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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2016 23:23:49 GMT
I started a thread a while back asking if anyone had ever relocated to a new state. It seemed that many who were born in North Carolina or moved there really had nice things to say. It's actually an area DH and I are considering retiring to (not for awhile, but not really too soon to start thinking about it). We'd also like to live on or near a lake if possible. I don't want to live near the ocean. We've been to the Asheville area and the winston-salem area and liked them both very much. We liked Lake Norman but not sure we can afford the kind of house we'd like there.
So if you are from or have relocated to NC, can you give me your thoughts, pros/cons of living there, and maybe suggest towns (especially lake areas) to consider?
Thanks!
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Post by carly on Jul 11, 2016 1:05:40 GMT
I am from Nags Head. But since you don't want ocean I would move to the western part of the state.
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Post by txdancermom on Jul 11, 2016 1:09:52 GMT
dd lived in Greensboro for 3+ years. She liked the town, there was a lot to do, but her complaint was the uber conservative politics. She and her SO had an opportunity to move to Ohio and they have, although they miss their friends in NC.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 1:17:42 GMT
I am from Nags Head. But since you don't want ocean I would move to the western part of the state. I love the ocean and look forward to exploring that part of NC  In a perfect world I would love to live right smack on the ocean, but I am too paranoid about hurricanes. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Jul 11, 2016 1:19:09 GMT
If you are looking for lakes.. Western North Carolina might be just right.
Lake Lure is a gorgeous place to retire too.
Are you looking to retire or relocate?
Will you need professional jobs?
Asheville is beautiful but expensive and jobs and salaries suck.
Lake Norman might be an area to look into if you are looking for jobs.
North Carolina, has cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, and even Winston-Salem Greensboro area, as well as the mountains, Asheville and surrounding areas, and then the coast. So its hard to be specific without more information.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 1:27:35 GMT
If you are looking for lakes.. Western North Carolina might be just right. Lake Lure is a gorgeous place to retire too. Are you looking to retire or relocate? Will you need professional jobs? Asheville is beautiful but expensive and jobs and salaries suck. Lake Norman might be an area to look into if you are looking for jobs. North Carolina, has cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, and even Winston-Salem Greensboro area, as well as the mountains, Asheville and surrounding areas, and then the coast. So its hard to be specific without more information. We would be retiring, so jobs not a major issue. BH is a bit older than I am, so I might want to work part time if I could find something, but that's not a deal breaker. NC is a reasonable distance from our families - unless we can convince them all to move with us We definitely don't want to live in a city. I really love the idea of living on a lake and it seems like there are many in NC, so I'm hoping to get some ideas for specific lake towns/areas to look at, and any other "things you should know" details; for example I appreciated txdancermom comment about the conservative politics, that kind of insider intel, LOL. Mountains views are nice but optional.) We liked Lake Norman but to get something on the lake there seemed extremely pricey. I am pretty sure we drove around Lake Lure (if that's the one near Asheville) and it was very nice but it didn't seem to "call" to me but I have to go back and check the map. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 2:00:42 GMT
Lake Wylie is southwest of Charlotte (Norman is north). It seems that Wylie is less expensive overall. We have friends who have places on Wylie since we are south. Lake Lure is gorgeous but I would say more rural and more in the mountains.
I will say that I love Charlotte. Pretty much anything you want is within an hour or two. We love hiking in the mountains and love how close we are to fun places to visit (we've been to Charleston, Boone, Blowing Rock, Hilton Head, Williamsburg, DC, Lexington KY, Nashville, Pittsburgh, etc) that are within an easy day's drive. (We came from Texas where it took hours to get out of the state....)
Yes, a lot of NC is conservative unless you live in the Triangle of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill.
