The missus and I have been discussing moving for about 2 years now, and NC is the place we’re looking at. With some family there and some friends that really love(d) it as well, we have heard many more positives than negatives.

So I’m looking for some advice from those who live there.

We’re thinking the Asheville area.

A few reasons we want to move:
- We don’t want to deal with the 3 month long, harsh winters anymore.

- as a RI native I’ve lived by the ocean my whole life, and now want to be closer to mountains (and so does my 8 ) + Kathleen misses the mountains after living in Utah, so western NC > coastal NC

- the grass is greener. lol – ok, I don’t know if it’s greener, but it’s certainly cheaper! Average property prices are 25-50% less than here in the bitter cold north east.

- RI is so f**king corrupt and run by criminals that I can’t stand to stay and throw my money away. A brief look, for those who don’t know (and why would you?) – RI has the 7th highest taxes in the country, and will only get worse b/c of the crooks in the state legislature. 7th highest taxes, yet the State’s bond rating is dropping like a whooor for a 50 dollar bill. Taxes here on a ½ acre 1200 sq. foot, $200,000 property range from $2,500 - $5,000 depending on neighborhood. Again, it’s only going up with the financial mess the state is in.

No kids yet, so school sytem won’t be an issue for a few years.

Any advice on good/bad locations, housing market changes, employment market, or anything else that may be important would be greatly appreciated.

I will probably start looking into employment options over the next few months, since that’s the most important part – can’t move there if I can’t find work, right? Degree in Computer Info. Systems with >5 years experience in various network, web design/publishing, and account management functions.

Depending on the job search, the plan would be to NOT spend another winter here New England, so moving by October(ish).

Thanks!!

Dennis

 

Asheville is a nice town. Very laid back place. I'm not sure how the job market is there though as a computer pro. You might get some better info from G3tR3DDY2GR3DDY on Asheville in particular.

Consider Charlotte as an option. It is located such that the mountains are only an hour away and the coast is within reasonable distance as well if you feel the urge. Weather coudln't be better in the winter time. I'm wearing short sleeves and it's December! More job options here as well I would suspect.

 

^Yeah check out charlotte, it's a very nice place to live and it has the best of both worlds. more so of the mountains tho, the beach is around 3-4 hours from here. I've lived here my whole life and love it.

 

Yeah but you'll be leaving an area with undoubtedly the best sports teams in the country!

JK, good luck with the move. Must be nice to see 4 bedroom house on sale for under 200K.

 

you couldn't buy my garage for 200k.

Good luck on the move Dmc!

 

If you REALLY love the mountains, and the RX-8 is sooo perfect for them, then you'll find Asheville to be an awesome place to live. It's not too crowded, and compared to other parts of the country, is fairly cheap to live here. Charlotte and Raleigh, however, are where the job markets are, as Asheville offers very limited employment opportunities.

Problems with Charlotte and Raleigh? They have really bad traffic problems and have both fallen prey to the urban sprawl where all the houses and strip mall looks the same - ugh! (sorry to those of you that live there, but that's true, isn't it?)

So if you are looking for a kinda hip, artistic, unique community, check out Asheville! Your car will love you for it - the roads around the mountains are loads of fun. I especially love the 20-mile drive from Asheville to Lake Lure. Check it out if you visit.

 

LOL Jedi, i was reading his rant and thinking... "god, if only the bay area had it so good"

I just wrote a 17k property tax check and my butthole is still a little puckered.

 

LOL. I'm feeling your pain. I just wrote checks for all 4 of my properties.
so much for buying new wheels. I was hoping to make that my X-mas gift for my car but looks like she's only getting new Toyo's

 

I have been checking job listingS for a while and it's looking like Charlotte is where the jobs are now. 130 mile commute might be a bit much - eventually. Maybe I'll split the difference. Any towns in between that would be better than others, either nice neighborhoods, up & coming? Some to stay the hell away from?



You Cali guys are insane. I'd have to own a mansion to part with that much $$$ just in taxes.

 

im also thinking of moving down south somewhere. dont know where, but im sooo sick of these winters. just have to find a job somewhere and im set

 

What's funny is that it seems like most of the people that live in Charlotte now are from somewhere up north.

