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Asheville, Research Triangle, and Charlotte are hardly red. Charlotte's bathroom policy is what made the NC conservatives pass HB2. As hard as it is to believe Asheville had the lowest HRC vote percent of the 3 with 54%. Charlotte is less than a 2 hour drive from Boone. Asheville is about 90 minutes.
Neither are Greensboro or Winston Salem, the 3rd and 4th largest cities in the state.
Lizap it's not all about the numbers it's more about the visuals and visually, Hendersonville skews older. That's not an insult, just a reality. I live in Henderson county on the Flat Rock border and wish I'd see more young families with kids. Yes of course they are here, schools aren't empty although I really have no idea if school populations are changing or steady. I think the next census is going to be an eye opener in terms of population and demographics.
No, I don't live in Bellingham - never have. My son used to live in Marblemount, and when we'd visit would go to Bellingham and other towns in the area - considered it for our pre-retirement move. Ultimately it was too far away from the rest of the family in Chicago area.
I hear you loud and clear - it's something that is difficult for me as well. Our now 29 year old son lived here for 6 months helping us build our house as did our now 33 year old son and daughter-in-law for 18 months beginning fall of 2015. I dearly hoped they would fall in love with the area and want to stay - and there is much here that they do love but it's not a good fit for them permanently. Younger son went back to Denver, older son is now back in WA in Port Angeles with plans to stay in the state but not that town.
I'm not your mother (but I play one in real life) and if either of my sons came to me with what you've described I'd say follow your heart and find investors. Some would say you should give thought to a 'plan B/what if' scenario. Others would say if you do that, then you are already thinking about failure which is no way to begin a business. Your future, your choice. When you're young and healthy (and just two) you can always find a way to earn money. Good luck choosing both the new location and with your venture. I'd be interested to hear the final choice - coin toss?
Of course, there are many retirees who decide to move to this area, and I certainly understand why. I think the City-Data statistic is about right. Keep in mind the OP wants to open a restaurant or food truck. Who has more discretionary income to eat out? Older people. With that said, there are probably better options for OP, such as a larger city. While I agree it's important to try to do something that gives you intrinsic satisfaction, it's also important to balance this with reality. I think you're doing this to some extent by seeking out the best place for your business. Have you had a feasibility study done or spoken with a small business development center consultant?
hey_guy - any specific experiences to back up that sentiment? The majority of what I have heard is that the town of Boone itself is quite left-leaning and open-minded. Given outside of town it can revert back to typical rural / southern territory
Lizap - we intend to contact the SBDC and/or Chamber of Commerce for each of the final two towns. We’ve not done so yet as we just recently got down to the two options. Doing it for all 10 of our initial options would have been a bit excessive. There’s pros and cons to opening in most any city...i.e. smaller towns likely support local better, have less competition, lower overhead, etc. vs. larger cities have more people, more space options, more economic stability, etc. It’s a risk no matter where we go, so we might as well be as happy as possible with the area. I do appreciate your thoughts and concerns though
hey_guy - any specific experiences to back up that sentiment? The majority of what I have heard is that the town of Boone itself is quite left-leaning and open-minded. Given outside of town it can revert back to typical rural / southern territory
OP seems to favor Boone. Again, before I pick up and move, I would have a feasibility study done and talk to the SBDC people at Appalachian State AND spend more time there. OK, WAS POSTING THIS AS YOU POSTED ABOVE..
DLM2000 - thanks a bunch for the kind words! We’re still figuring out how to hash out this decision as there are strong pulls in both directions. Definitely will keep all posted how it turns out!
In the meantime, any constructive thoughts on comparing/contrasting our two options based on actual experiences are very much welcome! We really can’t be considering new options at this point. You would not believe how much time and how many options went into getting to the ten we visited and now the two we are deciding between. Thank you all!
Give me a perfect weather day in each with no financial consideration and I likely pick Bellingham. Factor in our situation and year round wants, and sure Boone likely makes more sense. But it’s not just my decision
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