Political Climate Morganton, Hickory,Lenior (Raleigh, Asheville: for sale, real estate, chapel)

[ambrichard]

We wonder about the "political climate" of an area we are hoping to move to.
Diane and I are retiring with very little savings ahead. We have been searching for a quality location with in a scenic region with towns that have a little history, older architecture and more than two restaurants and some things to do. We had visited the Asheville area some time ago and like the feel of the city and the Piedmont western N C. area.
Asheville, sadly, is beyond our budget. There are livable homes for sale we could afford (Under $140,000) in Lenoir, Hickory and Morganton. We are kayakers and have owned small sailboats. The nearby lakes and water ways would provide us opportunity for some paddling recreation. Morganton would be our first choice based on population size, and proximity to Asheville. Lenoir has the best value in real estate. Hickory is a larger city then we'd like, but we could live in one of the areas a few miles out of town. The city offers a lot.

POLITICS! It has become a dirty world these days. In most things we would describe ourselves as Moderates. We don't worry about being too liberal or too conservative to be comfortable in a new community. My rule is to not make a big deal about what candidates I favor, what laws the congress passes, etc. I do have my opinions, but I see no reason to advertise my political beliefs, or religious beliefs, for that matter. Live and Let Live seems a reasonable standard. But we've looked at some towns, (not in North Carolina) with residents who were outspoken about not wanting any Left-wing New Yorkers moving into their communities. No problem there. Count us out.
We are not Left-wing Liberals. First, I've lived in rural Washington State for a large part of my adult life. My children and Grandchildren still live in the Northwest. Diane grew up in small saltwater towns like
Bayville and Oyster Bay NY where we are currenty living.
I'd appreciate any responses regarding the area of Morganton/Hickory/Lenoir as related to the "political climate" and feeling accepted in these communities.
Thanks.

Albert and Diane

[Serious Conversation]

While these are red areas, NC is not as extreme red as TN or SC. As long as you don't mind living around political conservatives, I doubt politics would be a problem, and you can probably find like-minded people there.

[ambrichard]

Thank you Senior Member.
We will be traveling to the area in a few weeks to take a look around. From the online real estate listings we've looked at the last few months there are many attractive areas rural and semi-rural with homes we like. Having lived in several regions of the U.S. I find that good people can be found at both ends of the political spectrum. To my mind the barbecue sauce on the ribs counts for more than one's political leanings. We look forward to becoming residents of your lovely area...and I do favor the tangy North Carolina style BBQ sauce over the sweeter, Kansas style. See you when we have our first cook-out.

[kyle19125]

Having traveled around and researched Western NC for a while in prep for eventual semi-retirement/retirement there I would suggest Morganton over the other two. It seems more open to change and as such more progressive in terms of folks melding together. Downtown Morganton is transforming and attracting artists/creative class individuals opening new businesses and has a touch of an Asheville feel minus the extreme left politics.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by ambrichard

We wonder about the "political climate" of an area we are hoping to move to.
Diane and I are retiring with very little savings ahead. We have been searching for a quality location with in a scenic region with towns that have a little history, older architecture and more than two restaurants and some things to do. We had visited the Asheville area some time ago and like the feel of the city and the Piedmont western N C. area.
Asheville, sadly, is beyond our budget. There are livable homes for sale we could afford (Under $140,000) in Lenoir, Hickory and Morganton. We are kayakers and have owned small sailboats. The nearby lakes and water ways would provide us opportunity for some paddling recreation. Morganton would be our first choice based on population size, and proximity to Asheville. Lenoir has the best value in real estate. Hickory is a larger city then we'd like, but we could live in one of the areas a few miles out of town. The city offers a lot.

