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I'm fairly familiar with Burnsville. It's a decent enough small town - some decent local restaurants, a great brewery with outdoor entertaining area, a grocery store, but pretty much any real shopping is around a half hour away.
The thing about the small towns is that many people have lived there for a long time and social circles are relatively closed. I wouldn't say that people are unfriendly, but it's kind of a closed circle. A lot of socializing is through church, so if you aren't into that, it makes it more difficult to meet people.
Spruce Pine and Burnsville are far enough away from Asheville to get some relief on property prices.
TN has lower property prices than western NC and has no state income tax, but IMO, people are less friendly in TN, and crime is a concern, especially in rural areas. WNC, regardless of the politics of the immediate area, feels much more live and let live than TN, where many people move in because of the politics.
Western VA is a good option as well. It's higher elevation than much of east TN with much lower property prices than NC or TN. It has a much lower population density.
"I don't have any social media"...news flash...City-Data is social media.
MrRational had the best advice, rent, explore, purchase. You won't know if the ideological makeup of the area suits you until you immerse yourself in a locality.
Rural NC as well as VA skews conservative, so you are pretty safe, save for isolated areas of liberal thinkers...like say Asheville.
When we relocated from AZ, my exploration tool was google:
Homes for sale in: XYZ town (or city/county/area)
You need to visit each area, have meals in diners/restaurants, walk around the small town nearest, to get a feel for whether it fits you. We did that 400 mile drive 2 houses ago and boy that told us so much, current city we chose because it's near family.
Some towns that looked good on internet did not feel good in person due to: traffic, reading the local paper, watching local news.
IMO you are being short-sighted not to add healthcare proximity to your search, these are not normal times even in rural areas. Aging has a way of sneaking up, why not plan ahead to stay where you move to, after you've spent years becoming a "local." Just remember that the smaller the town the less you have a chance to integrate in the community unless (as mentioned) you go to church. Then OMG yes! a single healthy 50 year old man is going to be very welcome.
My suggestion is to look for towns with an animal rescue you can volunteer at since you like animals.
We moved to Charlotte and love how no one talks politics anywhere we go. NOT the small town you are looking for but just giving you an idea that not all cities are the same as yours. We LOVE visiting the Blue Ridge which is 2 to 3 hours away, depending on which town we're visiting. So many lovely places in western NC but my husband hates snow and cold so we'll never move there.
Yes, there are many wonderful small towns in western NC, and frankly I think almost all of them would work for you.
Exactly! If I'd known more about North Carolina earlier in life, I'd have already been there by now! When most folks house hunt, they pretty much know exact area where they need to buy. For me, I get to look from Ashe County, down to Cherokee County, and then over through Clay, Macon, Jackson, to about Transylvania. Every single one of these counties have so much to offer that, wherever I end up, I know I'll be content.
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In that regard, my suggestion is to focus initially on the type of property you want...lot size, house size, within your budget, etc. You can load those criteria in real estate search engines and look at the results on map view. Chances are, many of the results will be near a small town. There are so many...West Jefferson, Burnsville, Spruce Pine, Waynesville, Brevard are some of my favs. Depending on your budget, I'd think you could find something within 30 minutes of any of those.
That's been my strategy, Owen. Since so many locations have been great, I'm only limited by what's on the market. So, first priority for me is the land itself. Peace and quiet is my non-negotiable after living in a big city. I know I won't run into city noises but I've ruled out some wonderful properties for being a mile from a racetrack, or being too close to popular motorcycle routes. (Motorcycle noise is specifically one of the things I want to get away from.). But, I also don't want to replace motorcycle noise for ATVs, etc., either.
So, peace and quiet is priority. After that, I love the woods. I don't care if they're in the mountains or in a valley. I also want running water, preferably a stream or creek. If there's a lack of light pollution so I can actually see the stars again... even better. The land features are slightly more important than the house itself.
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Some other things to think about are elevation/temperature/humidity/snow. In general, the higher the elevation the cooler summers, the colder the winters, and more snow and ice. I assume you're fine with driving on snowy/icy roads, lol.