I think it would be a good place to retire and I suspect that DH and I will retire here. He thinks he might want to go back to Texas, but I don't think we will truly want to move away if our kids stay close to here.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Jul 11, 2016 2:06:55 GMT
NC is a purple state. We voted for Obama in the first election and Romney last time. We are considered a swing state in this election. The bigger cities and Asheville tend to attract more liberals. Lake Lanier is beautiful. Lake Lure is about 45 mins from Asheville.. but there are a ton of lakes within that distance.. so it might have been!  It is near Chimney Rock.. Bear Lake Reserve and Lake James both are nice and in WNC. I don't know about other areas. |
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Post by stampinchick on Jul 11, 2016 4:15:00 GMT
Lake Wylie is southwest of Charlotte (Norman is north). It seems that Wylie is less expensive overall. We have friends who have places on Wylie since we are south. Lake Lure is gorgeous but I would say more rural and more in the mountains. I will say that I love Charlotte. Pretty much anything you want is within an hour or two. We love hiking in the mountains and love how close we are to fun places to visit (we've been to Charleston, Boone, Blowing Rock, Hilton Head, Williamsburg, DC, Lexington KY, Nashville, Pittsburgh, etc) that are within an easy day's drive. (We came from Texas where it took hours to get out of the state....) Yes, a lot of NC is conservative unless you live in the Triangle of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill. I think it would be a good place to retire and I suspect that DH and I will retire here. He thinks he might want to go back to Texas, but I don't think we will truly want to move away if our kids stay close to here. Lake Wylie is just over the NC border so it's practically like living in NC. Look into the differences in taxes in NC and SC. When my brother took a job in Charlotte they chose to live in SC because they found the taxes were lower. Save |
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Post by scrappysurfer on Jul 11, 2016 4:27:33 GMT
We love Western NC near Highlands, Brevard, Cashiers. Lake Toxaway is gorgeous but expensive, it has a country club feel to it. Lake Jocassee on the NC/SC border is also beautiful. Asheville is an hours drive from that area, Gatlinburg is 2-3 hours away, and the At.anta is about 3 hours away. We love it there, go camping and hiking every year and hope to retire near Highlands eventually.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jul 11, 2016 5:20:04 GMT
Only experience living in coastal NC. Went to high school in Morehead City. My mom lives in Newport.
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Post by Patter on Jul 11, 2016 10:28:03 GMT
We live on Lake Hickory in Hickory, NC. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here! Our town has 40K people--not too big, not too small. I have everything I need here. We see the lake and the mountains from our home. I love seeing Table Rock from my deck as well as the lake. The other bonus is that we are one hour from Asheville, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Winston-Salem, and one hour from Charlotte. Perfect location for us. Some people don't like it here because they say there is nothing to do. We find it's perfect, and if we want something not available here, we drive to one of the cities I mentioned. We also have season passes to Biltmore House, and we go over for lunch often. Have fun choosing. I have lived in 10 different states all along the southern US, and this by far is our favorite. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 11, 2016 11:08:38 GMT
Funny fact that sounds like a joke: (okay maybe not fact as in verifiable with numbers, just observational)
Where do people in Florida go when they retire? North Carolina.
The trend these days in people that I know is to move north for retirement. It seems like North Carolina has become the area of choice. My aunt and uncle just bought a place up there (I can't remember precisely where) and they spend six months or so a year in the mountains an the rest of the time down here with us.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 12:00:13 GMT
We live on Lake Hickory in Hickory, NC. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here! Our town has 40K people--not too big, not too small. I have everything I need here. We see the lake and the mountains from our home. I love seeing Table Rock from my deck as well as the lake. The other bonus is that we are one hour from Asheville, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Winston-Salem, and one hour from Charlotte. Perfect location for us. Some people don't like it here because they say there is nothing to do. We find it's perfect, and if we want something not available here, we drive to one of the cities I mentioned. We also have season passes to Biltmore House, and we go over for lunch often. Have fun choosing. I have lived in 10 different states all along the southern US, and this by far is our favorite. That sounds wonderful! (A season pass to Biltmore House, lucky you! I love it there. We stayed at the on site hotel for three days a few years ago, it was awesome) |
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Post by Patter on Jul 11, 2016 12:56:44 GMT
We live on Lake Hickory in Hickory, NC. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here! Our town has 40K people--not too big, not too small. I have everything I need here. We see the lake and the mountains from our home. I love seeing Table Rock from my deck as well as the lake. The other bonus is that we are one hour from Asheville, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Winston-Salem, and one hour from Charlotte. Perfect location for us. Some people don't like it here because they say there is nothing to do. We find it's perfect, and if we want something not available here, we drive to one of the cities I mentioned. We also have season passes to Biltmore House, and we go over for lunch often. Have fun choosing. I have lived in 10 different states all along the southern US, and this by far is our favorite. That sounds wonderful! (A season pass to Biltmore House, lucky you! I love it there. We stayed at the on site hotel for three days a few years ago, it was awesome) Season passes are the way to go if you live near there. They are the price of 1 1/2 tickets. So already we have been 2x since we renewed our passes in May. They have already paid for themselves, and they are good until May 2017. We also get 2 passes each (so 10 total) to share with friends each year. The people we give them to go for FREE with those passes. We donated all 10 to a church family this year. Can't wait to see what the Lord has us do with the 10 for next year. |
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Post by terri on Jul 11, 2016 12:57:42 GMT
I'm not sure I have too much to add since I live in Cary which doesn't sound like the area you are looking at. I can tell you that I have lived here for 25 years and love it. We are very fond of the Lake Lure area and have been visiting there for many years. I'm not sure there is a ton of property that is for sale on a regular basis with lake views. We always look when we are there and never see much. The homes on the lake are accessed with some pretty curvy roads that would probably freak me out to drive in when there is snow or ice. I love that area though - lots of antique stores and the proximity to Asheville which has so much to do. Good luck!
