Thinking of moving from SoCal to Western Carolina

[Happy Panther]

/moves to Brevard.

Where is Brevard?

[Otterscrubbers]

Grew up in Brevard. There were 2 big plants that most everyone worked for..olin and dupont.  Those plants eventually closed and the town and county suffered.  To the credit of locals and retirees moving in, the town didn't drown for long. They realized the value of their surroundings and worked to  utilize the natural resources in a good way. 

The town is geared towards tourism, but not over the top, imo. The DuPont plant is now a very big natural area..fishing, hiking, biking.  The Pisgah forest leads up pa st looking glass, Sliding rock, cradle of forestry, and blue ridge parkway.  The upper end of Transylvania County is a whole different experience.  The county hills itself as "the land of waterfalls".  

There is snow, but not alot.  You could probably get away with no a.c. Kids i grew up with (80's) are teachers now, and I'd recommend them today.

you hear a lot about Brevard \Asheville..but there is also Brevard \Greenville Sc..not a lot further of the trip to Asheville.

Breweries everywhere.  Oskar Blues, Sierra Neveda, New Belgium east operations right nearby..not to mention the Asheville breweries that are growing.

Brevard Music Center.

Hey, I like my hometown

 

 

[stirs]

Morganton is your best bet

[ladypanther]

13 hours ago, stirs said:

Morganton is your best bet

I live in Morganton.  Been a long time since we've had a white Christmas, but always possible.  Do not get as much snow as we used to...but the whole country is saying that.  Pros...1) cost of living...decent real estate prices 2) Close to a lot of bigger cities..about 70 min to Charlotte, 1 hr to Asheville, 20 min to Hickory  3) Lake James...beautiful scenery there...very clean lake....fed by mountain springs. Love swimming there.  Coming from Cali..you could definitely afford to get a boat for family rec.   4) Lots of outdoor recreation like hiking and fishing close by...also golf 5) Has soccer and LL programs....a few years ago the LL team went to the world series. 6) Can be in the mountains in about 35-40 min.  I do not ski but I think the slopes are an hour or less away.

Internet...best upload speed you can get here at this time is about 35 Mbps.  I have the mid tier program and have 

School system here ranked 22 out of 99 in the state.  There is also a charter school and private school here.

Edited November 6, 2021 by ladypanther

[Moose Hoover]

14 hours ago, Otterscrubbers said:

Grew up in Brevard. There were 2 big plants that most everyone worked for..olin and dupont.  Those plants eventually closed and the town and county suffered.  To the credit of locals and retirees moving in, the town didn't drown for long. They realized the value of their surroundings and worked to  utilize the natural resources in a good way. 

The town is geared towards tourism, but not over the top, imo. The DuPont plant is now a very big natural area..fishing, hiking, biking.  The Pisgah forest leads up pa st looking glass, Sliding rock, cradle of forestry, and blue ridge parkway.  The upper end of Transylvania County is a whole different experience.  The county hills itself as "the land of waterfalls".  

There is snow, but not alot.  You could probably get away with no a.c. Kids i grew up with (80's) are teachers now, and I'd recommend them today.

you hear a lot about Brevard \Asheville..but there is also Brevard \Greenville Sc..not a lot further of the trip to Asheville.

Breweries everywhere.  Oskar Blues, Sierra Neveda, New Belgium east operations right nearby..not to mention the Asheville breweries that are growing.

Brevard Music Center.

Hey, I like my hometown

 

 

I knew Olin as Ecusta

[Squirrel Gravy]

17 hours ago, Otterscrubbers said:

Grew up in Brevard. There were 2 big plants that most everyone worked for..olin and dupont.  Those plants eventually closed and the town and county suffered.  To the credit of locals and retirees moving in, the town didn't drown for long. They realized the value of their surroundings and worked to  utilize the natural resources in a good way. 

The town is geared towards tourism, but not over the top, imo. The DuPont plant is now a very big natural area..fishing, hiking, biking.  The Pisgah forest leads up pa st looking glass, Sliding rock, cradle of forestry, and blue ridge parkway.  The upper end of Transylvania County is a whole different experience.  The county hills itself as "the land of waterfalls".  

There is snow, but not alot.  You could probably get away with no a.c. Kids i grew up with (80's) are teachers now, and I'd recommend them today.

you hear a lot about Brevard \Asheville..but there is also Brevard \Greenville Sc..not a lot further of the trip to Asheville.

Breweries everywhere.  Oskar Blues, Sierra Neveda, New Belgium east operations right nearby..not to mention the Asheville breweries that are growing.

Brevard Music Center.

Hey, I like my hometown

 

 

I like the Greenville area, lake Hartwell area is awesome and somewhat affordable. Lake  Kiwi is the better of the two however the lake Kiwi area is big bucks!

[Squirrel Gravy]

16 hours ago, stirs said:

Morganton is your best bet

Morganton is meh. Up towards Wilson creek around Hwy 181 is better. 

[ladypanther]

6 hours ago, Squirrel Gravy said:

Morganton is meh. Up towards Wilson creek around Hwy 181 is better. 

Banjo music there.

[stirs]

17 hours ago, Squirrel Gravy said:

Morganton is meh. Up towards Wilson creek around Hwy 181 is better. 

Was not on his list

[Squirrel Gravy]

12 hours ago, ladypanther said:

Banjo music there.

I like bluegrass, come up and take a seat on the porch, leave your wine and cheese at home we have moonshine and pack of nabs.

[LinvilleGorge]

Up 181 toward Wilson's Creek is all of 15 minutes from Morganton. It's still very much the Morganton area. I know people who grew up in that very area. Ask them where they're from and they'll tell you Morganton.

[GOAT]

My wife and I were in Charlotte this last weekend visiting for the game, we stayed with some friends in Concord. Honestly even the drive from Concord back and forth seemed further than it is on paper. I'm not sure if I can go anywhere an hour + from Charlotte unless it's extremely ideal in every other way.

While I don't necessarily require it to snow on Xmas day, some snow is nice - nothing too crazy. I really want to dedicate a trip to the Western / Mountain cities during the winter and get a vibe for it. 

I appreciate everyone that gave some insight in this thread!

[LinvilleGorge]

So now you're basically looking at... Charlotte? I mean, Concord is still very much in the Charlotte metro area so if that's too far out for you you're basically left looking at Charlotte proper.

[GOAT]

13 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

So now you're basically looking at... Charlotte? I mean, Concord is still very much in the Charlotte metro area so if that's too far out for you you're basically left looking at Charlotte proper.

I'm rather open, the house and land is most important. I'm not going to move to the boonies just to get some snow. I'd like to stay within an hour of West of Charlotte, be an hour from Ashville and a couple hours from Boone. Morganton definitely seems like a good spot. Maybe Hendersonville or Hickory.

I think Concord felt further than it is because I'm used to either being in traffic or flying 85+ down the free way. I gotta remember I won't be driving back and forth either like I was all weekend.