What's the best place to live in western NC or eastern TN with with a small town feel? (best towns, for sale)

[yearnformountainliving]

Hi all,
We're hoping to move to the mountain area of either North Carolina or Tennessee (haven't decided yet) within the next 1-2 years after my husband retires. We are eager to buy property soon, but because of work, don't have much time to travel. In the past we've visited many areas in both states (mostly the south side, not much up towards VA), unfortunately we haven't had the time during our visits to spend much time talking to locals about the area they live in.

I'm hoping some of you that live up in that area can give us your advice on what you think are the best towns for what we're looking for.

1) We'd like to live in a town that's at a higher elevation and has cooler summers

2) We're looking for a place that has a "small town" feel with friendly locals and neighbors, and low crime rates.

3) We don't want to live in a highly "commercialized" area and would rather have access to more small town businesses...but we also don't want to drive too far if we need to access bigger chains (Walmart, Lowes, etc).

4) A town that's not too far from a hospital, and also one that has a good choice of "small town" type doctors" (the kind that view their patients as people and not numbers).

5) A town that is not too "touristy". I realize during peak seasons, many people go to the mountains, but we don't want to live in a "tourist trap".

6) We're hoping to buy around 5-10 acres with a creek on the property. We'd also like to be within an hour's drive to a nice lake for boating.

Any advice you can give us about the town's that you live in (or have lived) in the area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

[hymnsinger]

Jefferson or West Jefferson in Ashe County. Hands down!

Tracey

[theoldnorthstate]

might suggest east tennessee as well. city data retirement forum gives tennessee good ratings. tennesseeans are good people. and there are numerous small towns that seem to meet your interests.

I grew up in WNC but went to college in TN and my sister and mother live in Knoxville. there is always something going on. pretty country and good folks.

[hiknapster]

You might try Townsend/Walland. Great location. Close to Maryville/Knoxville and centrally located, not out in the middle nowhere but quiet, not commercialized. You might want to look into it.

[theoldnorthstate]

if it appeals to you Johnson City area is nice too. Near university, hospital, medical school, and veterans hospital

[JMT]

Originally Posted by yearnformountainliving

Hi all,
We're hoping to move to the mountain area of either North Carolina or Tennessee (haven't decided yet) within the next 1-2 years after my husband retires. We are eager to buy property soon, but because of work, don't have much time to travel. In the past we've visited many areas in both states (mostly the south side, not much up towards VA), unfortunately we haven't had the time during our visits to spend much time talking to locals about the area they live in.

I'm hoping some of you that live up in that area can give us your advice on what you think are the best towns for what we're looking for.

1) We'd like to live in a town that's at a higher elevation and has cooler summers

2) We're looking for a place that has a "small town" feel with friendly locals and neighbors, and low crime rates.

3) We don't want to live in a highly "commercialized" area and would rather have access to more small town businesses...but we also don't want to drive too far if we need to access bigger chains (Walmart, Lowes, etc).

4) A town that's not too far from a hospital, and also one that has a good choice of "small town" type doctors" (the kind that view their patients as people and not numbers).

5) A town that is not too "touristy". I realize during peak seasons, many people go to the mountains, but we don't want to live in a "tourist trap".

6) We're hoping to buy around 5-10 acres with a creek on the property. We'd also like to be within an hour's drive to a nice lake for boating.

Any advice you can give us about the town's that you live in (or have lived) in the area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

Even though this is the Tennessee forum, I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend Haywood County, NC, or Jackson County, NC. I have a cabin that straddles the two counties (it's barely in Jackson County). You can live at higher elevations on the NC side than on the TN side. The temp at my cabin is almost always 10-15 degrees cooler than in Knoxville. A few weeks ago it was over 20 degrees cooler (it was 94 in Knoxville and 71 at my cabin).

Waynesville is the county seat of Haywood County, and it is quite popular in the summer (read: almost overrun with Floridians seeking cooler summer temps). But it's really not that bad. There's an element of frou-frou there, otherwise it's a very down-home kind of place. Waynesville also has a good hospital, a WalMart SuperCenter, and it's only a half hour from Asheville.

Sylva, the county seat of Jackson County, is much smaller and perhaps more pictoresque. Western Carolina University is also in Jackson County and is probably one of the most beautiful college campuses in this part of the country. It's quite literally in the middle of the mountains, away from everything.

On the Tennessee side I'll throw in Tellico Plains as another option. A quaint little town with a cute little downtown area only a half hour (max) from Maryville.

[ShipOfFools42]

I'm not so sure there's anywhere that meets every single one of those requirements. The high elevation thing you'll only find up in Watauga, Ashe, Avery, those counties up there. There are a couple of towns in the southern mountains that are high in elevation, but one is really country and one is really really expensive. Buying 5-10 acres with a creek is possible here, but it will be hard to find, and it will cost you. And honestly, the only possible way to get a feel for a piece of land is to walk it yourself, especially in the mountains where that land may not even be buildable.

I know it's difficult, but try to see if you can't make a trip up here. You can take some days off work for something this important, I would think. Also, I will add that living in WNC is quite different from visiting in a lot of ways, though being retired changes that to an extent. I dunno, that's my best advice: come up for a visit when you can, and have a targeted area or two that you are interested in. Talk to some locals, walk around, see if you can go look at some pieces of land for sale. You'll be doing yourself a big favor not moving here blind.

[GraniteStater]

If you can afford it Boone, NC is the only way to go! Good healthcare amenities, Appalachian State University, a fair amount of diversity, excellent outdoor recreation, and a true 4 season climate! The elevation of Boone is right around 3200ft with some rural areas of town over 4000ft.

[yearnformountainliving]

Thank you for all your information in your replies. We'll check them out

[MovinEast1106]

If you have kids you will hate Ashe county. The schools are horrible and everything is so political. We have been here for 6+ years and the ONLY reason we have not moved is because we can not sell our house. We have equity and are asking WAY less than value ( tax or appraisal) and still cant sell. There is NOTHING to do here, so the kids are in trouble constantly. Drugs are bad here too! It is not the small town feel that everyone thinks it is. No jobs, you will have to drive atleast 30-45 minutes for a decent job. Any decent job that comes up here is already spoken for by so and so's daddys uncles neighbors babysitter. Everybody knows everybody and if you move in not knowing everybody you are an outcast. UGH, horrible place. Weather stinks too. Always cold, you are lucky to get 2 months of real summer weather.