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.
My wife and I are considering a move to either Boone, NC or Bellingham, WA. If there is anyone out there that has spent significant time in both, I’d love to talk further. Please reply here or DM me. Thanks!
Ha! So which one of us will get to the new location first?. I'll get to Bellingham in Sept - no idea when I'll get to Boone
Have a great trip! Try to get up to Boone at some time. The area is beautiful and slower paced than the Asheville area. I don't see our being able to get across country any time soon!
greatblueheron - yes, my wife and I just finished a road trip visiting ten small cities/towns that we had pinpointed as options. These included Boone and Bellingham, as well as Asheville NC, Bozeman MT, Burlington VT, Blacksburg VA, Corvallis OR, Durango CO, Middlebury VT, and Moscow ID. We spent two days in each, with Boone and Bellingham being the top two for both of us. However, we are now at a bit of a standstill as one of us prefers Boone and the other Bellingham.
As far as what we want in a home: 1) beautiful surrounding scenery and outdoor access, especially mountains with water being a plus; 2) temperate climate that is comfortable and enjoyable most of the year aka never aggressively cold or hot for long stretches; 3) college town for the diversity and entertainment options it brings and the built in customer base; 4) relatively affordable cost of living, considering we will be in hospitality; 5) politically liberal / open minded culture.
Biggest concerns for Bellingham = 1) cost of living, especially housing; 2) the non-summer months upon months of gloom; 3) homeless presence, given they didn’t directly bother us while there it still detracts from sense of safety.
Biggest concerns for Boone = 1) locationally isolated, 2) tiny blue dot in an otherwise red state, 3) southern cultural stereotype.
greatblueheron - yes, my wife and I just finished a road trip visiting ten small cities/towns that we had pinpointed as options. These included Boone and Bellingham, as well as Asheville NC, Bozeman MT, Burlington VT, Blacksburg VA, Corvallis OR, Durango CO, Middlebury VT, and Moscow ID. We spent two days in each, with Boone and Bellingham being the top two for both of us. However, we are now at a bit of a standstill as one of us prefers Boone and the other Bellingham.
As far as what we want in a home: 1) beautiful surrounding scenery and outdoor access, especially mountains with water being a plus; 2) temperate climate that is comfortable and enjoyable most of the year aka never aggressively cold or hot for long stretches; 3) college town for the diversity and entertainment options it brings and the built in customer base; 4) relatively affordable cost of living, considering we will be in hospitality; 5) politically liberal / open minded culture.
Biggest concerns for Bellingham = 1) cost of living, especially housing; 2) the non-summer months upon months of gloom; 3) homeless presence, given they didn’t directly bother us while there it still detracts from sense of safety.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great to visit so many...
Biggest concerns for Boone = 1) locationally isolated,
true, about an hour to Hickory airport, shopping
2) tiny blue dot in an otherwise red state,
well, large cities tend bluish, out of cities, red.
3) southern cultural stereotype.
in town, there are so many liberal professors and others associated with the college, as well as like-minded students you'd likely be ok. Lots of transplants. The university employs the most people in Watauga county.
There are multitudes of vacation home owners from other states, particularly FL. Lots of tourists to the area from all over the country...you'll hear other languages at times when out and about.
Outside Boone and Blowing Rock the cultural issues do exist.
I owned a cabin between Boone and Blowing Rock for 20 yrs. Loved the area and all the school had to offer...I'm blue as can be and never experienced any outright issues concerning political views.
greatblueheron - yes, my wife and I just finished a road trip visiting ten small cities/towns that we had pinpointed as options. These included Boone and Bellingham, as well as Asheville NC, Bozeman MT, Burlington VT, Blacksburg VA, Corvallis OR, Durango CO, Middlebury VT, and Moscow ID. We spent two days in each, with Boone and Bellingham being the top two for both of us. However, we are now at a bit of a standstill as one of us prefers Boone and the other Bellingham.
As far as what we want in a home: 1) beautiful surrounding scenery and outdoor access, especially mountains with water being a plus; 2) temperate climate that is comfortable and enjoyable most of the year aka never aggressively cold or hot for long stretches; 3) college town for the diversity and entertainment options it brings and the built in customer base; 4) relatively affordable cost of living, considering we will be in hospitality; 5) politically liberal / open minded culture.
Biggest concerns for Bellingham = 1) cost of living, especially housing; 2) the non-summer months upon months of gloom; 3) homeless presence, given they didn’t directly bother us while there it still detracts from sense of safety.
Biggest concerns for Boone = 1) locationally isolated, 2) tiny blue dot in an otherwise red state, 3) southern cultural stereotype.
We have visited both as well. If money is not an issue, I would choose Bellingham in a heartbeat. Bellingham is gorgeous, with mountains and water, close to Vancouver, and closer to the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii. It is much larger than Boone. We were somewhat underwelmed with Boone. While pretty, it is a relatively small town (primarily a college town) with less conveniences and certainly more isolated. While it is true the winter weather is rainy and gloomy in Bellingham, the winter weather can be snowy and quite cold in Boone. Even though there are liberals in Boone, primarily because of the university, again, Bellingham wins handsdown here. The entire area is much more progressive. For us, the deciding issue was cost. Our Bellingham was Boulder. The same house we are going to build in Flat Rock would have been triple the cost in Boulder. We looked at (and visited) many of the same places as you, and ultimately decided on the Hendersonville/Flat Rock area. The winter weather is milder than Boone, and while it is a small town (the combined area is about the same pop. as Boone), it is relatively close to Asheville and Greenville, SC. IMO, Hendersonville is one of the prettiest small towns in America. We also love water/lakes/boating; some of the most gorgeous lakes in the U.S. are within an hours drive. You may want to also take a look at Greenville, SC. It is not in the mountains, but is very nice (may be too conservative for you). Before you make your final decision, I would encourage you to spend more time visiting your choices. You really need to make several visits, staying at least a week in each place, if possible.
I know nothing about Boone, but lived in Bellingham while going to college. It is a great place, in my opinion. Beautiful scenery, lots of amenities, and close enough to Seattle that you can go for day trips if you want to go to a ball game or concert or something. It's small townish, but not isolated or boring. There is always something going on at the WWU. I would move there for retirement in a second if I could afford it!
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.
. I'll get to Bellingham in Sept - no idea when I'll get to Boone
