Already Moved to NC - but Where to Live Permanently? HELP Choosing Forever City/Town (Charlotte: appointed)

[rivers77]

My husband and I have been in NC since the end of February this year (moved from CT) - we currently live in Sherrills Ford (just outside of Mooresville). We're renting now until we get more familiar with the area and state and determine where we ultimately want to buy a house.

We moved for friendlier people, lower cost of living, more moderate winters. We have no family here and took a leap of faith to spend the next half of our lives someplace new (we are almost 40). No kids, just furry ones - cats. We moved to Sherrills Ford as we found a home to rent that met our needs and figured being near Charlotte would be a good thing in case I needed to find a marketing job, however I was able to keep my job that I had in CT and now work remote doing Marketing and love it. I don't see my job changing anytime soon. My husband is currently looking for work in mfg - production or quality control.

After being here 5 months we've been exploring the area and thinking about the future. Some things we like:
- being a bit rural (we'd love to have a few acres someday)
- close to amenities - shopping etc. although we're disappointed in the restaurant selection in Mooresville as there are a ton of chains...we prefer mom and pop places

Things we'd change:
- better restaurant selection
- better shopping (we personally like to shop and I also own an Ebay business so need to find better shopping to find re-sale items - especially consignment shops)
- less traffic - I77 and 150

We'd like to find some town options that have the best of both worlds...a bit more rural so that we can find a house with a few acres of land, but close enough to good shopping and restaurants. We are foodies and love going out to eat on weekends and trying new places. We are open to all areas of NC since we have not yet set down our roots yet and I can work from anywhere with my current job.

1. Where you are working - me from home, my husband is currently looking for manufacturing job
2. How much you are willing to spend on housing - up to $300k for 2500 s.f. house or larger
3. How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate - 45 min tops
4. If you have kids: Private school or public school? - none
5. What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? Small town feel to live, but close to bigger town with restaurants/shopping, wineries. Near a lake would be nice...but not necessary. We also love the feel of living at higher elevations - i.e. mountains
6. Community amenities important to you - shopping, restaurants, few acres of land available

Thanks for all and any advice you can give! Again, we're open to most areas of NC!

[ucctgg]

Don't put the cart before the horse.
Find the job, then find an area with a reasonable commute.


A good house is usually much easier to find than a good job.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by rivers77

1. Where you are working - me from home, my husband is currently looking for manufacturing job

I would also let the job search drive the home hunt. There are not that many manufacturing jobs around, especially for for folks over 40. Maybe the Hickory or Morganton area would work if you locate a job. They are close enough to mountains for weekend recreation.

There are currently some contract jobs in Lexington, which I think would be a good area for the OP. It is between Winston-Salem and High Rock Lake.

There may be more jobs in the I-95 corridor although it is much less scenic. (A town near Rocky Mount has a diesel engine plant, for example, and Sanford has a couple of manufacturing companies.)

I'd also suggest you look into Greenville and Spartanburg in South Carolina. Prices and taxes will be lower there.

[Francois]

Agree on all counts. What good is it if you find your "dream town" if there aren't jobs there? Especially manufacturing. Stay put and do the job search to see what places are most likely, then come back and ask what we think among a list of 3-4 places you've narrowed it down to.

"Where in the entire state should we live?" is never an answerable question, especially by people who don't know you personally.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by rivers77

My husband and I have been in NC since the end of February this year (moved from CT) - we currently live in Sherrills Ford (just outside of Mooresville). We're renting now until we get more familiar with the area and state and determine where we ultimately want to buy a house.

We moved for friendlier people, lower cost of living, more moderate winters. We have no family here and took a leap of faith to spend the next half of our lives someplace new (we are almost 40). No kids, just furry ones - cats. We moved to Sherrills Ford as we found a home to rent that met our needs and figured being near Charlotte would be a good thing in case I needed to find a marketing job, however I was able to keep my job that I had in CT and now work remote doing Marketing and love it. I don't see my job changing anytime soon. My husband is currently looking for work in mfg - production or quality control.

After being here 5 months we've been exploring the area and thinking about the future. Some things we like:
- being a bit rural (we'd love to have a few acres someday)
- close to amenities - shopping etc. although we're disappointed in the restaurant selection in Mooresville as there are a ton of chains...we prefer mom and pop places

Things we'd change:
- better restaurant selection
- better shopping (we personally like to shop and I also own an Ebay business so need to find better shopping to find re-sale items - especially consignment shops)
- less traffic - I77 and 150

We'd like to find some town options that have the best of both worlds...a bit more rural so that we can find a house with a few acres of land, but close enough to good shopping and restaurants. We are foodies and love going out to eat on weekends and trying new places. We are open to all areas of NC since we have not yet set down our roots yet and I can work from anywhere with my current job.

1. Where you are working - me from home, my husband is currently looking for manufacturing job
2. How much you are willing to spend on housing - up to $300k for 2500 s.f. house or larger
3. How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate - 45 min tops
4. If you have kids: Private school or public school? - none
5. What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? Small town feel to live, but close to bigger town with restaurants/shopping, wineries. Near a lake would be nice...but not necessary. We also love the feel of living at higher elevations - i.e. mountains
6. Community amenities important to you - shopping, restaurants, few acres of land available

Thanks for all and any advice you can give! Again, we're open to most areas of NC!

Starting close to home, are you aware of the North Lincoln industrial park, just off 321, near the Catawba County line?

[BC1960]

I'd recommend looking around Greensboro and Winston-Salem...places like Kernersville, Oak Ridge, and Lewisville. Small towns, close to shopping and restaurants in the neighboring city. Good possibility of finding a manufacturing job too.