Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife and I are in our mid 40ies and our kids are in college. I have a technology job that allows me to work mostly from home and my wife is a hair stylist. After living in Maryland most of our lives, we decided to move to Florida for nice weather. Well, here we are with beaches and warm weather year around, which most people would love. However, I miss the rolling hills and canopies of trees and literally green pastures. Basically, I miss the mountains, but my wife loves Florida for the warm weather and beaches. It turns out that she is willing to move north, just to make me happy. What more could I ask for after 25 years of marriage? ...she is great! So, we both decided that we don't want to live back in Maryland and that North Carolina might have what we both want. It's a halfway point between Florida and Maryland. She can take off for Florida durning the winter months and be there in 8 hours. I can join her from time to time, while during the summer months in NC we can enjoy local beaches and mountains. So, we have our eyes on Charlotte or Raleigh areas, but I just don't know which one is best. We love local cafe's, wine bars, good restaurants, entertainment, hiking, biking and a safe, friendly, active community to live in...$350k range...or less. If I happen to lose my job in IT, I would need to find another job local. My wife will also work as a hairstylist local. Thoughts? Advice? If you were in our shoes, where would you want to live in NC?
What you're learning is that there is no one perfect place.
Even the central coast of California has a few months each year of less than perfection.
What can you do?
What we can do is decide where and how to make the best compromise to suit our taste... and which will also suit our budget.
In your case, I'd suggest toning down the home budget. And quite a bit.
Rather than one $350,000 property in one place I'll suggest you look for a $100-150,000 property in two places. As for where in NC to pick for one of those places... I'd lean toward higher elevations than Charlotte or Raleigh (where you mentioned) to enjoy the summery months better.
Technically SOUTH Carolina is more "halfway from MD to FL", but I guess that depends on what part of FL!
If you really want mountains or at least foothills, yes, look west of Charlotte. The Greenville/Spartanburg metro of SC is said to be "the next big growth area" especially for tech, and it's close to mountains and not so far from the beach. Whether NC or SC, I think just west of the Charlotte metro would be a good place to do a scouting trip.
Technically SOUTH Carolina is more "halfway from MD to FL", but I guess that depends on what part of FL!
If you really want mountains or at least foothills, yes, look west of Charlotte. The Greenville/Spartanburg metro of SC is said to be "the next big growth area" especially for tech, and it's close to mountains and not so far from the beach. Whether NC or SC, I think just west of the Charlotte metro would be a good place to do a scouting trip.
That would probably be the ideal place for the OP to look.
All, thank you very much for your input and advice. We are still struggling with where to live, but it looks like Raleigh might be a better choice for us since my company also has an office there. However, zthatzmanz28, you have sparked our interest in the places you mentioned - Greenville/Spartanburg. We will check those area's out and see what turns up. MrRational, my wife loves your screen name and likes your way of thinking. Two thumbs up for you! However, can we really find a nice home, ready to move in condition and in a safe, active, friendly neighborhood for $150k? If so, NC is more affordable than I thought.
All, thank you very much for your input and advice. We are still struggling with where to live, but it looks like Raleigh might be a better choice for us since my company also has an office there. However, zthatzmanz28, you have sparked our interest in the places you mentioned - Greenville/Spartanburg. We will check those area's out and see what turns up. MrRational, my wife loves your screen name and likes your way of thinking. Two thumbs up for you! However, can we really find a nice home, ready to move in condition and in a safe, active, friendly neighborhood for $150k? If so, NC is more affordable than I thought.
$150 K is at the low end of "safe, active, friendly neighborhoods" at least in Raleigh. Smaller towns, more so. The affordability of NC varies greatly from area to area, but the cities like Raleigh and Charlotte, plus Chapel Hill, are the more expensive and $150 doesn't go as far here (Raleigh). Supply and demand, and all that.
However, can we really find a nice home, ready to move in condition and in a safe, active, friendly neighborhood for $150k? If so, NC is more affordable than I thought.
I can't speak for Raleigh but in Winston a $150K budget might be high.
Even including the catch up maintenance work I'm doing I have a long way to go before I'll get anywhere near $150K.
Good luck.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
