Need Information on North Carolina ???

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Husband and I have deceided that within 2 years we will move from our Northern PA homestead to North Carolina ?? Our daughter lives in Lexington, SC and we thought NC might have the mountains that we have come to love to watch the sunrise over. We truly love our little place but miss the family and grandchildren more. We have NO idea about land prices or where to move !! We have gotten the usual Real Estate catalogs sent but the prices are WOW !! more than we could imagine. I realize that we might have to make some trips down to check out locations and thought of renting for a year to learn the lay of the land etc. Sell our place than we would know how much money we do have to spend on a new home. Been over 22 years and it does hurt to think of leaving behind many memories. But...life goes on and I know we will find another home that makes us just as happy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), March 06, 2002

Answers

You can do a lot of searching from your keyboard, type in realtor.com, add the name of the larger cities you want to be between, add your requirements and it will feed out places available so you can judge price ranges, services in the area, ect.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), March 06, 2002.

Oh I love NC. If you want mountains, Hanging Rock Area is BEAUTIFUL!!I almost moved there, but got a job in VA. Go 4 it, moveing from PA to country made my life 100% better. It is a lot slower paced. Julie

-- julie (jbritt@ceva.net), March 06, 2002.

Helena< I spent 13 years just north of Raleigh, N.C. You'll love it! Real estate and income taxes are generally low (not so in Wisconsin). Stay away from the larger cities and you'll find land at very reasonable prices. I still have 2 acres with a very small house on it 20 miles north of Raleigh. My property taxes are still under $300.00 per year. Even the weather is mild almost year round. Good luck!

-- DAVID Constantin In Wisconsin (cajundavid@hotmail.com), March 06, 2002.

Hello Helena,

I am originally from Chapel Hill, NC and I personally think that it is a waste of money to buy land anywhere in the state! Land prices are just too high, whether it is in the mountains, across the piedmont or the coast!

If you want those mountain sunrises and sunsets I would suggest the Ozarks. That is where I live now. I bought property in a deep valley full of tall pines. Looks just like North Carolina, except it cost a whole lot less.

North Carolina is TOO populated and is continuing to grow more so each month. Building permits are high. There are too many restrictions on what and how you can build. Land prices are way too high, for land that is mostly clay, sand or rock.

Natural disasters are more common in North Carolina than they are in Florida. I lived in Florida,(Orlando) for a long time before I moved here to the Ozarks and believe me, every hurricane that just barely missed Florida would always crash upon the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Remember how flooded it got there a few years ago because of one hurricane. The flooding was all the way to Raleigh!

Too many military installations in the state that could be a threat to people during a terrorist attack.

Public schools are poor, despite having some of the best colleges in the nation! What a contridiction but, I guess since the public school system is free and the colleges are full of Northern and wealthy students who can afford them is probably why the university are so great.

Taxes are high and new laws are constantly being legislated to increase taxes.

Years ago, it was quite fashionable to live in North Carolina or at least have a summer home there. This was during the boom years from 1980-1995. Now, it is a bust. So much has changed since.

I could go on and on but, I think you see my point.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 06, 2002.


Helena:

I live in NC in the upper Piedmont area, east of the mountains and west of Raleigh, near the Virginia border. The climate is nice, you get all 4 seasons but mild winters, hot but not unbearable summers. Great culture, bluegrass and string music. It is a beautiful area, green, trees, rivers but...

State economy is in bad shape, one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, due to a lot of jobs being in textiles. Many plants have closed down (gone to NAFTA land) and those jobs won't be back. Another big part of the state economy is tobacco. The govt. is doing everything it can to close down the tobacco industry, so how long will those jobs last? Our property taxes are low but other taxes are pretty high, income and sales tax are the highest in the South, gas tax also high.

The area also has gotten quite built up due to the boom in the 90s and the highways have trouble handling the traffic.

If you don't need a job and don't mind being away from a city, the western part of the state in or near the mountains will still have some reasonably priced land to homestead, as long as you aren't near any gentrified places like Asheville. Land prices have gone up quite a bit since we moved here in the early 90s.

Karen

-- Karen (ncrosemary@hotmail.com), March 06, 2002.



And STAY OUT, Ernest!!! (Just kidding);^}

I too grew up in and around Chapel Hill and I wouldn't advise anyone to move to that area. It is too populated and overrun with cars. That's why I live in the mountains. Most of the problems that Ernest described start in Charlotte and get worse as you go east.

It is a very good idea to rent first because the feel of the place changes from county to county. Boone, which is near us, is a trendy little college town, but drive out into the country and it's as rural and friendly as you can get.

If you want to be close to SC you should probably rent in the Asheville area. I don't think you will want to settle too close to there as it has been a popular place to move to for the last few years so I know prices will be high, but it is a central enough spot in the mountains that you can be in Virginia in two and a half hours and in South Carolina in one and will be able to check out alot of different places. Cashiers and Highlands are two pretty little towns that I've spent time in down that way.

I love North Carolina and was more than happy to rescue my wife from Florida and bring her here. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the people and the beauty of the place.

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), March 06, 2002.


Spent a week in NC a couple of years ago at timber framing school down around Franklin in SW NC. Loved it. Would move there in a heartbeat if not for the fact that family is north of here instead of south.

-- WV Ridgerunner (ewvaughn@mtneer.net), March 06, 2002.

I lived in the mountains of NC for 10+ years. Moved there because of the beauty and it was MEN country. Well after I got there so did everyone else. WNC is the most beautiful place on the east coast but it will cost you to live there. I left over 7 years ago because I was tired of all the people in the summer. Highlands and Cashiers are amazing places to visit but everything is extremely expensive.

-- Emil in TN (eprisco@usit.net), March 06, 2002.

Sorry Gilly! I wasn't going to enter this "fray" until you happened to mention Cashiers and Highlands- you are right- they are "pretty little towns", but terribly expensive! They have become very commercialized in a small-town way in recent years- sort of lik a Florida beach town in the mountains, with antiques and small craft shops. They are easily reached by the well-heeled here in Atlanta for "vacation" homes and prices have become terribly inflated. If you are interested in the mountains of western NC, try Bryson City and some of the small towns in the area, but avoid those two. Also consider the mountains of east TN or western SC, near Lake Hartwell. Jack

-- jack (atl.jack@excite.com), March 06, 2002.

Hello Helena, I was born and raised in the mountains of Western N.C, Bryson City and Cherokee. I find this discussion most interesting-it doesn't normally come this near home. I have been away at college at can't wait to come home-but what many people say is true. Natural beauty is great, but have a good plan for income. Bryson is small, but unless you have lived there for 10 generations, it is hard to fit it. Highlands and Cashiers are gorgeogous, but populated heavily with millionares, consequently, prices are high, but there is a great deal of quality. Some of the state schools are excellent, others are poor. Hope this helps.

-- Rachael Fischer (Rachaelfischer91@mybluelight.com), March 10, 2002.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