A Couple of Pointed Questions about Murphy (Charlotte, Franklin: fit in, real estate)

[wsobchak]

I was thinking of buying an A-Frame in Murphy to retire to.

I have read through nearly every post in the Western NC forum. I have seen a couple of issues obliquely referenced, and need to ask these questions in a more direct manner.

"Growth"

Yes, that's the euphemism they use. I read a couple of threads about a lot of people coming in, defoliating the woods and building houses. My question is, how prevalent was this, and were the houses McMansions? I really, really, really, don't want to live around McMansions. I don't even want to see them as I drive down the road.

Religious Fundamentalism

Apparently there are a lot of fundies out in Western NC. I was reading about Eric Rudolph, and there were disturbing reports of people wearing T-Shirts in support of him.

I am an atheist. I couldn't find any atheist organization in the area. I guess my question is would I be physically safe in such an area?

[abcornwell]

You may want to get in touch with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin, NC. There are a number of members who live in or near Murphy, and maybe y'all could talk. Also, there are a number of atheists who attend the fellowship, and they can offer their perspective. IMO you'd be safe, and there are so many woods and so much land in WNC that you can live w/o having to be next to McMansions or travel through McMansionville. Where is the A-frame located? Why Murphy? :-)

[wsobchak]

I really don't need atheists or Unitarians to talk to. Although it would be nice to have someone to talk to. I was doing searches like that to try to gauge the cultural nature of the area.

I did a real estate search on Franklin and some of the other towns mentioned. But they all looked like suburbia - lawns and window shutters.

Why Murphy? Because initially I read good things about it. A real estate search turned up a couple of inexpensive A-Frames (I have a soft soft for A-Frames - they are one of the types of houses I would be willing to live in).

But since then, I have begun to read a lot of troubling things about Murphy. It's nice and rural. Houses are (relatively) inexpensive. I don't need friends or would expect to make friends. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to be living in a nest of would-be theocrats. And the fringe might even be dangerous.

I understand you can't have everything.

[mwh236]

It's nice and rural. Houses are (relatively) inexpensive. I don't need friends or would expect to make friends. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to be living in a nest of would-be theocrats. And the fringe might even be dangerous.

Sounds like my life. I'm nice and rural. In Peachtree (outside Murphy). Atheist... well... who knows. Probably agnostic. But nothing dangerous. And who needs groups. I love living in the woods alone.

[abcornwell]

Originally Posted by wsobchak

I really don't need atheists or Unitarians to talk to. Although it would be nice to have someone to talk to. I was doing searches like that to try to gauge the cultural nature of the area.

I did a real estate search on Franklin and some of the other towns mentioned. But they all looked like suburbia - lawns and window shutters.

Why Murphy? Because initially I read good things about it. A real estate search turned up a couple of inexpensive A-Frames (I have a soft soft for A-Frames - they are one of the types of houses I would be willing to live in).

But since then, I have begun to read a lot of troubling things about Murphy. It's nice and rural. Houses are (relatively) inexpensive. I don't need friends or would expect to make friends. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to be living in a nest of would-be theocrats. And the fringe might even be dangerous.

I understand you can't have everything.

I was thinking that you might want to make contact with some humans in Franklin to gain more info, as you are doing here electronically. Whether you talk to anyone or not once you are wherever you end up was not the thrust of my post.

Franklin is mostly rural - or I should say - Macon County is mostly rural. A huge % of the county is Nantahala Forest. Franklin itself has some "suburbanish" spots, some emptier areas, and in-between. I have seen a few A-frames out in Cowee (a community in Macon County) that were wonderfully alone.

My time in western NC taught me there's a lot of "live and let live" attitude. I always managed to come across the liberals, gardeners, non-Christians, artists, musicians, etc.

I forget - have you spent time in Murphy / western NC?

[wsobchak]

abcornwell, I appreciate your input. Please don't be offended. I had pointed out that there were no atheist organizations in the area. It could have been misconstrued, since I failed to mention why I had searched for same.

I suppose I would indeed like to live "closer in", but as I said, I wanted it to be rural and affordable. The fact is, only the Murphy area came up with houses that matched my needs. There could indeed be similar houses closer in, but what it meant to me was that there must be a larger number in the Murphy area, since none came up in searches of other areas.

Have I been to Murphy? Nope. I thought of going out last weekend, but its a four-hour drive.

The worst thing would be to move out there and then feel too isolated. But I don't think that what happen. I feel physically and emotionally more relaxed out in the country.

[abcornwell]

Oh, I'm not offended! We all find our places our own way. I know what you mean about being happier and more comfortable in the countryside, I agree wholeheartedly. We live 4 hours away from Franklin and can't visit our cabin as often as we'd like. It is incredible to be out there and only hear the high wind in the trees come across the mountain, and maybe a cow mooing way off in the distance. Here's hoping you have some extra time to get over to Murphy!

[Francois]

Originally Posted by wsobchak

"Growth"

Yes, that's the euphemism they use. I read a couple of threads about a lot of people coming in, defoliating the woods and building houses. My question is, how prevalent was this, and were the houses McMansions? I really, really, really, don't want to live around McMansions. I don't even want to see them as I drive down the road.

