Born in TX, Living in CT, looking in NC (Raleigh: for sale, condo)
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Yeah, I'd be a double transplant for ya'll, or as we say up in Connecticut "You guys".
Here's the deal... I was born in Houston TX, lived there about 15 years, moved to Connecticut with parents, got stuck here, been here about 14 years and looking to move down south again. Visited NC before, and I love the people. After living an hour outside of NYC, I was shocked not only to find a gas station clerk that spoke english, but one that was actually willing to give me directions to where I was going.
I like the cold weather and the snow, and I despise the heat and humidity of Houston. I know, NC has all of those things... but you guys, i mean ya'll, have 4 seasons at least and I can tolerate heat for 3 or 4 months... just not 8 or 9 I like living in "hill country" up here, but I also wouldn't mind living near some water either.
Fun facts about the Northeast:
* The CHEAPEST home for sale that isn't a condo in my area is upwards of 225k for an old, rundown 1000 sq ft. house
* Women will deliberately avoid letting you hold the door for them and go thru the other door
* If fat were gold, 55%+ of the population would be millionaires
* Did I mention everyone is rude?
* Traffic sucks
I have a lot of extended family living in Raleigh. I love my family, don't get me wrong. But I want to be a minimum of a 1 hour drive away from them. I was thinking about Greenville in the sorta eastern part, and I'm also sorta interested in the area west and southwest of R-D. My girlfriend wants to be near a somewhat larger area so she can find work, me personally, I work via the internet from home so as long as there is high speed internet, we are good.
Nutshell:
1 hour minimum AWAY from R-D
Pigmentally challenged, fluent english areas
Within 45 minutes of a 50-100k population area
Hills are nice, snow is good, trees are a MUST
Shopping malls a MUST, big factory outlet strip a huge bonus
Thanks ya'll. Oh, and one other thing - how much is 93 octane gas a gallon? We're pay $2.74 a gallon up here.
So far I have looked at Greenville and Boone, as well as Asheville. The one thing I really dislike is the Boone housing prices - it is still cheaper than here in Connecticut, but it seems to be one of the pricier areas for some reason.
Does anybody know why housing is so expensive in that area? And also, can someone suggest an area with similar geography?
And also, can someone suggest an area with similar geography?
The Mountain Region of NC is an area of steep ridges, inter-mountain basins and valleys that intersect at all angles, giving the area its rugged character. The region contains the highest mountains in eastern North America. About 125 peaks exceed 5,000 feet in elevation.
My wife went to college in Boone in the mid-80's. Right in the cities of Boone and Asheville, the housing prices are much higher than other, more rual areas in WNC. Land is at a premium there. and there seems to be a lot of restrictions. These things drive up the costs. Plus, there are a lot of retirees who live there, some of which build/purchase expensive properties. In Madison County (just north of Asheville), it's REALLY nice and still affordable.
Greenville, NC has a lot of heat/humidity. I wouldn't go there if you don't want that. The Greenville/Spartanburg, SC area (about 3.5 hrs. to R-D) or Asheville, NC area (several hrs. from R-D, not sure how many) would be nice places to check out. The only thing with Asheville, the economy is based on tourism/retirees, so you'll need a job in place, work from home, or be in a situation where a job wouldn't be an issue. Good luck!!!
That's great guys - thanks to both of you! From what I have seen, I really really like the Boone area, and the Asheville area is second on my list. I have been using realtor.com to search for places, without much luck as their search function doesn't properly order houses by price, so some are 100k and some are 3.5million! Do either of you know how to search by county for homes? I see both of you mention specific counties but I don't know how to search by that.
That's great guys - thanks to both of you! From what I have seen, I really really like the Boone area, and the Asheville area is second on my list. I have been using realtor.com to search for places, without much luck as their search function doesn't properly order houses by price, so some are 100k and some are 3.5million! Do either of you know how to search by county for homes? I see both of you mention specific counties but I don't know how to search by that.
thanks again!
I don't think those listing are that precise. If you search using the name of the county seat from the map I posted, it should display properties for that city and surrounding areas within the same county. Example: If you're interested in Ashe County, search on the town of Jefferson. You can also limit the sale price of the properties displayed by choosing a maximum dollar amount such as 100K or 125K. If you also want to see manufactured homes too, be sure to put a check mark in that space.
I don't think those listing are that precise. If you search using the name of the county seat from the map I posted, it should display properties for that city and surrounding areas within the same county. Example: If you're interested in Ashe County, search on the town of Jefferson. You can also limit the sale price of the properties displayed by choosing a maximum dollar amount such as 100K or 125K. If you also want to see manufactured homes too, be sure to put a check mark in that space.
Yeah, i discovered the search by county thing... The problem is that if I choose to sort by price, once I click off of the first page, it goes back to "percent match" which by all accounts is just a random sort. I think they just have a bug in the works. I'll check out jefferson.
If you don't have any luck searching in the mountain towns (which I hope you do; it's beautiful up there), you might want to check out the Triad area. Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point (which I can't recommend), Burlington. There are many great small towns in this area and points south.
Going to google.com and typing in what info you want might be worth a try. I do that all of the time and almost always find what I'm looking for. Also, if you're interested in Madison County near Asheville, their county seat is either Marshall or Mars Hill. Hope you faind what you're looking for.
I actually am fairly flexible about which part of the "mountain area", its more my girlfriend who is concerned with being able to find work in a reasonably large town (50-100k would be sufficient one would think). Any suggestions based on that? 30-45minutes commute would be doable
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I like living in "hill country" up here, but I also wouldn't mind living near some water either.
