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If you want mountains, economically stable, laidback and lower crime yet with attractive amenities you really ought to look at the Asheville-Hendersonville-Brevard area in Western NC.
I live in Western North Carolina (in the foothills, not in the Asheville area), and other than tourism (i.e. The Biltmore Estate, etc.) and transplants retiring from the Northeast, in what way is the area economically stable? Just curious what your take is on this. My company is headquartered there, but I don't see a plethora of good paying jobs available vs. the cost to live there.
I'm from New Mexico. I agree. Crime sucks here, though people are nice (kind of a paradox). However, not all parts of Arizona are bad. Take a look at Prescott. The weather's great there with 4 distinct seasons. It's small, but has everything you need. Many people that move from east to southwest find the people and weather to be quite friendly... maybe because it's much slower here.
There's good points and bad points on New Mexico depending on your perspective. It's not all that much like Arizona. You can't get more laid back. Very family focused and friendly. There's only 2 million people in the state and miles of open space. Most of the population is in the Rio Grande valley: Albuquerque - Santa Fe metro has maybe 800,000 people. Crime gets a lot of attention but it is mostly property crime. It is very mixed in cultures. I would maybe expect a culture shock if you move from DC to a rural New Mexico town. Taos, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque, Las Cruces are probably a better match. We have four seasons with a short and mild winter, generally...a lot depends on elevation. Albuquerque is a mile high.
dog8food, that's interesting that the people are nice in spite of high crime. Do you think there are any areas of the state that are safer?
I just came across Hood River County in Oregon, which looks interesting because of the fruit growing. Eastern Oregon is also on the table. In the short term, I am likely moving to the Shenandoah area with my mom until I make a longer term move farther away.
I live in Western North Carolina (in the foothills, not in the Asheville area), and other than tourism (i.e. The Biltmore Estate, etc.) and transplants retiring from the Northeast, in what way is the area economically stable? Just curious what your take is on this. My company is headquartered there, but I don't see a plethora of good paying jobs available vs. the cost to live there.
I don't see a plethora either but given the population of the area it's definitely not dire and there are certainly jobs to be had. The area is also clearly not poverty-stricken beyond the retirees/transplants so I would call it economically stable versus many other areas where it's visibly not widespread.
I am trying to move out of the D.C. area...I am desperate to get away from the rat race and find a slower pace of life. I am looking particularly to live in the mountains, but don't want to be too way out there. However, I am having trouble finding a place that is a small city, not too rural, with a low crime rate! I have looked extensively in the South in Georgia, TN, Alabama, Florida, SC, and I have yet to find a town that doesn't have a high crime rate. All of the major cities in TN, GA, such as even Dahlonega, have a city data crime rate of 300 or higher. Too high for me.
The other thing, though, is that I am trying to find a cheap place to live. I want to get away from high priced, too high powered places.
I have been dreaming of moving to the west for a long time. However, the parts of Colorado such as Denver, Boulder, etc are too high powered for what I'm looking for and it seems the more rural places of Colorado are hurting for jobs, etc and have high crime. Same with Oregon. In terms of Washington State, the rain is a problem. Eastern WA seems to have a pretty high crime rate in general as well?
Idaho and MT seem a bit scary for the same reason.
New Mexico and Arizona are hard for me to figure out because most areas there have quite high crime rates.
The Midwest is a possibility, but for some reason I am drawn to the mountains.
I really am looking for a change of lifestyle..just don't want to be too remote.
Can someone suggest some places to live that are safe, with good economic stability, and possibly in the mountains? Thank you very much.
Have you looked into Macon County,North Carolina? Our county seat is Franklin and we love it here. The usual crime etc but its supposedly one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina but still has a slow paced lifestyle to it. Sylva is just over the mountain,Asheville is 60 miles away,Georgia is 15 miles to the south and South Carolina is about 25 miles away.
New Mexico crime is mostly property crime? Does this apply only to the Santa Fe area or other areas as well? Avoiding the violent crime is key. Would you say Santa Fe is safer than other parts of the state? How's the economy, with jobs etc?
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