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Hello everyone. I just found this board and have been busy reading through all of the comments. Some frankly have me a bit nervous. crime/overcrowding in schools.
We too live in CT and are looking for a place to move that won't have the harse winters, we don't mind snow, but we don't need a lot of it either.
We would actually like rural (within 30 minutes of stores is fine) we would like some acreage to raise our kids and our dogs. My kids now are 9,13,14.21 so some are still in school and school systems are very inportant to me.
My brother lives in Charlotte, and I loved it there. (he is in a development which I don't want) but the area in general was very nice as were the people.
Where we live now is semi rural, but the developers are building! Yes, it can be more convenient, but it was fine before.
We have spoken with a realtor, and are hoping to check out different areas in December before we make any type of decision.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to start? We are not making any hasty decisions and are taking our time to make sure it's the right decision.
Your first step would be to decide which geographic region of North Carolina you want to live in. NC is divided into 3 main regions with a total of 100 counties.
Coastal Plain Region
North Carolina's Coastal Plain is low, flat land along the Atlantic Ocean. It is often divided into two parts - the Outer Coastal Plain and the Inner Coastal Plain.
The Outer Coastal Plain is made up of the Outer Banks and the Tidewater region. The Outer Banks are a string of barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets. The largest islands in the Outer Banks are Bodie, Hatteras, Ocracoke, Portsmouth, and the Core Banks. Three capes are part of the Outer Banks: Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. Near these capes are dangerous shoals, or underwater sandbars which are hazards to ships. Cape Hatteras is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because shifting sand has caused many ships to run aground. The Outer Banks stretch more than 175 miles along the coast.
The Tidewater is the area along the coast close to sea level. The mouths of the major streams and rivers empty into sounds or the ocean. There are seven sounds in the Tidewater region: Pamlico, Albemarle, Currituck, Croatan, Roanoke, Core, and Bogue Sounds. This region has many low-lying areas called wetlands, where water covers the land. The Great Dismal Swamp, a series of swamps scattered from Virginia, to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, is North Carolina's largest wetland area. It covers about 750 square miles, making it one of the largest swamps in the United Swamps. The Tidewater is the only place in the world where the Venus Flytrap plant grows naturally.
The Inner Coastal Plain, a higher, drier area, begins west of the Tidewater. The rich, sandy soil here is some of the state's best farmland. In the southwestern corner of the Inner Coastal Plain are the Sandhills, a subregion of rolling, sandy hills. This area has the highest elevation on the Coastal Plain, ranging from about 900 to 1,000 feet above sea level. Longleaf pines are native to this area.
Piedmont Region
The Piedmont is the middle region of the state, located between the Coastal Plain and the Mountain regions. Piedmont is a French word meaning "foot of the mountain." The elevations of this region range from about 300 feet in the western Coastal Plain to about 1,500 feet near the mountains. The boundary between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont is called the fall line or fall zone. Along this are, rivers flow from the older, harder rocks of the Piedmont to the softer rocks of the coastal Plain. Along the fall line, rivers form shoals, low waterfalls, and rapids. Below the fall line, streams are usually sluggish and smooth-flowing. Above the fall line, the streams are rocky and shallow, making boating difficult. The land of the Piedmont is called a plateau because it is high and mostly flat.
Mountain Region
The western part of the state is the Mountain region. It is smaller in area that the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. The elevation in this region reaches to more than one mile high. The Blue Ridge Mountains separate the Piedmont from the Mountain region. Other ranges in the Mountain region include the Bald, Balsam, Black, Brushy, Great Smoky, Iron, Pisgah, Stone, and Unaka. All of these ranges are part of the larger Appalachian Mountains, possibly the oldest mountains in the United States. North Carolina has at least 40 mountains that rise to 6,000 feet and 100 that rise more than 5,000 feet. Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountain range is 6, 684 feet high. This is the highest point in North Carolina and the highest in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The Eastern Continental Divide runs east from those flowing west. Rivers on the eastern side of the divide flow east toward the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers that run on the western side of the divide flow toward the Tennessee and Ohio rivers and into the Gulf of Mexico.
I can't believe all the CT. people moving here. I will soon start to feel right at home. I moved here from Ct. many years ago, and am originally from South Windsor. Where are you from, and where will you be staying when you come here in Dec. Will you be visiting the Raleigh area? You might like the Holly Springs area. It is really pretty there. Another area that you will get more land is out in the Creedmoor area. They are really starting to build up that area, and have some new home communities popping up everywhere. I go to church out in that area, and LOVE the ride out that way. It makes me feel like I'm in parts of Ct. without the bad weather. If Ican help you with some other info let me know. Have a wonderful day, and have fun exploring the area.
