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We are also looking to get out of the Tampa area and relocate to WNC. We go up every year during all times of the year, and love the weather-whether it be rainy or humid- as it's a welcome break from Florida's congested roads and rude people. I hear everyone throw out Asheville. In all honesty, I didn't care for the artsy liberal mentality in the city, and after living in California in the past, I saw a repeat of the reason I left there going on in that city.
I'd suggest looking into Murphy or Waynesville, or even check out Blowing Rock/ Boone. They are a little quieter and still have resources close by for families. It's definitely not like living in the Tampa area.
Also remember, you are paying STATE TAX if you move to NC. You don't pay any in Florida. If you have the opportunity, look into the Seiverville TN area or Johnson City areas. TN has no state tax, and is still pretty nice weather wise. Just avoid the larger cities or you'll be in a worse boat than you are in Florida.
We are also looking to get out of the Tampa area and relocate to WNC. We go up every year during all times of the year, and love the weather-whether it be rainy or humid- as it's a welcome break from Florida's congested roads and rude people. I hear everyone throw out Asheville. In all honesty, I didn't care for the artsy liberal mentality in the city, and after living in California in the past, I saw a repeat of the reason I left there going on in that city.
I'd suggest looking into Murphy or Waynesville, or even check out Blowing Rock/ Boone. They are a little quieter and still have resources close by for families. It's definitely not like living in the Tampa area.
Also remember, you are paying STATE TAX if you move to NC. You don't pay any in Florida. If you have the opportunity, look into the Seiverville TN area or Johnson City areas. TN has no state tax, and is still pretty nice weather wise. Just avoid the larger cities or you'll be in a worse boat than you are in Florida.
+1
Waynesville is nice and disconnected a bit from the craziness of AVL. If we HAD to live in NC though it would be in Boone or Blowing Rock. So pretty there and less congested. Where we’re at here in TN we can be there in an hour or so which works good for us. The drive along Watauga Lake is worth the trip alone.
Wife said she found the crowd in AVL to be more obnoxious then the crowd in FL, which is saying something as she’s not the type to complain or pass judgement. I agree with her, although it’s still a nice place to visit on a day trip for outdoor activities and food.
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 07-02-2020 at 06:31 AM..
My sister spends half the year west of Boone in a high line golf/equestrian neighborhood. Despite all the condos and mountain ski chalets in the area, Avery County remains very poor. My sister's neighborhood has founded a trust to assist with local citizens' economic needs. She calls some of the locals "the forgotten people", and it makes you realize that hillbillies still exist in some places.
Boone, NC is even lower in income.
The easiest place to check out communities you're interested about moving to is Wikipedia.com. Some of the socioeconomics of small cities is pretty eye opening. And many people prefer to raise their children where other schoolmates, etc. are a little higher on the social scale.
Moving is just difficult--especially when children are included.
The easiest place to check out communities you're interested about moving to is Wikipedia.com. Some of the socioeconomics of small cities is pretty eye opening. And many people prefer to raise their children where other schoolmates, etc. are a little higher on the social scale.
Moving is just difficult--especially when children are included.
Agree with your last line, but disagree with the way you think the best way to check out communities is. The best way IS NOT using the internet. The best way is to travel to the area, speak to the people there, rent a place for a period of time and frequent the local establishments, and speak to local law enforcement about the area. I see a ton of people on here that like to research things using the internet before making a plunge...that's a bad idea. The only way you get a feel for an area is to live in it like a resident.
When we get ready to make the move, we are going to have four areas we want to narrow it down to. We will go to each one and do a short term rental..a month or so. We will go out and shop, buy home goods, and go to the doctor's offices there. We will also go at different times of the year, summer and winter primarily. That's really the only way you get a feel for the indigenous people in the area and the quality of services. Google reviews and Wikipedia aren't the gospel.
We seriously considered Waynesville. It is in a more mountainous area than Hendersonville/Flat Rock, but not as conveniently located. The Hendersonville/Flat Rock or Brevard would be my top choices. Hendersonville/Flatrock is in a great location between Asheville and Greenville, and because of its size, has a lot to offer. Can't say enough good about Brevard. It is quaint, scenic, very close to the mountains, etc.. I like the location of Boone, but college towns have a completely different feel. Been there, done it. It's a love hate for us. Like the things universities have to offer, but don't like towns being overrun by college students and other things (ie., college bars, etc.).
My sister spends half the year west of Boone in a high line golf/equestrian neighborhood. Despite all the condos and mountain ski chalets in the area, Avery County remains very poor. My sister's neighborhood has founded a trust to assist with local citizens' economic needs. She calls some of the locals "the forgotten people", and it makes you realize that hillbillies still exist in some places.
Boone, NC is even lower in income.
The easiest place to check out communities you're interested about moving to is Wikipedia.com. Some of the socioeconomics of small cities is pretty eye opening. And many people prefer to raise their children where other schoolmates, etc. are a little higher on the social scale.
Moving is just difficult--especially when children are included.
