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Originally Posted by sassy1
What is it like living in Ayden?
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sassy1 provided the times and distances so I don't need to go over that again.
Ayden is pretty much like sassy1 said, quiet and laid back.
The property taxes are a bit much for my tastes but it's still not too bad. The city tax is somewhere around 50 cents per thousand and then you also have to pay the county tax at 70 cents per thousand for a total of $1.20.
Ayden is not without it's issues though just like anyplace else. One of the things that bothers me is the main road through town is also a rural highway. The main road (NC 102) is 2 lane through downtown and a residential district with speed limits of 35 and 20. That's not the problem. The problem is every tractor trailer that's heading for New Bern and points south like to use NC 102 as a shortcut to get to NC 43 which leads to those places. At all hours of the day and night there are trucks rumbling through town and it really does disturb the otherwise peaceful setting. This has not gone unnoticed by the town council and right now they're trying to come up with a way to get some of those trucks off of that road. NC DOT is in the planning phase of a bypass around Ayden but that is a north/south attempt to fix a east/west problem and I don't know that that's going to help much.
If you're looking to buy in this area of NC you may want to check and make sure that the property you're looking at isn't going to be in the path or near the new bypass. Don't rely on a real estate agent to inform you of this new road. When I was looking at houses last year we looked at one that would have been very close, much too close, to the new 4 lane divided highway and the real estate agent never said a word about the highway. He was only interested in selling the house.
Ayden is in the early stage of what may be a growth spurt. There are several new subdivisions in the planning stages and a new company is heading to town and will provide about 150 jobs.
Ayden is also very busy trying to get their downtown in order. It's not that it's drug infested or anything like that but they do have some empty buildings and an old gas station right at the main intersection that they'd like to get rid of.
Ayden does have some beautiful old homes in town. Not all of them are in great shape but the town is trying to secure funding to try and get some maintenance done on them.
For an Eastern NC town Ayden is pretty aggresive towards those who would rather just remain the typical old poor town. An example would be their junk car ordinance. You are only allowed one untagged car that must be covered at all times on a concrete pad or behind a screen of some sort. They do aggresively enforce rules about junk like this one. I've been in other towns and it is just sad the way some people live. You don't see that in Ayden.
Ayden does have a pretty good community spirit. On several Saturday nights a year they have a "town night out" type of deal where people gather at the old train stop. There is a small stage there with local entertainment and the locals bring out their local crafts and sell them. There are lots of children there and everybody has a good time and dance right in the street (closed off of course). A couple of times a year they have a parade and if you've never seen a southern small town parade before you're in for a treat. I recommend you pack a lunch because it's going to take a while.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.
RM
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What is it like living in Ayden
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