NGC Any NC people here? Looking for nice towns to relocate to.

[s1120]

Wife and I are starting a "5 year plan" to relocate from upstate NY, down to eastern NC. The cold winters, and sky high cost of living in NY is just getting old!!  Looking for eastern NC. Wife wants to be within 1-1.5 hours from the beach. We dont want to be too close because of hurricanes. Small town life with some room is what we like... save the cities for the young crowd..

So just wondering if any of you all might know the area? Point out some places where we can start our search.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

NE and Central parts of eastern NC are pretty economically depressed and mostly feature hog lagoons & chicken farms....

Greenville area and some areas west of Wilmington are quite nice...  Are you aware how hot it is during the summer that far inland tho?  BOILING

If you want a small-town feel, check out Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, Burgaw, Mt.Olive, Lake Waccamaw

I would avoid Whiteville and Lumberton like the plague-- I bet you can buy a house there for $40k but there is a reason for that

Edited to say that I live in Asheville, but all my people are from 'down east' so I know the area pretty well. 

[Lannis]

Good luck!   

You know the local saying about "yankees" and "damyankees" .... !

Lannis

[blackcat]

Good luck!   

You know the local saying about "yankees" and "damyankees" .... !

Lannis

Yep, experienced that with the local tax dept when I purchased my house. After I made them reassess my house for the third time because they were attempting to rip me off, the same guy called me up and plead with me to stop. I conceded but the taxes were dropped from $2,300 a year to the proper $1,000 per year.  And I did not call him an asshole. 

[Dilliw]

Yeh that's a tough one!  There is not much to speak of between I 95 and the coast of NC, and as far as hurricanes go these days you are going to get evacuated if there's even a chance it's coming your way. 

While you don't want city life you are going to need an anchor nearby for access to medical, transportation, and culture (there's no "Egg" in Eastern NC).  I would work from either Wilmington, Greenville, or Norfolk, VA.  Of the three Norfolk has the most to offer, although I have a good friend in Wilmington and he loves it there.  Greenville is a couple hours to the beach and the best thing to say about it is that it's a college town (Eastern Carolina). 

You could come on in to SC and look at Florence.  I grew up dealing with Myrtle Beach and know how to avoid things, and a little local knowledge will put you in the non-touristy places (Cherry Grove, Huntington Beach). But Myrtle Beach Airport is only an hour and there's always cheap flights back to ALB.  Other advantages:

American Express service to Charlotte
McLeod Medical System is very well rated
Florence Center 10,000 seat arena
Just off I95 and usually doesn't get evacuated
SC has a better tax deal for retiring Yankees than NC :)

If you want to maintain a connection to Upstate NY then Aiken, SC is an extension due to the horse business.  I lived in Schenectady for a couple of years and was amazed at how many people knew about Aiken.  Event the carriage girl at Lake George said that a bunch of their horses were born there.

[s1120]

Thanks for all the info!!  Ya, I know about being from NY and going south....  Normaly have to start with .... Not the city!!!.   Looked into a lot of places in Greenville..  Looks mostly nice. Also someone directed me to the Beaufort aera a few years ago...  A lot closer to the coast, but they loved it..   As far as the temps...  ya I know it can be tough. At this point we have a small place on cape cod mass that we are planing on living at in the summers. Gets us out of town on the hottest months when hurricanes are most common. SC is not out of the running. just thinking of saving some of the 4 seasons.

[blackcat]

  Ya, I know about being from NY and going south....  Normaly have to start with .... Not the city!!!.   

I'm from NYC and as soon as you say NY or just open your mouth the deal is done.  Fortunately, I have seen or experienced less of that over time.

[maquette]

!!  Looking for eastern NC. Wife wants to be within 1-1.5 hours from the beach. We dont want to be too close because of hurricanes. Small town life with some room is what we like... save the cities for the young crowd..

Paul,

1-1.5 hours is not enought to get you away from the hurricanes. We live in Oriental, NC and after a ferry ride across the Neuse River, it's about 45 minutes to the ocean. My wife is a real estate broker and it seems everyone, (including us) wanted/wants the best of both worlds. If you are talking about 5 years, I would suggest that you try to find a piece of property up out of the flood zone and build when you are ready. If you can't find property up out of the flood zone, this area around Oriental is pretty nice. In ANY of the flood zones, one would be a fool not to build an elevated home in my opinion. Our house is elevated about 10'-12' above ground. Here's a link to our little town online community blog to give you a feel for this place. Definitely small, small town America.

https://towndock.net/

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

forgot to ask are you retiring, or just looking to move (ie: will need jobs)?

