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Sorry another relocating thread. Me and my wife will be traveling to North Carolina at the end of April to explore a couple areas. We want to leave Michigan because we want to get away from the long cold winters and snow. I always thought if I relocated I would end up by the mountains. My mom lives in new Hampshire and I love the view of the mountains and doing day hikes.
We will be checking out Asheville and Raleigh mostly but are open to visiting other areas those just seem like they would fit us the best. We will also pass through Charlotte and are both concerned it might have to much of a "big city" feel. If we end up in Raleigh or Charlotte we will likely live in the suburbs.
We plan to relocate in June of 2017 when I finish Dental school. We currently live in Ann Arbor. We are expecting our first child in October so do want to take into consideration school distracts but its obviously down the line. My wife will likely be a stay at home mom after we move.
Some of our interest are biking (casual like going to brewery, dinner, farmers market, orchard, ect), hiking (we would love to be by the mountains), shopping, traveling (airport would nice), beer, we would like to be in a place that has a descent amount of people our age and in a similar life situation so we could easily make new friends and build a support system.
It would also be nice if the area had a rec league for sports so we could join a volleyball league or something similar.
Things we have read and liked/disliked about raleigh/asheville
Asheville:
Dislike- Housing is expensive, older/retiree population, small airport, not very diverse, jobs are very competitive and tend to pay less.
Like- Mountains!, lots of outdoor activities, Mountains!, seems like a liberal area, Hipsters (they always seem to bring an eclectic vibe to areas), good microbrewery scene, the weather seems ideal all four seasons and some snow. Do they have farmers markets weekly?
Raleigh:
Dislike- No mountains!, not as many outdoor activities, hotter weather than Asheville.
Like - housing is much more affordable, more diversity, well educated populations, lots of younger families, college sports teams, day trip to the beach or mountains
Do any other areas seem like they would really interest us? In your opinion would raleigh or asheville fit use best. FYI I plan on apply for jobs in both areas after school.
You have to think about the income and employment of the population. In Asheville, the good jobs are scarce and getting medical/dental coverage from an employer is scarce also, plus the family income is lower than Raleigh. Older people, if they have the $$$ take care of their teeth, those that don't have them pulled and get dentures.
I would for economic reasons locate in the Triangle.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I would look into Winston-Salem. It's closer to the mountains than Raleigh and is a bigger city than Asheville and less expensive than both of them. You would be near the Greensboro airport and not too far from the Charlotte Airport either, which has many more flights. It has a nice, small city feel. I would add it to your list of places to check out.
Neither me or my wife have been to NC but we think the climate will be ideal. We are very open to hear opinions and appreciate them. I personally am leaning away from Asheville because of cost of living and employment opportunities. I know Asheville would fit our hobbies best (from what I have read) but with children in the near future I realistically think it will be a fun day/weekend trip place to visit.
Sounds like you did your research. I am originally from Asheville and would love to move back there, but it way to expensive for what the low pay of jobs pay there. That is the biggest factor on Asheville for most everyone wanting to move there. If you own your own business and do business outside of Asheville that is the type of people that move there or retired with large retirement funds.
Stuck in Charlotte now and hate it here. I will be moving from here as soon as my life events allow it.
To many big box stores and cookie cutter developments. It's a very generic town. I like older towns with some character. That's what I love about Asheville. I think any city that lets Big Box stores build the town will become generic looking. They don't build uniqueness here. There are some small pockets that didn't get eat up by developers or Big Box but are just that small areas, the majority is blah.
Location: River's Edge Inn, Todd NC, and Lorgues France
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ahh Life
To many big box stores and cookie cutter developments. It's a very generic town. I like older towns with some character. That's what I love about Asheville. I think any city that lets Big Box stores build the town will become generic looking. They don't build uniqueness here. There are some small pockets that didn't get eat up by developers or Big Box but are just that small areas, the majority is blah.
Things we have read and liked/disliked about raleigh/asheville
Asheville:
Dislike- Housing is expensive, older/retiree population, small airport, not very diverse, jobs are very competitive and tend to pay less.
Like- Mountains!, lots of outdoor activities, Mountains!, seems like a liberal area, Hipsters (they always seem to bring an eclectic vibe to areas), good microbrewery scene, the weather seems ideal all four seasons and some snow. Do they have farmers markets weekly?
Raleigh:
Dislike- No mountains!, not as many outdoor activities, hotter weather than Asheville.
Like - housing is much more affordable, more diversity, well educated populations, lots of younger families, college sports teams, day trip to the beach or mountains
Do any other areas seem like they would really interest us? In your opinion would raleigh or asheville fit use best. FYI I plan on apply for jobs in both areas after school.
While you've read plenty and made your lists, you really can't judge either place until you see them for yourselves. And WE certainly can't tell you what cities you would like when you haven't even been here to compare one city with another.
I would focus on the mountains if that is your dream--asheville isn't the only place in the mtns; there are Boone and smaller areas, and I'm sure they need dentists. Also check Eastern Tennessee and western Va for gorgeous mountains.
I'm not sure why you think housing in Raleigh is cheaper than Asheville--the Triangle area is one of the highest costs of living in NC. Again, you'll see when you come to visit for yourself. There is a dental school in chapel Hill so the job market might be tighter near dental schools than places that aren't releasing graduates.
Are these the ONLY two places you are even considering? Kind of odd since you have never been to either. Take a few days to visit the whole state (and other states if you're looking into them) and you'll know better what to ask about and it is easier for us to answer questions like "I really liked what I saw of [city], are there other places like that?" Rather than a blanket "Where do you think we would like?" Good luck...
I definitely think you should look at Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Sounds like it would be a great fit for what you're looking for.
Also, in regard to your concern about Charlotte being too "big city", keep in mind that all of NC's largest cities are really giant suburbs surrounding a relatively small urban center. 98% of Charlotte is suburban, and it feels about the same as Raleigh.
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