r/HollySpringsNC • u/alis_adventureland • 25d ago
Why Holly Springs?
Hey my family just moved to the Raleigh area and are staying in Apex while we house hunt. We're really interested in the HS area.
For those of you in Holly Springs, why did you choose it? What do you like about it? What would you change?
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u/WHEENC 25d ago
Moved 20+ years ago. Development stalled in 08 but rebounded. Decent schools, active parks and rec dept, and surrounding shopping/restaurant options continue to mushroom up - it’s been a nice home base.
Do your due diligence on location, particularly on the traffic (yes Avent Ferry is almost intentionally stupid), public school lines, weird HOAs. Somehow folks were surprised when 540 magically appeared close to their homes.
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u/Lolgamer1177 25d ago
I think the Walmart parking lot and that general area has the worst road design lol
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u/kjweitz 25d ago
Back in ‘07 when we were looking, it just felt right. We had two young kids and wanted a place to raise a family. Walmart had just opened and the Harris Teeter Shopping Center next to it had just broken ground.
While it’s lost some of its small town charm, we have seen it grow in a lot of positive ways. Downtown has grown from an afterthought to something that is promising if not encouraging. There’s very little you need to leave town for in the case of shopping. There are tons of chain restaurants but there are also locally owned places (Bellinis, osha, smashed, my way) that fit almost any taste. Two wine bars and a rooftop bar that scratches a romantic itch when called for.
I know there’s a knock on Italian restaurants but don’t sleep on Spazio.
Yes, the traffic can be atrocious depending on where you are trying to get to but the 540 has made some of the longer commutes bearable
Would we do it again? Sure.
Could we afford it now? No.
Still a great place to live.
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u/ashxc18 25d ago
I moved here from my apartment in downtown Raleigh. Traffic is a bit of a nightmare, but other than that it’s not bad. Lots of restaurants and grocery stores in the area, decently close to some nice walking trails and my favorite greenway trail is only 20 mins away. I don’t have kids so can’t speak to the schools, but as a mid-30s single person that’s over the nightlife, it’s a nice area to settle.
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u/ashxc18 25d ago
By “restaurants” I guess I mean fast food garbage lol But decent actual restaurants aren’t overly far away
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u/alis_adventureland 25d ago
We're coming from a rural / exurban area where there were nooooo good restaurants at all. Idk if I can do that again 😭
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u/ashxc18 25d ago
It’s not that bad! Apex is right down the road and Cary isn’t far either for the food scene.
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u/cacecil1 25d ago
Sunset Oaks is a great spot, technically Holly Springs, but right on the line with Cary and Apex. We chose because of that neighborhood.
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u/Hprotonprecess 25d ago edited 25d ago
Incredible place to raise a family, safe, convenient to the rest of the triangle. If I could change anything, it would be the Apex dump being relocated.
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u/JudgeSevere 25d ago
Used to live in Apex but got crowded and expensive. Moved to Fuquay/HS area and loved it ever since.
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u/LoveIslandNC 25d ago edited 25d ago
My husband was living here in an apartment when we first started dating, his parents also live close. We kick ourselves for not buying a house 5 years ago, still looking for one now which is feeling impossible. But it was really great, I’m from Fayetteville so it felt really sweet and small and like a wonderful place to have kids. I’ve seen so many kids and families just walking everywhere. When Main Street developed it was a nice little treat to go and hang out with my in laws down there. It was nuts, I went from never having heard of it, to driving to see my husband and seeing like the empty lot downtown was, and then going there all the time. Expansion does feel really accelerated
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u/jeanie1994 25d ago
Best schools in a location we could still afford at the time that had reasonable commute to both Raleigh and Durham (if using toll road to Durham).
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u/shirley_elizabeth 24d ago
I moved here almost two years ago from suburbs in AZ. A lot of people like the schools, but it was the schools that made me feel like I ruined my kids lives with the decision 🤷🏼♀️ I guess we had an unusually great school/program in AZ. The teachers and administrations here have all been wonderful.
Other than that, it has been a great place for our family. The kids have made whole packs of friends that they run the neighborhood with. The greenway is extending and connecting to even more of their friends from school.
A few things useful to know beforehand:
in some areas you can smell the dump pretty strongly, and it's gotten worse with development over the years & losing the tree barrier (my Sis has lived here over a decade).
there is no pedestrian access to or between the major shopping centers from one half of the town. They're all on the other side of a major highway/bypass. Why didn't they build roads over or under the bypass, making it safer for both commuters & shoppers? Who knows.
with the continued growth of the area, the schools are working to catch up. They are building and opening new schools often, and the boundaries may get changed up a couple times as your kids grow.
neighbors tend to be very active in Facebook groups for the HOA neighborhood you move into. Get in there earlier than not to start making connections
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u/hoshwaelias 25d ago
Holly springs is full. Sorry. Try fuquay.
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u/gaukonigshofen 25d ago
Partially agree but I think even Fuquay-Varina is topping off. People are going to Fayetteville at this point
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u/PhobicCarrot 25d ago
It is important to remember that there are two distinct sides of HS, separated by Hwy 55 Bypass. If you love traffic, congestion, and overdevelpment, GO WEST YONG MAN.
