Can not decide between Winston-Salem or Boone,NC (Greensboro, High Point: appliances, how much)

[toady13]

My fiance and I have decided to move to North Carolina. We have narrowed it down to either Winston-Salem/Greensboro area or the Boone Area. I am of hispanic origin and a city girl and he is of an Irish/French background and a county man. We both like college communities but like to be close to the outdoors, hiking, biking and camping. Which town do you think would fit us best? I would love your opinions.

[willbo1]

What will you be doing for work?
Boone gives you more of the outdoors and more of a college town feel. I would imagine the WS/Gboro area would have far more employment opps.

[lifesigns64]

Yes, I agree Boone for everything your looking for . . . but employment . . . not so sure. We moved to NC a few years ago and wanted to go to the Winston Salem area, but the employment is not so good there, but better than Boone.

Boone/Blowing Rock is truly a beautiful area.

[gigimac]

Boone (population 14,000) is much smaller than Winston-Salem (210,000). Boone is very scenic, quite mountainous and lots of trees, anchored by Appalachian State University. whereas Winston is more rolling in terrain, a lively city, freeways all around, with suburbia living available. Perhaps an in-between type town would be better, for example Hickory (41,000) and Asheville (74,000) are larger than Boone but still close to mountain type activities, but not as gigantic as the Winston-Salem/ Greensboro area.

Actually, if you want to live in a really populated area like Winston, it's not that far a drive on weekends to get up to Boone to enjoy mountain activities. But if you live in Boone, and you're used to city living, while it has many normal places to shop and eat out, it's still a smallish mountain town.

So, as a previous poster said, your employment needs will have everything to do with where you live, and of course you'll need to actually visit the area before commiting to a town. Winston is actually a nice city, but you gotta like city living a lot to live there, altho I suppose you could find a place on the outskirts that offers the type of outdoor lifestyle you like.

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by lifesigns64

Yes, I agree Boone for everything your looking for . . . but employment . . . not so sure. We moved to NC a few years ago and wanted to go to the Winston Salem area, but the employment is not so good there, but better than Boone.

Boone/Blowing Rock is truly a beautiful area.

While there may not be as broad of range of employment opportunities in Boone as there is in W-S, the unemployment rate in Boone (Watauga County) is well below that of the W-S area. Latest numbers for Watauga County was 7.7% which, out of 100 counties in NC is the 7th lowest. Even counties neighboring Boone are noticeably higher...some MUCH higher (Caldwell, for example, above 15%). As recently as two years ago, the unemployment rate was around 2% in Watauga County. But I do agree, if you want more diverse employment, W-S would have more opportunity.

Originally Posted by gigimac

Boone (population 14,000) is much smaller than Winston-Salem (210,000). Boone is very scenic, quite mountainous and lots of trees, anchored by Appalachian State University. whereas Winston is more rolling in terrain, a lively city, freeways all around, with suburbia living available. Perhaps an in-between type town would be better, for example Hickory (41,000) and Asheville (74,000) are larger than Boone but still close to mountain type activities, but not as gigantic as the Winston-Salem/ Greensboro area.

Actually, if you want to live in a really populated area like Winston, it's not that far a drive on weekends to get up to Boone to enjoy mountain activities. But if you live in Boone, and you're used to city living, while it has many normal places to shop and eat out, it's still a smallish mountain town.

Mmmmm...well...we have SOME of the normal places. Lowe's Home Improvement, Kmart, Wal-Mart, a SMALL Sears (appliances and lawnmowers), a SMALL JCPenney, Belk, Old Navy, a SMALL Mall (can we even call it a Mall?). Eating out places as far as chains...Ruby Tuesday, Applebees, Golden Corral and some of the Fast Foods. Lots of other eating places and places to shop, but they are not your Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy's, Sams Club, etc. You'd have to go to Hickory...or...Winston Salem!

[hymnsinger]

Originally Posted by gigimac

Boone (population 14,000) is much smaller than Winston-Salem (210,000).

Don't forget Gigi, the city population doubles when the college students are here!

The difference between Boone and W-S is like night and day. If you can find work here (Boone), I'd say give it a try. Just plan your move for spring and NOT fall/winter! Spring will give you time to adjust before the weather turns and you have to deal with snow/ice. Its not really too bad, but it helps to know your way around before winter.

It's already about 55 here, and I'm not using heat yet! Turning up the blanket and going to sleep!

Tracey

[mwh236]

Would be pretty easy for me to decide: Do you like large cities or smaller towns? Urban or rural?

[toady13]

Thank you for all your go information. I am interested in employement with a University or small college (I currently work for one). We are looking specifically for a smaller town where we would be part of a community. We are coming from a sprawling city (Orlando FL) and we are both looking for some country. I will look into the Hickory area, and keep in mind that W-S is a more city feel. We have visited W-S and thought it was a little big but nice. We are coming up in June/July again to see Ashville, Boone and the surrounding area (we will add Hickory). Do you suggest I move to the area first and then look for a job or do you think the market is strong enough that I could apply out of state? (I am an admin/book-keeper working on being an Accountant)

Thank you again for all your feedback!

[ncsualum2004]

I don't know Boone well enough to offer an opinion but Winston Salem has several small 'towns' right outside the city limits - Kernersville, Lewisville, Rural Hall, Clemmons etc. However, I didn't find W-S to be some overwhelming city. I lived in town and could get pretty much anywhere in less than 10 minutes. Heck even rush hour isn't that bad. So IMO you could still live say somewhere right outside of town and get that rural feeling you are looking for but still be close enough to a few of the uni's in the Winston Salem.

Also note that several state universities had several positions cut due to budget cuts, not sure how much App State, School of the Arts, or WSSU were affected specifically.

[arbyunc]

If you're looking for college/univ employment, you have a much bigger base in the Triad. Just off the top of my head:

Wake Forest
UNC-Greensboro
WSSU
High Point Univ
Elon Univ
UNC School of the Arts
Bennett College
Greensboro College
Guilford College
Salem College
NC A&T
Forsyth Tech
Guilford Tech