Well sort of! I was born in JAX but grew up in MIA. I left South FL when I was 34. My husband was a captain on one of the party boats at Baker's Haulover. After his death I took a chance and got the heck out of Dodge! I've never looked back. As a kid I was really into horses and spent lots of time out in Sweetwater (when the only bar had a hitching post! No, really! I'm dead serious. For HORSES. Oh, and all the bridges out there on Tamiami Trail were wooden too, all the way out to 122nd St!)
As an adult, I continued to work with horses professionally until I retired a few years ago. Now, I'm not as old as you might think, being a very young 48! But I give you the bio for a reason. I had a good bit of "country" in my blood already, but I found myself in a total state of culture shock, first in my first new country home near Lake City, FL, but much more in the Appalachians. It is WAY different here! If you stay and live in town, it's not so marked. Get away from town and it becomes much more apparent.
After eight years, I'm still an "outsider," and will be probably as long as I live here. I'm not treated badly, just differently. People in town, who work for companies based outside Boone, and people who have come in from "off the mountain," generally have a normal work ethic. But people who work for themselves work by "mountain time." The closest thing I can think of is Key West. The locals run by a slower clock! The further you get from Boone, the more you will find this true. Especially over in Tennessee . . . but that's another story. The clock stopped in Mountain City sometime around 1969! LOL
I guess what I'm trying to say is, "Come, and Welcome!" Just be prepared for some culture shock. The Mexicanos do not speak Cubano! There are no Interstates (or real malls, but we do have a great outlet mall!) and people drive a LOT slower. If they don't, they're eventually scraped up off the road somewhere. You will be treated civilly by the natives, but never fully accepted by most. There are still lots of homes that are out of range of cable TV or DSL. Most homes in the county are on well water and septic. And many, if not most, of the local folk raise their own vegetables, and can much of it themselves for winter use. There is little crime and away from town, many do not lock doors and I'm one of them. As a matter of fact, if I didn't leave my keys in the car, I'd lose them! Do lock up in town though, as most of what crime we have is petty theft.
Learning to drive here takes about a year . . . If you can't stay in your lane, you're going too fast! Locals can drive about 20 mph faster on the curves than visitors. In Miami, the streets are laid out in the Federal Survey System style. In NC, they are laid out according to "metes and bounds." (That means that property is measured "From a stake in the middle of the creek to the old oak tree on the hill, to the maple tree at the corner, and" . . . well you get the idea.) No neat 45 degree angles here! Sometime the mailboxes are numbered backwards, from the dead end instead of the last intersection! Learning your way around will be your biggest challenge. Here's a tip . . . Bamboo Road is a circle! (It's the main short-cut around the east end of Boone.) Deerfield Rd. runs right throught the middle of the circle and that combination will confuse you for at least a year! And then there's Wilson's Ridge . . . but I digress! One more thing . . . The traffic in the center of town will make you feel right at home!!
There are no bugs here! At least not as you know them. There are a few german cockroaches (only what you and others bring with you), and no palmetto bugs. The 'skeeters are different too, small and gray instead of huge and black! You hardly ever see them, but you will feel the itchy welt almost immediately . . . after they've sucked and left! We have all the same critters that Miami has, but they are more often seen here. Coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks, possums, etc are common, with the addition of flying squrrels and wild turkey. No armadillo though. Critters are more likely to make themselves right at home here too. My house is host to a noisy colony of bats! 48 at last count, with babies now. The ceiling above my bedroom sounds like an aircraft carrier at night, with all the arrivals and departures! Not that I mind . . . they eat a LOT of harmful bugs, like mosquitos!
The weather is absolutely delightful! It took me a couple of years to adjust, but I had 4 years in North FL to help. In Miami, I was in a sweater at 70 and shivering at 62. Here, 70 is HOT and I'm in a tank top. I don't put on a sweater until about 58, and a coat at about 50 (depending on how hard the wind is blowing). Summer temps top out in the mid-70's except for a couple of weeks in August. Many people don't even have AC. That's changing though. It's been getting warmer earlier, and last year we actually had a few 90 degree days. The hot spell lasted nearly a month too. The one downside is that I can no longer tolerate high heat and humidity at ALL. I used to be able to handle a
heat index of 115, now 90 is pushing it!
I quickly learned to drive in snow (by necessity) and learned NOT to drive on ice! I'll never forget my first accidental 180 on a curve. I swapped ends without incident and carefully drove right back down the way I came, LOL. It happened so fast, It took a moment for me to realize that I was driving the other way. Back in 2003, I totaled by Ford Ranger on unforecast black ice out on US-421 on my way in to Boone from Mountain City. We (son Robert and I) walked away, thank God. I was without a car for 7 months!
Speaking of wind, it starts to blow in October, and doesn't stop until May! The higher you are, the harder it blows. Gale force is normal, tropical storm force is common, and hurricane force is not unusual. When the temp is 20 and the wind is howling at 35 from the northwest, it HURTS! (Of course I was working outdoors at the time!) Ok, I'm exaggerating a little, the wind does slow down or stop from time to time. Dress for it, and you'll be ok. Keep heavy gloves in the car for pumping gas, and whatever you do, don't go through a car wash if the temp is below 30, LOL!!!
Winter is beautiful here, and if you don't tuck tail and run back to FL, you'll adjust to it in a couple of years. My sis who is a sun worshiping beach goddess nearly took off after her first winter, and now, after 5 years, is doing just fine. Still can't drive up here though! She scares me!
Be prepared for trees without leaves for 6 months, from mid-November to May. The seasons are awesome, something I missed all my life until I left South FL. Spring is my favorite! I never knew there were so many shades of green! Then there's Fall . . . Both are worth waiting for!
I hope the essay was worth reading. The other folks on the forum will add their two cents and maybe 25 cents like me! Some will correct me, and some will agree. In any case, be prepared to fall in love. Few people who come to Boone can escape it's charms.
One piece of advice, perhaps unlooked for: Don't move up here after September or before March. If the culture shock doesn't get you, the weather will! Plan your move in Spring or Summer so you'll get to know roads and people, and which tow company to use! Oh, and one more thing, Spring isn't official until after Easter! And even then we can get snow and ice!
IMHO, Asheville doesn't hold a candle to Boone. It's too big, too dirty, and has MUCH more crime. Boone is definitely the place to be!
Blessings!
Hymnsinger
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Boone
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