Where is a nice place to live in the northern part of North Carolina?

Question

I live in a small town in Pennsylvania. I would say there are less than 2,500 people in the town that I live in. We only have one gas station & a hospital. I haven't had any luck in finding a job up here (I'm a certified professional coder). I like the low cost of living here, you can buy a nice house that you won't have to fix up for $50,000. The house next to my parents went for $15,000 and it didn't need any work. The town is quiet and not much crime happens here. I don't like living in the mountains b/c of the winters, I hate snow. I would like to move further south to avoid such cold weather. The problem is I don't know where to begin looking & I would like to live in a small town, with a good school, & not have to deal w/a lot of crime/violence. Where I live you can leave your windows down in your car w/the keys inside & not have to worry about anybody touching it. Does anybody have any suggesstions on where to move?

Answer 1

If you like a little snow i suggest the Waynesville area.  they get just a few pretty ones a year but not like feet of snow.  we live in lower rutherford county (foothills) and the farther north or west you go...even 20 minutes higher in the county the price of land skyrockets.  I live out in the country and you can find pretty good deals around here.  if you don't mind spending a little more i suggest upper rutherford towards marion or polk county (known retirement area).  where i live i am 20 minutes from any major area so i am in a good location.  20 from...shelby, gaffney S.C., Spartanburg S.C.,forest city, boilings springs,  so not bad of a drive

Answer 2

Hey, I live in Camden, NC. It is considered the "nicer area" around these parts. It's about 30 minutes to the VA state line. We have very nice schools but our neighboring city Elizabeth City which is the closest "town" has a much higher crime rate.  Housing costs are RIDICULOUS!  If you found a fixer upper for $150,000 you would be lucky.  We do have good school though. HERTFORD and some other areas a little south of here have better housing prices. You may want to check out some of those areas.

Answer 3

One of the answers suggests the Hickory area and I would agree this is a very good choice.  I live in a lovely little small town named Newton which is about 7 miles from the Hickory area where there is everything you would need - malls, restaurants and two excellent hospitals ... is this where you would work as a "coder"? If you want a small town, Newton would be an ideal place and has excellent schools and there is a univerisity in Hickory called Lenoir/Rhyne. Newton is located in the NC Piedmont which means we are about a one hour drive away from the mountains, which makes a nice day trip. We may or may not have a dusting of snow in winter - we do not have snow removal equipment so that should tell you something! I would be happy to give you more details if you would want them.  Incidentally, Winston Salem is about a one hour drive away, as also is Charlotte which is a very large city, but the commute is horrible!

Answer 4

First, the demographics change a lot the further east or west you go in NC.  The western part, although mostly mountains, is probably more suited to your tastes.  But based on your dislike for the colder climates you probably want to stay near the towns of Wilkesboro, Hickory, Winston-Salem, etc, as these located in the foothills, and not the Appalachian mountains.  Not sure what a professional coder does, but one of the outlying rural areas around Winston-Salem might not be bad for you.  Winston-Salem is very upscale with a lot of medical personnel working in the three hospitals, and there would be lots of job opportunities in the greater Winston-Salem area. You might be able to find the type of rural community you are looking for far enough out of town to strike a balance.  The Wilkesboro area is less populated, but the job opportunities wouldn't be as great.  

Good Luck!