North Carolina, what can you tell us?

[bugstrider]

Hey everyone,

The wife and I are doing some prospecting on potential places we could relocate to. We are a few years out still from the big "R" but we wanted to begin our quest of possible locations. Without getting into the details, we have come to the realization that we would like to GTFO from CA when the time comes, thanks to crazy uncle Jerry.

We are planning on a prospecting trip to NC the end of the month and like everyone else, researched the different lists on-line. Best, worst, affordability, crime, and possible homes on airports(wishful thinking). Have everything played out on a AAA map just to see how things fall into place geograhically.

We will be flying into Raleigh and then heading down to Wilmington, I wanted to hit the Outer Banks and visit KillDevil Hill(Go Wright Brothers) but I got overruled this trip.

Will all of this being said, I thought I would reach out to the folks who live in the region to get some realtime intel on what the area are like, which ones to consider and or avoid. The on-line stuff is all subjective and sometimes not worth the electricity it has taken to pull it up.

Just looking for useful info.

Thanks for your time,
Trev

[GothingNC]

I moved to Raleigh in 1996 and love it here.

Biggest issue now is population growth, rising housing prices and traffic is getting worse.
Infrastructure is having a hard time keeping up the the population growth.

Porsche scene is very active in my area, every Saturday there is a local Cars & Coffee event going on within the Triangle area and VIR is only a 90 minute drive.

[Deschodt]

You have the prefect screen name... There will be plenty of bugs to stride ;-)

[T77911S]

with a Porsche, the mountains are more fun.
Asheville and west.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

My uncle retired in Brevard, about 30 min south of Asheville. There is an airport about 1/2 way between the two which will fly you charlotte where you can sit for a bit and then get anywhere. The whole area is tremendous for outdoor activities if you are into that. Also, as mentioned, Asheville is a unique place with a very unique vibe. Go go visit to see if it your kind of thing.

[porsche tech]

Pine Hearst, NC was the first place we visited when we were trying to decide on a retirement location. Nothing but golf there. Have to go to Raleigh 45 minutes away for anything else. Plus it snows there and we wanted some place without that feature. Recently went to a friend's funeral in Chapel Hill which seemed like a pretty nice area but traffic was very heavy. Humidity and bugs are an issue in the summer anywhere in the southeast as one poster mentioned. Good luck on your search...it's a fun time!--Dave

[Seahawk]

NC is a lot like California in the sense that there is a tremendous difference in geography, even along the coast, from the Atlantic Ocean West

I spend two weeks a month in Morganton, NC in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The area actually reminds me a bit of Placerville. We have a great little airport, Foothills, right outside of town. My partner flies a Globe Swift and just bought a Glasair.

If I could get my wife off the farm, I'd move here!

It really depends on what your criteria is, your desire to work post retirement, etc. NC has become a retirement destination.

[kach22i]

A friend moved out to Asheville a few years ago, mountainside house. Heavy rains associated with a hurricane flooded his walkout basement. Other than that he loves it.

[KFC911]

NC pretty much has something for everyone....but it's diverse in all aspects too imo. I'm a native, but put me in the wrong area and I'd be a fish out of water...YMMV. Too many people have indeed taken a toll since I was a kid...everywhere it seems .

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

I moved to Raleigh in 1996 and love it here.

Biggest issue now is population growth, rising housing prices and traffic is getting worse.
Infrastructure is having a hard time keeping up the the population growth...

Sorta like when I moved away in '84....but hell now

[Jims5543]

I though it would be cool to move up there from Florida. I purchased a vacation home, named it Cat5 for when the inevitable Cat 5 wipes us out here in Florida. We figured it was a good plan B to have in case we needed somewhere to live.

We purchased near a fellow Pelican and that house purchased birthed an annual Porsche on the Dragon meet that ran for a solid 10 years from 2005 on until folks moved on to other things in life.

I purchased in a small town 45 minutes west of Asheville, it was really cool, like going back 60+ years in time. I even encountered a gas station somewhere in the sticks when we were out wandering that had a old school gas pump from the 80's.

I went in the pay first, the guy behind the counter busted out laughing, told me they were honest folk around there. Go pump what you need then double the price and come tell him what it was. The pumps price would not go high enough for the prices at the time, so you just doubled it. LOL!!

We really dug it, in small doses, then we tried to spend 2 months over a summer there. We could not wait to get back home and my town here in Florida is considered small.

Crime was non existent, we could leave our house unlocked, and the keys in the ignition in our cars in the drive way. No one messed with anyone there. For the most part. Granted I lived up on a mountain and getting up took a bit of driving (my Porsche and my RX7 did not like the climb up the dirt road to the house very much) so coming up there to rob was an act of suicide.

My property taxes were $400 a year and my Homeowners insurance was another $400 give or take. I think my yearly expense on that house was just a tad over what one month costs me here in Florida.

If I were retiring I would go there in a minute, I am still working so it was not an option to move there just yet.

