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Old 11-04-2011, 08:32 AM
 
16 posts, read 44,132 times
Reputation: 11

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Hello all! I have posted here multiple times, but I have yet to make the move. It's been a few years since I decided upon moving to a new town, but I haven't found the town.

I currently live in suburban NY, but I want a change of pace. My suburb is lovely enough (albeit a bit snobbish and very boring), but the surrounding town has a rising rate of crime and this one of the many reasons my family and I want out.

From a town, we'd like (all of high importance):

-Mild weather (traditional autumn weather is our favorite and rainy days are great as long as they're not too rainy). We're used to snow, but we'd prefer minimal encounters with it upon moving. Summers shouldn't be too hot, but they should be warm.
-A very low rate of crime.
-To live near a beach or large body of water.
-To have a small-town vibe with big-city amenities like various restaurants, shopping complexes, and movie theaters. I would love a town where everyone knows everyone and it's safe to leave your doors unlocked. I do NOT want to live in a major city, but we don't want complete seclusion.
-A high demand for nurses, preferably in a EM setting. In the same vein, I would like to live within 15-20 minutes of a large medical center.
-A great K-12 school system, either private or public, but preferably secular.

I have family in Charlotte and I wanted to live as close to them as possible but still while living near the Triangle and within driving distance of a beach. After much research, I think that Pinehurst/Southern Pines/Whispering Pines/Aberdeen fits the bill. I plan on making a weekend trip there soon (before the snow here gets ridiculous!), so that will be the deciding factor, but in the meantime, I would like to get some opinions about that area.

-Which of the four communities would you recommend? I was leaning toward Southern Pines, but I prefer the crime rate of Pinehurst.
-Is there a lot to do there? Where I'm from, we only have a few festivals per year and a movie theater. We do have cool museums though, which is the one thing I'll miss. Are there any museums/art galleries?
-In Southern Pines, the downtown area looks charmingly quaint. Is it that nice in person?
-Are the towns family-friendly? I want to ensure my son will have plenty of activities to partake in.
-Are they pet-friendly? Are there good veterinarians in the area?
-Is the COL reasonable? I have $250k to spend on a duplex/multi-family or a single-family with an in-law apartment.

Thanks so much!
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Old 11-04-2011, 09:52 AM
 
Location: Salisbury,NC
16,756 posts, read 8,125,823 times
Reputation: 8522
Great areas all. Ihave spent time working in those areas and found the people very friendly. The downtown of Southern pines is great to visit and shop.
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Old 11-04-2011, 10:10 AM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,621 posts, read 36,563,865 times
Reputation: 19830
We moved here from NY too (Long Island)...if you are looking for "warm" not "hot" summers and that is of high importance to you, I would say do not move south. It gets hot,hot,hot here. I don't mind the heat and will take the long hot summer over another northeast winter anytime. But we visited NY last summer over 4th of July. It was 88 degrees and people were wilting in the heat and we considered 88 degrees a refreshing change - didn't even ask the in-laws to put on the AC. Just something to keep in mind.
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Old 11-04-2011, 10:15 AM
PDD
 
Location: The Sand Hills of NC
8,773 posts, read 18,311,987 times
Reputation: 12001
Quote:
Originally Posted by KoutureKitten View Post
Hello all! I have posted here multiple times, but I have yet to make the move. It's been a few years since I decided upon moving to a new town, but I haven't found the town.

I currently live in suburban NY, but I want a change of pace. My suburb is lovely enough (albeit a bit snobbish and very boring), but the surrounding town has a rising rate of crime and this one of the many reasons my family and I want out.

From a town, we'd like (all of high importance):

-Mild weather (traditional autumn weather is our favorite and rainy days are great as long as they're not too rainy). We're used to snow, but we'd prefer minimal encounters with it upon moving. Summers shouldn't be too hot, but they should be warm.
-A very low rate of crime.
-To live near a beach or large body of water.
-To have a small-town vibe with big-city amenities like various restaurants, shopping complexes, and movie theaters. I would love a town where everyone knows everyone and it's safe to leave your doors unlocked. I do NOT want to live in a major city, but we don't want complete seclusion.
-A high demand for nurses, preferably in a EM setting. In the same vein, I would like to live within 15-20 minutes of a large medical center.
-A great K-12 school system, either private or public, but preferably secular.