Yup. That's why I created a document of all the areas of interest with all of that info - elevation, avg snow, rain, temps, etc., I hate heat and humidity. But, that's what air-con is for and, for the right property, this would be a willing compromise. I also love the cold and snow. I'm used to it here in M⛄️nne-SN❄️W-ta. The amount of snow in most areas of WNC is no big deal. And the cold? I never feel it. We had a dusting of snow one night last year when it was -25°F. It wasn't enough to shovel so I went outside for 10 minutes to sweep it off the sidewalks and I was wearing shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops (no socks). So, I'm very used to cold weather, including driving in it.
Have you considered east TN? Your description reminds me more of this area than WNC.
You're very astute, Lizap. Yes, I've absolutely considered East TN. In fact, that was my first choice. (I used to live in the Knoxville/Maryville area in the 90's and loved it.) But, I ran into two problems:
As I researched counties from Johnson down to Polk (avoiding Knox County and others west of it), I couldn't find ANY houses on the market that I liked. None. They all required complete gut jobs because they were extremely dated. The other issue is that all the towns in East TN (midsized down to unincorporated) all seem to be struggling and half empty. Dandridge is very quaint, for example. But the downtown area has so many vacant buildings. The towns themselves just don't seem to be doing well. More folks seem to be leaving than coming in.
As much as the land and area of East TN is gorgeous and what I'm looking for (in some ways even more than WNC), the actual quality of life in WNC has come across as much better in my research. I spent six months house hunting on every real estate site and only found about four properties that were just okay and had more compromises than things I liked. But, in WNC? I have a list of at least 15 with only small cosmetic changes to the houses. No gut jobs. Initially I was open to doing a complete renovation. I was even open to buying land and having a house designed and built to suit me, but now... especially with the world in the shape it's in right now, I'm not chancing losing another year or so trying trying to find companies to do the work. Folks are struggling with this right now. Not to mention supplies and supply chain issues. I just want to get on with the business of living, so I'm looking at houses I can move into and start living. WNC is loaded with them. East TN, not so much.
Thanks very much for the suggestions! Spruce Pines is already on my list of places I like. I haven't checked out Bakersville yet, though. On Zillow, I've gotten to the point where I draw my own boundaries and then my filter preferences so I can narrow in on some areas. Most of my favorite spots have had populations between 200 and 2,000.
As for the "artsy" crowd, I really need to clarify that. It's the "community" and reputation of the "artsy" crowd that I don't like. Artsy communities, by reputation, are very liberal and "out there." Their idea of "art" is definitely not mine.
But I LOVE home crafters and plan to find them and support them. Quilters, crocheters, landscape painters, wood carvers, furniture makers, etc., Anything homemade for the home. My Christmases are homemade in every way. I love the idea of moving to an area and having locally made things in my house. It's the pretentiousness of "artists" that rubs me the wrong way. Local artisans will always get my business.
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Originally Posted by kyle19125
OP, given your criteria and personality I think you would do well in a town like Bakersville or Spruce Pine. Both are generally far enough off of the BRP where traffic won't be a huge concern. Spruce Pine is the commercial center for Mitchell County yet has just over 2000 residents, ten miles south of Bakersville. Snowfall will be more moderate with closer to half of what is seen in Banner Elk. I know the towns well and think the lack of pretentiousness would suit you, although there is a significant population of crafters/artisans they tend to be the salt of the earth/live and let live types.
I appreciate the honesty and directness. Your suggestion has occurred to me. I'm going to have to stay somewhere while I'm driving around and exploring these areas. I've even considered (and haven't ruled out) getting a small RV to do this with. That would be ideal. It's become even more appealing since so many areas of WNC interest me. If I rented something, it would have to be a cabin or a small house. Even an actual B&B (not into Air B&Bs) to help support the owner(s). As long as it's not an apartment.
The part of your comment in bold is true, but also interesting. To be honest, WNC is the only area of the country I researched where that would be true. It wasn't true about me when I was was researching Idaho, Utah, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. I was a lot fussier. But, there's something about WNC that just feels right - like home.
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Originally Posted by MrRational
Stop looking for a property to BUY. Postpone those decisions until after.
In short, I suspect you could make do and be fine enough just about anywhere.
So... Limit your current search to a suitable rental in the area.
Move in. Dig in. Then start looking around for which wide spot in which road ...
has some something else that you haven't put on the shopping list.
Then look to buy.
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