POLITICS! It has become a dirty world these days. In most things we would describe ourselves as Moderates. We don't worry about being too liberal or too conservative to be comfortable in a new community. My rule is to not make a big deal about what candidates I favor, what laws the congress passes, etc. I do have my opinions, but I see no reason to advertise my political beliefs, or religious beliefs, for that matter. Live and Let Live seems a reasonable standard. But we've looked at some towns, (not in North Carolina) with residents who were outspoken about not wanting any Left-wing New Yorkers moving into their communities. No problem there. Count us out.
We are not Left-wing Liberals. First, I've lived in rural Washington State for a large part of my adult life. My children and Grandchildren still live in the Northwest. Diane grew up in small saltwater towns like
Bayville and Oyster Bay NY where we are currenty living.
I'd appreciate any responses regarding the area of Morganton/Hickory/Lenoir as related to the "political climate" and feeling accepted in these communities.
Thanks.

Albert and Diane

Look up the 2 US representatives involved. I've been in both districts without moving. While I don't care for either, I find that he's less objectionable than she is, and I'm moderate.

ETA: the surnames are Foxx and McHenry.

[poppydog]

I'm not sure that's too helpful, Southbound, because Foxx's constituency includes Boone and that is pretty bright blue even through Foxx is bright red.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by poppydog

I'm not sure that's too helpful, Southbound, because Foxx's constituency includes Boone and that is pretty bright blue even through Foxx is bright red.

I've been redistricted to Foxx from McHenry. I'm moderate, came here from South Jersey where my town was gerrymandered into a rural right wing congressional district from the time that I could vote. I voted against that congressman every 2 years and did the same when I came here and found myself in another gerrymandered district with McHenry representing it. In the last shuffle I landed in Foxx's district. I like her less than McHenry.

I'm trying to respect the OP by not going into much detail. Boone is not in their list of possibilities, so I didn't mention it. I don't think that your post was helpful other than you wanted to take a slap at me. I have lived in both districts. I felt that I could be helpful. Have you lived in both districts? Oh, that's right, you take every chance you get to say that you live in Chapel Hill. Why didn't you mention it in this thread?

[poppydog]

Wasn’t trying to take a slap at you Southbound. My point was that even though Virginia Foxx is very conservative she is still repping for one of the least conservative places in the mountains, Boone, (second to Asheville). I just don’t think you can judge the political climate of a town or city by the house rep. I think it would be more helpful to look at the town government.

We have a family home in Boone for whatever that’s worth.

[roadpony]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Having traveled around and researched Western NC for a while in prep for eventual semi-retirement/retirement there I would suggest Morganton over the other two. It seems more open to change and as such more progressive in terms of folks melding together. Downtown Morganton is transforming and attracting artists/creative class individuals opening new businesses and has a touch of an Asheville feel minus the extreme left politics.

I agree totally.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by poppydog

Wasn’t trying to take a slap at you Southbound. My point was that even though Virginia Foxx is very conservative she is still repping for one of the least conservative places in the mountains, Boone, (second to Asheville). I just don’t think you can judge the political climate of a town or city by the house rep. I think it would be more helpful to look at the town government.

We have a family home in Boone for whatever that’s worth.

I very much think that the OP will get an answer by looking at the representatives, both federal and state. The people are not elected by an occasional town but by all of the people. In fact, Burke County is paired with Cleveland County, where I live, and the result is a very conservative Republican going to Raleigh. When Cleveland County was paired with Rutherford County, the result was a conservative Democrat. Why? Because both Counties have a lot of conservative Democrats, but Burke has more, and they're more conservative. I live in SE Cleveland County, in Kings Mountain, yes the home of Tim Moore, and there is a complete range within the city limits. That is not the case further out in the county. Cleveland and Rutherford are very similar. Burke is more conservative. I live out here. The OP is looking at Morganton. It's in Burke County.

Conversely, I used to go to Hickory a lot to shop at AC Moore. I like Hickory. It's still a conservative place, but it's a fairly diverse city with a fair number of Asians. That district still has Lincoln County. It's extremely red.

My vote would go to Hickory as a nice enough city with a more moderate vibe.

I've also heard good comments on the hospital in Hickory.