HELP! What Area Is Best? (Winston-Salem, Asheville: home, neighborhoods, university)

[juliette]

What area or areas tend to get the most snow annually but are not in the Mtns and rural? I would like to be in some elevation to beat the heat and cool some at night in Summer. I really like snow and all 4 seasons (except sweltering heat ) but don't want to be isolated and prefer neighbors and a community, town, etc...

Thanks for any advice and Happy New Year

[poppydog]

Just throwing another idea out there — have you thought of Roanoke VA? It's only 2 hrs from Winston-Salem and is in the mountains of VA, but has less of a tourist economy than cities in the NC mountains. Might be worth checking out.

[Sam Chelsea]

You won't find much relief from summer heat until you get above 3,500 feet or so, nor will you many areas outside the mountains that get predictable, quality snowfalls. Boone is probably your best bet in NC.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by juliette

What area or areas tend to get the most snow annually but are not in the Mtns and rural? I would like to be in some elevation to beat the heat and cool some at night in Summer. I really like snow and all 4 seasons (except sweltering heat ) but don't want to be isolated and prefer neighbors and a community, town, etc...

There really isn't such a place. Boone-Blowing Rock regularly gets snow but they're small towns populated primarily by students/faculty at Appalachian State University, retirees and second home residents. You not likely to really find that "community feel" there. Asheville is going to be your best bet and will fulfill all of the other criteria and sometimes the bonus of snowfall in your own yard versus a few to several miles away. For some nice areas with neighbors and community feel check out South Ashevile from Biltmore Forest south alng the US25/Hendersonville Rd corridor down to Skyland. Also check out North Asheville in the neighborhoods surrounding the Grove Park Inn or the Montford neighborhood NW of downtown and east of I-26 or the west side neighborhoods like Malvern or West Asheville Estates off of Patton Avenue.

[SGMI]

Mount Airy and Wilkesboro are probably the last "small cities / big towns" that are in the piedmont (not mountains) with slightly cooler summers than the rest of the state. It'll still be muggy in late summer, but just for a few months. That's about the best you can do in N.C. unless you're willing to live in the mountains.

There really may not be a good fit for all of the OP's criteria in N.C. - unless willing to budge a bit on one of them.

The summers will be a little more balanced with the winters (regular snowfalls but not extreme Nor'easters) as you examine central Virginia. Maybe Roanoke or Blacksburg are possibilities - cities in the foothills of Virginia.

To be honest, humidity is just about everywhere on the east coast in the summer... Even in New England... That's why it's green here. But it feels less inhibiting when the climate is cooler.