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Old 07-20-2016, 12:18 PM
 
8 posts, read 28,162 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi!

I'm hoping someone can give me some advice. My family would like to relocate in the next year or so. We originally wanted to move to Oregon (we love it out there), but the cost of living and lack of rentals was too problematic. Right now, we are considering West North Carolina (I hear Asheville is the Portland of the South), or East Tennessee. I've visited Hickory NC and Charlotte, but that's about it, and I've never been to Tennessee. This is a little bit of info about us and what we are looking for.

We are in our mid 20s.
I'm a medical admin and a pharmacy tech.
My husband deals with DOT and hazwaste in his job.
Our child will be starting school around the time we move.
We have animals, and are looking to rent.

Our most important factors are:

1. Good schools
2. Good employment/economy options
3. Affordable
4. Low crime rates
5. In or very close to mountains and woods
6. 4 seasons, but we want to avoid HOT HOT HOT summers and New England like winters.

We are homebody/woodsy people, we enjoy camping, hiking, sitting by a fire looking at stars, reading and a glass of wine. So nightlife and such isn't a big deal for us. We do currently share a car, which I understand we may not be able to do once we move, but an area where there is public transportation or bike friendly would be a bonus too! Honestly we just want a nice quiet little town and a big backyard for our kiddo and animals to romp around in.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I'm open to all and any opinions, good, bad, inform me!
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Old 07-20-2016, 12:28 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
21,004 posts, read 27,009,485 times
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As you are looking into western North Carolina specifically, which cities and communities beside Asheville and Hickory are you considering?
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Old 07-20-2016, 12:35 PM
 
8 posts, read 28,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Knight View Post
For North Carolina in general, you may gain additional responses in the "North Carolina" forum.

As you are looking into western North Carolina specifically, which cities and communities beside Asheville and Hickory are you considering?
Waynesville seems to pop up a lot, as does Apex, Hollysprings, Indian Trail and Morrisville. We have just started considering the area, so we are still in the early stages of research. I figured reaching out to the locals would be a good start
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Old 07-20-2016, 12:55 PM
 
6,334 posts, read 11,496,870 times
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Look into Johnson City TN. It is affordable with good schools and some public transit. But don't move without secure jobs lined up. The rest of TN may be too hot. As will NC below 1500' elevation.

But you will probably wind up near where he finds work and just deal with the weather. Have you considered western VA?

Last edited by creeksitter; 07-20-2016 at 01:21 PM..
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Old 07-20-2016, 12:58 PM
 
8 posts, read 28,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creeksitter View Post
Look into Johnson City TN. It is affordable with good schools and some public transit. But don't move without secure jobs lined up. The rest of TN may be too hot. As will NC below 1500' elevation.

Thank you!
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Old 07-20-2016, 09:04 PM
 
Location: Research Triangle Area, NC
6,314 posts, read 5,406,826 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happyfamilygogo View Post
Waynesville seems to pop up a lot, as does Apex, Hollysprings, Indian Trail and Morrisville. We have just started considering the area, so we are still in the early stages of research. I figured reaching out to the locals would be a good start
You're literally all over the map of NC with that selection of towns. Apex, Holly Springs (two words), and Morrisville are all suburban towns to the west of Raleigh in NC's Research Triangle region. Indian Trail is a far-out suburb of Charlotte (about 2.5 hours west of the Triangle) , and Waynesville is a small city in the mountains about 30 minutes from Asheville (another 2+ hours further west from Charlotte). You're putting the cart way before the horse if you are asking about specific towns before knowing what region of the state you'd be able to find work in.

If you don't like "hot hot hot" I wouldn't suggest looking at the 10-day forecast for most of NC right now. It is supposed to be at or near 100 for 4 out of the next 5 days!
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Old 07-21-2016, 10:53 AM
 
8 posts, read 28,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TarHeelNick View Post
You're literally all over the map of NC with that selection of towns. Apex, Holly Springs (two words), and Morrisville are all suburban towns to the west of Raleigh in NC's Research Triangle region. Indian Trail is a far-out suburb of Charlotte (about 2.5 hours west of the Triangle) , and Waynesville is a small city in the mountains about 30 minutes from Asheville (another 2+ hours further west from Charlotte). You're putting the cart way before the horse if you are asking about specific towns before knowing what region of the state you'd be able to find work in.

If you don't like "hot hot hot" I wouldn't suggest looking at the 10-day forecast for most of NC right now. It is supposed to be at or near 100 for 4 out of the next 5 days!
Uhg, I'm currently in Florida and dying of the heat, so as long as it isn't as humid I think we will be okay!

I'm not too worried about work, obviously we need to be able to get good jobs once established there, but luckily I can transfer with my work just about anywhere.
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Old 07-21-2016, 11:50 AM
 
6,334 posts, read 11,496,870 times
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It's only a matter of time before our resident cynic appears to assure you there are no jobs in Johnson city. But since your DH has specialized skills he will land a job that's not available to the average joe. It's a matter of "is there an opening". What kind of businesses would hire him?
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Old 07-21-2016, 12:17 PM
 
8 posts, read 28,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creeksitter View Post
It's only a matter of time before our resident cynic appears to assure you there are no jobs in Johnson city. But since your DH has specialized skills he will land a job that's not available to the average joe. It's a matter of "is there an opening". What kind of businesses would hire him?

I think most likely government, he does a lot of stuff with department of transportation and managing hazardous waste, along with supervising people. We definitely aren't jumping into this blindly, we want all our ducks lined up and everything set up as well as it can be. It's just hard to pick a location and hope it clicks with schools, work, houses etc. I'm hoping someone will magically come on this board and be like "YES, YOU NEED BLANK TOWN!!" I can dream right?

I'm also just hoping for people to help steer me away from bad areas, or areas that are hours and hours away from anything.
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Old 07-21-2016, 01:13 PM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,318 posts, read 43,781,735 times
Reputation: 16448
Check out Hendersonville, NC. It's an attractive town with good amenities for its' size, and it's very close to the more expensive Asheville.
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