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I'm a born and raised Floridian and my husband has lived here for the last 7 years. We've lived in a few different areas of the state (Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and now Orlando) and like many others aren't happy with it. Too many people, strip malls everywhere and miserable heat 10 months out of the year. We are also big outdoors people and would love to do more camping, hiking and skiing, but there just aren't a lot of good places for that in FL.
Our original goal was to end up in the Asheville area and we may still want to move there down the road, but right now my husband has an opportunity to work in Morganton.
Looking at the city I think we would be more comfortable living in Hickory and making the commute to Morganton, but we have some concerns. Rentals look scarce and we're worried about the "vibe" for lack of a better word. My husband is from a poor manufacturing town in South Michigan and we don't want to end up in a place like that. We're also childfree by choice and not religious - something I think we would find a lot more of in Ashevile.
On the plus side Hickory looks more affordable than Asheville and less hyped up, aka fewer tourists. We would also like to custom build a home in the next ~5 years. We'd like to have ~1 acre and preferably not in a development - also easier to find in Hickory.
I'm wondering if anyone can compare the area to South Bend, IN? I realize this is a long shot, but we lived there for a year and Hickory looks similar. Has all the amenities you need (Target, Hospital, etc.), but if you drive 15 minutes out of town you're in the country. We both agreed that if we could pick up South Bend and move it to another state with less severe winters we wouldn't hesitate to live there.
Are we missing any other areas within a ~30 minute drive of Morganton that we should also consider?
I am not familiar with South Bend, so I can't compare the two. Hickory has pretty much all the stores and restaurants you might want, but it's sort of spread out. It's an easy drive to Asheville, around an hour. Newton is right next to Hickory and has a bit more of the small town feel, but because it's so close to Hickory, it's still pretty busy. Lenoir is north of Hickory, it's been working on revitalization and there is more of a small town feel there. I know absolutely nothing about Morganton, other than we looked in the area for houses (but never actually visited) when we were looking for our new home (ended up west of Asheville). We also considered Hickory, but wanted to be more in the mountains. That's about the limited extent of my knowledge of that area.
I like Hickory, but if the job is in Morganton, I wouldn't completely rule out Morganton as your place of residence. Yes, there are more amenities in Hickory, but Morganton's downtown is continuing to improve and there are some organizations (Arts Council, etc) that are working hard for the community. As with any move of this sort, I'd suggest renting for 6 months to a year to get a feel for the area and to give you plenty of time to figure out where you want to put down roots.
The drive on I-40 from Asheville to Hickory is dangerous getting through the Old Fort steep curve -- and especially daunting in the winter. For that reason alone, I wouldn't choose either of those towns. There is a lot more to offer north, west or south of Asheville.
The drive on I-40 from Asheville to Hickory is dangerous getting through the Old Fort steep curve -- and especially daunting in the winter. For that reason alone, I wouldn't choose either of those towns. There is a lot more to offer north, west or south of Asheville.
I believe the job offer is in Morganton, so if they ended up in any of the areas near Asheville, they would have to drive Old Fort mountain twice a day. I don't find it intimidating now (though I did when we first drove it) and we even drove it in the big snow back at the beginning of December. It's all in what you get used to, I think.
I moved from San Diego to Morganton 2 years ago. All the bad things you did not like in Florida or Michigan you will find in Hickory, I think you should stay with Morganton. The downtown village has a weekend nightlife thanks to some high end restaurants like Root and Vine and a 7 screen movie theatre At this point all you are really missing from a shopping standpoint is Dillards and JC Penny, Morganton has Walmart and Belk. I live in the mountains south of town, I love it here.
I don't see the draw to move to hickory but it is you and your husbands choice . But when work being in Morganton I would look at the smaller towns between Hickory and Morganton like around the Valdese to Icard area so you can take advantage of what both larger markets have to offer as its only a 10 minute run to one or the other city 25% in the state quality rating
I lived in Hickory for about a year. I found the locals to be standoffish and thought that was due to the fact I am a northerner. However, I contracted a ride for a medical procedure with Bayada nurses and they sent a very pleasant young college student. As we drove she asked me how I liked Hickory.
When I told her my impression she said, "it's not that you are from the north. These people are like that with anyone outside their circle. Even if you were from Statesville they would act the same towards you. These people grow up together, go to school together, go to church together, and they don't respond well to those outside their groups."
That made me feel better, but also prompted me to sell myself and move elsewhere.
I lived in Hickory for about a year. I found the locals to be standoffish and thought that was due to the fact I am a northerner. However, I contracted a ride for a medical procedure with Bayada nurses and they sent a very pleasant young college student. As we drove she asked me how I liked Hickory.
When I told her my impression she said, "it's not that you are from the north. These people are like that with anyone outside their circle. Even if you were from Statesville they would act the same towards you. These people grow up together, go to school together, go to church together, and they don't respond well to those outside their groups."
That made me feel better, but also prompted me to sell myself and move elsewhere.
Good luck.
And everyone in Hickory is from Hickory? No one who lives there is from somewhere else?
"And everyone in Hickory is from Hickory? No one who lives there is from somewhere else?"
That is not what I said. I lived there for a year and a half and I am from somewhere else. The few people I found friendly were all from other locations.
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