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We moved from North Central Maine, after living there for 30+ years, to Central Florida. We have been here for almost 5 years and we have had enough! My wife is a healthcare professional and I am currently a student. We are looking at the areas around Hickory and Morganton. It looks alot like Maine in those areas as I have visited before. Can anyone recommend a small town, not too far from shopping or a small mall, where we can finish raising our children? We are ok with some snow, but we are unsure how often it snows, how much you get in that area, and how long it stays. We loved the country lifestyle we had in Maine, and we both lived in small towns in Maine with under 5000 people, but 6 to 7 months of winter was way too much! Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
The snow won't seem like a lot to someone from Maine, whether it's "a dusting" or several 15" storms.
Do you need to find a school for yourself? That and your wife's job are the two main things.
There are several small towns between Hickory and Morganton: Hildebran, Icard, Connellys Springs, Valdese, Rutherford College, Drexel. These towns are all close to I-40. The area south of that is unincorporated and rural. (That's where I live.) Newton is a small town SE of Hickory, not too far from Hickory's shopping. Do you want to live in a town, or is a more rural area okay?
Morganton has some shopping, but the biggest shopping areas are in Hickory. Most of the small towns have a Food Lion and a couple of banks.
There are hospitals in Morganton, Valdese/Rutherford College, and Hickory. A lot of doctors have offices near the hospitals. The community colleges are located in Morganton and Hickory.
Burke County libraries are in Morganton, Valdese, and Hildebran. Catawba County and Hickory both have library systems as well.
If this doesn't help, can you tell us more about what you are looking for?
What is it you don't like about Florida? If it involves weather, NC's is not as bad, but we do have a long, hot, humid summer. For some people, it isn't a big deal, but I suspect those are mostly indoor people. If the heat bothers you, try the Boone area (which is not near Hickory or Morganton).
Thanks for the tip, but I have already gone above and beyond that for the past two years. It's nothing I have done wrong, its this economy. There's only so much I, or anyone else looking for a job, can do when people don't want to spend the money to hire you to begin with.
And this is a post that echos what I was saying about having to move around etc. //www.city-data.com/forum/color...-interior.html Its from colorado, but it talks about the goverment jobs in general. There's also a link to the USA job fourms that you might find helpful.
I appreciate all the input from everyone. There are alot of things to take into consideration when moving. I will probably look into the areas around Hickory and in the foothills. We are looking for very little snow, but enjoy the 4 seasons. Once we narrow down a general area, then we can focus on work and school. Thanks again for all the help.
I live in west Asheville and Mission Hospital is our medical complex where your wife can no doubt find employment. The area surrounding Mission Hospital in Asheville is host to numerous supporting doctors and businesses catering to the medical field. UNCA is in the north area of Asheville and the street Merrimon is a main drag in that area.
South of Asheville gets different weather than us in the north. I'm off Exit 21 New Stock Road and we've been hit with snow and ice a number of times. We also live on the north side of a large hill, so it gets pretty slick a lot. I come from 30 miles north of NYC, so I own winter coats but didn't know I'd need them.
I've tried volunteering to get a jump start to anything but didn't work for me. I still may work at a Mission satellite unit doing free database work. People aren't willing to spend the money. I still volunteer at a local med/dental clinic (I did medical data entry and got bored after five months and left) but I've always done pet therapy here for Mission, independent places, and now the VA. I did 30 years in IT. Mission Hospital owns much of the town, so hopefully your wife will be fine here working in healthcare.
Just be careful about spending the money on getting a degree. Even degrees have become a racket. Choose wisely and carefully.
Unless someone in Washington takes a real stand on outsourcing and hiring foreign workers here who will work for less than most of us (I call it insourcing), it's only going to get worse. The phrase, "a jobless recovery," is a sham created by some genius.
I can echo what everyone else has said. Like you IRAQNBACK, I've come to western NC from the north (PA). If you haven't heard the term "half back" applied in your case yet, you will LOL. A half back is a northerner who moves to FL for the warm weather, only to find it's TOO warm (and humid), and they end up moving half way back to where they came from! That usually ends up being somewhere in NC :-) I'm living in the small town of Newton, which is just south of Hickory. I find the topography reminds me of my home town in PA, and the weather is fairly moderate. Winters are typically more comfortable (although we had some colder weather this month). Last winter was very snowy (for this area), but we normally get just a few inches of the white stuff annually. As far as shopping is concerned....eh! Your average malls and chain stores/restaurants. The good thing about the Hickory area is that if you drive an hour in almost any direction you can find a wealth of places; Charlotte to the south, Winston/Greensboro to the east, Asheville (and SUPER small towns like Black Mountain) to the west, Boone/Blowing Rock to the north. I can't speak to your educational concerns, but I think this area a lot to offer in terms of livability and cost of living. You will find that the western half of NC is a pretty great place to live in my opinion! Best of luck!!
WNC has the complete range of lifestyles and communities to live in.
Our mountains provide us with 4 seasons of beautiful weather. It's unusual be we currently have 6 inches of snow with some secondary roads and all the back roads impassable without four wheel drive or tire chains on your passenger car.
My wife can find a job just about anywhere. She is a medical coder/HIM professional. She has been in that field for almost 15 years. She has supervisory experience in those fields as well and there always seems to a hospital looking for experienced coders. As for me, I have done just about everything for work. I am an Iraq Vet with almost 12 years of service doing many jobs. I have alot of interests in mostly outdoor occupations, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and alot of things involving nature. I'm pretty sure most schools have programs that revolve around those interests. I'm sure I can find a school to continue working on my degree. I appreciate all the input from everyone, it reminds me of being back in Maine where people try to help others when they can. It's not like that in many places anymore. Again, we are interested in very little snow(if any as far as my wife is concerned). We don't necessarily need to be in the mountains, but foothills or anything that isn't flat like Florida would be fantastic! I realize the rare snowstorms can be unavoidable, as you all have just found out! Thanks again for all the help.
My wife can find a job just about anywhere. She is a medical coder/HIM professional. She has been in that field for almost 15 years. She has supervisory experience in those fields as well and there always seems to a hospital looking for experienced coders. As for me, I have done just about everything for work. I am an Iraq Vet with almost 12 years of service doing many jobs. I have alot of interests in mostly outdoor occupations, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and alot of things involving nature. I'm pretty sure most schools have programs that revolve around those interests. I'm sure I can find a school to continue working on my degree. I appreciate all the input from everyone, it reminds me of being back in Maine where people try to help others when they can. It's not like that in many places anymore. Again, we are interested in very little snow(if any as far as my wife is concerned). We don't necessarily need to be in the mountains, but foothills or anything that isn't flat like Florida would be fantastic! I realize the rare snowstorms can be unavoidable, as you all have just found out! Thanks again for all the help.
Nope... snow is not rare here. We get snow every winter in varying inches. Sometimes 4 or 5 inches. Sometimes heavy ice storms and power outages. North of Asheville you can go skiing on God made snow every year. Best to come here in the winter and see for yourself before making a life altering move. You may want to be in the foothills and look up at the gorgeous snow on the peaks, but not live in it. That would put you over the state line in SC about 60 miles south of Asheville. Warmer in the summer of course, more jobs definitely in Greenville / Spartanburg areas, and more like three seasons than four. Not heat like FL. Also, why not consider moving more toward the NC coast where you can have ocean and nice country living all in one. Rocky Mount, New Bern. Plymouth etc. etc. Sweet.
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