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Hi all,
New to the forum, been reading posts on North Carolina. Needless to say, I'm intrigued. I'm looking for some advice to see if this is an area my family might want to relocate to. I'm a certified Cat heavy equipment technician and your dealerships seem to be hiring. We currently reside in the Central Valley of CA. I'm looking to see if small farms with older farm houses are really as affordable as real estate websites seem to portray them.
A little background. I was raised in the mountains outside our town on a ranch and due to family issues, that's a legacy I will not be able to involve my children in. My father actually worked as a full time cowboy for many years. I want my kids to be raised similar to how I was raised, learning the value of hard work and how to take care of animals and how valuable simple living can be. Land in California is almost completely un reachable to the common man. I've seen our ranches split up and sold off in 40 and 80 acre parcels as weekend homes for the wealthy. I bought my first house, and had to buy in the central area of our city, and I'm realizing that's not where I want to stay.
A 45 minute commute for work is not an issue for me. I see a lot of other Californians post on here and want all the arts and cultural activities they had in their major metro areas. I want country life, not Art galleries and music festivals! Is North Carolina a place that can fit my needs with affordable land and simple life?
Any conversation on this topic would be appreciated!
Hi all,
New to the forum, been reading posts on North Carolina. Needless to say, I'm intrigued. I'm looking for some advice to see if this is an area my family might want to relocate to. I'm a certified Cat heavy equipment technician and your dealerships seem to be hiring. We currently reside in the Central Valley of CA. I'm looking to see if small farms with older farm houses are really as affordable as real estate websites seem to portray them.
A little background. I was raised in the mountains outside our town on a ranch and due to family issues, that's a legacy I will not be able to involve my children in. My father actually worked as a full time cowboy for many years. I want my kids to be raised similar to how I was raised, learning the value of hard work and how to take care of animals and how valuable simple living can be. Land in California is almost completely un reachable to the common man. I've seen our ranches split up and sold off in 40 and 80 acre parcels as weekend homes for the wealthy. I bought my first house, and had to buy in the central area of our city, and I'm realizing that's not where I want to stay.
A 45 minute commute for work is not an issue for me. I see a lot of other Californians post on here and want all the arts and cultural activities they had in their major metro areas. I want country life, not Art galleries and music festivals! Is North Carolina a place that can fit my needs with affordable land and simple life?
Any conversation on this topic would be appreciated!
We bought a farm in northern Granville County about 45 minutes north of Durham with 30 acres ( half open pasture, half old growth timber), a circa 1920 fully restored farmhouse (2000 square feet), barns etc. for $171,000. We are from Connecticut originally but NC is our home now for about 25 years. The hot sauce, pork and collard festivals are what happen up here...or, you can spend time on one of lakes...or, not. Let me know if you need any more info -- check Person County too...
That is awesome! Sounds like you guys found a little slice of heaven! That same property would cost three quarters of a million here. Definitely getting the juices flowing!
That is awesome! Sounds like you guys found a little slice of heaven! That same property would cost three quarters of a million here. Definitely getting the juices flowing!
I don't know true this is today, but in the 1980s there were debates popping up in various counties whether they "needed zoning" as the population of the state grew. I assume there are still some remaining where you can build without much inspection... (maybe these don't have well funded school systems or services either, but you may not be interested in that)
...been reading posts on North Carolina. Needless to say, I'm intrigued.
We currently reside in the Central Valley of CA.
Is North Carolina a place that can fit my needs with affordable land and simple life?
Compared to CA prices (even SJ Valley vs the coast)... you'll be very happy.
However... the flip side is that even skilled wage rates aren't as good.
Quote:
I want country life, not Art galleries and music festivals!
I don't know true this is today, but in the 1980s there were debates popping up in various counties whether they "needed zoning" as the population of the state grew. I assume there are still some remaining where you can build without much inspection... (maybe these don't have well funded school systems or services either, but you may not be interested in that)
Lack of zoning is not the same as no inspections. There plenty of counties where the non-municipal areas are not zoned, but all new construction, renovations, etc. are still subject to a inspection & building permit process. That's under state laws, though carried out by municipal or county government.
I guess a good question is that is there a lack of qualified skilled laborers right now? I know they are hard to come by out here, hopefully employers are having the same issue in NC.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone, hope to get even more insights on here.
If you don't mind a little commute, your options can be endless in NC....usually if you just go a county or two outside of any of the best places to live you can find an affordable farm.
That being said, the schools in those areas typically leave something to be desired. The best county schools I can think of that would offer affordable farms are Union County (near Charlotte), Chowan County and Camden County (Northeastern), Franklin County (Raleigh area), and Pender County (Topsail area) (Wilmington). In Greenville you can just stay in Pitt Co between Greenville and Vanceboro.
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