We sold the place leading up to the RE crash in 2008, got out and turned a tidy profit off it.

If we were to return I would look closer to Asheville, we really dug that city and would try to get about 15-20 minutes outside it. Most likely towards Waynesville.

Try different parts of the state, coastal will be a lot different than the mountains same goes for the foothills.

I would rent some vacation homes all over the state for the next couple of years as you feel your way around and see what fits you best.

[Tervuren]

I'd recommend where I am aside from the growth and accompanying traffic are becoming a problem.

The future may not be as nice as the present.

Weather will be very inconsistent day to day, week to week, season to season.

I think you need to pick out what you want to be doing.

[Bugsinrugs]

Just got back from a week in Blacksburg, Va. Took a road trip to Asheville on Friday. Asheville is much larger then I imagined. Reminded me of Berkeley only cleaner. I really like Blacksburg. Old houses on acreage with heavily wooded yards. We helped our son by getting and stacking four chords of various hardwoods. His only source of heat in the house he is renting. Hell, one chord of oak is anywhere from $325 -$450 in California. $450 for four chords in Blacksburg.

[flatbutt]

I prefer the northwest, Boone, Blowing Rock, Pineola.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Hey Trev, here's what I can tell you about NC, specifically the Raleigh area, purely from visiting and where one of my best friends lives.

Cons
Can be ungodly hot and humid in the summer
Compared to the Northeast, very slow pace of life. This may be a plus if you are retiring there
Lot of growth and all the problems that come with it

Pros
Great BBQ
Reasonable weather outside of the summer
Great BBQ
Raleigh is very cosmopolitan with some fantastic restaurants
Surrounding towns like Hillsborough are quaint little villages with a lot of character and seem like a great place to settle for retirement
Great BBQ

[tdw28210]

Came to NorCar from NorCal in 2001. Still here. Honestly, for retirement you need to narrow down what you want to do. There is ocean and mountains and in-between. Asheville is sorta like a mini-NorCal. Very granola vibe but without the trash you see in the bay area. I actually prefer South Carolina for beaches; Charleston area and Hilton Head. I really dig Greenville, SC, but it has exploded in the last decade. You should still check it out -especially the downtown. Raleigh is fine for career building, would imagine sort of "meh" for retirement. I live in Charlotte because I need a good airport for work. It is a really pretty town/city with some really beautiful neighborhoods. It is almost a million people now, so traffic is getting sorta stoopid. If I didn't, I'd be splitting times between the mountains and the beach. If you are rolling out of Cali real estate, you can probably swing two nice places, right?

[p911dad]

We retired to Charlotte from Upstate NY 10 years ago. We absolutely love this place. Charlotte is big enough to have a vast variety of stuff to do, but not obnoxiously big. The traffic is building in some sections, such as the south end and up north in the Mooresville area. If you retire, medical is a big deal and Charlotte is first class in that regard. Charlotte does have a major lake, Lake Norman, it is now fairly crowded and expensive.
In the 10 years we have been all over the state and it is a big state, maybe 500 miles from coast to tip in the far west mountains. The state has vast rural areas between the cities with a large agricultural component and culture. There are many small towns. We are happy with Charlotte, it doesn't stay cold in the winter, but there are short cold snaps. July and August can be very humid but you do get acclimated. I don't know where all these bugs they talk of are, but we don't have any issues with that at all. If you play golf, tee off before 8am to beat the heat.
We spend a lot of time in the mountains and love it, but couldn't live up there, it gets boring real quick and even Boone and Asheville can get small (also they have real winter up there, sort of like the northern states). We don't do much on the coast, as it is 6 hours east of here. However, the times we have been there has been great. Southport, Morehead City, Atlantic Beach, Wrightsville Beach, all cool places.
Good luck in your search.
Oh, and one other thing: Yankees can feel unwelcome at times, especially in those small, insular towns. Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, no such issue.

BB&T ballpark, Charlotte.

[tdw28210]

......We don't do much on the coast, as it is 6 hours east of here.


pssst...Hilton Head Island is just under 4 hours door-to-door from Southpark area. (Whole lotta North Carolina sticking out there to the East).

[Rickysa]

Grew up in Raleigh (late 60's-80), spent 12 yrs in Chapel Hill (80-92) and the last 20+ in Pinehurst (and I don't golf ). Grandparents were farmers just north of Burlington.

We are beach people (3 hrs away) not mountain folks (3 hrs away), although wife's family is largely from the Boone/Blowing Rock area.

Happy to answer any questions here/PM/phone....wife and I traveled as much as we could afford while young and just didn't find anywhere else we wanted to live.

[KFC911]

I think Ricky is still the only other native....all the rest of you are right....yet wrong too. Great BBQ....in the Triangle for example . Diverse in every way including seasons...a trip to Kitty Hawk this month will be a zoo....in 5 months, a ghost town....like it always was....but I digess.

I like the diversity....seasons, etc. what some like....Charlotte, Raleigh, etc.....different strokes ...but not for me.