Any Help Would be Appreciated? (Charlotte, Raleigh: houses, subdivisions, property taxes)

[brandy&josh]

What is the best way to look for homes / jobs in the Winston Salem / Greenville Area? Any websites? We are still torn! Any help on either place would be more then appreciated. Thank - you!!!

[RaleighRob]

Do you mean the Winston-Salem / Greensboro area? That would be the Piedmont Triad region.

Greenville is on the coastal plain.

[brandy&josh]

Yes. Sorry, we are still getting use to the county names and such. Do you recommend any small towns, near big cities, but have not been inadated with mini malls and huge homes? Something rural, and eclectic. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks, ALL!!!

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by brandy&josh

Yes. Sorry, we are still getting use to the county names and such. Do you recommend any small towns, near big cities, but have not been inadated with mini malls and huge homes? Something rural, and eclectic. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks, ALL!!!

Well, eclectic .......... The small towns, especially in the Piedmont, were once the business hubs for the farmers and textile workers. Once the cities began to grow, they became the "friendly, small town atmosphere" spots and were then swallowed up. But rural? We were out riding on Thursday, carrying our topographic state map and checking some country roads we've never seen before. Even at a distance only nine miles north of 421, between Winston-Salem and Yadkinville, we felt like we were out in the willy-wags Nothing but narrow, winding two-laners, houses widely spaced and large spreads of fields. We passed several tobacco fields; interesting because we didn't think people still farmed tobacco that close to the city; an antebellum plantation under restoration, and several scenic spots where one could stop and view the rolling hills of the Piedmont. It was great

At one point we got lost and stopped at an Old Timey feed 'n livestock store. We probably presented a picture: a couple walking in, dressed in leathers with sweaty helmet hair plastered down and shades, but the cowboy hat proprietor, with a definite southern drawl, was gracious and friendly, giving us directions and asking us where we were from. When we replied that we lived in the next county and were just riding around, he drawled "well, shoot, you folks are neighbors. Pleasedtameetcha!" He then invited us to stop in any time. We will probably take him up on that. With farmland being chopped into subdivisions and chain stores supplying landscape needs, those charming old country feed 'n seed stores are disappearing. I didn't get a chance to confirm my question, but I bet the store owner had a cat or two. Most of those places do, using mousers rather than traps to keep the mice out of the seed.

Once it started getting hot, and we decided on lunch before heading home, we struck back on 421 going east. We were boggled to find that, from our farthest explorations out in the stix, to where we had lunch near Hanes Mall, was only 20 miles

[anonymous]

Typically, rural is incompatible with 'eclectic'. If those two things were to co-exist, they would quickly become urban, and thus no longer be.

[RaleighRob]

Originally Posted by anonymous

Typically, rural is incompatible with 'eclectic'. If those two things were to co-exist, they would quickly become urban, and thus no longer be.

Agreed!
That's especially true in North Carolina.
You have three choices:
A) City and Urban life with lots to do but some crowds.
B) Suburban life...these so-called "little towns outside of cities" that have growth pouring into them and now are inundated with mini-malls and subdivisions and minivans with soccer moms...and the crowds & traffic at times get worse than even in category "A".
or
C) Rural small towns with no big shopping or entertainment (or anything "eclectic").... that haven't yet gotten all the people moving in yet, so they aren't "B"...but might turn into that if too many people learn of them and move there!

So be careful what you wish for. If you find C and are all like "yay! a nice southern town in the middle of no where!"...just wait. If others move there too, it'll become another suburuban boom town.

[Grass Is Greener]

Should we say:

A) Small / sports cars / pedestrians
B) Minivans and SUVs
C) Pickup Trucks?

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by RaleighRob

C) Rural small towns with no big shopping or entertainment (or anything "eclectic").... that haven't yet gotten all the people moving in yet, so they aren't "B"...but might turn into that if too many people learn of them and move there!

So be careful what you wish for. If you find C and are all like "yay! a nice southern town in the middle of no where!"...just wait. If others move there too, it'll become another suburuban boom town.

I wonder if the example set by the booming cities of Charlotte and Raleigh, along with the small towns they swallow up, is creating an impact on other parts of the state. To get the small towns developed into large suburbs of the cities, you need to run services out there. Some counties (like Davie, outside of Winston-Salem) still exist largely on wells and septic tanks, with houses set back from the main roads and accessed by gravel sidestreets. We have volunteer fire departments and a strong sense of "you take care of your own self". To build the subdivisions, a municipality has to run water and sewer connections to the acreage under development. Maybe people are amenable to that in other counties, but not so much here. You shoulda heard the squabbles and protests at the recent 5 cent tax hike laid on the county People here were accepting, if sullen, about the incentives given to Walmart to build a larger store, but I think it will be up to the developers to chip in and pay more if they want to build large subdivisions. "Economic development" and "a stronger tax base" are fine words for the local politicians to use, but if higher property taxes go along with it, they'll not have more than one term in office. Not around here

[melnper]

brandyandjosh- You wanted websites to search for homes. There are some good ones, not necessarily for Greensboro or just for North Carolina, but for any state. We are also considering a move to NC. We have found 3 really good sites. Try links removed We really like these sites because out of many that we have checked, these were the only ones we did not have to register with. Many other sites will ask for personal information and you end up being badgered by unwelcome realtors. Good luck!

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by melnper

brandyandjosh- You wanted websites to search for homes. There are some good ones, not necessarily for Greensboro or just for North Carolina, but for any state.

Ummmm ......

There's a thread floating around here, much of it got poofed because of some raucous comments, that basically says "don't do dat." Let me go find it ...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...e-allowed.html

If you have handy links you want to share, you might think it helpful to post for all to see, but they do risk getting deleted if they don't fall in the guidelines of this board. Better to pm the person the links, just in case they don't get back to the board before your post is possibly edited.