small town boy (Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham: schools, living in, cost of)

[rogerr]

Originally from the mountains of small towns Vermont moved to S. Florida 28 years ago, tired of the S. Florida rat race looking for a quieter smaller town around 10,000 people to raise family. Looking west of Charlotte, like the sound of Kings Mountain. Anyone familiar with that area or surrounding towns who can give me some feedback. Looking to relocate after this school year.
Thanks, Rogerr

[friendnc]

I was raised in Gastonia, near Kings Mnt. KM's OK. Not much as far as jobs and not much really sets it apart from other small towns. Though it's not technically in the Charlotte metro area, it's still pretty close to everything. I work in demographic/geography and rank the US's 235 metro areas, along with small towns and retirement areas in the US in the area's quality-of-life. If you want a truly samll town experience in one of the best small towns in the nation, you might want to try Mt. Airy, NC. It's the hometown of Andy Griffith and was the model for Mayberry. It's the most charming small town I've ever visited. Some of the places mentioned on the show like the Blue Bird Dinner, Floyd's Barber Shop, and Wally's Service Station are actual businesses that were around long before the show was aired and are still operating. You really get the "Maybery" feeling when you're there. We visit regularly and it's great! It's 1.5 hours north of Charlotte and 45 minutes west of Winston Salem, so it's not too far from the big city as to feel isolated, but far enough that the small town feel isn't spoiled. If I was going to live in a small town anywhere in the country, Mt. Airy would be it. The schools seem to be good and the cost of living is very good. Money goes a lot farther. It's really worth a consideration. Good luck!!!

[opstand]

I would recommend against a move to Mt Airy. I grew up there and while it is a great place to visit, the novelty wears off quickly when you live there. There isn't much to do for kids at all. It would be ok if you are looking to retire but the jobs aren't that great and neither are the schools. I lived in that area for 5 years and couldn't wait until the day I was able to leave. The scenery is nice though which is one of the few good things about living in that area. Other than that it is a fairly typical NC small town that used to thrive on textiles but the jobs were moved overseas.

Like I said, it's great if you want to visit for a day and see all the nostalgic Andy Griffith stuff, but during the 5 years I lived there I maybe went to Snappy Lunch 3 times and Floyd's once. If you are a liberal, in any sense of the word, than you will like it even less in that area.

I would recommend Pittsboro / New Hill as a great small town area in NC. It's close to the Raleigh/Durham area but not too close. You are close to Jordan Lake there too which is nice. My uncle lives in New Hill and it has a great rural feel to it, but he can be to Cary in 20 minutes and Raleigh in 30. Plenty of jobs in the RTP area which you can also get to in about 30 minutes. Only thing I'm not sure of are the schools in Chatham County, so you may want to look into that more if you are considering this area.