Due to recent conditions, there are a lot of single family home rental opportunities with a growing number of lease to purchase options. You may want to save yourself hassle of moving twice and seek out those kind of properties. Real estate agents have access to single family property rental listings on the multiple listing service and could zero in on those that are offering lease/option contracts. You could find the school district you are most interested in (see schools link) and then perhaps rent a home in the same neighborhood or area that you would eventually want to purchase in - it could help ease the transitions for children.

If you are more comfortable renting an apartment, there is a great, brand new facility in Apex called Creekside Commons. They are currently offering short term rentals (as little as 3 months) and have great ammenities to offer. The shorter term lease could leave your buying opportunity open.

Find a realtor that lives and works in Cary and spend a weekend or two checking out different neighborhoods. Make sure you look at schools, taxes, services, churches and anything else that is important to you. Consider getting creative in your search, i.e. a rent to own option on a house that is now for sale, a REO property you can buy with equity vs renting, etc - it's doubtful that in 2-3 years the market will be as favorable to you as it is now.

You may want to look at the schools in the area and decide which is best for your daughter and your family and then see what is available to rent in the Cary/Apex area. We have many different school schedules including year round, modified and traditional calendar.
Depending on your rental rate you may find some nice houses to rent as well. Depending on how long you plan to stay in the area you may even consider a lease with an option to purchase if you like the house while our prices are not as strong as they will hopefully be again in 2-3 years.

Depending on your rental budget, there are some very interesting rental opportunities in the old downtown parts of Cary that put many things in walking distance. You also get a taste for the old Cary lifestyle.

Otherwise there are a number of nice apartment complexes on the Southwest side of town off of the Cary Parkway.