Hoping to move to the Carolinas. Please Help ! (Charlotte, Greensboro: real estate, apartments)

[sunshinedreamer]

Hi,
This is my first time posting to this site. I found it a few months ago and it looks great. Everyone is so helpful and informative. We are planning to visit South and North Carolina this July (I know it will be hot). We are hoping to move from Lake Oswego, Oregon (Portland metro area) in two to three years or sooner. My husband and I are both originally from sunnier climates and have never gotten used to the cold and rainy "rain season" that lasts 9+ months here. I don't mind some snow in the winter, but I would to have other seasons as well. It is very beautiful in the summer, but we would like a place that is warmer. I've visited North Carolina as a child and don't know much about the different areas in the Carolinas except for what I have read in various places.

I loved the friendly people in the south and the warm hospitality. I would not say that we are "extreme right wing" or anything, but we are definitely more conservative than much of the general philosophy in the Portland area.

I also like the idea of moving from "the least churched state" to the Bible belt. Even though I would like to be in an area with good public schools, we would like to put our girls in a private Christian school in a few years.

We have two twin girls that are 5 and starting kindergarten this September. Good schools and education are important. I know for sure that we want some place in the foothills. I took a quiz on "Find your spot.com" and they came up with Hickory / Morganton. I really don't know much about these areas and if they are a good place to live. I visited Ashville before and it is beautiful, but we don't want to live that far into the mountains because they seem to cold and remote. The low country might be too humid (mold problems) and buggy. Also, I love the rolling hills type of countryside with lakes nearby for their beauty and recreational amenities. I am not looking necessarily for a big city. Portland is much larger than the type of community that I am looking for. Although, I am not ready for a really small town either. We would like someplace that has charm (not just a bunch of strip malls), good schools, good medical facilities, pretty/ scenic location, good economy, low crime, upbeat community with community events like farmers markets, festivals, etc.

We haven't made a decision yet whether we would be more interested in North Carolina or South Carolina. Are there definite pro or cons to one of them?

We are in the real estate / apartment business and would most likely buy and manage some small apartments wherever we move. I know that I am describing a utopia like place, but is there anywhere that sounds like what I am describing? The good news is that we aren't restricted by a job relocation, but this also opens up the state and we need to refine our search.

The home prices in the Portland area have risen so much in the last 15 years that it is quite expensive to buy a nice home (3 to 4 bedroom - 2,000-2,500 sq. ft.) for less than $425,000 or more. We would like to find a place where home prices are substantially less and more affordable.

Thank you all for your help.

[SunnyKayak]

Base on what information you provided above I am thinking you are looking for something close to the foothills or the Piedmont. I agree with the find yoru spot Hickory is right in middle of foothills with that rolling country side maybe look around the Lake Hickory area I just did a search to make sure home prices was in your range and I just saw this 4 bedroom 2.5 bath 2100 sq ft home with lake access for 169K

There is several christian schools in the hickory area

My next opinion but not near a lake is Winston Salem

Bowman Grey Baptist Hosiptal is very top notch and Forsyth.

a little larger city than Hickory but more activities you mention above as well A good location would to be on north or west side and some areas you have a view of Pilot mountain. Look for homes around the Historic Bethabara Park.
It is located in what is known as Old Salem and there is a active Moravian Village Also the home prices are ideal i saw one for 4 bedroom 3.5 bath 2400 sq ft home for 164k.
Both of these are ideal far as weather not too extreme on either end of weather scale. Both have great rolling countryside but are in good central locations in case you want to escape to enjoy a weekend in Charlotte or the mountains or coast.
Benefit of either city is you can manage your apartments in nearby cities like Greensboro or High Point both are within 15 minutes of Winston Salem.

Far as NC vs SC is the terrain the rolling hill country side is very limited to the west corner of SC the rest is relative flat.

[sunshinedreamer]

Thank you Sunnykayak for all of your information and for looking up home prices in the areas you mentioned. We will check out the Winston Salem areas too. You mentioned Greensboro and High Point for our apartments. Do they have good rental markets ? You didn't mention them as places to live - are they too big?

[NCSC]

I would agree that the High Point - Greensboro-Winston Salem area sounds right for you. In South Carolina, you might like the Greenville-Spartanburg area. I would look at a map for smaller towns surrounding these, as you would get both small town and city benefits. I think both of these metro areas would have plenty of apartment communities -- both have several colleges and universities and plenty of young professionals.