I have family in Charlotte and I wanted to live as close to them as possible but still while living near the Triangle and within driving distance of a beach. After much research, I think that Pinehurst/Southern Pines/Whispering Pines/Aberdeen fits the bill. I plan on making a weekend trip there soon (before the snow here gets ridiculous!), so that will be the deciding factor, but in the meantime, I would like to get some opinions about that area.

-Which of the four communities would you recommend? I was leaning toward Southern Pines, but I prefer the crime rate of Pinehurst.
-Is there a lot to do there? Where I'm from, we only have a few festivals per year and a movie theater. We do have cool museums though, which is the one thing I'll miss. Are there any museums/art galleries?
-In Southern Pines, the downtown area looks charmingly quaint. Is it that nice in person?
-Are the towns family-friendly? I want to ensure my son will have plenty of activities to partake in.
-Are they pet-friendly? Are there good veterinarians in the area?
-Is the COL reasonable? I have $250k to spend on a duplex/multi-family or a single-family with an in-law apartment.

Thanks so much!
You can have everything you want on your list except for one.
It is HOT, HOT, HOT from June to Sept.
We live just outside Pinehurst in Jackson Springs but do all our shopping, movie going and eating out in SP or Pinehurst.
Coming for suburban NY there is definitely not as much to do here as where you now live.

The biggest savings here compared to NYC area are property taxes and real estate prices.

One thing you might not know about you can take the Amtrak from NYC/Newark right to Southern Pines (takes about 12 hrs.)
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Old 11-04-2011, 10:53 AM
 
16 posts, read 44,132 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles View Post
We moved here from NY too (Long Island)...if you are looking for "warm" not "hot" summers and that is of high importance to you, I would say do not move south. It gets hot,hot,hot here. I don't mind the heat and will take the long hot summer over another northeast winter anytime. But we visited NY last summer over 4th of July. It was 88 degrees and people were wilting in the heat and we considered 88 degrees a refreshing change - didn't even ask the in-laws to put on the AC. Just something to keep in mind.
I would prefer a hot summer over a cold winter as well, I just don't want it to be so hot that it's intolerable.

On another note, would you say that you prefer NC to NY? I know they're hugely different, but I'm just wondering.
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Old 11-04-2011, 10:53 AM
 
Location: NC
9,984 posts, read 10,356,955 times
Reputation: 3086
Quote:
Originally Posted by KoutureKitten View Post
Hello all! I have posted here multiple times, but I have yet to make the move. It's been a few years since I decided upon moving to a new town, but I haven't found the town.

I currently live in suburban NY, but I want a change of pace. My suburb is lovely enough (albeit a bit snobbish and very boring), but the surrounding town has a rising rate of crime and this one of the many reasons my family and I want out.

From a town, we'd like (all of high importance):

-Mild weather (traditional autumn weather is our favorite and rainy days are great as long as they're not too rainy). We're used to snow, but we'd prefer minimal encounters with it upon moving. Summers shouldn't be too hot, but they should be warm.
-A very low rate of crime.
-To live near a beach or large body of water.
-To have a small-town vibe with big-city amenities like various restaurants, shopping complexes, and movie theaters. I would love a town where everyone knows everyone and it's safe to leave your doors unlocked. I do NOT want to live in a major city, but we don't want complete seclusion.
-A high demand for nurses, preferably in a EM setting. In the same vein, I would like to live within 15-20 minutes of a large medical center.
-A great K-12 school system, either private or public, but preferably secular.

I have family in Charlotte and I wanted to live as close to them as possible but still while living near the Triangle and within driving distance of a beach. After much research, I think that Pinehurst/Southern Pines/Whispering Pines/Aberdeen fits the bill. I plan on making a weekend trip there soon (before the snow here gets ridiculous!), so that will be the deciding factor, but in the meantime, I would like to get some opinions about that area.

