Thinking about heading South (Winston-Salem, Salem: homes, camping, standard of living)

[In Ilion, NY]

Hello, North Carolina, my wife and I are from UPSTATE NY, Herkimer county....farms, some good things , some bad. When my Wife and I grew up in Herkimer, it was a small town flavor, where people knew people and genuinely cared about their neighbors. This is what we are seeking. Work has left the area ,and the ability to find a decent job has changed. We've read many postings on this site and seen the positive and negative on us folks here in NY State and thngs down your way. We've met many folks from down South and have always enjoyed how we've been treated. We are considering relocating to the South.
I work in the medical field as a medical assistant/ non-invasive cardiac tech.
My Wife works for a not-for -profit organization.
We have three children, ages 13,11, and 8
We enjoy gardening,camping,traveling,music,baking, and cooking
We are Christians.
My wife and I are not interested in enormous homes, we tend to lean to the practical.
We are friendly, not uptight, or concerned with having the best of everything, or marching in and telling someone else how to live. (We like what we seen, so why fix what isn't broken?) We have even thought about Southern Virginia...Bottom line, we're growing weary of snow, what seems to be an increase of crime, and wanting to raise our children around decent folks. We also want to give our children the chance to have the opportunities for decent employment. We live in a very depressed area, which means that a lower standard of living for our children, if we stay here. We would welcome input from people who reside in the Northern most part of N.C., and the Southern most part of VA. Any relocated upstaters, too. Thank you all, for your time and guidance.

[superk]

We relocated from Saratoga County to Winston-Salem in '96, and have never once looked back.

[findinghope]

i have neighbors from upstate and they love it here. we are from NJ and also are happy here. we live on the edge of orange and alamance counties and the homes i feel are still reasonably priced here. there are lots of jobs in the area, especially in the medical field.