Wilkesboro, mountains (Winston-Salem, Asheville, Hickory: real estate, rent, how much)

[angelaf]

Two part question:
What can you tell me about Wilkesboro? Can you compare it to other towns in Western NC? What larger cities is it near? Is it in or near the mountains? What kind of atmosphere does Wilkesboro have?

Second question:
Regarding the mountains of western NC: I drove through Asheville, Hendersonville and the vicinity but didn't get very far beyond this area. Are the rest of the mountains similar to the ones I saw? As in, not much like the Rockies? Are there areas that are more like the Rockies (i.e., high peaks, jagged, scary-type mountains), less gentle-type mountains?

(Thanks in advance for indulging my goofy-seeming question! )

[WNC Native]

All questions are good, it's just the answers that can be goofy!
Though I am not in N. Wilkesboro, it is lower in elevation than Asheville by about 1,000 feet. It is more likely described as the "foot hills", rather than the mountains to the West. It is detailed on the following link in city-data.com. http://www.city-data.com/city/Wilkes...-Carolina.html

No, WNC doesn't have mountains like the Rockies, or hasn't had for a long long time...the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains are much older and have worn down over the eons. They are also a lot lower elevation than the Rockies and therefore have more vegetation.

[Niki]

Wilkesboro is a small town. There's not a whole lot there, if I remember correctly. It's not too far from Boone (take 421 north) or Winston-Salem (421 south) - the biggest city close to Wilkesboro.

There are a few mountains with rocky tops - Stone Mountain, Looking Glass Rock, Mahogany Rock - or rocky areas, but none that are all rock like you'd see in the Rockies.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by angelaf

Two part question:
What can you tell me about Wilkesboro? Can you compare it to other towns in Western NC? What larger cities is it near? Is it in or near the mountains? What kind of atmosphere does Wilkesboro have?)

Wilkesboro lost an opportunity for economic development when Lowes Home Improvement moved the major part of its HQ from there to Mooresville. It’s primarily a wayside town now, with services for those heading up into the mountains. Developers buying up mountain land for exclusive and VERY EXPENSIVE resorts (google Laurelmor. That’s a development where just the sites start at ½ million dollars ) will probably create the need for jobs to deal with that segment of the economy but, as far as companies that provide large numbers of jobs, those will be found in Mooresville (421 east/I-77 south. Mapquest says it’s 62 miles) and Winston-Salem (421 straight east merging into I-40 near the Hanes Mall. Mapquest says it’s 55 miles)

Second question:
Regarding the mountains of western NC: I drove through Asheville, Hendersonville and the vicinity but didn't get very far beyond this area. Are the rest of the mountains similar to the ones I saw? As in, not much like the Rockies? Are there areas that are more like the Rockies (i.e., high peaks, jagged, scary-type mountains), less gentle-type mountains?

Wellll, you can go higher still if you head out of Asheville . ~20 miles north of Asheville, accessed by the Blue Ridge Parkway, is Mt. Mitchell. That’s the highest point east of the Mississippi at 6,684 feet.

I’ve visited the Rockies. The mountains of the east are less dramatic, IMO; friendlier. The Appalachian Trail winds through these mountains (I highly recommend Bill Bryson’s “A Walk Through the Woods”, just wear your continence pants. I laughed until I almost p’d myself ); Hot Springs (site of some recent tremblors), north of Asheville is a point where the trail crosses. The town hosts services for the hikers. North into Virginia, the mountains decline in height, become less dramatic.

Now, you were probably on the main roads going through Asheville and Hendersonville. If you take the two lane roads back into the mountains, you’ll run into some drama. This area is popular with motorcyclists for a good reason. One rally – the Honda Hoot – used to be held in Asheville, with 10s of thousands of attendees, but moved to Knoxville several years ago. If you’re not used to roller coaster roads, I’d be cautious about going back into the mountains at first. You’ll run into locals and bikers who won’t show much patience for less-experienced drivers. Once you get used to the back roads, they can be really fun to explore.

[angelaf]

Thanks Silverwing... I'll print that out and bring it with when we go back down next month. I totally agree with you about the Rockies--I much, much prefer the mountains of NC. And I know what you mean about the back roads in the mountains... when I was there in May, my friend and I camped up near Bat Cave (creekside camping, really cool place) and the road we took to get there from Asheville (and then took to get to Hendersonville) was pretty intense, as was the road that led us into Black Mountain later that day. Can't really have any distractions while you're driving up there! We were driving as fast as we could manage but that was waaayyy too slow for some of the other people on the road and we witnessed some very bold passing maneuvers.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by angelaf

Thanks Silverwing... I'll print that out and bring it with when we go back down next month. I totally agree with you about the Rockies--I much, much prefer the mountains of NC. And I know what you mean about the back roads in the mountains... when I was there in May, my friend and I camped up near Bat Cave (creekside camping, really cool place) and the road we took to get there from Asheville (and then took to get to Hendersonville) was pretty intense, as was the road that led us into Black Mountain later that day. Can't really have any distractions while you're driving up there! We were driving as fast as we could manage but that was waaayyy too slow for some of the other people on the road and we witnessed some very bold passing maneuvers.

