A New England-style village in No. Carolina? (Charlotte, Apex: appointed, live)

[Dire Wolf]

You may also want to take a look at Apex. The small downtown seems to really be taking off of late. Until I moved about 2 years ago, I lived in one of the historic homes downtown. Was really nice to be able to walk to restaurants, etc, but still be close to jobs, major retail, big cities, etc.

[coltank]

Originally Posted by smalltownusa

Ha, and I thought I was the only northerner who lurked through these posts who was thinking retirement time...seems most of the NC threads are overwhelmingly young couples/families who are still in the big house mode. Hubbie and I are coming south in four years and are searching for a smaller home (we have a large 4 br classic colonial in upstate NY and I clean some of the rooms more than we use them!) in a NE type setting.

Originally planned on Roanoke but NC is sounding nicer and nicer and have family and friends who have headed that way already! It's torture sometimes to real estate shop online and see some of the adorable homes available well below what we will get out of the home we own (that's based on the housing market making an upturn ) and knowing the market in NC is most likely going to keep climbing at a faster rate than NY. Considering maybe purchasing a lot that we can build on as we get closer to the big move...

And this latest cold snap (which did encompass the whole east coast) has really put a nail in our plans to move south. We were just getting outside walking, golfing, and yardwork when it hit and it's here for a while according to the long range forecast....An April that's snowy......makes for a VERY surly wife LOL

I live in the Triangle, but my brother lives in Roanoke. It's beautiful there, and certainly has that small town feel while still having some great Restaurants and fresh meats, etc.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Originally Posted by Ourdreamhouse

My wife and I will be retiring in 2-3 years; we're searching for the ideal location to build our small dreamhouse. She's heard good things about North Carolina; I prefer the small, quiet, historic villages of New England. Neither of us likes the cold New England winters.

Is it possible to find a New England-style town/village in North Carolina? One where we could develop a connection to a town/community, and it's not already over-developed with McMansions? Oh, and one where the populace is well-educated and big-city culture is within striking distance (an hour's drive)?

Thanks for any suggestions.

I thought I would resurrect this thread which is many months old now and see if Ourdreamhouse has found the perfect place to retire to.

I, too, am looking for what you described and I haven't made it there yet for a look-see but the Pinehurst/ Southern Pines area sure sounds nice. I was curious to see if you went there to look around and, if so, what were your impressions?

[Ourdreamhouse]

NorthMeetsSouth,

My wife and I have looked at a couple of other places (candidates for retirement), but haven't yet visited North Carolina. We plan to take a week in October to visit Wilmington, Pinehurst, and Asheville.

I'll post my impressions after that trip.

[traumadoctor]

My 2 cents.

We live north of Greensboro and took a short trip to Pinehurst last June for our anniversary After being there less than 24 hours we BOTH had to have a place in the Village. Just to settle our curiosity, we looked at some places in the surrounding areas and Southern Pines. Just not quite the same as the charm of the village.

Positives: Little or no traffic. Easy to get around. Friendly folks (I mean friendly). Nice selection of restaurants within walking distance. Reasonable property value (for now). Close to the aminities of a larger town. Excellent health care.

A small pristine town with charm and sophistication.

[Ourdreamhouse]

OK, my wife and i just finished our trip to Pinehurst and three North Carolina towns. Rather than post my impressions at the tail end of this thread, i'm going to start a new thread, entitled "Trip Report: Asheville, Pinehurst, and Wilmington."

[Ene Swagart]

Columbia, South Carolina has lots advantages with the coast only 2 hours away and the mountains as well. We call this, the place of the Half Backs. Where people went too far south, but wanted some climate change and not a influx of snow birds each season. You can play golf all year. It has the University with Sports, and Arts, great City Arts, a nationally renown Riverbanks Zoo and Art museum, great local Theatre and much more. the costs are very affordable. You would be on the inside, before it is top of the list for this community which is rapidly growing.

[arbyunc]

I'd say the bigger faux pas here is trying to pass off Columbia as a New England-style village in North Carolina!

[Francois]

Originally Posted by clairet

Hello,
My parents recently moved from a New England college town (Northampton, Massachusetts to be exact) to Southern Pines/Pinehurst, NC. They love it there. It has a small town New England feel with a nice downtown, etc and is a little over an hour drive to Raleigh. It is one of the premier golf destinations in the world, has a lot of retirees, a nice climate, decently priced housing, etc. There are no Mcmansions there..it feels like New England without the frigid winters! My parents LOVE it there.

Yes, Pinehurst struck me, too--though it is more of a "Disney-fake" quaintness than an actual "New England" quaintness. And it's inundated with tourists in spring and fall especially (huge golfing mecca). If they like golf, it's definitely worth a look.

Beaufort, on the coast, is often compared to New England based on its age and a lot of the architecture. But it's hard to find anywhere "nice" in NC that isn't being inundated with new development of SOME sort.

You may also want to take a look at Apex.

Whaaaaaa? Apex is right in "McMansion Central" these days.

[Mr.910nc]

Moorehead City but its boring as ****