Thinking of moving from SoCal to Western Carolina

[jayboogieman]

6 minutes ago, Shocker said:

Something like this, this, or this would work. You would just need to clear off some land and haul in some sand.

[GOAT]

Hmm damn the snow thing is a huge buzzkill, should've done more research than just googling "Town Name, NC Snow" and seeing if they had a picture of the town with snow as confirmation haha.

Guess I'm going to fuggin Boone!

[Brooklyn 3.0]

17 minutes ago, GOAT said:

Hmm damn the snow thing is a huge buzzkill, should've done more research than just googling "Town Name, NC Snow" and seeing if they had a picture of the town with snow as confirmation haha.

Guess I'm going to fuggin Boone!

Not only that, but with global warming even the NC mountains are losing a true "four seasons". You need to go to the Northeast for that. Hell, even I don't get leave color change here in BK much any more. Snow though, yes.

[LinvilleGorge]

Boone only averages about 30" of snow a year and it's almost always the here today, gone in 2-3 days type of snow. Except on the roads where patches of black ice linger linger. Do you REALLY want a lot of snow? I love it. We averaged well over 100" where I lived in CO. But back east? East coast snow is high moisture content. That means it's slick as hell and sticks to everything which means broken trees and power outages. The DOT is poorly prepared for snow and so are most of the drivers and vehicles so snow equals a complete poo show on the roads. Snow in CO is one thing. Snow in NC is a poo show.

@GOATany questions you have fire away. I grew up here. What are you looking for in a place and I can give you a better idea of where you should (and should not) be looking. Don't fuging move to Marion though, whatever you do. Jesus. Don't move to "mern".

[GOAT]

6 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Boone only averages about 30" of snow a year and it's almost always the here today, gone in 2-3 days type of snow. Except on the roads where patches of black ice linger linger. Do you REALLY want a lot of snow? I love it. We averaged well over 100" where I lived in CO. But back east? East coast snow is high moisture content. That means it's slick as hell and sticks to everything which means broken trees and power outages. The DOT is poorly prepared for snow and so are most of the drivers and vehicles so snow equals a complete poo show on the roads. Snow in CO is one thing. Snow in NC is a poo show.

@GOATany questions you have fire away. I grew up here. What are you looking for in a place and I can give you a better idea of where you should (and should not) be looking. Don't fuging move to Marion though, whatever you do. Jesus. Don't move to "mern".

Interesting, that is great info I appreciate it. I know nothing about snow living in SoCal. We drive 3 hours to big bear just to see some before it melts. I've been by the beach forever and just want 4 seasons, I know my mom does too - I'm not trying to shovel snow and poo but thought it would be cool to get snow during the holidays.

My requirements are pretty simple I think, we want to live in the Carolina's, have all 4 seasons, no neighbors, view of the mountains, close enough to a downtown area with main store like target /starbucks/ trader joes / fast food / etc, nothing more than 2 hours from Charlotte.

I of course would love to pay less than I pay here in Cali and have more bang for my buck as far as home size / lot size. I would pay as much as a do I Cali for a place that checked every box and then some though, I've seen some amazing options for what I pay out here.

 

Morganton looks awesome, what is wrong with Marion lol?

[LinvilleGorge]

Marion is basically all the negative southern Appalachia stereotypes married together in one place. It's North Carolina's own little West Virginia. Target? You're talking Asheville or Boone. Trader Joe's? Asheville. Though in Morganton you're 20 minutes to a Target in Hickory and we have Food Matters.

https://www.foodmattersmarket.com/

I'm under 10 minutes to downtown, can't see it hear my closest neighbors, and have a mountain view off the deck. This was Saturday's sunset.

[GOAT]

49 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Marion is basically all the negative southern Appalachia stereotypes married together in one place. It's North Carolina's own little West Virginia. Target? You're talking Asheville or Boone. Trader Joe's? Asheville. Though in Morganton you're 20 minutes to a Target in Hickory and we have Food Matters.

https://www.foodmattersmarket.com/

I'm under 10 minutes to downtown, can't see it hear my closest neighbors, and have a mountain view off the deck. This was Saturday's sunset.

That is a money shot, Morganton seems great - you really don't get any snow?

I think Boone checks most of my boxes. Something I need to consider too are my kids and the schools they would go to.

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, GOAT said:

That is a money shot, Morganton seems great - you really don't get any snow?