You could check out Gastonia as a place that is a little closer to the mountains but still not a bad commute to Charlotte. Hickory is a foothills kind of place as well but the commute from there is about an hour.

 

Check out Charlotte, Asheville is nice, don't get me wrong, but MUCH more chances for a GREAT job in Charlotte.

 

Hey DMC,

Yes NC is a nice place to live, I've moved to NC about 20 years ago from Louisiana and have no desire to move back, not yet!

I live in the Raleigh area which has seen tremedous growth over the past 12 years. We keep saying it's going to be the next Atlanta and it looks like its on track.

This area is not what it use to be, it was nice when I moved here. No traffic, people very laid back, small country town feel. But not any more! It's starting to look like Long Island. Subdivisions build built left and right, traffic, people always in a hurry, higher taxes, over crowded schools, etc..

People are moving here from all over the country, but mostly from up North, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philly. There's a (small->large) town next to Raleigh called Cary. The NC natives gave meaning to the letters in Cary about 15 years ago, (Concentrated
Area of Relocated Yankees). Too funny, yeah but those natives are laughing all the way to the bank. They owned acres of land in the area mostly farm land and when they sold it during this boom, they became instant millionaires.

Well enough of the ranting, if you have a degree in the IT field there's a good chance you could get a job in the Raleigh RTP (Research Triangle Park) or Charlotte.

You might also want to look at Greensboro and Winston Salem area too.

Good luck.

 

hey man - make it asheville! Roads are phenomenal (sp?), housing is great, and the place just rocks... if you live in town like i do you wont have too many problems with anything like bad neighborhoods or anything. There are about 13-15 rx8's around and i know about 10 of them. I just started AVL rx8club and would be awesome to have you here! If you cant find a job you can go in with me on my rx8 parting! Pm me

 

It is funny - especially since the family that's there is originally from Long Island! lol.

Gastonia & Hickory were the 2 bigger towns on the map that I was wondering about. Will look into those, too. Thanks!

 

LMAO - especially the Cary acronym. Totally OT, but on a Spring Break road trip my soph year in college a few of us were in Key Largo early one morning and overheard a few locals at breakfast complaining that it was yankee weather - b/c it was 65 degrees!! Even more funny to us since we were there to escape the actual yankee weather of 20 degrees and snow!

Will keep G-boro & WS in mind, too. Thanks!

 

Ok, what's my starting salary?? lol. Once I'm there I'll be looking up the local meets & clubs. I know Kathleen will really love the Asheville area, as she is the artsy/creative type. A long commute is acceptable, but obviously depends on the $$$$ - since gas ain't cheap*!

*though probably cheaper there than here

Looking that way, thanks!

 

just become baller status and buy another car that gets 50 mpg and your good... dont always wanna take your eight to work in a big city anyways! Asheville is def. the place if your wife is artsy/craftsy...

 

GR2G, im moving in

 

If necessary I could just take her Elantra to work and let her drive the 8 to a local job.


wait, did I just say that??

must be drunk or something.

 

Emerald Isle is my favorite NC locale. Always reminds me of Cape Cod 40 years ago.

Raleigh-Durham area would be number two. Research Triangle Park in particular has many of the top notch high tech companies.

Charlotte area a close 3rd.

 

^I went to Emerald Isle last year for spring break. IMO it was really boring, not alot to do. It's more of a family, laid back, place. Doesnt look like you find alot of jobs there.

 

like i said... who needs a job??? lol

 

^Yeah well even if you dont need a job, you wont have much fun on the roads there because they are straight, flat, and boring. And it's extra humid down there.

 

My girlfriend has been talking about moving up there too and I've been thinking of going with her. Problem is, I've REALLY wanted to live in a suburb of Chicago for my whole life, and I'd like to live up there for a few winters so I can get it out of my system.

Anyway, if it comes down to it, I may make the sacrifice, move with her and live nearby. Probably within the next year or two. It actually gets cold in the winter, right? Dare I ask for some snow, even? Either way, I'm moving away from FL since I'm sick and tired of permasummer - I figure I should work my way up to having real winters.