-Which of the four communities would you recommend? I was leaning toward Southern Pines, but I prefer the crime rate of Pinehurst.
-Is there a lot to do there? Where I'm from, we only have a few festivals per year and a movie theater. We do have cool museums though, which is the one thing I'll miss. Are there any museums/art galleries?
-In Southern Pines, the downtown area looks charmingly quaint. Is it that nice in person?
-Are the towns family-friendly? I want to ensure my son will have plenty of activities to partake in.
-Are they pet-friendly? Are there good veterinarians in the area?
-Is the COL reasonable? I have $250k to spend on a duplex/multi-family or a single-family with an in-law apartment.

Thanks so much!
First off the not being too hot in the summer isn't going to happen anywhere in central North Carolina. On the other hand we have long and wonderful springs, and autumns with mild winters which make up for it.

As to Moore county generally the people seem friendly and the area is sort of like a mix of small town and golf village. I only visited the downtown of Southern Pines once, but it definitely was very charming. I am not sure about many of the other details since I only went there for work on occasion and did not live there.

Just out of curiosity what do you consider a reasonable commute? I commuted between the Triangle and Carthage and even with my crazy driving it took an hour and 1/2 to an hour and 15. As to going to the beach it depends which beach, but I would imagine it is anywhere from 3 hours and up.
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Old 11-04-2011, 11:01 AM
 
16 posts, read 44,132 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDD View Post
You can have everything you want on your list except for one.
It is HOT, HOT, HOT from June to Sept.
We live just outside Pinehurst in Jackson Springs but do all our shopping, movie going and eating out in SP or Pinehurst.
Coming for suburban NY there is definitely not as much to do here as where you now live.

The biggest savings here compared to NYC area are property taxes and real estate prices.

One thing you might not know about you can take the Amtrak from NYC/Newark right to Southern Pines (takes about 12 hrs.)
Well, I'm from Upstate NY. It's terribly boring here (like I said, our outings consist of a few festivals per year and going to the town's one movie theater), but I don't know if it's about equal to Pinehurst as far as things to do go. I don't mind hot weather as long as it's somewhat tolerable.

Would you say that there are a reasonable amount of things to do in Southern Pines? Which town is most family-friendly?

Thanks!
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Old 11-04-2011, 11:10 AM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,621 posts, read 36,563,865 times
Reputation: 19830
Quote:
Originally Posted by KoutureKitten View Post
On another note, would you say that you prefer NC to NY? I know they're hugely different, but I'm just wondering.
Yes.
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Old 11-04-2011, 01:14 PM
PDD
 
Location: The Sand Hills of NC
8,773 posts, read 18,311,987 times
Reputation: 12001
Quote:
Originally Posted by KoutureKitten View Post
Well, I'm from Upstate NY. It's terribly boring here (like I said, our outings consist of a few festivals per year and going to the town's one movie theater), but I don't know if it's about equal to Pinehurst as far as things to do go. I don't mind hot weather as long as it's somewhat tolerable.

Would you say that there are a reasonable amount of things to do in Southern Pines? Which town is most family-friendly?

Thanks!
When you said suburban NY I was not thinking upstate NY. In that case Southern Pines has lots to do compared to upstate NY.

The reason Pinehurst has a much lower crime rate than SP is because most of the shopping is done in SP and usually that is where most crime occurs.
Here is a link to the local newspaper The Pilot | The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC Perhaps you can gain some good info from it.
We like all the towns in and around Pinehurst.
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Old 11-04-2011, 02:45 PM
 
6,297 posts, read 16,052,652 times
Reputation: 4846
There are a lot of retirees in those areas. You may be happier in the Triangle area or even in Charlotte as far as finding fun things to do.

Also, it's not as easy to find duplexes/double houses in NC as it is in NY. The housing is generally much newer and met the needs of all the newcomers who moved down here in the past 20 years or so.

You may find it easier to find a raised ranch (called "split foyer" here) that has been divided into separate upstairs and downstairs living spaces. They were generally built in the sixties and seventies.

Good luck!
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