Would you rather: Northern GA vs Western NC (for sale, mortgage)
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We are relocating from MN. We have two kids (small) and two big dogs. I already have a job but my husband will need employment (banking/finance) and we need a 3-4br home with 1/3 acre or more. Trying to stay under $230k! Also want a good school district. Prefer not insanely conservative as we are liberal/non religious and "live and let live" people. We want to make friends obviously and will work hard to be part of any community we end up in, but easier to start with people who are more like minded.
Here's what I'd like to know, in your opinion, does Western NC or Northern GA best satisfy our needs? Also please tell me your opinions on these two areas on the subjects below. When I say North GA I'm referring to Dahlonega, Cartersville, Ellijay, Cleveland, Helen etc and when I say Western NC I'm referring to Asheville, Hendersonville, Boone.
Best weather? (we like seasons but not MN winters and not FL summers)
Most diverse?
Most employment opportunities?
Easiest to commute to a larger city from?
Most amenities close by (20min) ? (YMCA, Dog Parks, Community Pools, Hospitals/Clinics, Shopping)
Least conservative/religious influence?
Better quality of life?
More expensive (in terms of taxes/groceries/utilities/gas)
In NC, Charlotte is the financial center. I'm not sure of the availability of financial jobs in Asheville. There are some wealthy retirees who might need financial advisors to manage their money?
$230K is not a lot. It could be done, but probably have to be an older home.
For your husband's job you are looking at the northern exurbs of Atlanta or western exurbs of Charlotte. Ask on those specific boards to find a suburb that could be a good fit.
It would be a far commute from the towns you mention. Plus I don't think you can even find a home in your budget in the NC towns you mention.
You might be happy in Knoxville TN if it's not too big for you. And if your DH can get a job. What kind of place would he be working?
As for the original question: I would rather live in western NC because the mountains are taller. But I am not looking for a job.
For your husband's job you are looking at the northern exurbs of Atlanta or western exurbs of Charlotte. Ask on those specific boards to find a suburb that could be a good fit.
It would be a far commute from the towns you mention. Plus I don't think you can even find a home in your budget in the NC towns you mention.
You might be happy in Knoxville TN if it's not too big for you. And if your DH can get a job. What kind of place would he be working?
As for the original question: I would rather live in western NC because the mountains are taller. But I am not looking for a job.
Basically any bank, mortgage office, financial company office he could work in. He has 7 years experience working in a credit union and a degree.
You're the 2nd person to mention finding a home in that price range in western NC is next to impossible. I'm trying to figure out why this is the general consensus because when I look at homes for sale within those areas, I have plentiful options (20+ listings) sure some may not be super pretty or need some work but for the most part, there are definitely options. Am I missing something?
We are relocating from MN. We have two kids (small) and two big dogs. I already have a job but my husband will need employment (banking/finance) and we need a 3-4br home with 1/3 acre or more. Trying to stay under $230k! Also want a good school district. Prefer not insanely conservative as we are liberal/non religious and "live and let live" people. We want to make friends obviously and will work hard to be part of any community we end up in, but easier to start with people who are more like minded.
Here's what I'd like to know, in your opinion, does Western NC or Northern GA best satisfy our needs? Also please tell me your opinions on these two areas on the subjects below. When I say North GA I'm referring to Dahlonega, Cartersville, Ellijay, Cleveland, Helen etc and when I say Western NC I'm referring to Asheville, Hendersonville, Boone.
Best weather? (we like seasons but not MN winters and not FL summers)
Most diverse?
Most employment opportunities?
Easiest to commute to a larger city from?
Most amenities close by (20min) ? (YMCA, Dog Parks, Community Pools, Hospitals/Clinics, Shopping)
Least conservative/religious influence?
Better quality of life?
More expensive (in terms of taxes/groceries/utilities/gas)
Thanks everyone for your input!
Asheville/Hendersonville and Boone would be quite difficult at that price point as would Charlotte largely. The rest are fairly conservative and don't think you would find them attractive in terms of the political belief system of the majority. If you like that type of topography and climate I would urge you to consider Greensboro. It has a lot more choices in housing with very desirable options in your price bracket within nice areas with fairly good schools, plenty of the amenities you're looking for and I would think decent job options as well in a city of nearly 300K.
I've heard Dahlonega is pretty hippy-dippy as it has a liberal arts college. I guess you can get stats on diversity from city-data.
Neither of those regions are known for being diverse. Though you could get some foriegn students in a college town. Maybe the admissions office would fill you in.
Oak Ridge, TN is a smaller town that is extremely diverse. People from all over the world. Also look at Huntsville AL if it's not too hot for your taste.
If you like four seasons, then you'll like western North Carolina a little bit better than north Georgia. You'll have more opportunities for snow in western North Carolina while still enjoying a four-month summer.
The Appalachian Mountains are very white regardless of whether you're in the North or the South, though I'd guess you'd probably encounter more diversity in north Georgia due to tourists from Atlanta, if nothing else.
The towns you mention in western North Carolina are larger and better connected to major long-distance highways than the towns you mention in north Georgia, so I'd venture they'd have somewhat better employment opportunities. One possible exception is Cartersville, which is an exurb of Atlanta.
It's easier to get to the north Georgia mountains from Atlanta than it is to get to western North Carolina from Charlotte. The change in elevation between Atlanta and the north Georgia mountains is also much more gradual, unlike the abrupt change in elevation between Charlotte and western North Carolina.
I'm more of a tourist in the towns you mentioned, so I couldn't really tell you much about the basic amenities in any of them.
There's plenty of religion in the mountains, but Asheville is a hippy/hipster enclave, and Boone is a college town, so you'd be more likely to encounter atheistic zealots in those towns than Christian zealots.
At the state level, the taxes and cost of living seem to be slightly higher in North Carolina than Georgia.
I must use a different version of Google because the story is the first thing that comes up when I type in Dahlonega.
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