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 driven through Marion twice while travelling and spent a couple of hours looking around the area, and it looked nice. Of course, that's just a quick impression. I've read a few comments here from people that liked the area, but also some harsh remarks like "My only advise is to stay out of Marion. If your not in the click then you won't fit in."
What are the negatives and positives about the town?
What I'd really like is a few acres, mostly wooded, with a fairly nice house (I don't mind DIY fix ups).
I guess that I'm the board's designated Marion Defender. I own some land out by Lake James and really enjoy my trips down there. My new neighbors have been very welcoming and it is a truly beautiful area whose real estate is very inexpensive by WNC standards. True, it is not the fountainhead of western culture but it does have nice basic amenities - a Wal-mart, Lowes, good BBQ, and a primary care hospital. You are close enough to either Asheville or Charlotte for heavy duty shopping, cultural events or airport access when needed. It always seemed to me that the price/amenities tradeoff worked pretty well for Marion vs. other places in WNC. Check it out and good luck!
I am south of Marion a bit, but we like it here. We just moved here a few years ago. We are out in the country, have acreage and a mountain view and it was affordable by our standards. We couldn't afford this near Asheville, which of course we would love to live closer. But, it's not that far of a drive. When you live out a bit, you have to get used to lumping all your trips to town together. But, for us it works just fine. IMO, there are good and bad points to every community. It all depends on what you really want. btw, our house was a fixerupper too and after 2 years, it's looking pretty great!
I have lived in Marion for the last eight years. I have absolutely nothing against Marion or the area but I'd rather be somewhere else, but I just can't go right now.
If you like small town life you'd like it here just for that. Its definitely an "everyone knows everyone" town. And yes, if you're not from here (doesn't matter if you're southern or not) folks are a bit stand-offish. There is a clique here involving the native people. Employment is a bit on the crappy side due to the losses of textile and furniture manufacturing. There's also a bit the have vs have-not mentality. And like most everywhere else the drug problem is growing every day.
I could go on but if you like the small town life, don't mind driving at least 30 miles to go somewhere other than Walmart then this might be the place for you.
Oh yeah, we have some of the worst drivers around..IMO.
I grew up in Marion (Glenwood actually) and left for a college education, returned to give a year back by working for Social Services and left again to make a career for myself.
Marion is a great place to be if you know exactly what you are getting into. I had spent my whole life driving 20 minutes to get to the nearest store so that seems normal to me. Once I landed in Knoxville and now Raleigh I realize that the way I was raised and lived was very unique. Not better, not worse, just different. When I left Marion I couldn't get out of town quick enough but it took leaving to realize just how cool of an upbringing I had..... I thought evryone owned 5 acres and a mountainside to play on. heck, we even have a small waterfall on the property.
I think Marion can be a wonderful place to live if you go in open minded and are willing to change your routine, but just like anywhere else on the planet it will only be as good of an experience as you want it to be. Good luck there and tell everyone I said hey.
I have lived in Marion all of my life and I am begging my husband to leave. I hate it here. If you are looking for great mountain views, tranquil scenery, beautiful autumn foliage, we have it, but we also have the worst problem in the state for meth labs, most of the county is on disability (a significant portion of which suffers from "disability to get of the sofa" syndrome) and working in the legal system, I feel it is frightening to live here (not because of crime, because of the IN-justice system). You're also going to pay a high price for the views and tranquility. Since I bought a house in '03, the housing prices have jumped significantly. Compared to some areas of the country, it might not be so bad, but there isn't much here and you can get better salaries and more reasonable housing in some larger cities. Asheville does have high housing costs and property taxes. Wal-Mart is the only place to shop. You have to go to Asheville or Hickory for most of your shopping beyond groceries. The low cost of living should make up for having to drive 45 minutes to shop, but that's changing. The houses that are for sale are mostly fixeruppers, so if you aren't very handy, you are going to look long and hard for a good house and then you are going to pay a pretty high price compared to the salaries. There are few nice housing developments, therefore industries do not want to come to this area because it's difficult to find good housing for the employees compared to other cities. The town is junked up with old trailers, junk yards and unkept properties which also turns away execs looking at Marion for a possible location for industry. Still want to live in Marion? Do your research first!!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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.