I think Boone checks most of my boxes. Something I need to consider too are my kids and the schools they would go to.

Morganton really doesn't get much snow. Boone is the coldest place on Earth. I'll take -20 in CO over 30 and windy in Boone. That cold just hits different.

[Anybodyhome]

I moved from San Diego to the Piedmont at the tail end of 1992, stayed there 3 years, Asheville 3 years and southwestern Virginia for 13. Now I'm east of Raleigh for the last 8 years and will absolutely swear to you that NC has three different cultures: western, central and eastern. In some respects you feel like you're in 3 different states.

This is, by far, the furthest I've ever lived from the beach, but the cost of living when I moved here allowed me to buy a beach house, sell and upgrade, sell and upgrade to the one we have now, and it's only a 3 hour drive door-to-door from my full-time residence. Major bang for your buck difference between SoCal and here.

One other thing... I've driven in every fugging state in this country, save for Minnesota and North Dakota, and, without any question, doubt or hesitation, I will tell you the worst drivers I've encountered anywhere are in NC. I didn't learn how to drive in the snow until I was 33 and 10 years later when I lived in Asheville, I was the guy taking employees to work because they couldn't drive in ice or snow. WTF?

And those other places? My sister moved from Ontario, CA to Cedar City, Utah earlier this year and my brother moved from Long Beach to Couer d'Alene, ID last year. They both love where they are, but they both came from pretty crappy, overcrowded cities in my opinion.

[ladypanther]

@GOAT.....I live in Morganton.  These days we most often do not get snow in December.  It is an ok small  town and not too far from Charlotte.  I agree with what LinvilleGorge said about Marion.  Avoid that place.

Other places to look into are Waynesville and Sylva.  Both are west of Asheville with Sylva being the farthest at about 1 hour away.  Both will have more snow.  Sylva is a great small town in Jackson County, which is also where Western Carolina University is located.  I love the Sylva area.  Here is a link to an article from the Washington Post:

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/this-tiny-north-carolina-town-is-an-asheville-alternative-for-the-crowd-weary/2016/09/01/e4cadc6e-6959-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc_story.html

Waynesville is  growing and is closer to Asheville and thus closer to more shopping.  But both places are definitely worth checking out.

But also agree, since you will be working from home, check on the internet service.  I work from home and really need more upload speed.  I meet my company minimum requirements but it would be better if it was much faster.  

[Happy Panther]

Where is that dude who was looking for someone to come live in his trailer and clear land for camping in the NC mountains? You should give him a call.

 

[Happy Panther]

North Carolina is a nice state. Nice. Doesn't suck. 

If you would enjoy mountain living I think you have a good plan. You aren't going to be blown away by much here. But it doesn't suck. We have skiing kind of. We have professional sports. Kind of.

I live in Davidson. It's pleasant. Charlotte is harmless mostly. That works for me.

There is a reason this is a state in which to retire. It's nice.

Better than South Carolina.

I hope to build a mountain house one day. Living in the mountains would not be pleasant for me. I hate the politics. Boone in the winter sounds not fun.

[GOAT]

1 hour ago, ladypanther said:

@GOAT.....I live in Morganton.  These days we most often do not get snow in December.  It is an ok small  town and not too far from Charlotte.  I agree with what LinvilleGorge said about Marion.  Avoid that place.

Other places to look into are Waynesville and Sylva.  Both are west of Asheville with Sylva being the farthest at about 1 hour away.  Both will have more snow.  Sylva is a great small town in Jackson County, which is also where Western Carolina University is located.  I love the Sylva area.  Here is a link to an article from the Washington Post:

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/this-tiny-north-carolina-town-is-an-asheville-alternative-for-the-crowd-weary/2016/09/01/e4cadc6e-6959-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc_story.html

Waynesville is  growing and is closer to Asheville and thus closer to more shopping.  But both places are definitely worth checking out.

But also agree, since you will be working from home, check on the internet service.  I work from home and really need more upload speed.  I meet my company minimum requirements but it would be better if it was much faster.  

Thank you! I had not heard of Sylva, looks like a great option - slightly further from Charlotte than I would like but that isn't a deal breaker.

[Davidson Deac II]

Most things have been covered here, I will just say that imo, Asheville is a bit more expensive than Boone, but transportation is probably a little easier with major interstates and even an Airport, albeit a small one. Boone is a little more Isolated and is dominated by the college.  Population of Boone is about 20,000, and App state has more than 20,000 students.