[twowheeladdict]

I grew up near the beach, and other than bikini clad females, I never saw the draw.  Skin cancer, salt air, flat and boring roads, etc.  Everything molds, rusts, or corrodes.   

Give me a quiet mountain brook, tree lined roads, shade, curves, elevation and the low cost of living in Tennessee.

[PeteS]

Never lived in NC but been all over the state. The mountains are motorcycle heaven plus lots less people there and traffic. Take trip and look around. Skip the beach and get a pool or a place on a lake.

Pete

[s1120]

Not retiring. Wife works remotely. So anything is fine with her. I can do most anything, so ill find something where ever we end up. Was last in the auto biz, and there are always jobs in that... 

A lake is nice...  Might be able to sway her to a nice lake! 

[s1120]

Paul,

1-1.5 hours is not enought to get you away from the hurricanes. We live in Oriental, NC and after a ferry ride across the Neuse River, it's about 45 minutes to the ocean. My wife is a real estate broker and it seems everyone, (including us) wanted/wants the best of both worlds. If you are talking about 5 years, I would suggest that you try to find a piece of property up out of the flood zone and build when you are ready. If you can't find property up out of the flood zone, this area around Oriental is pretty nice. In ANY of the flood zones, one would be a fool not to build an elevated home in my opinion. Our house is elevated about 10'-12' above ground. Here's a link to our little town online community blog to give you a feel for this place. Definitely small, small town America.

https://towndock.net/

looks like a nice small town.  Right now we live in a nice small historic town. We do like it other then NY taxes and 6 months of winter

[maquette]

looks like a nice small town.  Right now we live in a nice small historic town. We do like it other then NY taxes and 6 months of winter

Best bet since you have a little time is to make a list of areas you are interested in and then visit each for a few days. The mountain lake areas of western NC and Eastern TN are very nice too. The motorcycle roads are definitely better. We have several friends down here who are from NY and they all escape for the same reasons! 

[s1120]

Best bet since you have a little time is to make a list of areas you are interested in and then visit each for a few days. The mountain lake areas of western NC and Eastern TN are very nice too. The motorcycle roads are definitely better. We have several friends down here who are from NY and they all escape for the same reasons! 

Ya, Ive seen some nice places.  Wife really likes the beach though..  but being that we plan to keep our small place on Cape Cod for summer, I might be able to talk her into someplace farther from the coast.

[Ncdan]

I’m in central NC, the Piedmont, and it’s become a Metropolitan area. All the major cities are touching or close to touching. We have traffic issues and other large city issues now. I’d look at SC, Ga, or FL, if I wanted to be costal.

[Dilliw]

Best bet since you have a little time is to make a list of areas you are interested in and then visit each for a few days. The mountain lake areas of western NC and Eastern TN are very nice too. The motorcycle roads are definitely better. We have several friends down here who are from NY and they all escape for the same reasons! 

Maps always help me...



Not a lot of people in the blue section between the coast and the Piedmont.  The military finds this attractive!
The Piedmont is where the population centers are located.  Some good lake living in this zone although it has become very expensive to the people who are from here!  Lake James is taking off.
Ahh, Western NC, the Mountain Region, and the Blue Ridge.  Cool little mountain towns, affordable living (excluding Asheville), and great for motorcycles.  I've got your problem, however.  It's too far from the coast for the wife...

[s1120]

Maps always help me...



Not a lot of people in the blue section between the coast and the Piedmont.  The military finds this attractive!
The Piedmont is where the population centers are located.  Some good lake living in this zone although it has become very expensive to the people who are from here!  Lake James is taking off.
Ahh, Western NC, the Mountain Region, and the Blue Ridge.  Cool little mountain towns, affordable living (excluding Asheville), and great for motorcycles.  I've got your problem, however.  It's too far from the coast for the wife...

We spent some time looking in Cary. one of her home offices is there, and its rated one of the best towns to live pretty much country wide...  Prices reflect that though...  NY prices.. 

