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Hubby and I recently came across the town of Valdese on the map. I've been looking through their website and it sounds like a really nice place to live. We are looking for a place out of the city (Currently live in Charlotte), out towards the mountains. Hubby is working on his ASL interpreter degree and when that is finished (approx 2014) we will want to move out of the city.
I'm wondering if anyone lives in or near Valdese and what you can tell me about it. Economy, people, pros/cons, how far away from a target, etc; utilities (which companies?), how is verizion cell service?, does time warner service that area?, weather, kid/family friendly?.......
Pretty much anything you can tell me about the area is great!! We will probably take a weekend trip over ourselves at some point.
Not much there to talk about. Valdese is mentioned as a location in some threads but there isn't any specific information for the OP. I'd be curious to hear about it too.
Have driven by it hundreds of times, but didn't need to stop...it seems like a nice little town sort of stuck between Morganton and Hickory. Only~5,000 pop and the lack of altitude, ~1400 ft, is not going to be anything really mtn-like or even 'toward the mountains', esp in May through Oct, imo.
GL, mD
The Waldensian's from Italy, settled into this beautiful little valley to escape the Catholics. Not sure exactly when this happened. The town has an outdoor play about it in the summer. Went recently there for their Friday night music. I love Valdese but never lived there. I have friends that have. I have a friend married to a Waldensian, and they have a reputation of being a bit clannish, however, that was many years ago. You can be in the higher elevations in no time. I love all the little valley towns because as much as I love the high country, living here can be a challenge at times. Our roads were not meant to have this much traffic. and it is much more expensive to live here. We are looking towards Marion, a sweet little regular town surrounded by the mountains and Lake James a few miles away and Lake Lure about 38miles away. Morganton is nice, Rutherfordton is also lovely and Lenoir which is close to Hickory. Alot of foothills communities around. You have to visit.
The Waldensian's from Italy, settled into this beautiful little valley to escape the Catholics. Not sure exactly when this happened. The town has an outdoor play about it in the summer. Went recently there for their Friday night music. I love Valdese but never lived there. I have friends that have. I have a friend married to a Waldensian, and they have a reputation of being a bit clannish, however, that was many years ago. You can be in the higher elevations in no time. I love all the little valley towns because as much as I love the high country, living here can be a challenge at times. Our roads were not meant to have this much traffic. and it is much more expensive to live here. We are looking towards Marion, a sweet little regular town surrounded by the mountains and Lake James a few miles away and Lake Lure about 38miles away. Morganton is nice, Rutherfordton is also lovely and Lenoir which is close to Hickory. Alot of foothills communities around. You have to visit.
Just to be more clear...
Waldensian is the name of a Christian movement which started in Lyons, France in the late 1170s.
The movement was started partly in response to the schisms that had consumed the Catholic church in the 12th century and advocated a return to the vows of poverty and preaching of the Gospel as advocated by Jesus and his disciples in the New Testament.
Originally a reform movement within the Catholic Church, the movement was declared heretical by 1215 and became persecuted by Church officials.
Upon the rise of the Protestant Reformation, church leaders met with Swiss and German Calvinists and agreed to join with the Reformed church, adopting many of the Calvinist tenets and becoming its Italian arm.
Although the church was granted some rights and freedoms under French King Henry IV with the Edict of Nantes in 1598, Catholic persecution rose again in the 17th century, with an extermination of the sect attempted by the Duke of Savoy in 1655. This led to an exodus and dispersion of the Waldensians to other parts of Europe and even to the Western hemisphere, including Valdese, NC.
While many Waldensian sects eventually were absorbed into other protestant Christian denominations, active congregations remain in Europe, South America, and North America under the label of the Waldensian Evangelical Church.
Use to be a wild trailer park out their in the 90s. People go to hickory to shop and go to bars. Jobs only if u have the right skill or know the right people. Rednecks and family people, not a place for a white collared person.
Valdese is a great small town to retire or raise a family. Low crime, small town atmosphere where everyone is friendly. Located within 1 hour of Asheville, Boone, Charlotte it is a great place to live for those who love day trips & getaways. Valdese is rebuilding and new businesses are coming in...Great opportunities for developers and future business owners. Check out townofvaldese.com for all the details.
I'm surprised there's been no more activity on this board!
My husband & I are accepting jobs in Hickory, & looking at living toward Valdese or Drexel to be away from the crime, in good school districts, near the lake, & raise our small kids. Hoping for family-friendly community.
I think one of my biggest concerns is lack of diversity -- moving from just North of Charlotte (& before that the Triangle), which might be a little more "progressive." Nothing against conservatives (don't really even see why this has become a political divide; as though all conservatives are racist), but seeing racial integration/equality in education & career advancement is *so* important, & concerns me at times from things I've seen in both cities & small-town America at times. Part of the reason I'm shying away from Hickory is what I've read about the "segregation" problem in another forum, especially in the schools.
I say this, but this was also something my university-educated, adult black friends from Northern VA told me when moving down to Richmond, VA, or Chapel Hill, NC -- they noticed segregation issues (being spoken to differently; lack of advancement opportunities) in those larger, "university" cities as well. Really, this concern is looking forward to the next generation; making sure that our children aren't seeing the same racial hostilities that were present in our generation growing up, and certainly in the generations before us.
Guess I'm just hoping that along with what we teach in the home, the community we live in will also foster the mentality that we're all people, & we need to start working together better as a whole community (and even potentially allowing the conservative idea of school-choice for those parents who find themselves in crummy school districts!). And that you can't tell how good or bad someone's character/heart is by the way the color of their skin.
Maybe I just need some reassurance, because otherwise I'm really hoping to love the area & get excited about this move!
Would love to hear other's experiences since 2015!
Thanks much.
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