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My husband and I are thinking of moving to N.C.. We have four kids so it needs to be very safe. We need a good school and many activities. Our kids are in every sport in school and out. We would prefer a small town outside of a bigger city. We like the small town friendly living , but we want to be able to do things in a city without too long of a drive. We want the mountain scenery. Oh and is there anywhere that gets snow regularly in the winter? We like to have the 4 seasons. We are coming from Nebraska. We are looking in a couple states so all info is good
What do you consider a bigger city? You may want to look at cities outside of Hickory.
NC is a big state with many safe, small towns that fit your description. How much do you want to spend on a house? Do you have any idea where you might be working? We have three regions (http://www.visitnc.com/about_our_regions.asp - broken link) It sounds like you would be happy in the mountains or western piedmont. Our mountains are part of the Appalachian chain. There are small mountains as well such as Crowders Mountain (http://www.crowdersmountain.com/v1/default.asp - broken link) in Gaston county (west of Charlotte) Pilot Mountain (http://ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/pimo/home.html - broken link) (west of Winston-Salem)
The size of the city isnt the main thing, its more about what there is to do. We like camping, hiking, rock climbing and all that outdoor stuff. Also My kids do dance, gymnastics, hockey, figure skating. We want a place we there is communitie activities also. We like going to concerts, fairs, rodeo, sporting events and anything like that. The school has to be good academically and have all the sports offered in school for little kids through high school. I want to feel safe for the kids to ride their bikes to the park and play or go to the town pool and be safe. I have 2 older kids and 2 little kids.
The size of the city isnt the main thing, its more about what there is to do. We like camping, hiking, rock climbing and all that outdoor stuff. Also My kids do dance, gymnastics, hockey, figure skating. We want a place we there is communitie activities also. We like going to concerts, fairs, rodeo, sporting events and anything like that. The school has to be good academically and have all the sports offered in school for little kids through high school. I want to feel safe for the kids to ride their bikes to the park and play or go to the town pool and be safe. I have 2 older kids and 2 little kids.
Honestly you can find that in almost every part of the state. You may want to take a look at each metro area. Charlotte, The Triad and The Triangle. There are some great towns in each area.
The only thing you may have trouble finding is the school sports but there are a lot of youth leagues here. As for hurricanes, we haven't had a direct hit in years (knock on wood) but you probably want to avoid the coastal region. In past the mountains and piedmont's greatest damage came from flooding. We can get remnants (rain) from gulf coast and Atlantic hurricanes. However major damage hasn't happened in years.
The two things I recommend is
1. Try to figure out where your job(s) will be.
2. Decide how much money you want to spend on a home.
apej3 - I'd like to throw my 2 cents in...My hubby and I, along with our 8 year old son and 4 year old daughter just transferred (work related) from NE Florida to Hendersonville, NC. Hendersonville, in our eyes, is just about as close to perfect as you can get...like I said, in our eyes. Everyone is looking for something different, but I do recommend you checking out our area. Asheville is 30 minutes from here, and Charlotte is 2 hours. Hendersonville has a "small town" feel with a fantastic downtown area, but is still large enough to support a healthy business district. Every weekend and school vacation day, we've been busy with some outdoors activity or another. Chimney Rock, Jump Off Rock, Mt. Mitchell, not to mention one of the many WONDERFUL parks here in town....and we've only been here about 6 weeks! We still have a long list of places we'd like to visit including, Grandfather Mountain, Pisgah Forest, Dupont State Park, etc...
I can't be a voice for the Rec. Dept yet...we've just signed up for spring soccer, but I'm sure with a little research, your winter sports can be found close.
Thank you I will definatly check it out. And I am still wondering if any one knows if you get snow in the winter on a regular basis. We do like our white christmas and or course sledding.
apej6 - It snows in the higher elevations of mountains. It can snow in the piedmont but we are more likely to get ice during winter storms. Based on what you've said I still recommend you check out towns in the mountain and western piedmont/foothills (like Hendersonville as a2zmom suggested).
Average winter snowfall over the State ranges from about inch per year on the outer banks and along the lower coast to about 10 inches in the northern Piedmont and 16 inches in the southern Mountains. Some of the higher mountain peaks and upper slopes receive an average of nearly 50 inches a year.
Is it really humid? Nebraska humidity is awful. And is NC buggy? If so what kind of bugs? misquitos are bad here.
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You may want to take a look at each metro area. Charlotte, The Triad and The Triangle. There are some great towns in each area. 