You must have been on Highway 9 between Black Mountain and Bat Cave. I'm using the term "highway" loosely.

[angelaf]

Yes, I think that was it. There were flashing lights in Black Mountain warning truckers not to take that road. It was absolutely beautiful, though-- in fact, that area was one of my favorite of everywhere we went. I'd love to live in the mountains around there-- I was surprised at how few houses I saw. I suppose it's very expensive around there? Most of the houses we saw were either new and very extravagant or very old and shanty-like.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by mm34b

You must have been on Highway 9 between Black Mountain and Bat Cave. I'm using the term "highway" loosely.

Heh. My thought as well In rider parlance, those roads would be the "twisties." We rode that route last year, continuing past Hendersonville on 64, then splitting off to 276, passing Looking Glass Falls, the Cradle of Forestry, looping back home via the Blue Ridge Parkway. That's some gorgeous country

angelaf, Wilkesboro in no way matches that part of the country for beauty or amenities, so I hope you don't puff your expectations. Once you move east of Asheville, you begin to descend into the foothills then the Piedmont. I'd put Wilkesboro in the foothills-Piedmont category. If you decide to camp out again, check out W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, it gets some really good reviews on the camping boards http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wkscott/index.htm

As I said in another post, Lowes moved most of its operations to Mooresville; to be closer to the business heart of the area, I suppose. Who knows what might have happened to the town if they'd stayed in their founding spot As it is, the town is touted as a gateway to the mountains. It's the home of Merlefest, an annual bluegrass/mountain music festival that draws a lot of people http://www.merlefest.org/. It's also the site of early NASCAR history with the North Wilkesboro Speedway, which has been closed since 1996.

I'm not sure about employment opportunities in that town. Other areas to commute to would be Hickory (two lane SR18 to Lenoir then four lane 321 to Hickory at I-40 = 45 miles) or Statesville (hwy 421 to I-77 = 46 miles) which is before you get to Mooresville.

I think I recall from some of your ealier posts that you had your heart set on mountain land to have critters -- llamas and such. I don't know what your $$ situation is or job prospects. Land is increasing in value around here, especially in areas where the job market is. Mountain land is going for resort, second home, or retirement prospects and is escalating even further in price. It may take you awhile to find the best spot for your objectives. Unless you are lucky to find something totally awesome that you can afford and support, I wouldn't feel too let down at not finding a perfect spot on your short exploratory trips down here. It sounds like you want something vastly different than the "safe neighborhood, good schools, yada yada" schtick that proliferates the board. Space, both for us and our critters (6 dawgs, 10 cats - we did have llamas for a few years) is what we wanted; zero worries about schools and such, since we didn't want kids; jobs that paid enough to support everyone; that's what we eventually found. But that took years Patience paid off, we have our ~5 acres in Davie county, commutes to jobs in Salisbury and Winston-Salem, and weekend rides into the mountains.

If you have your heart set on moving to NC, you might want to change your priorities and think of finding a base to explore from. If you are young, you have time. Some of the towns that, IIRC, you didn't have a good opinion about (Morganton, Hickory, Mt Airy) might look better once you have a chance to explore the areas around them more thoroughly.

Good luck on your search. I have some real estate links for country land. Just holler if you want them, since I know we can't post them here

[angelaf]

Silverwing, you are right about all of that. We want exactly what you said--space for our animals and seclusion for us. (And it sounds like you have pretty much exactly what we want!) Schools don't matter as we won't be having kids (the dogs are enough for us!). We are young--I am 23 and my fiancé is 26, so we do have time to figure things out, and we certainly don't plan or even hope to be able to buy a place with acreage right away. We'll rent for a while, decide if we like whatever area we end up in, and if we do, after a while, we'll try to swing a place of our own with some space. I'm hoping my writing career will take off beyond my wildest dreams and we'll be able to do exactly what we want-- start up an animal rescue/sanctuary which my fiancé will help run while I write from some sunny room in our house. Yep, that's the dream, and we're hoping NC will be the place to try to make it come true.
Wilkesboro came up just because Lowe's has some job openings there so we might drive up there when we come down next month but I'm not getting my hopes up.
PM me those links if you don't mind... it might be out of our reach for the time being but it never hurts to look!

[hapaleeretired]

Caldwell County is suffering a serious downturn in its economy as most of the furniture manufacturing has gone overseas. Good place to buy land but a bad place to find employment. Hickory is hurting also but not as bad.
The one thng that Silverwing didn't cover is the foothills weather. I love it hear weather wise. It has four seasons but none of them are extreme. Long Falls and Springs, not too cold in he Winter and not toooo hot in the Summer. It gets sticky but it is worse in the piedmont and further east.
Be advised: If you have allergies the pollen in western NC is horrible.