Where in NC is a nice place to live? (Charlotte: real estate, condos)

[carolinabound]

We're down here in Texas and would like to know if anyone there knows a nice but affordable place to live in NC?

Thanks everybody!

[Bethanytedder]

Can you narrow it down a little? Small town or larger place, mountains or easy access to beaches? The type of areas and climate vary greatly over the areas.

[hapaleeretired]

Yeah, you've got to be a little more specific. NC is SO diverse with everything from mountain living to sea shore.
Where we landed is perfect for us because we are retired but we were warned before moving here that the employment situation is BLEAK so it may not work for you.
If you are in search of gameful employment you'll probably be looking at the Charlotte, Winston Salem/Greensboro and Raleigh areas which are modern day boom towns.
Good luck in your search.

[Redrover]

Hey Texas, I was wondering if there were any others from the Lone Star State considering relocation to North Carolina. My husband and I are currently in Houston also and we are planning to move to the Raleigh area in the next few years. What part of Houston do you live in? I am on the west side about 3 miles west of Hwy 6. We have considered lots of different places but have finally settled on either Raleigh proper or one of the nearby smaller towns. We're making another scouting trip in October for a week to narrow our selections. What has prompted you to make this move?

[mhogan10010]

Originally Posted by carolinabound

We're down here in Texas and would like to know if anyone there knows a nice but affordable place to live in NC?

Thanks everybody!

Yes-Move to Creswell. Population 278 and the average house costs $64,300,
Median household income: $20,833. Don't look back, just do it.

Dude, really you have to give more details on what you want.
North Carolina is like three different States in One.
Don't waste our valuable time, obviously we all have important things to do, that is why we are trolling this forum.

[peewee1]

check out the Piedmont Triad of the state. You're an hour and half from the mountains 3 and half from the coast. and all the amenties you might need ot be comfortable.

[GoinSouthbound]

Is Franklin a nice town to live in? I get from all the realtors it is a great place to live but I want to know what the "real" people think. Thank you.

[McKoy]

To mhogan10010: "Don't waste our valuable time, obviously we all have important things to do" ? Yeah, real friendly! Not everyone knows North Carolina. That's why they're asking the questions, "dude".

[al_roethlisberger]

If you like the Triangle/Triad area, and you are looking for land, open space, affordability, and more of a small/mid sized town feel, you might consider Sanford.

We are almost smack-dab in the middle of the state, and practically equidistant from Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham/Cary, and Fayetteville. So we have easy ~30min access to any of those metro areas, and are equally 2-3 hours from beach or mountains.

Sanford has everything you need, being a mid-sized city of around 30k population, but still has a mayor that will wave to you and probably know you by name. And if there is something you "want" that Sanford doesn't have, again, the larger cities are just 30 minutes away.

We moved here, by way of a quick 1yr in Cary, from San Jose CA and have been very pleased. In the short 3 years we've been here, we've made more friends and gotten more involved in local government, community, etc than we were able to during a decade in the "big city". It really seems like you can make a difference and see progress in these smaller communities.

Being relatively small, Sanford has a variety of housing, everything from rural farms, historic housing, new condos, to golf/gated communities... all within minutes of each other.

City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website

Live Well Centered.

Here are some maps showing Sanford's relative position in the state:

Live Well Centered.

Good luck!
Al

[KatParker]

We have lived here for 40 years, this is what I would recommend...

RTP (Research Triangle Park) is a nice central location for finding good employment. Raleigh is a booming city, but real estate costs are high and neighborhoods tend to be densely packed. Also, the commute to RTP from the eastern direction (Raleigh) is slow and 'bumper to bumper' during rush hours.

We used to live in Raleigh and commute to RTP, now we live on the west side of RTP (Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough area) and our commute takes less time, even though it is slightly longer. This is because of less traffic going west, plus a second highway (147) to distribute commuters. We've lived in Hillsborough for 11 years and still love our westward commute! Also, I don't miss driving around Raleigh, always busy and stressful somehow, reminds me of MD.

Chapel Hill is beautiful, but real estate is very expensive there, I suggest looking at Hillsborough, which is VERY closeby to Durham and Ch. Hill. It's a beautiful little town with an interesting history. You'll find a mix of cultures, and like Chapel Hill, Hillsborough tends to attract forward thinking people. A typical summertime scene would be "Last Fridays" when locals come to sit in lawn chairs or on blankets and enjoy live music on the front lawn of the old courthouse downtown... people walking up and down mainstreet visiting the many shops, bookstores, homemade icecream shop, variety of restaurants, candy shop, wine store, antiques, etc... taking tours of the historic sites, or visiting the Occoneechi Native American Village along the Eno River which runs through town. Also, there is a private recreational lake just north of town, Lake Orange. Many who work at Duke or Chapel Hill live on the lake because it is beautiful and such a short commute. I believe it is the only place in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area where you can actually live right on a recreational lake.

I grew up in Greensboro, my husband - near the coast, and we have family in Charlotte and Ashville. Of all these places, I truly think Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough areas are the smartest choices to relocate to in NC, because of it's central location, investment potential and beauty. Also, Orange Co. schools are known as some of the best in the country.

Good luck to you, and "Welcome" to anyone who is thinking of relocating to NC.

Kat