Tell me about North Carolina

I visited there once, about four years ago. I liked the little that I saw around the Greensboro area. If one were to move to the state, what area is:

1) Fairly close to the beach
2) Not too far from mountains for outdoor activities (if that exists)
3) Has a decent demographic for better jobs / sales / hi-tech
4) A short drive to a larger city where one may buy a home on an acre or two for <$200K

Being from California all my life, I'm getting a bit tired of everything here and may entertain a big change in life!

 

Near Cary would fit the bill.

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I have a home in san diego and I have a home in charlotte.

I am always so happy to be in charlotte...not a fan of nc politics nor pollen in the spring.

all else is nice. a great state.

 

My understanding is that there is a high tech triangle between Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Yes? No?

 

1-4 doesn't exist

Just look at a map, it's a wide state, the mountains on one end and the beach on the other. So much for that. Even though some from the more cosmopolitan area's of the country view the whole south as an inexpensive backwater, you will NOT find a decent home in a nice area for that price.

I'll give you the places to pick from in NC -- Northern side of Greensboro, Hendersonville, Ballantyne section south side of Charlotte, Chapel Hill, and maybe Tryon. --- (you may want to put Greenville SC on your list)


I have been looking for the right place to build for a while 4 1/2 years in NC and 2 in SC and have looked at all aspects of such a decision.

 

It depends what you call fairly close. A lot like nothern Virginia, you're close to the city, country, mountains and ocean if you call 2-3 hour drive fairly close. Raleigh/Cary has the IT jobs. Just have to get far enough out of town to find the real estate.

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Asheville

 

my house near Asheville

 

Here it is
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also
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Raider, reading between the lines, seems like you might like...Ashville?

Not very close to the beach though.

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Peter S. PM me. I have been involved in recruiting senior executives and companies to the RTP region (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary) for more than 20 years. I will give you an unbiased picture of the area based on what is important to you. RTP is about 2 1/2 hors to several beaches and bout 3-4.0 hours to higher elevations. RTP is home to a lot of small, mid sized and a few large hi tech firms SAS, IBM, Cisco, Red Hat, EMC and the life science industry here hires tech people as well. The RTP area is populated mostly by people who grew up and went to school somewhere else.

 

You should also put Columbia SC and Greenville on the short list. Columbia has a major push on High Tech, and for that matter Charleton should be on your list.

Greenville #1 Micor City of the future.


Greenville, SC ranks as Top City - Customer Effective Blog - Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Microsoft Dynamics Community

News Coverage of Greenville, South Carolina

 

I wouldn't rule out Wilmington. It is a superb lifestyle.

 

I'm rather biased, but I'll bet you can guess my recommendation.

 

I've lived in Cary (NC), Raleigh (NC), Charleston (SC), Summerville (SC), and now Charlotte (NC) within the last 7 years. I would pick Raleigh/Cary to raise a family and Charleston if I were single or married with no kids. However, not a lot of tech in Charleston, so that is where Raleigh would have a big advantage. Roughly 2 hours to Wilmington (beach) and roughly 3 hours to Asheville (mountains). And yes, there are tons of outdoorsy things to do in the mountains. We were beach people in Charleston and now we're mountain people in Charlotte. We love to go hiking, tubing, whitewater rafting, etc.

 

WOW! Great replies from all so far, thank you very much. I have spent a fair amount of time looking at the
cities and demographics of the state. I like the weather and the housing prices. Being in California, housing
is simply ridiculous. My Wife would like to quit her job and have a small house on a piece of land that she can
garden and grow vegetables. If I could land a high-tech sales job for around $100K or more, that would be
extremely attractive as it would allow me to pay the bills, live in a beautiful place and let my Wife stay at
home, which is something that is at the top of my list as she is currently working like a dog right now.

That looks exactly like the mountains in my home town, Sonora, CA which is on the Western Slope of the Sierra's.

 

You are right - a long way from the beaches - but drop dead beautiful, great people (rarely does anyone honk while driving), and roads that rival any for driving a Ferrari, great Ferrari Clubs in NC and neighboring GA, SC, and TN with good presidents and great events - Road Atlanta & VIR not too far - I live on Cold Mnt which is very rural - I live on my own ridge line
but am only 35 minutes from downtown Asheville that is a very eclectic small city with great restaurants and medical facilities, hotels etc - also great mix of older & younger people

 

Forgot to mention, we have great fly fishing 10 minutes from our house - have a cup of coffee - go fish for a few hours and come home for breakfast - very civilized way to live
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Daniel
This is way off subject but thanks for the hats at the Ferrari Club event at Road America

 

Apex...a town that borders Cary was just listed as the 9th best town/city to live in the US. Love it here. And...the entire RDU area has a large and active Ferrari population!

 

Where in California is peterS currently living?

That may help us understand what he is looking for?

 

I live in Sonora, 125 miles west of San Jose. It's in the Western Slope of the Sierra Nevada range, an hour from Yosemite.
It's a bit hick with no decent places to eat, population of 6000. When not on business travel for work in the western states,
I home office Monday and Friday and work in San Jose two weeks a month where I have had digs at a buddy's home since
2001 after I sold my house and moved from San Jose.

 

WOW! Apex and my town!
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Raider, you are in the deep sticks and equidistant to Hendersonville. That's fine for a getaway cabin but not for a primary home. One of the many considerations when purchasing is healthcare options even if you are healthy. A 35 minute ride thru the sticks when you are sick as a dog or bleeding bad is not cool.

That was the downside to Tryon even though not as remote as Cold mtn. Hendersonville is the place in Western NC, quaint and classy, equal half hour to Asheville, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, or Greenville SC.

Btw the most entertaining road in the area is 176 from Saluda to Tryon.


PeterS -- You say your wife likes to garden, well that is an important factor in why I ranked my choices earlier the way I did. Fire Ants, they are a big quality of life hassle in the south especially for anyone who wants to be in the yard. Greensboro does not have them, Hendersonville may also be free, but Tryon does, as does all of SC and NC areas like Charlotte and Raliegh.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/fireants/downloads/fireant.pdf

Ever since I lived in Greenville I have said it is the nicest downtown in the US. Best weather of the region too. The only downsides, the ants and some pockets of extreme poverty.


A pic taken from the front part of a lot I was looking at in a development back in 09 when the economy was beginning its freefall. Great views, which can also be had across that entire area. The infrastructure was amazing in its quality, even a winery.
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