Watauga County? (Winston-Salem, Boone, Salem: real estate, home, high school)

[musicman]

I haven't seen much discussion about Boone and the surrounding areas of Wataugu county in Western North Carolina. I will be attending a school in Sugar Grove in the spring and want to find real estate within 30 minutes of both the school and Boone. My fiance will be graduating with a teaching degree prior to our move and will need to find a teaching position. It seems that Boone offers the type of lifestyle I am looking for in terms of cultural offerings and amenities but it is a lot pricier than other areas of the county and there is probably a good reason for this. I am also considering nearby mountain towns in TN but have even less information to go on with these. I am a little concerned about the degree of culture shock we may experience based on what I have seen on the TN discussion forum. We have a 15 year old son who will be attending high school and want to make the transition as smooth as possible for my family. Thanks in advance for your input.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by musicman

I haven't seen much discussion about Boone and the surrounding areas of Wataugu county in Western North Carolina.

Boone (and Blowing Rock) is a nice area. It gets a lot of tourist traffic on the weekends, is popular in the fall with the leaf peepers and draws the skiers in the winter. To see more about the discussion on development in the mountains, check this thread (think I misspelled the name in that thread )

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...mountains.html

In years past, meth production was problem in that county, but crackdowns have had some affect.

I checked for newspapers in that area and noted The Watauga Democrat. I’m not sure if the banner of the paper reflects its views, or if people in that area are liberal, the letters to that publication display a liberal bent, if that’s an issue to you
http://www.wataugademocrat.com/index.php3 (broken link)

Mountain area news is also carried in the Winston-Salem paper
http://www.journalnow.com/
That’s where I read about the Laurelmor development. If you do a search on that paper’s site, you’ll find several articles detailing its progress some concerns.

It's a wonderful place to visit, whether the average person will be able to continue making the area a home is debatable

[hapaleeretired]

In Boone and Blowing Rock there are many summer cabins for well heeled Florida types. Real estate is pricey.

[musicman]

Thanks for the information. Is anyone familiar with Zionville?

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by musicman

I haven't seen much discussion about Boone and the surrounding areas of Wataugu county in Western North Carolina. I will be attending a school in Sugar Grove in the spring and want to find real estate within 30 minutes of both the school and Boone. My fiance will be graduating with a teaching degree prior to our move and will need to find a teaching position. It seems that Boone offers the type of lifestyle I am looking for in terms of cultural offerings and amenities but it is a lot pricier than other areas of the county and there is probably a good reason for this. I am also considering nearby mountain towns in TN but have even less information to go on with these. I am a little concerned about the degree of culture shock we may experience based on what I have seen on the TN discussion forum. We have a 15 year old son who will be attending high school and want to make the transition as smooth as possible for my family. Thanks in advance for your input.

Hey there musicman-we just happened to be up in this area last week. This is the strange part...although where we were staying at had a Banner Elk mailing address....we were not close to Banner Elk at all (actually location was up above Kellersville (located off the 321-literally next to the Wataugu/Avery line...just 5 minutes out of TN border). We did drive into TN (up 321...very remote). Where we were located....I can tell you that there is not much up this way...when we wanted to go shopping or out for a meal we drove into Boone (past Sugar Grove). In regard to Sugar Grove...it is farming country (very pretty area....plenty of places to go fishing...but not a whole lot more there). Some other areas you might check into: Foscoe-Grandfather-Banner Elk...lastly Valle Cruis (it is very nice...but very spendy) .

Good Luck to you!

[musicman]

This information has been helpful, thanks to everyone for your input. I am going to plan a trip in July to see some real estate and get a feel for the communities. Lovethecarolinas, did you happen to come across the town of Trade Tennessee by chance? What did you think of Boone? Thanks again.

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by musicman

This information has been helpful, thanks to everyone for your input. I am going to plan a trip in July to see some real estate and get a feel for the communities. Lovethecarolinas, did you happen to come across the town of Trade Tennessee by chance? What did you think of Boone? Thanks again.

hey there musicman-no we did not make it to Trade, TN (we hit whatever was up 321 into TN). Not trying to offend anyone from Boone but there is just to Much going on for me...I prefer a little more tranquil.