NewHomesandIdeas.com BLOG: Publisher, Jodi Sauerbier heads to Clayton, NC for her pick of the week...

Calling all horse lovers! What if I told you that you could have both city and country in Clayton, NC and more specifically in Portofino? If you treasure the convenience and accessibility that living in the triangle offers you, but longingly desire tranquility and quiet from all of the hustle and bustle after a long day? Let me paint a picture of the perfect location for those that are in search of just this...

Portofino is a gated, equestrian community complete with a state of the art equestrian center. This community personally brings me back to my days as a young girl... horseback lessons and trail riding along the stream of upstate NY. There are nearly seven miles of riding trails, part of which wind along the banks of the Neuse river. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Maybe you don’t have a horse, but love the beauty they offer then just enjoy the view! How about a kayak or canoe that can offer a different kind of natural enjoyment? Truly a beautiful place to call home with stables and pastures of pure elegance as a back drop with streams, trails and rivers that call a nature lover home!

The town of Clayton offers gracious open country living just minutes away from the greater Raleigh area. BusinessWeek magazine, one of the world's leading business publications, has rated Clayton's schools among the top in the U.S. and ranked the town in the top 10 of the country's most affordable places for families to live and assure a top education for their children.