Moving to Lenoir (Hickory, Boone, Marion: for sale, mortgage, mobile home)

[buggybooshay]

Just getting the hang of this, posted a question in the wrong place before. I want to move to Lenoir but can't afford to pay more than 50k for a place. Will only spending that little on a place put me in a bad area? Can anyone tell me what life in Lenoir is like? I prefer a simple life, I'm a small town girl who loves mountains, hiking, bluegrass music and friendly people, oh ya and all kinds of pets and animals too.
Buggybooshay

[hapaleeretired]

The economy in Lenoir right now is in pretty bad shape. All of the furniture jobs have gone overseas. There is a lot of promise on the horizon however. Google will be opening a facility here later this year and where Google has gone good things have followed. I defy you to find a better year around weather pattern than right here. It got a bit warm last summer but it always cooled off at night. While we get very little snow here we are within an hour's drive of the ski slopes. You will be thwenty five miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

[Virgo Lady]

Lenoir is slow paced. A lot of the furniture manufacturers closed down. It is mainly a town for older people in my opinion. Much like Marion, NC, it seems to be stuck in time. However Blowing Rock and Boone are only a 30-45 minute drive from Lenoir.

[hymnsinger]

I am a single woman living with my disabled son in Caldwell County.

There's not much to do in Lenoir, but there is Bluegrass, and just to the west, mountains. There is lots of rural land and housing too. I've not seen a glut of for sale signs, but that doesn't mean anything.

Hopefully, if you need to work to make a living, you will already have a job before moving. Rural America is in recession, and life is not easy for the working poor. I am living on a farm about 10 miles west of Lenoir in the Yadkin Valley. In addition to at home computer work, I clean a few houses, and house/pet sit. This year I will be putting in a larger garden than usual, as well as putting more meat in the freezer. I will raise and butcher 100 broiler hens this year, raise at least 2 pigs for slaughter as well as 1 steer. And also add the venison that tries to eat my veges! I am also going to start cutting and stacking cordwood for next winter. This will ensure that I am set for a very long, rough winter next year.

Almost all of the decent steady jobs are up in Blowing Rock and Boone, so be prepared for a 50 mile commute (at least) if you want decent wages. There are few jobs in Lenoir! Decent wages for Boone are $8.25 to $9.00 per hour (thanks to App State). If you are alone, it will be hard to live on, but with a spouse or partner also working full time you just might make it. Rents in Lenoir are lower than Boone, but you will pay the diff in gas to get to work. (3/2 in Boone $700, Lenoir $500) Housing in the high country is NOT in recession and homes are not cheap. In Lenoir, could be a buyers market, but don't look to earn much equity for at least 5 years. Interest rates will be set to rise in the coming year, once the feds think they have stabilized the market, so make sure you get a fixed rate.

Oh, there is also a decent job market in Hickory, but I am unfamiliar with that area. You will pay the same in gas to commute. Most places heat with monitor heat here, and filling your 250 gallon tank (might last all winter if you're lucky) will cost you over $600. Using electric heat will run about $200/mo. Wood heat is also common but cordwood is also going up with demand. And FYI, Google is requiring a 4 year degree to be employed by them. Even the secretaries . . . Oops, Administrative Assistants, sorry!

Not trying to burst your bubble, but unless you have at least 3 months living expenses in savings, think real hard before you make the jump.

I'm an optimist, but a realist too!
Blessings!
Tracey

Lenoir Newspaper Classifieds News-Topic, Lenoir, NC, 28645 - news, sports, editorials, obituaries
The Mountain Times - Boone classifieds Mountain Times
Boone News www.wataugademocrat.com
Local Weather Ray's Weather Center - Home - raysweather.com

[lorriem]

. Using electric heat will run about $200/mo. Quote

What sq foot home do you have to pay $200 a month.

[hymnsinger]

I have consistently had bills in the $175 to $225 range in a variety of homes. One was a 3 bedroom farmhouse in Vilas, abt 1200 sq. feet. Another was a doublewide mobile home (24 X 60) and one was a singlewide. Mind you all three were heated with electric alone, no wood or monitor/laser.

In my experience, it all depends on how well the home is insulated. In the winter of 1999/2000 we lived in a seasonal rental, best lived in during the summer. That winter it was so cold (sub zero 8 nights running) that the filter on the monitor froze up. (Check those filters for water Y'all!) The next 6 weeks we used electric radiant wall heaters . . . the bill for those 6 weeks was $600!! And this in a 1000 sq foot house!

