacy
      CVS Pharmacy
      Harris Teeter Pharmacy
      Walgreens
      CVS Pharmacy
      Specialty Pharmacy
      CVS Pharmacy
      Walgreens

      Doctors

      Care Pediatrics
      Carolina Aesthetics and Weight Loss Center
      Friendship Medical Center, P.A.
      North Carolina Center for Reproductive Medicine
      Triangle Kidney Associates, P.L.L.C.
      Triangle Physicians for Women Gynecology Office
      Western Wake Eye Center, P.A.
      Preston Medical Associates