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.
As stated before, please forgive me for starting a new thread...
My husband might (probably) be getting a job in Hickory, and our 7-year-old daughter is 3 belts away from getting her black belt in Taekwondo. She's also into volleyball and Girl Scouts. I cannot seem to find an actual taekwondo studio in Hickory. Can anyone recommend one or an area that would have one, besides Charlotte as that is too far of a commute.
Currently we live in a suburb of Chicago that offers plenty to do; however, we only have approximately 4 months to do it in because we are down to 2 seasons LOL. We actively sought out moving to North Carolina as we are sick of the winters as well as the threat of a tornado with every single thunderstorm. We've had two major tornadoes hit within 20 minutes of our house within the last 3-4 weeks.
We are currently looking at rentals in the Hickory area, but there is not much. My husband thinks there would be too much of a commute should we look at other areas. In Chicago when you see a city is 48 miles away that's an EASY hour and a half commute. I have looked at the Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius, Granite Falls areas as we need a good school system. Being that he would be on the reverse commute, could anyone tell me how far those areas would be from Hickory? Or, better yet,recommend an area that has great schools, lots of family activities?
Our rental budget is up to $2800 but would prefer to stay under $2500 as our house in Chicago area is upside down so we will have to rent it out and would like to be safe and be able to afford both homes should something happen with renters.
I'm so glad I have found this site as my eyes started to go cross-eyed looking at stats, census numbers, school grades... Thanking you all ahead of time for your input!!!!!
our 7-year-old daughter is 3 belts away from getting her black belt in Taekwondo. She's also into volleyball and Girl Scouts. I cannot seem to find an actual taekwondo studio in Hickory. Can anyone recommend one or an area that would have one, besides Charlotte as that is too far of a commute.
There is one in Newton: Core Martial Arts. There is one in Morganton: Taber Black Belt Academy.
There are numerous elementary schools rated 4 of 5 around Hickory. Check Schooldigger, and search on Hickory: There's Granite Falls Elementary, W M Jenkins, Mountain View and Clyde Campbell.
I don't think it is worthwhile to have your husband commute from the Charlotte suburbs just to find Taekwondo. However, if he is willing to commute from the Lake Norman area there are several schools rated 5 of 5. One example is Rock Springs Elementary in Denver. The commute from Denver to Hickory is about 28 miles, and 39 minutes. The commute would be by Highway 16, which is a 4-lane divided highway part way and then a two lane road, or else by 321 which is a 4-lane divided highway.
I use Realtor.com to search rentals. There is a beautiful house in Denver at $2150/month, across from Lake Norman. Another in Stanley at $1995. Both about 45 minute commutes to Hickory.
Last edited by goldenage1; 07-07-2015 at 08:00 AM..
Thank you! Yes, I suppose that did read that way LOL. No we wouldn't be living in an area just for Taekwondo, I would drive to wherever should we land in Hickory. Yes, I have looked at schooldigger and am very happy with that site. Schools don't seem to be a problem, I can indeed find the 4/5 out of 5 schools which is wonderful!
I'm a little more concerned about culture shock (ok, maybe I'm starting to stress a little as this is the first time EVER moving out of state and my lack of knowledge is coming across as ignorance, please forgive). I've read tons of threads on here that keep referring to Hickory as a great place for retirees. My concern is that Hickory won't/doesn't offer (or even a fraction) what we have here because of those threads. I did a search and couldn't find a park district for Hickory. Our park district is wonderful and offers kids cooking classes, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, fitness classes, and much more. Is anyone familiar with something like that? Oh, and yes Denver has popped up in my search... Would you recommend Denver? Is it nice? Good for families? Also, we WANT to move to NC, We don't need all that stuff at all as we are active outdoorsy people, I just was wondering if there's stuff like that in the area? Any suggestions?
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,716,930 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Windycityblues
Thank you! Yes, I suppose that did read that way LOL. No we wouldn't be living in an area just for Taekwondo, I would drive to wherever should we land in Hickory. Yes, I have looked at schooldigger and am very happy with that site. Schools don't seem to be a problem, I can indeed find the 4/5 out of 5 schools which is wonderful!