We were also snowed in for over two weeks, and my son was snowbound for 6! I couldn't get him to the school bus because of the snow (and his disability). That was some winter! We had a March blizzard that year too.

[fredda]

Hi Folks. I am wondering how the cost of propane heat compares to electric heat in the Lenoir area. Would oil be a better choice, if available?
Thanks, fredda

[hymnsinger]

Found this info for you . . .

Here: Hart & Iliff - Questions and Answers - Oil vs Propane

[SIZE=+2]Oil vs Propane[/SIZE] by Charles J. Brand A number of new homes in Sussex County are being offered with propane heat. In this issue we compare heating oil and propane.
Is propane more expensive than heating oil?
Yes, all fuels are rated based on their heat content. The unit of measure is a British Thermal Unit (BTU), which is the amount of energy needed to raise one pound of water one degree. Heating oil contains 140,000 BTUs per gallon, whereas propane contains only 91,300 BTUs per gallon. Therefore, it takes 1.53 gallons of propane to provide the same amount of heat as one gallon of heating oil.

In addition, propane consistently sells for 10-20 cents more per gallon than heating oil. When you combine this cost difference with the BTU difference, it costs twice as much to heat a home with propane. The accompanying cost comparison chart illustrates this fact.
Is propane more efficient than heating oil?
No! Heating oil is inherently a more efficient fuel than propane or natural gas. The reason for this is that the flame temperature of an oil flame is hotter than a gas flame. Several boiler manufacturers manufacture identical boilers that can be fired with either an oil burner or a power gas burner. In each case, the oil unit is approximately 4% more efficient than the natural gas or propane unit.
Which fuel makes more hot water?
Because of the hotter flame temperature, fuel oil is more efficient at generating hot water than natural gas or propane. The average recovery rate (the amount of hot water that can be made in one hour) for an oil fired hot water heater is 120 gallons per hour. On the other hand, the average recovery rate for gas fired hot water heaters is 40 gallons per hour. Therefore, fuel oil can make three times as much hot water at half the cost.
Which fuel is safer?
Fuel oil is significantly safer than propane. This is the reason why building codes allow fuel oil to be stored inside the home, whereas propane must be stored outside. Propane is highly flammable and explosive at room temperature. It is also heavier than air and does not dissipate readily in the event of a leak.
By contrast, heating oil is combustible but not flammable. It will not burn until it is heated to 140 degrees. In addition, fuel oil is safer than either natural gas or propane when it comes to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Take a look at the our Questions and Answers on Carbon Monoxide for more information.
Is propane cleaner then heating oil?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, modern oil equipment burns equally as clean as natural gas or propane.

[buggybooshay]

Thank you Tracey for all of the information. This was very helpful for putting things into perspective. I hope to have some savings left over from the sale of my home here in Florida. I was hoping to have a fireplace or two, some green altrnative electric installed such as solar or a small windmill and of course a basement for all that canned food and supplies. A garden would be great too, but I've never had a green thumb, of course the ground here in Florida is nothing but nutrient bare sand.

I have resigned myself to knowing that I'm never gonna be rich so I really only planned on working 25-30 hours a week (where ever) to make ends meet. Over the last 15 years of being alone and living on one 1 income I have learned how to be frugal and to make what I have stretch pretty far. Right now I only make $10 an hour as a concierge and my mortgage is $750 a month, so things are real tight. I figure paying cash for a small home there and working part time and being poor, is better than working 40+ hours a week, worrying about the mortgage for the next 21 years, and still being poor. Plus I love small towns and mountains, Fernandina (my town) is growing by leaps and bounds and is as flat as a pancake. I dislike it here very much.

You sound like you've got it all together. Thanks again for the info. Write back if you have the time.
May the Lord bless you indeed!
Trish

[lorriem]

Originally Posted by lorriem

. Using electric heat will run about $200/mo. Quote

What sq foot home do you have to pay $200 a month.

Before we bought our home we were told the electric would run us about $125 a month. We bought the house in late NOV but we will be moving in Feb 26 or 27th. Our home is new and 1600 sq ft one level. We went on their web site and it gave our home's average bill an outrages price so we called up and the man who answered put his home in the computer and it was an outrages price also. For him it was off $100. He said computer problems most likely.This occured a few months ago so I am not sure of my numbers or the web site.
We would keep our heat at 70 but 65 at night and our air in the summer at 68 and 65 at night if needed. That is what we keep our heat and air on in fl and before that in CA.