I hear you DebbieF. I am also from CT. Southington/Plainville area.
Barbie I live to the SE of Charlotte, and I love it! We have been here almost 2 years now.
I did a lot of research online before we even came down to see the different areas. Some of the things we considered were...
Crime rates
Commuting to work
Jobs available
Schools
Tax rates
Prices of homes
We mapped out all the areas we considered and drove to them to get the feel and see for ourselves if we would like it. We knew we would need to be close enough to a city to find jobs, but wanted a more "country" like setting. Union county fit the bill on all parts. We also liked some areas of Cabarrus county, and York county in SC too. We wanted to stay away from the ocean...hurricanes. I found a lot of info on the NC state website. Good luck in your search.
Welcome to the forum. I'm going to give you my opinion and best advice about where to move if you're looking for rural and it's not in or near Charlotte!
Look into Stokesdale, part of which is in Guilford county, ( the county that Greensboro is in) part of which is in Rockingham county which has lower taxes and better home prices on acreage than Guilford county. We bought a lovely 2000 sq foot, 3 br 2 1/2 bath resale home on 5 1/4 acres ( with a barn, outbuilding and beautiful stream that passes under a stone bridge) and many upgrades ( granite coountertops, two fireplaces, one in the master bedroom) for waaaay less than 300K about 3 miles over the Guilford county line into Rockingham.
The town of Stokesdale looks like it's been taken straight from a Norman Rockwell sketch. It's small but has the basics. A Grocery store that we use as a convenience store, bank, EXCELLENT winery, great natural handmande soap shop, and some other small businesses that we patronize. The people here a WONDERFUL. A nice mix of locals and transplants.
Plus you're only 10 minutes from Oak Ridge which has a great shopping little center with an excellent grocery store, 4 good restaurants, lots of other nice shops and more coming in.
About 5 minutes from Belews lake. Lots of boaters here.
The Stokesdale elementary school is excellent, known for having very dedicated and caring teachers. I've heard the high school is good - but don't have high schoolers so haven't checked into it more thoroughly. There are also several good private schools within about 15 minutes. No corporal punishment like there is in the Union County schools. Contact PegMomof4 for more information about that. Guilford Community College and UNC Greensboro are also close by us.
Best of all, you're in the 15 minute commute range to Greensboro, High Point and about 20- 25 minutes to Winston-Salem. You have employment options in 3 cities, rather than dealing with the traffic getting into Charlotte.
Shopping and amenities abound very close by. Greensboro has about everything we can think of in terms of shopping, resturants, and cultural enjoyment.
It's close to the famed Asheboro zoo. Close to the mountains. Close to High Point, the furtniture capital of the U.S. for great furniture shopping. Close enough for beach trips ( the Outer Banks are WONDERFUL) but we don't *do* hurricanes so beach living isn't for us.
My husband leaves for work at 7:30 in the morning. His office is in downtown Greensboro. He makes it by 8:00. ( Big relief from that previously lousy two hour each way commute of his)
Winters are much milder than in CN. Summers hotter, I reckon, but it's a trade off that's well worth it to us. Again, Stokesdale, preferably just over the Guilford county line into Rockingham county. Not the rest of Rockingham, county, though! Not north or NW Rockingham.
Best wishes in making your decision!
Cassie
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barbie
Hello everyone. I just found this board and have been busy reading through all of the comments. Some frankly have me a bit nervous. crime/overcrowding in schools.
We too live in CT and are looking for a place to move that won't have the harse winters, we don't mind snow, but we don't need a lot of it either.
We would actually like rural (within 30 minutes of stores is fine) we would like some acreage to raise our kids and our dogs. My kids now are 9,13,14.21 so some are still in school and school systems are very inportant to me.
My brother lives in Charlotte, and I loved it there. (he is in a development which I don't want) but the area in general was very nice as were the people.
Where we live now is semi rural, but the developers are building! Yes, it can be more convenient, but it was fine before.
We have spoken with a realtor, and are hoping to check out different areas in December before we make any type of decision.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to start? We are not making any hasty decisions and are taking our time to make sure it's the right decision.
Have you looked at Granville county? I live in Creedmoor and we were able to buy much more house here than if we had moved to Raleigh or Durham, and yet, the commute is only 17-22 minutes to Durham, less than 25 minutes to Raleigh. Family oriented area!
Sanford, in Lee County, has a lot to offer. It is a mid-sized city with everything you need, and almost perfectly centered between Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham, and Fayetteville being about 30-45 minutes away.
You might want to check it out as an option that will give you "country living" with all the conveniences of the city here, or within a short drive.
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Look into Stokesdale
