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We are now living in Southern France and want to return to the States. Once we decided on NC, the problem became where as it is huge! We have finally been able to narrow the location down to the western and the northern part of the Piedmont. We are empty nesters with two standard Poodles.
Obviously we can not travel back and forth looking over areas thus finding this forum was super.
We would like to find a home with at least one acre in or on the edge of a smaller town but near enough to medical facilities given our age. We do not want a golf course or gated community nor a place with an HOA. We also are very concerned about locating in an area that is very dog friendly in terms of laws and activities for them. Of course it would be great to have access to some good restaurants. In terms of price, our range top is around $400,000.
If you want to be in the Northwest part of the Piedmont and good healthcare, I would check out Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is a top notch university and hospital. The Triad has plenty of restaurants and things to do, and is halfway between the Triangle and Charlotte for even more restaurants and entertainment. I don't know enough about Winston-Salem to give any advice, but if you post in the Triad forum people can help you out better there. If you were open to others areas of the Piedmont the Triangle and Charlotte are worth looking into as well. Especially Durham/Chapel Hill for some of the best healthcare and restaurants in the country
Last edited by DanielleNC; 10-19-2009 at 07:58 AM..
^ I agree (probably because I'm biased since I live here). I have lived in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem, and I have to say I like Winston the best. Not that there's anything wrong with the other places, but Winston just seems to have more character and historic charm, and the size is just right for me. Big enough, but not too big.
We are now living in Southern France and want to return to the States. Once we decided on NC, the problem became where as it is huge! We have finally been able to narrow the location down to the western and the northern part of the Piedmont. We are empty nesters with two standard Poodles.
My standard question is always: how can you have "Decided on NC" when you don't have an inkling of WHERE in the state you want? Doesn't it make more sense to narrow down the area first, then start looking for towns/cities that match your criteria, and if said towns happen to be in Va, or GA, or SC, well, then they are? I don't quite get this "I gotta be in NC--but I don't have any idea where?" mentality. It's best to hone your focus in on a particular "lifestyle" whether mountain, beach, city, town, progressive, conservative, etc., none of which are that dependent on state boundaries. Unless you are, for example, already an employee with the state of NC and don't want to lose your longevity, I'd say open up your search to other states but make a list of the characteristics of the area you want, and check out those places. Some may be in NC, some may not.
Francois wrote:
My standard question is always: how can you have "Decided on NC" when you don't have an inkling of WHERE in the state you want? Doesn't it make more sense to narrow down the area first, then start looking for towns/cities that match your criteria, and if said towns happen to be in Va, or GA, or SC, well, then they are?
Francois, I can indeed understand and appreciate your comments. I agree that in my desire to cut down on details, I may not have expressed myself very well. We did make an initial assessment of the various states. Believe me, we had many lists! Both my spouse and I have a fairly good knowledge of the States (have lived in several and visited many) including DC where we lived and Va where we had a country house for several years. We also have family and friends in many states, all of which we ruled out.
Thus why NC? For over two years, we discussed the pros and cons of almost every state and it came down to NC: On the East coast; beautiful countryside; not too far South; good institutions of higher education (should our wandering son decide to be with us); winters not too long or cold; summers somewhat like DC.
For many reasons we knew we did not want to be on the NC coast nor in the mountains. That is in a nutshell how we came to focusing on the Piedmont.
I concur with Winston. It is a pleasant area.
Near a state park and home to 2? hospitals.
Staying on the outskirts , I'd arm myself; there are stories circulating of cougars and bears in that area.
Good Luck!!
Why choose NC? To those of us who live here, the answer is obvious...there is no better place on Earth!
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Moving to NC- but where?