[GeorgiaGuzzi]

The outer banks around the southern tip of the state are nice. We have vacationed in Emerald Isle NC since I was 18. A couple of years ago we went on vacation a couple of weeks after a hurricane. While still 2 hours from the beach the flooding was horrific! Make sure you use updated flood zone maps. The local municipalities and the state still use 20 year old flood plane maps, which do not reflect the rising sea levels. So you might think you’re out of the flood zone, but now you’re actually in it. I’m a big fan of the beaches and also the mountains. I skew towards the beach, the wife prefers the mountains. We split yearly vacations between the two. One note about the mountains, they get snow. Not regularly like you’re used to, but at least once a year. And southerners don’t deal well with snow. At least not here in GA where I’m from.

[s1120]

Paul,

1-1.5 hours is not enought to get you away from the hurricanes. We live in Oriental, NC and after a ferry ride across the Neuse River, it's about 45 minutes to the ocean. My wife is a real estate broker and it seems everyone, (including us) wanted/wants the best of both worlds. If you are talking about 5 years, I would suggest that you try to find a piece of property up out of the flood zone and build when you are ready. If you can't find property up out of the flood zone, this area around Oriental is pretty nice. In ANY of the flood zones, one would be a fool not to build an elevated home in my opinion. Our house is elevated about 10'-12' above ground. Here's a link to our little town online community blog to give you a feel for this place. Definitely small, small town America.

https://towndock.net/

One thing I wanted to ask you.  How is the off season? Do you have a off season??  As I posted we are not planning on being there during the dead of summer, so we will mis a lot of the hottest times, and most of hurricane season.

[maquette]

One thing I wanted to ask you.  How is the off season? Do you have a off season??  As I posted we are not planning on being there during the dead of summer, so we will mis a lot of the hottest times, and most of hurricane season.

Paul,

Our off season runs generally from around end of October to the end of March. Mid September to mid November would be a good time to visit if you want to miss the summer heat. There are many things going on all year, but of course --19 has curtailed much of that.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

One thing I wanted to ask you.  How is the off season? Do you have a off season??  As I posted we are not planning on being there during the dead of summer, so we will mis a lot of the hottest times, and most of hurricane season.

I'm not understanding this question... 1.5hr from the beach in Eastern NC, there is no 'on' season?  Like no tourists etc, unless you count the people driving by on the interstate on the way to the beach? There's no seasonal swing is what I mean... it's just stable population wise year-round

[stratoguzzi]

 I moved to Wake Forest from Long Island 4 years ago.While I am 2 hours from the beaches, I live in a area with great motorcycling roads.Lots of farms and twisty back roads with next to no traffic. I was exploring and found Lake Gaston.Half of it is in Virginia and the other half in North Carolina.Waterfront property is available for a fraction of New York prices.Not the beach but in my opinion much nicer than living on the coast.Less likely to have a hurricane,and there are a lot of trees and beautiful roads and small towns. ALMOST like Lake George but no mountains...2 hours to Raleigh or Richmond....

[s1120]

I'm not understanding this question... 1.5hr from the beach in Eastern NC, there is no 'on' season?  Like no tourists etc, unless you count the people driving by on the interstate on the way to the beach? There's no seasonal swing is what I mean... it's just stable population wise year-round

I was refering to his town what is on the....  Ill call it the inner coast..  On the water.

[s1120]

I moved to Wake Forest from Long Island 4 years ago.While I am 2 hours from the beaches, I live in a area with great motorcycling roads.Lots of farms and twisty back roads with next to no traffic. I was exploring and found Lake Gaston.Half of it is in Virginia and the other half in North Carolina.Waterfront property is available for a fraction of New York prices.Not the beach but in my opinion much nicer than living on the coast.Less likely to have a hurricane,and there are a lot of trees and beautiful roads and small towns. ALMOST like Lake George but no mountains...2 hours to Raleigh or Richmond....

Ill have to check that out. As I said I was looking at a lot in Cary, and looks like your just a bit north of there. Thanks.

[Guzzidad]

   I just moved my sister to a town outside of Aheville called Arden. Looked like a nice place to live. Kind of far from the beach but not in a flood zone either.

[Dilliw]

Ill have to check that out. As I said I was looking at a lot in Cary, and looks like your just a bit north of there. Thanks.

That's the containment area 

[nc43bsa]

That's the containment area 

I'll let you explain "containment area" to him and others.   

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

   Kind of far from the beach but not in a flood zone either.

HaHa you'd be surprised! We get a lot of flooding here- a fair bit is flash flooding! Part of living in a deciduous rain forest on the banks of a river that flows south-north, we get more rain than Seattle and twice as much as London.

[s1120]

I'll let you explain "containment area" to him and others.   

Im guessing where you keep all the damn New Yorkers. :)