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My husband and I both grew up in the Rochester, NY area and complain every single winter about hating the snow and cold-- or at least that it lasts about 9 months. We are ready for a move south but are not sure where. We still have family here in Rochester so being on the west coast is out of the question.
We love the outdoors, LOVE live music, and generally any adventure that gets us out of the house. Kids are grown so the schools don't matter. Though I know there are no places on the east coast that are dry, I still would like to find someplace at least less humid due to having horrible asthma. A little snow every now and then is okay.
I am an RN and looking to work in private duty home care, my husband a financial advisor. He will likely stay with his company and try to transfer. I will need to find a home care agency to work through-so any suggestions there would be helpful. (Best paying agencies, best to work for, etc.)
We realize with larger cities that offer more to do come higher crime rates, but also coming from Rochester, NY most places have less violent crime then here! Also...I would love a contemporary/modern mid-century home but don't see too many in the south in general. Not sure if I am not looking in the right places or if they just don't really exist.
I would love to be near water, just not in the hot spots for hurricanes.
The cost of living in upstate--well horrible taxes on property to start with. Then add higher costs in general. We would love to find an area that is more affordable. We also like a diverse population-love to learn about other cultures.
.......Also...I would love a contemporary/modern mid-century home but don't see too many in the south in general........
I would love to be near water, just not in the hot spots for hurricanes.
.......
To avoid hurricanes, you should discount anything east of I-95-- basically the whole of Eastern North Carolina.
The Durham area has numerous contemporary and mid-century modern homes. Look into Falls Lake for water. Following is the best mid-century modern I could find. Of course, it is expensive, but there are many more 60's ranches on large lots in Durham. https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-15583?view=qv Durham would be a good location for a financial advisor, as well as aa good location for an RN to work as there great health-care facilities.
The Charlotte area has the huge Lake Norman for water. There would be a fair amount of contemporary homes among the custom built homes. (Tract builders favor the neo-Craftsman look.)
The mountain areas (like Boone) might be best suited for someone seeking lower humidity. Numerous lakes, and at higher altitudes you get a bit lower humidity in the summer. The trade-off is colder winters. The rustic contemporary look is popular as well as Craftsman.
Last edited by goldenage1; 04-29-2020 at 06:07 PM..
My husband and I both grew up in the Rochester, NY area and complain every single winter about hating the snow and cold-- or at least that it lasts about 9 months. We are ready for a move south but are not sure where. We still have family here in Rochester so being on the west coast is out of the question.
We love the outdoors, LOVE live music, and generally any adventure that gets us out of the house. Kids are grown so the schools don't matter. Though I know there are no places on the east coast that are dry, I still would like to find someplace at least less humid due to having horrible asthma. A little snow every now and then is okay.
I am an RN and looking to work in private duty home care, my husband a financial advisor. He will likely stay with his company and try to transfer. I will need to find a home care agency to work through-so any suggestions there would be helpful. (Best paying agencies, best to work for, etc.)
We realize with larger cities that offer more to do come higher crime rates, but also coming from Rochester, NY most places have less violent crime then here! Also...I would love a contemporary/modern mid-century home but don't see too many in the south in general. Not sure if I am not looking in the right places or if they just don't really exist.
I would love to be near water, just not in the hot spots for hurricanes.
The cost of living in upstate--well horrible taxes on property to start with. Then add higher costs in general. We would love to find an area that is more affordable. We also like a diverse population-love to learn about other cultures.
So....thoughts? Suggestions?
Greensboro and Winston-Salem would definitely be worth a look if your adventures will include lots of day trips. Both cities are within reasonable driving distance to pretty much everywhere in NC, and offer many of the same amenities as Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte. Both you and your husband should be able to find jobs in your fields in any of the major cities, but Charlotte will definitely have the most opportunities for finance.
Regarding asthma, you should probably avoid living near a lake or river, as there are early morning fogs from them in cooler weather. Regarding higher altitudes, the amount of humidity in the air may be the same, but the lower temperatures make it feel less oppressive. Fortunately, almost every building is air-conditioned and that removes humidity.
If you have allergies, you should be aware that there are heavy pollen deposits in the spring from pine and oaks. Also grass pollen in the summer. When I moved here, I developed allergies that I did not have before.
People usually recommend visiting in August to see if you can deal with the humidity. Good luck in your search.
I never had allergies or asthma in the upper Midwest but developed both in se NC, so think carefully about the trade-offs. I feel sort-of sick most of the time and that’s with medicine, inhalers, and allergy shots. The summer heat index is stifling. And the hurricanes are getting worse.
Personally I would live in the mountains if I could-less mold and humidity.
We realize with larger cities that offer more to do come higher crime rates, but also coming from Rochester, NY most places have less violent crime then here! Also...I would love a contemporary/modern mid-century home but don't see too many in the south in general. Not sure if I am not looking in the right places or if they just don't really exist.
So....thoughts? Suggestions?
Oh-oh. My fav topic. You are in trouble, cause I am going to overwhelm you with information.
You are looking in the wrong places. Modernist houses are mostly in Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill areas. In fact, North Carolina is top place for modernist and mid-century homes. I remember reading in some architecture website or magazine that Triangle is like #3 after LA and Chicago (can't remember exactly, but I think that was the order). That's all because of the NC State Architecture school. In 1950s, they were able to recruit some hot-shot architect to lead the school which in turn attracted all these modernist architects who stayed and created some amazing modernist houses in the area.
I love modernist homes myself and Durham has lot of them. I personally bought a mid-mod ranch with a true flat-pitch roof last year, and love it! It's in a cute neighborhood with a bunch of mid-mods. But, the neighborhood that's next to mine, has more of those and really really stunning ones. The ones that were custom built by architects.
First, check out this website that curates all the modernist homes in this state: http://www.ncmodernist.org/. The homeowners submit their homes to this site... check out the "for sale" section. Again, it's not all that's available now. It's just the ones submitted by the people selling their homes.
Here are some recently sold homes. The top three are from the neighborhood next to mine. It's Duke Forest and every other house is pretty much a mid-mod there:
This one basically sat on market for a LOOOONG time. Finally sold recently. It looked like a cool house. So much natural light but not the safest location/schools though. I think that's the main reason for it to be on market that long. https://www.redfin.com/NC/Durham/221.../home/43524001
Chapel Hill has some stunning ones too. We looked at a couple there but ultimately we wanted to live in Durham so we didn't consider anything seriously there.
Durham has some AMAZING modernist commercial/government buildings as well for being such a small town. You should just come down and check the whole place out. Durham transportation station, the new main library, even the freaking Durham jail is pretty cool. For a long time I thought it was some kind of art center but someone told it was the jail.
Last edited by HatchChile; 04-30-2020 at 10:19 AM..
Reason: grammar & spelling
We retired to NJ, on the border of Monmouth and Ocean counties, about 50 miles south of NYC and 10 miles west of Sea Gate Beach. Lots of amenities in the area, reasonably priced houses, a 20 minute drive to the shore, about an hour and 15 minutes from NYC. With central a/c and heat, the seasons are not that extreme. It's milder here in the winter than in NYC. If you want a perfect climate, move to San Diego.
Moving south and not liking humidity - not a good combination.
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Durham transportation station, the new main library, even the freaking Durham jail is pretty cool. For a long time I thought it was some kind of art center but someone told it was the jail. 