By your questions, I am presuming you've never even visited the area yet that you are considering moving to? I can't quite comprehend that. The best (only) way to know whether an area is right for you is to visit it. Then you'll see for yourself how much the growth has destroyed nature's beauty, or how much of it is McMansions, etc. If you have your eye on a couple of specific houses, you can see for yourself what the neighborhoods around those are like. None of us can answer that for you since we don't know exact neighborhoods you're thinking about.

Religious Fundamentalism

Apparently there are a lot of fundies out in Western NC. I was reading about Eric Rudolph, and there were disturbing reports of people wearing T-Shirts in support of him.

That was a decade or so ago, wasn't it? Those same folks are probably wearing "Tea Party" T-shirts now. I guarantee you that you will not land in an entire community of people who annually celebrate "Eric Rudolph Day" (which is practically the way you seem to be thinking). Folks in the mountains do tend to be less trustful of "The Man" than folks in other places, but the ones who wore Rudolph T-shirts were a tiny minority. The two things you've mentioned--McMansions and crazy-eyed anti-government folks--are in opposition to each other, actually. Again, visit and see for yourself what the people are like as opposed to letting your mind go wild over a few things you read on the Internet.

Yes, mountains and rural areas are more religious than cities--is this not the case where you are from, as well? But they are also generally live-and-let-live unless provoked.

I am an atheist. I couldn't find any atheist organization in the area. I guess my question is would I be physically safe in such an area?

If you are truly worried about being "physically safe" because of being an atheist, then you definitely are ignorant of the area. In all of this research you've been doing, how many articles have you found where someone was attacked for being atheist? ..... That's what I thought.

Rural and mountain people everywhere (not just NC) are more politically conservative, more religious, and are more anti-government than in cities. But no, you are not going to be physically in danger by a hoard of Eric Rudolph T-shirt-wearing people who left their McMansions that morning to attack you because they heard you were an atheist However, if that's the stereotype you have of Western NC, I can't imagine why you'd be looking to move there, especially before coming to visit and see for yourself.

You don't say where you are located now, but I'm guessing it's somewhere up north where they tend to think everyone in the South is a banjo-strumming, Bible-thumping, toothless hick who will physically attack you if you don't wear a cross on your neck at all times?

[wsobchak]

You don't say where you are located now, but I'm guessing it's somewhere up north where they tend to think everyone in the South is a banjo-strumming, Bible-thumping, toothless hick who will physically attack you if you don't wear a cross on your neck at all times?

Wow. That a gratuitous, defensive assumption about me.

One thing I've noticed on the Carolina boards is the anti-Northern/anti-Southern thing. When you paint a whole segment of society as having certain attributes, you are not only being unfair, you are going to be wrong.

On the other hand, the most extreme of cultists often band together in certain areas. Northern Idaho is breathtakingly beautiful, but you might feel threatened if your neighbors were members of the White Christian Identity movement.

At my age, I am mostly toothless. That doesn't make me a hick. Spending 50K for dental implants would make me a hick.

When I think of banjos, I don't think of "Deliverance" (written by a Southerner, James Dickey). I think of bluegrass music. Only a hick wouldn't like bluegrass.

I am originally from Boston (there, that proves it). I moved to Seattle for 1.5 years (further proof). When I told people in Seattle I was moving to NC, I had several people with looks of true concern in their faces say "What about the SOUTHERNERS?!?" My response was that I felt people are basically the same everywhere.

I've lived in Charlotte for four arduous years. The hicks I have met have been mostly from northern NJ. That doesn't mean everyone or even the majority of people from NJ are hicks.

By your questions, I am presuming you've never even visited the area yet that you are considering moving to? I can't quite comprehend that. The best (only) way to know whether an area is right for you is to visit it. Then you'll see for yourself how much the growth has destroyed nature's beauty, or how much of it is McMansions, etc. If you have your eye on a couple of specific houses, you can see for yourself what the neighborhoods around those are like. None of us can answer that for you since we don't know exact neighborhoods you're thinking about.

I'm not looking for neighborhoods. Through the magic of Google maps, I can tell you what downtown Murphy looks like (pretty cosmopolitan for a small town). I can tell you what the land around the houses I am looking at is like, and how densified it is.

But you are correct - I need to physically take trip out there.

That was a decade or so ago, wasn't it? Those same folks are probably wearing "Tea Party" T-shirts now. I guarantee you that you will not land in an entire community of people who annually celebrate "Eric Rudolph Day" (which is practically the way you seem to be thinking). Folks in the mountains do tend to be less trustful of "The Man" than folks in other places, but the ones who wore Rudolph T-shirts were a tiny minority. The two things you've mentioned--McMansions and crazy-eyed anti-government folks--are in opposition to each other, actually. Again, visit and see for yourself what the people are like as opposed to letting your mind go wild over a few things you read on the Internet.