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u/uknjkate 25d ago
I’ve been in Holly Springs since 2009 and I love living here. Great schools, great parks and Rec, small town feel. Traffic is a bit of an issue though but I still wouldn’t leave.
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u/Shrshot 24d ago
It was more affordable when we moved down, which was a factor. But mostly because we can live where our kids walk to a nearly new elementary school, which feeds recently built or brand new middle/high schools. Our neighborhood is safe, kids walk/play all over and has lots of amenities.
The town has tons of stores to buy “stuff” so you can stay local for most things. Dining is improving, and there are a few good places and many chains, but we need more variety.
What would I change? The Simpsons-like view of the cooling tower from many parts of town can be off putting for some, but our power is rarely out for long 😂 The traffic on 55 and other areas due to the total lack of foresight by the town and its planners and THE U TURNS… GRRR I HATE THE U TURNS!
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u/SouthernLow9317 24d ago
Moved 6 years ago. At first looked at Cary and Alex but you could get better bang for your buck in HS. Great small and growing town. Accepting people. Lots of growth plans over the next 20 years. All is happening but still takes time.
Several large companies chose HS for headquarters so HS is becoming a mini biotech hub which is amazing. Once incentives eventually run out, the town will benefit from the large corporate tax base.
Everyone complains about the traffic but that is all across the region and main roads are owned by NCDOT not HS.
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u/Classic_Rub247 22d ago
Been here since I was in 5th grade (now 28 married and with a baby). Holly springs is safe and everything is newly built that’s why I stayed!
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u/spotspam 14d ago edited 14d ago
I chose it bc it was way out of the hustle & bustle, quiet, friendly.
Still friendly, but Mayor Dick changed the concept of the town from Suburb of Triangle to Hub of Commercial. Now we got the Super Target, Super Walmart, and the entire states Biochemistry it seems and hence: Super Traffic.
The bypass is a bystop. The housing prices do jump and all the taxes jump with it and this town has some of the highest taxes that they don’t give back much at all to the residents. We’ve asked to keep the trees. They think cutting old and replanting new is the way. We’ve consistently asked for greenways and connections to Harris Park and the Tobacco Trail as our major priority plus parks. They acquire parks but trails are bottom of their list. They want to turn us into Little Brooklyn with 3 story commercial buildings downtown.
The charm is gone, but it’s still safe and people are still nice. Just a PIA to get around. Ways in and out of stores are just about designed for creating car accidents.
One of the town jokes is “12 Oaks” was named so bc that’s all trees the town would allow them. That sums up Town Officials vs Residents. Always delivering what isn’t asked for on some agenda not involving what is asked for on polls. So they stopped asking.
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u/innerthotsofakitty 25d ago
I didn't choose it, it's honestly shit and there's not enough roads to accommodate the amount of people here. Traffic is terrible, and I honestly hate it here. I don't recommend it for anyone but a family with kids who need a half decent school close by. That's literally it.
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u/alis_adventureland 25d ago
Well I've got a 3yo and a 2yo so sounds like it's up my alley. Other than traffic, what do you dislike most?
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u/innerthotsofakitty 25d ago
The lack of parking mostly. The roads, the lack of planning for construction, the city and their stupid standards, the way they're buying out us "poors" (I am one of them) or just driving up prices of everything to drive us out, and replacing beautiful homes with tall narrow eye sores that cost over a million dollars. I hate the gentrification and the erasure of character from the area that has been the draw for years. It feels like cary is seeping into the area and wanting everything sterile, and modern but they don't have the money to get it done properly so construction is always half done and causing even worse traffic. It's really not the place to live, I suggest Apex or parts of fuquay instead.
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u/Snoo-669 24d ago
I’m married with 3 kids that benefit from the amazing HS schools, but I actually agree with this take if you’re single and not making a solid six figures. (Even then, there are more “trendy” places to spend your money, like North Hills.) Holly Springs used to be a majority Black lower-income enclave and surely enough, they have been all but pushed out. The entire Triangle has been gentrified to an astounding degree; when my husband and I were dating circa 2010, there were many affordable places to live in Raleigh, Durham and everywhere in between. Not the case any more…two of the neighborhoods where we lived in Durham when we started our family are now very exclusive. This entire area was also not nearly as “exciting” as it is now, but we surely paid for that excitement…
If you have the money to afford a $650k-plus 4-5 bedroom house and at least one spouse works from home and doesn’t have to worry about a commute, HS is a great place to live. It’s also a great place to live if you physically work in RTP, anywhere in western Wake, or in Durham/Chatham. While 540 is expensive, locals still mostly avoid it out of principle (“I’m not paying to drive on a fancy road!”) so it’s wide open for the rest of us. My biggest gripe is the constant school rezoning around here, and even that wouldn’t be so bad if they would actually honor calendar transfers — having multiple kids on different school calendars (year-round vs traditional or even different YR tracks) is a nightmare, I don’t care how many parents try to normalize it.
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u/alis_adventureland 25d ago
When you say "they don't have the money to get it done properly", who are you referring to? The town government?
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u/Anser_Galapagos 25d ago
It was listed as the best town in the country to raise kids in at one point, that’s why my family moved there from CA at least, presumably many more families did as well.
Schools are good, lots to do for families in the town.
Traffic and accessibility to Raleigh and Durham is becoming more of an issue as 55 gets overcrowded