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Just another New Yorker trying to escape the cold . I've been doing a lot of research and think the Lenoir/Hickory area would be a nice place to raise my son. I was hoping to get a few opinions of the area and would like to know if it's a "yankee friendly" place to relocate...lol. Fortunately the internet has allowed me to do most of the other necessary research(crime, cost of living, etc.) but it's really hard to get a feel for the culture of any area without talking to the people who live there. Also, I work in the Security Industry as an Alarm Dispatcher and was wondering if anybody might be able to give me an idea of what that line of work pays in the Lenoir/Hickory area.
No, I'm not looking to move for another 12 to 18 months. Just trying to get a feel for a few different areas right now. If I decide to move to the area I'll come down and check it out first.
You would have to be barking madd to move to an area without spending at least 3 days in that town, living as a resident. DO NOT do any of the touristy things. Go out & look for shops, restaurants & entertainment that you would normally do back home. Check out schools, Look at places to live. Try to spend a few days in the town doing all the things you like to do on your day off back home. See if you can do all the things you like to do, if the area has everything that you need & want. DO NOT just look at the scenery & think how beautiful it is & how much you want to see it every day. DO NOT spend you time here going to the typically touristy things, don't spend lots of time sight seeing, taking tours or any of those kind of things, because once you move to an area you wont be doing all those touristy thing & then you might get bored with the place.
Oh I'm fully aware of all that, This won't be my first move out of NY. I'm just looking to get a few opinions about the area, the culture and how northerners relocating are accepted from people that live there. I have a few places that I'm looking at and this is just one of the ways I'm narrowing it down before I go check em out this summer.
Johnny, the biggest problem isn't "Yankee" acceptance, it's that there are few jobs to be had here. I live in Lenoir, 20 miles south of Blowing Rock, and it was a depressed area BEFORE the recession due to the furniture industry collapse. The local paper here is the News-Topic - Your local news, business, and classifieds source for Lenoir, NC.. Subscribe and read it for the next year.
Hickory is more "citified" for a medium sized town, and has more job opportunities. I-40 runs through Hickory and also give you quick access to Charlotte or even Asheville if necessary.
Also, the North Carolina Employment Security Commission is the other source to watch for employment and employment trends. you can find it at The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina I'm pretty sure the new website requires Internet explorer to be fully functional. You can now search by county as well as zip + miles. The zip for Lenoir is 28645.
We don't care where you're from as long as you're civil and respect the southern way of life! LOL
Thanks for all the info Tracey, I was actually looking at working in/around hickory and living in/around Lenoir. I wanna find a place where I can make a little more money than I am right now, and pay a little less for rent/utilities than I do right now
I would be surprised if you would make more man in WNC compared to NY. seems like there is a LOT of competition, since so many folks are looking for jobs.
and 'yankee' wise: I am convinced, that if you are waiting for negative reactions regarding where you are from - they will come !
but if you follow hymnsingers advise, you will be fine
We moved from NY, just outside the City, to western NC in 2001. We have never experienced any 'anti-Yankee' sentiment in any personal or face to face situations...that social reputation is way overblown and exaggerated, imo.
While Endicott is not Gotham City, as many posters have noted in this and other threads, 'western NC' is not the wage capitol of the state. We love western NC, but we don't need/want a 'job'. Fabulous place to live, but we are in different situ than some.
Your concern should not be 'anti-Yankee' sentiment, but if job is necessary, it is a tough mkt to seek one, and as some have noted, the surrounding beauty and style of the region can dull one's senses to the realities of the economy here.
GL, mD
Thanks for the input David, I'm glad to hear you've had a good experience down there. I know in this economy it's rough to find a job in most places, but I'm not looking to move for about a year so hopefully things will improve a little.
Last edited by johnnyp0913; 02-03-2011 at 07:31 AM..
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Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I've been doing a lot of research and think the Lenoir/Hickory area would be a nice place to raise my son. I was hoping to get a few opinions of the area and would like to know if it's a "yankee friendly" place to relocate...lol. Fortunately the internet has allowed me to do most of the other necessary research(crime, cost of living, etc.) but it's really hard to get a feel for the culture of any area without talking to the people who live there. Also, I work in the Security Industry as an Alarm Dispatcher and was wondering if anybody might be able to give me an idea of what that line of work pays in the Lenoir/Hickory area.
