What is the perfect North Carolina town (Charlotte, Salisbury: real estate, crime)

[mrnini]

My family is looking to relocate from Pittsburgh, and we would love to live down South. I spent some time living in Louisiana and loved the slower pace, interesting people and the charm of place. I would love to raise my 2 boys in the South. The only problem is we are short on the time and money needed to scout out the 'perfect' place. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

I like the community feeling you get from a walkable city. I like mountains and/or water and friendly people who talk to each other. I do not like sprawl, stripmalls, crime or closed-mindedness. I also need good public schools and moderate home prices. I have no preference for the size of the city, but I am looking for something with a special kind of charm. Any recommendations?

Thanks for your help!

[superk]

"What is the perfect North Carolina town?"

Two at the top of my list are Davidson and Jamestown.

[RuralCoastalGuy]

Originally Posted by mrnini

My family is looking to relocate from Pittsburgh, and we would love to live down South. I spent some time living in Louisiana and loved the slower pace, interesting people and the charm of place. I would love to raise my 2 boys in the South. The only problem is we are short on the time and money needed to scout out the 'perfect' place. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

I like the community feeling you get from a walkable city. I like mountains and/or water and friendly people who talk to each other. I do not like sprawl, stripmalls, crime or closed-mindedness. I also need good public schools and moderate home prices. I have no preference for the size of the city, but I am looking for something with a special kind of charm. Any recommendations?

Thanks for your help!

Unfortunately you won't know what town has that "charm" unless you visit a number of towns and get the feel for yourself. We may tend to be biased towards our own communities and mostly all you will get are our own likes and dislikes. Also, do you have a job offer...how will you support yourself? This will play deep into your choices of towns and cities. What sort of school system are you looking for?

Not to be rude but your query is far too vague for anyone to give you anything more than an opinion, and if time is short I would imagine you want facts. Also, living in Louisiana is not like living in North Carolina and it is a different type of southern living here.

There are a number of walkable cities here in NC like Benson, Lumberton, Selma, etc. I suggest you take a long hard look at an NC map and first select the area you would like, ie: mountains or seashore...or something in between.

[dunroven55]

Originally Posted by RuralCoastalGuy

Unfortunately you won't know what town has that "charm" unless you visit a number of towns and get the feel for yourself. We may tend to be biased towards our own communities and mostly all you will get are our own likes and dislikes. Also, do you have a job offer...how will you support yourself? This will play deep into your choices of towns and cities. What sort of school system are you looking for?

Not to be rude but your query is far too vague for anyone to give you anything more than an opinion, and if time is short I would imagine you want facts. Also, living in Louisiana is not like living in North Carolina and it is a different type of southern living here.

There are a number of walkable cities here in NC like Benson, Lumberton, Selma, etc. I suggest you take a long hard look at an NC map and first select the area you would like, ie: mountains or seashore...or something in between.

I agree. There are so many wonderful places to live in the south In order for us to help you it would be necessary for you to give us more information.
Like the area that you really are thinking about such as Louisiana, NC, SC etc. What amount are you looking to pay for a home and do you want to be close to the mtns or the beach. In NC you can live in Charlotte and be 3.5 to 4 hours away from the beach or 3 hr or less from the mountains.

We all want to help you and look forward to getting the information necessary to do so.

Thank you,

[mrnini]

Thanks for all the responses - I will try to be more specific.

My husband drives a truck, and so can work anywhere. I currently have a corporate job doing data analytics - which I know is not something I can continue in a small southern town. However, I am flexible and do not mind applying my skills to whatever I can find. I also make soap and opening a small shop would be nice. Believe me, if I find this ideal place, I can make it work.

I really don't have a strong preference for beach vs. mountains - either would be great. I am more concerned about the town itself. I am looking for good public schools and I am looking for a place where me and my family can be out and about at night without fear of being mugged. We will be shopping up to about 180K for a home - although I see this as being flexible with the local economy.

What I mean by charm is that I want a place whose community feel and identity has not been lost to Wal-Marts, sprawl, etc. I want an area is reasonably, conveniently walkable. On my weekends and afternoons I want to feel that I have many community options - shops, restaurants, parks, community events, etc - just by walking out my door. Cultural diversity would be a bonus.

[mrnini]

Does anyone have any input about New Bern, NC?

[SunnyKayak]

It is a cute North Carolina coastal town. From the main state forum if you click the search button and type New Bern you will find many threads about that city or click
Coastal North Carolina forum and search there or post a thread there someone may assist you.

[cynwldkat]

I, like you. had all these ideas of just what I wanted in a town when we moved here. I think what RCG said in his post is right on! You really need to come and look to know what it is you want. We were here four months looking for the right town/area. Where we ended up buying a home is in a small town we'd never even heard of. There are plenty of them here! You just won't really know until you come and visit. Of course it would help knowing which part of the state--coast, mountains or in-between but even then you may totally change your mind once you get here. I was set on the mountains and am now living 2 hours from the mountains and am very happy.

[tismyself]

Originally Posted by mrnini

Thanks for all the responses - I will try to be more specific.

My husband drives a truck, and so can work anywhere. I currently have a corporate job doing data analytics - which I know is not something I can continue in a small southern town. However, I am flexible and do not mind applying my skills to whatever I can find. I also make soap and opening a small shop would be nice. Believe me, if I find this ideal place, I can make it work.

I really don't have a strong preference for beach vs. mountains - either would be great. I am more concerned about the town itself. I am looking for good public schools and I am looking for a place where me and my family can be out and about at night without fear of being mugged. We will be shopping up to about 180K for a home - although I see this as being flexible with the local economy.

What I mean by charm is that I want a place whose community feel and identity has not been lost to Wal-Marts, sprawl, etc. I want an area is reasonably, conveniently walkable. On my weekends and afternoons I want to feel that I have many community options - shops, restaurants, parks, community events, etc - just by walking out my door. Cultural diversity would be a bonus.

I'm not sure that this utopian village exists in NC. If you want to live in an area where you can walk around at night safely, then I'd say look at Black Mountain for example - although the real estate is out of range, there is no cultural diversity and the schools are um, "interesting" let's say. Many of the smaller towns where there is no spawl have all the problems of larger cities, but none of the perks. Davidson might be the closest thing to utopia... wow, you'd like to think your list isn't asking too much. Good grief!

[Catbirds]

Check out Salisbury. I was told they have renovated the historic downtown area and that it is really nice. It is located in the Piedmont area. I would think that Davidson would be really expensive. Anywhere in the mountains or the coast would be pricey now.