I'm a little more concerned about culture shock (ok, maybe I'm starting to stress a little as this is the first time EVER moving out of state and my lack of knowledge is coming across as ignorance, please forgive). I've read tons of threads on here that keep referring to Hickory as a great place for retirees. My concern is that Hickory won't/doesn't offer (or even a fraction) what we have here because of those threads. I did a search and couldn't find a park district for Hickory. Our park district is wonderful and offers kids cooking classes, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, fitness classes, and much more. Is anyone familiar with something like that? Oh, and yes Denver has popped up in my search... Would you recommend Denver? Is it nice? Good for families? Also, we WANT to move to NC, We don't need all that stuff at all as we are active outdoorsy people, I just was wondering if there's stuff like that in the area? Any suggestions?
Denver is an unincorporated area in Lincoln County.
The best high school in Lincoln County is North Lincoln. That would put you closer to Hickory.
You might want to do searches on the Charlotte board as well.
You might want to do searches on the Charlotte board as well.
Agreed, that you might redirect your questions in the Charlotte board about the western suburbs which would give a decent commute to Hickory.
Hickory does have a Park and Recreation Department: City of Hickory, North Carolina There are 5 recreation centers, a skate park, basketball and volleyball leagues, etc. The one east of Lake Hickory has karate classes for small kids.
Hickory is a fairly small town. You're not going to find as many activities as where you're coming from. I'd strongly suggest you visit the area for a few days to see if it fits your needs.
thank you everyone!!! My have posted my thread in Charlotte as suggested. This brochure is perfect. I know we aren't going to have as many programs and we are okay with that... I just couldn't find any. This is wonderful and a great help!
You can rent about anything you want in Hickory for under $2k a month. A quick look at craigslist (where most rentals are posted in Catawba County) shows a 4 bedroom house right near Lake Hickory for $1800 a month.
Lenoir, Morganton, Lincolnton, Statesville are all within 30 minutes of Hickory. Gastonia is probably 35-40 minutes, depending on what part of Hickory you're starting from. Mooresville/Cornelius is a little more difficult to get to, since you must take I-77 (traffic) or go the back roads through Terrell (shorter, but just a 2 lane road), or go to the south of Lake Norman and go through Huntersville. Pretty much anything on the east side of Lake Norman is going to take a little more time due to location and traffic.
Hickory isn't really known in general as a magnet for retirees. Without researching past threads, I'm guessing that you may be seeing responses to a few retirees asking about Hickory as opposed to Hickory itself being touted as a retiree center. In fact, median age for City of Hickory (37.7 yrs) is much lower than the NC median age (45.5 yrs)
I see it much more as a family town. My husband grew up there. His daughter has lived there all her life (other than college and grad school) and is an elementary school guidance counselor in one of the city schools. I don't see the need for a long commute if you can find suitable housing and school closer in.
In addition to City of Hickory's Parks and Recreation Dept posted above, check out Catawba County's Parks Dept. which is more focused on outdoor activities such as canoeing, fishing, hiking trails, mountain biking trails, picnicking areas, shelter and grills, dog parks, wildlife habitat and bird feeding viewing areas.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,716,930 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenage1
Agreed, that you might redirect your questions in the Charlotte board about the western suburbs which would give a decent commute to Hickory.
Hickory does have a Park and Recreation Department: City of Hickory, North Carolina There are 5 recreation centers, a skate park, basketball and volleyball leagues, etc. The one east of Lake Hickory has karate classes for small kids.
There are already Hickory-related threads on the Charlotte board. Off the top of my head, the largest is concerning an atheist from NYC or Long Island who hated the area. Another is an Italian national who will be working in Hickory. The third is a couple of threads from a Dutch national who will be working at the North Lincoln industrial park who kept thinking that a commute from south Charlotte was a good idea. There are others but those stick in my mind. They bring up towns and discuss various factors. They might answer some questions for the OP. There used to be a poster in Hickory who regularly posted on the Charlotte board. A NC native grew up in Catawba County. There's a fair amount to be found there with a few searches.
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.
