rutherfordton (Asheville, Morganton, Henderson: how much, house, buying)

[chiccum]

Hello everyone,
Seems I will be moving to NC in about 8 weeks. (If everything goes well) The town is not for sure but I love a home in edneyville and I am looking into a house in rutherfordton.Now I made the trip to see Edneyville and fell in love with the beautiful mountain views every where I looked and the waterfalls WOW! . Could anyone tell me what Rutherfordton is like? I am going to be buying property that can also house my hobby farm animals. IS this a nice community? I have a young son too. How are the schools? Do you ever get snow?(I'm hoping no, son hoping yes)
Thanks for any... ANY advice or info on this town.
chiccum

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by chiccum

Hello everyone,
Seems I will be moving to NC in about 8 weeks. (If everything goes well) The town is not for sure but I love a home in edneyville and I am looking into a house in rutherfordton.Now I made the trip to see Edneyville and fell in love with the beautiful mountain views every where I looked and the waterfalls WOW! . Could anyone tell me what Rutherfordton is like? I am going to be buying property that can also house my hobby farm animals. IS this a nice community? I have a young son too. How are the schools? Do you ever get snow?(I'm hoping no, son hoping yes)
Thanks for any... ANY advice or info on this town.
chiccum

I live between Hendersonville and Edneyville. If I was choosing between Rutherfordton and Edneyville, I would go with Edneyville for the topography alone. You would also be an easy drive to Hendersonsville and Asheville for other things. Climate is much better too. Expect around 15" of snow during an average winter. Last winter we had less than an inch, but that is unusual. Not much of an issue since it doesn't last long anyway. I don't have any information on the schools. I believe high school age kids in Edneyville go to North Henderson High School.

[chiccum]

Thank you for answering me. Just to be clear here, when you are talking about snow, are you referring to Edneyville? Probably right? How about anyone knowing for Rutherfordton?

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by chiccum

Thank you for answering me. Just to be clear here, when you are talking about snow, are you referring to Edneyville? Probably right? How about anyone knowing for Rutherfordton?

Yes, Rutherfordton snow would be even less. Rutherfordton is around 1,000 feet above sea level while Edneyville is around 2,200 feet.

[chiccum]

Great stuff.That's what I'm talking about. Anything else people can fill me in on for Rutherfordton? THANK YOU!!!

[chiccum]

No, we are buying. We are definatly staying in NC. I don't know the forsure date. Depend on the closing date of the home we choose.If it takes longer then 30 days once offer is accepted to close we will have to stay someplace till it's finalized.

[archtopguitar]

Rutherfordton is in Rutherford county, Saluda,Tryon & Columbus are in Polk county. These counties are more rural than Henderson County. I think it would depend on how much land you wanted for your animals? Henderson county will be the most expensive, Polk next, Rutherford least. Also temp varies a lot Off the Mountain, Columbus & Tryon are about 10 degrees warmer & Rutherfordton would be a little warmer than Polk (12 degrees?) all the time. Snow in Polk & Ruth.. would be less than Hend. But if your coming from the N.E. Winter is mild here If your coming from Fla. We have winter here. Rutherfordton is more of a "Normal" working town Hvl. & Polk are more Retirment / Tourist towns but with that comes more Restaurants, Shops, Activites, Etc. And of course Work always depends on what you do, your skills and education. but there are a lot of people that want to come here and that dilutes the labor market.

[mm34b]

February 2006 - John Locke Foundation

Among medium-sized and small municipalities, some Western North Carolina communities had relatively high local government costs per resident. Brevard ranked eighth ($1,802) and Waynesville 15th ($1,667) among the 90 municipalities in the state with populations between 5,000 and 25,000 people. Franklin ($1,825), Tryon ($1,796), Murphy ($1,697), and Sylva ($1,604) all ranked among the top 40 within the list of 230 municipalities that have populations of 1,000 to 5,000 residents.

A couple of WNC communities – Forest City ($1,139) and Mars Hill ($958) – ranked among the communities with the lowest local-tax burdens. Most communities had local revenues per person near the average for their population group. That includes Black Mountain ($1,557), Hendersonville ($1,498), Columbus ($1,429), Marion ($1,319), Burnsville ($1,312), Bryson City ($1,251), Andrews ($1,242), Morganton ($1,236), and Rutherfordton ($1,217).

Macon County (5.91 percent) had one of the state’s highest rates of taxes and fees as a share of income. Macon ranked ninth among the 100 counties. Transylvania County (5.22 percent) also ranked among the top quartile. Both counties saw their rates climb almost twice as high as the state median. While the median county saw its local tax burden grow as a share of income by 6.78 percent, the rate climbed by 13.83 percent in Macon County and 12.57 percent in Transylvania County.

On the other end of the spectrum, four WNC counties ranked among the 25 counties with the lowest tax and fee burdens per person. They were Swain (3.89 percent), McDowell (3.84 percent), Polk (3.45 percent), and Madison (3.08 percent). McDowell remained among the state’s bottom quartile, despite the largest increase in tax burden in the state. McDowell’s rate climbed from 3.21 percent in 2003 to 3.84 percent – a jump of 19.33 percent.

About half of the WNC counties had rates closer to the state median of 4.64 percent. They include Buncombe (5.07 percent), Haywood (4.99 percent), Mitchell (4.71 percent), Cherokee (4.69 percent), Graham (4.69 percent), Jackson (4.42 percent), Rutherford (4.32 percent), Clay (4.07 percent), Burke (3.99 percent), and Yancey (3.93 percent).

[stefanmro]

Nice area, not sure what people do there for income. I know they still fight cocks around that neck of the woods..

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by stefanmro

Nice area, not sure what people do there for income.

Employment for Rutherford County is broken down as follows: 39.5% manufacturing, 15.3% retail, 14.2% government, 16.4% service, 3.9% transportation & utilities, 4.8% construction, and 4.9% other.

Largest Employers

Rutherford County Schools
Wal-Mart
Rutherford County Hospital
National Textiles
American Greeting Corp.

AREA: County, 563 sq. miles; Rutherfordton, 2.6 sq. miles; Spindale, 4.62 sq. miles; Forest City, 10.6 sq. miles. The county is composed of eight municipalities: Bostic, Chimney Rock, Ellenboro, Forest City, Rutherfordton, Ruth, Spindale and Lake Lure. Connected by US Hwy 74-Business, Rutherfordton, Spindale, and Forest City form the Tri- City area. The towns of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock are located approximately 20 miles west of Rutherfordton. Lake Lure is a private lake with public access.

ELEVATION: Rutherfordton, 1075 ft.; Spindale, 960 ft.; Forest City, 860 ft. County’s lowest elevation - Caroleen, 806. County’s highest elevation - Sugar Loaf, 3,967 ft.

CLIMATE: Average annual temperature, 59.9 F; average rainfall, 49.91 inches. Rainfall is concentrated in Spring and Fall. Average humidity, approximately 65%. Located in the Isothermal Belt, there are 200 frost-free days in the growing season. Average snowfall, 2.74".