The last line, YES! I think asking advice on a forum like this, while certainly a part of doing your due diligence for a potential move, is not going to necessarily yield anything fruitful, since this area represents different things to different people and it is not always people who have children in the schools here that are responding. Unless you are homeschooling, I would definitely do some serious research on the schools in the areas that interest you. I don't know what your school system is like in FL, but I think you will be *very* surprised once you start examining the area schools.
As to spending a month here in every season like another post above mentioned - wow, that's totally ideal and highly recommended - but I can't see many families with kids, unless they homeschool, being able to do something like that (?). Obviously, you would also have to be working remotely to do that as well, so not sure how feasible that is for the majority of families wanting to make a move to the area.
Right now even visiting an area is going to be a problem for months in the future with this Virus running wild , After july 4th weekend that 100,000 new cases a day of Corvid19 might be very real .
Lizap Some of US moved here because of the small town way of life but still offer a short drive time to larger markets hen need arises . Small class sizes or our children never found in larger market schools . Less congestion on a daily bases hats particularly nice over the last few months and people that wave when you pass them on a road or speak to you in a store .
For the remained of this year traveling to even look an area over may be a real problem , simple things like finding a place to lay your head at night short term s in less than 14 days confinement and ever thing else we all use to take for granted will be darn slow returning to normal for most of us too . heck I hate gloving up to fill our vehicle with fuel but that's live today
So with no feed back from the OP !! Time to let them research on there own and if interested they will be back at some point .
Thanks for the honest feedback. Care to share your advice on how to best position your family up there? Or maybe send me a private message?
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Originally Posted by VinceTheExplorer
Yes the beaches and fishing there are great! Spent my fair share of time there, around Clearwater and all the way down through the Keys and Key West (still a favorite place of ours to visit.)
That’s about it though for me as I personally prefer the beaches of the Mid Atlantic and Hatteras over those in FL as I’ve been a lifelong waterman growing up surfing those areas, although we’re a bit removed from them here lately.
Good luck in your search and we hope you find what you’re looking for. We found the Hendersonville and surrounding area to be rather dumpy when scouting the area, with lots of trailers, unregulated sprawl and trashy looking businesses on top of each other (can you say Pay Day Loans and used tire stores.)
You’ll find more of the same in the areas surrounding AVL such as Canton (fragrant paper mill), Swannanoa (run down meth town) and Woodfin (storage building and trailer haven). Be sure to visit these areas with the family for a special treat when scouting the area.
Knowing this, folks will still want a premium ($300k+) for their 900 square foot 2 bed, 1 bath borderline tiny homes (with carports) just because they’re “near” Asheville.
Most of the homes will be in crappy school districts and where you won’t want your children walking around alone during the day in your own neighborhood. Sounds like the mountain paradise that you’ve been looking for, right?
So if you want REAL advice from two involved parents raising their three children in the area, we’re here to help. If I were you though realize that certain types here on the forum offer advice from afar but have never lived in AVL, made a living there or raised children in the area. They’re essentially tourists themselves so be careful with who / what you listen to. Good luck on your search.
Just curious what you meant by being surprised about the schools - positively or negatively surprised? I haven't yet invested a ton of time into school research, but one thing I do know is Florida generally ranks near the bottom when it comes to quality schools. That being said, we do have our elementary-age kids in a good charter school, but the public high school they are zoned for is a definite no-go for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krazicat
The last line, YES! I think asking advice on a forum like this, while certainly a part of doing your due diligence for a potential move, is not going to necessarily yield anything fruitful, since this area represents different things to different people and it is not always people who have children in the schools here that are responding. Unless you are homeschooling, I would definitely do some serious research on the schools in the areas that interest you. I don't know what your school system is like in FL, but I think you will be *very* surprised once you start examining the area schools.
As to spending a month here in every season like another post above mentioned - wow, that's totally ideal and highly recommended - but I can't see many families with kids, unless they homeschool, being able to do something like that (?). Obviously, you would also have to be working remotely to do that as well, so not sure how feasible that is for the majority of families wanting to make a move to the area.
My plan is to do what I am doing now - start out by getting some advice (which has been great so far) on towns that are nice, close to the mountains and with good schools, and then hone in with further research on those areas, including looking at what sort of job opportunities are available. Then, I would plan to visit a few areas to really narrow things down.
One thing that drives me crazy about the Tampa Bay area but also most of Florida in general is that we have no concept of urban planning. We generally let developers do whatever they want - to hell with road infrastructure or school capacity, etc... Florida is also a sad proliferation of strip malls and apartment complexes. Here, we will let developers tear down native land to build a new strip mall when there are a few other rundown, half-vacant strip malls within a 5 mile radius. And all this is happening in the face of a general decline in retail shopping.
So I hope there are locations out there that are more actively managing sprawl and development, with preference for the quality of of life of the residents. I was looking at a job a little while ago in Brentwood, TN and that city seemed to be pretty conscious about prudent development. Do you all think western NC or eastern TN would have an edge in this area?
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