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Post by Patter on Jul 11, 2016 13:00:07 GMT
terri, I was in Cary a couple of weeks ago and will be back this week. Beautiful area but definitely too busy for me.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by raindancer on Jul 11, 2016 13:17:42 GMT
terri, I was in Cary a couple of weeks ago and will be back this week. Beautiful area but definitely too busy for me. I moved to Cary 6 months ago and it's the perfect amount of busy for me! I do want a lake house eventually though and the town you live sounds just like the right amount of "small" for me as a get away! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 13:33:52 GMT
we live in Costal NC, right outside out Wilmington N.C
The good.. 3 beaches withing 20 minutes from us.
Tons and I mean tons of shopping, something for everyone.
Vibrant music scene. Plenty of outdoor free concerts.Great community events, classes, festivals.
Great schools depending on what part of town you choose.
Quaint small towns in Brunswick across the bridge and Pender up the road.
Lots of farmers markets, farm fresh stands.
Weather: from late April till late September you can swim. October-December fallish weather. January & February are the coldest months. March and April are spring.
The bad:
Traffic in the city at time is terrible(not all the time, you learn quickly).
Housing depending on where you live , inside the city 250k-no end.
Outside the city 175k starting.
Hurricanes
If we had to do it all over we would have looked at Burgaw in Pender county.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
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Post by raindancer on Jul 11, 2016 13:49:32 GMT
terri, I was in Cary a couple of weeks ago and will be back this week. Beautiful area but definitely too busy for me. I sent you both a private message. |
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PaperAngel
Drama Llama
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jul 11, 2016 14:26:11 GMT
NC native. A few suggestions:
Lake Norman (north of Charlotte) - recreational; suburban; full-time & summer residences; professionals with families; celebrities (e.g. Michael Jordan, NASCAR drivers)
Badin Lake (between Charlotte & Greensboro) - recreational; rural; full-time & summer residences
Lake Jeannette (Greensboro) - recreational; suburban; full-time residences; mostly professionals with families
Lake at Lissara (Winston-Salem) - non-recreational; rural; full-time residences
Lake James (between Asheville & Hickory) - recreational; rural; many summer homes
Lake Lure (southeast of Asheville near Chimney Rock) - recreational; rural; mostly summer homes
Lake Junaluska (west of Asheville; Methodist retreat center) - non-recreational; rural; full-time & summer residences; many retirees
HTH, & best wishes!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 14:33:58 GMT
We live on Lake Hickory in Hickory, NC. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here! Our town has 40K people--not too big, not too small. I have everything I need here. We see the lake and the mountains from our home. I love seeing Table Rock from my deck as well as the lake. The other bonus is that we are one hour from Asheville, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Winston-Salem, and one hour from Charlotte. Perfect location for us. Some people don't like it here because they say there is nothing to do. We find it's perfect, and if we want something not available here, we drive to one of the cities I mentioned. We also have season passes to Biltmore House, and we go over for lunch often. Have fun choosing. I have lived in 10 different states all along the southern US, and this by far is our favorite. dd #2 moved to Hickory in May. She loves it there! I can't wait to go visit her. They go somewhere beautiful every weekend and send me pics and tell me it is 30 min from their house. |
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Post by Patter on Jul 11, 2016 15:27:54 GMT
We live on Lake Hickory in Hickory, NC. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here! Our town has 40K people--not too big, not too small. I have everything I need here. We see the lake and the mountains from our home. I love seeing Table Rock from my deck as well as the lake. The other bonus is that we are one hour from Asheville, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Winston-Salem, and one hour from Charlotte. Perfect location for us. Some people don't like it here because they say there is nothing to do. We find it's perfect, and if we want something not available here, we drive to one of the cities I mentioned. We also have season passes to Biltmore House, and we go over for lunch often. Have fun choosing. I have lived in 10 different states all along the southern US, and this by far is our favorite. dd #2 moved to Hickory in May. She loves it there! I can't wait to go visit her. They go somewhere beautiful every weekend and send me pics and tell me it is 30 min from their house. Oh wow, how fun to know your daughter moved here! Where is she living? You will have to PM me. Let me know if she needs anything. We just celebrated 4 years here, and I never see us leaving! |
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paget
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jul 11, 2016 18:09:29 GMT
I love this thread. Dd3 really wants to attend college in North Carolina and will be applying to duke, North Carolina state, and University of North Carolina. Dh and I may end up following her out since she's our last abs were ready for a change and cheaper cost of living!
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In a perfect world I would love to live right smack on the ocean, but I am too paranoid about hurricanes.
It is near Chimney Rock..
