Entry point for the best neighborhoods/schools may be more like $300K, but good housing and schools start below $100K. The city has several nice parks with lighted jogging trails within walk of downtown. There are two large community pools.
Downtown Morganton and Glen Alpine are extremely safe. These towns are very well (some say overly) policed. The Morganton Department of Public Safety strives for politeness and professionalism while consistently delivering rapid response and thorough follow-through. Glen Alpine has its own, much smaller force, but also visible, polite and competent. North Carolina is a "shall-issue" state and the police are supportive of legal and responsible gun-ownership while maintaining zero-tolerance for misbehavior. Most people own guns here, but you don't see them and its not the wild west. The State Highway Patrol has a barracks here. It is true that we are home to a mental asylum and a corrections facility, but those institutions are proven stable, well-funded and tightly policed by their own state-run forces. We also house a community college, a school for the deaf, and a research center for the developmentally disabled. The influx of state funds and the presence of those institutions' staff serve as an economic and cultural buffer. Zoning in the city is strict and restorations are well supported.
The picturesque mountains and stunning Lake James have attracted many wealthy people from out-of-state. The majority of residents here are interested in welcoming new residents. Although we are mainly conservative and protestant, there is St. Charles Catholic Church on West Union St. and we have elected the same popular Jewish mayor (Mel Cohen) for as long as I can remember. Mayor Cohen is a lifelong resident and tireless booster of the community. He has maintained his office by being an accessible friend to everyone. You will find him mingling with the crowd downtown greeting old and new friends. Black people are very well integrated and race-relations are relaxed. Openly Gay people co-exist with fundementalist Christians. Twenty years ago substantial numbers of Mayan-descended Guatemalans sought refuge from the civil war there (a spin-off of the 1954 coup[1]). Hmong from Laos have taken refuge as well. Both these groups are farmers from mountain regions of their home country. Both are hard-working, proud people. Unfortunately there are racists everywhere in the world. But in this little piece of the South the racists are the minority. If you want the same atmosphere, but larger and lierally as liberal (and expensive) as Berkeley, then drive no farther than Asheville (1 hour).
Life in this town is laid-back, pleasant and resort-like. It is completely safe to walk in downtown, is quaint and there is usually a festival or something to attend. Its a good jumping-off point for an outing on the lake or a stimulating day hike at the splendid Linville Falls or to Table Rock Mountain Summit (4500 ft?). Rock climbers go nuts! And there is winter skiing within an hour's drive.
Now I sound like a real-estate agent, but "Y'all come on down here." lol
Glad I stumbled upon this blog. I had forgotten how much I like this place.
notes:
[1]
The Maya of Morganton, a short, scholastic book from the late 1990s
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Glen Alpine?
Very safe, especially downtown Morganton;downtown Glen Alpine
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