I don't remember mentioning "anti-government folks". I am a leftist and an atheist, and you will not find a more "anti-government" person than me. This is an issue that has been co-opted by "conservatives". Their hero Reagan tripled the debt, and stole several trillion from the SS slush fund (he publicly stated that he wanted to destroy SS). Bush then tripled the debt again, and let Wall Street destroy the world economy while reducing a once-proud people to a nation of stumble-bums and drifters. I have become one of the drifters (not to mention a stumble-bum). That's one reason I am looking at western NC. I am 57, and have no IRA, 401K, or pension (or McMansion, or SUV, or giant TV).

Again, visit and see for yourself what the people are like as opposed to letting your mind go wild over a few things you read on the Internet.

I consider myself a pretty sophisticated internet user. And sometimes the most telling or disturbing things are not readily apparent.

So Eric Rudolph hangs out near Murphy, and may even have had a few sympathizers. That doesn't bother me. That several stores were selling - and people buying - pro-Rudolph coffee mugs and T-Shirts.... yes, I find that very disturbing.

I looked at the local paper. The lead editorial was about the need for children to attend Sunday school. The "Religion" page had 51 ads/info for Churches - all Christian. That didn't bother me. But at the bottom of the page was a graphic that said "Jesus". That bothered me. That was the local newspaper's doing.

On the other hand, they picked up and ran a syndicated story regarding the importance of the 1st Amendment, and how it should be followed.

There is a local "social network" page. I was heartened to see only a few religious references. But then I saw pictures of a new-born baby with a caption "Love, God". If someone really believes babies come from their god, maybe they think they can run red lights because their god will protect them.

But there are also local groups into Cherokee history, preserving Appalachian history, and a folk arts school.

Yes, mountains and rural areas are more religious than cities--is this not the case where you are from, as well? But they are also generally live-and-let-live unless provoked.

I'm from MA.

There are large sections of this country where religion is not an issue because people keep their beliefs to themselves. It's not that they are less religious - but they are decidedly less evangelical. That's real "live and let live".

As for provocation, their has been little of it in my life, and it was always initiated against me by evangelicals. I don't announce that fact that I am an atheist, but will not suffer proselytizing without responding negatively.

I have been an atheist for 40 years. There is probably only a couple of dozen people in that 40 years who know I am an atheist, mostly recently in Charlotte. As I said, it isn't even an issue where I'm from. The Christians I have known have been mostly "normal" people.

I am secure in my beliefs. But I'm not trying to convert anyone. People are responsible for their own beliefs. I don't walk down the street wearing a T-Shirt that reads "I am an atheist, and if you aren't you are an idiot". Theistic debates (yes, I've had them) bore and annoy me.

If you are truly worried about being "physically safe" because of being an atheist, then you definitely are ignorant of the area. In all of this research you've been doing, how many articles have you found where someone was attacked for being atheist? ..... That's what I thought.

Rural and mountain people everywhere (not just NC) are more politically conservative, more religious, and are more anti-government than in cities. But no, you are not going to be physically in danger by a hoard of Eric Rudolph T-shirt-wearing people who left their McMansions that morning to attack you because they heard you were an atheist

Good stuff. That's want I want/need to hear.

The McMansions are a separate issue. They represent enviromental destruction, the rising of house "values" so that housing is now out of reach of many, and the cultural destruction of our county due to their odd architectural "aesthetics". Not to mention that the first thing builders do is to defoliate everything in sight. Cheaper that way. Let's you maximize the available land.

I read a lot of banter about the locals being closed to outsiders. It was clear to me that that the opposition was to people who would destroy the local culture.

I want to fit in. I don't want to live in a further-west version of Charlotte.

However, if that's the stereotype you have of Western NC, I can't imagine why you'd be looking to move there, especially before coming to visit and see for yourself.

If I started with those stereotypes, I never would have looked to begin with. It was more like I found an ever-increasing level of religiosity during my searches.

Some 50% of the people in Murphy claim to be "Evangelicals". Those are the people I want nothing to do with. And I re-assert that the worst of them could be dangerous.

It would be nice to have friends. But, as another poster said, it's not a requirement. An affordable A-Frame out in the woods is a requirement.

[mwh236]

Only a hick wouldn't like bluegrass.

Well, Wsobchak, I do not consider myself a hick but do not particularly care for blue grass. I like easy listening music and don't care for "twangy" country, although I do like some country music. I do have a "possum" t-shirt from the annual a possum from in Brasstown !! **sigh** Perhaps I have morphed into a partial hick since moving here in 1996. Yes, the local paper is definitely "right wing Republican Christian" leaning but I have found some very open-minded people here. My mother was from Germany and when she visited here (my Dad was born here) the locals thought she was from outer space but they loved her nevertheless. The real estate boom here went "bust" and it was a relief as far as I am concerned. Things are semi back-to-normal and growth is now regulated a bit more. Eric Rudolph was practically in my back yard but I didn't leave food out for him

Since I moved here I was discovered that there are some quite brilliant folks in this area. I work for the Regional Council of Governments which encompasses the 7 westernmost counties. I visit them all on a fairly regular basis and am rather content with the fact that we moved to Murphy rather than elsewhere. There are some enlightened folks here and the Jesus thing rarely comes up in normal conversation. When it does, I usually tell them I think religion is a personal matter and they leave me alone. Some of the county's oddest folks are my relatives but I don't mention that in public, LOL.