North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

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Shire hobbit
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North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by Shire hobbit »

Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Conch55
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by Conch55 »

Winston-Salem is a good choice. It's considered foothills and has all good healthcare, universities, parks, etc.
justglassin
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by justglassin »

I grew up in Guilford County and loved it. My folks and much extended family still live there and every trip home is like a vacation (currently live in DC/NOVA).

We grew up in NW Guilford, near Oak Ridge/Summerfield, so kind of in the "ex-urbs" (if not downright rural) when I was a kid, but it has become a pretty desirable place to live now, especially for folks wanting access to good public schools. You can be at the beach in under 4 hours easily, straight shot on I-40 to Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach, and can be in the mountains in far less than that.

Greensboro isn't what it was with tobacco and textiles having declined greatly since the 80s and 90s, but it's got everything you need, and if you wanted to live more in town, I suspect you'll be able to find some sweet old homes built long ago when Greensboro boomed with Cone Mills.

Further west you have Winston-Salem. Kind of similar deal, though you're closer to the mountains and if you like college football and basketball, you have Wake Forest University there.

Each are convenient to the Greensboro Airport, and only about 90 miles from Charlotte (south) and Raleigh-Durham (east) if you want to fly out of either of those.

It's a great part of the state. I wish you well in your move and I almost hope people don't learn about it so I can move back and enjoy the nice balance of nature and access to modern amenities.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by sailaway »

If you choose someplace near I40 in the foothills, you have easy access to Asheville and Charlotte. Further east also gets you close to Raleigh, but further from the mountains. Hickory is ~2.5 hours from Raleigh, 1.5 from Asheville, 1 from Charlotte, for example.

From Hickory to Marion, you have the milder winter weather with rare snow, if that is your reason for avoiding the mountains. From Marion, the next town up the mountain is Old Fort, and you can definitely tell the difference in winter weather.

Rutherfordton is probably pretty close to halfway between Asheville and Charlotte, but mostly back roads to Asheville and small highways to Charlotte, as I recall.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by palaheel »

Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably.
Nothing to say, really.
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22twain
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by 22twain »

sailaway wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:27 am Hickory is ~2.5 hours from Raleigh, 1.5 from Asheville, 1 from Charlotte, for example.
...and maybe about an hour from Boone, via a good 4-lane highway (US-321), if that's where the OP wants to be able to get to. I've been to Hickory a few times for hobby shows at the convention center next to I-40, and have driven through downtown a bit. Looks nice enough, but I have no idea about medical facilities.
Rutherfordton is probably pretty close to halfway between Asheville and Charlotte, but mostly back roads to Asheville and small highways to Charlotte, as I recall.
US-74 passes a few miles south of Rutherfordton, and ties into I-26 to Asheville and I-85 to Charlotte. To get closer to US-74, one might consider nearby Forest City, which I know nothing about except that it's larger than Rutherfordton.

If the OP wants to be able to get to the Asheville area, he might consider Greenville or Spartanburg SC. Greenville is a nice place with two large hospital chains, and easy access to Asheville via US-25 and I-26. Spartanburg is smaller, but has a direct connection to Asheville via I-26.

There's also Tryon NC, off I-26 just north of the SC line. It's a small town right at the base of the mountains (bottom of the "Saluda Grade" on I-26 and US-176). I remember seeing horsey stuff, upscale shops, and I think some retirement communities.
Last edited by 22twain on Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cmr79
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by cmr79 »

palaheel wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:37 am
Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably.
This seems like a pretty important detail if being <2 hours from him is important; the distance is already a stretch to Winston-Salem if he is near Ashville.

The northern suburbs of Charlotte (Lake Norman area) are nice and are pretty centrally located to be convenient to both Ashville/Boone regions of the NC mountains while also being close to transportation and healthcare in Charlotte.
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retiredjg
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by retiredjg »

I think you are going to have to tell us which part of the state he lives in. Two hours from northern NC is different from 2 hours from southern NC. A city or county would be helpful.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by carolinaman »

cmr79 wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:56 pm
palaheel wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:37 am
Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably.
This seems like a pretty important detail if being <2 hours from him is important; the distance is already a stretch to Winston-Salem if he is near Ashville.

The northern suburbs of Charlotte (Lake Norman area) are nice and are pretty centrally located to be convenient to both Ashville/Boone regions of the NC mountains while also being close to transportation and healthcare in Charlotte.
+1 for Northern Charlotte suburbs. You are close to the amenities of Charlotte (sports, entertainment, medical services) and it is a much easier drive to mountains. I live in Eastern Charlotte suburbs and the worst part of our drive to mountains by far is driving through Charlotte. Winston Salem is another good option but a much smaller city (which some will consider a plus). It has great medical services, a major university and other amenities.
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newcollegeman
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by newcollegeman »

Clemmons, NC outside Winston-Salem is delightful!
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by Joey Jo Jo Jr »

retiredjg wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 3:12 pm I think you are going to have to tell us which part of the state he lives in. Two hours from northern NC is different from 2 hours from southern NC. A city or county would be helpful.
Agreed. May have options in other states as well. But keeping with NC Piedmont maybe Belmont if you want to be near a bigger city, but on the Western side so less traffic getting to mountains.
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Shire hobbit
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by Shire hobbit »

Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably./quote]

He lives in Boone.
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Shire hobbit
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by Shire hobbit »

We have driven down 321, so off this highway would be perfect, its a nice drive, BIL lives in Boone, I have a brother in Durham as well so northern part of the state would be nice.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by ncbill »

carolinaman wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 7:58 am
cmr79 wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:56 pm
palaheel wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:37 am
Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably.
This seems like a pretty important detail if being <2 hours from him is important; the distance is already a stretch to Winston-Salem if he is near Ashville.

The northern suburbs of Charlotte (Lake Norman area) are nice and are pretty centrally located to be convenient to both Ashville/Boone regions of the NC mountains while also being close to transportation and healthcare in Charlotte.
+1 for Northern Charlotte suburbs. You are close to the amenities of Charlotte (sports, entertainment, medical services) and it is a much easier drive to mountains. I live in Eastern Charlotte suburbs and the worst part of our drive to mountains by far is driving through Charlotte. Winston Salem is another good option but a much smaller city (which some will consider a plus). It has great medical services, a major university and other amenities.
But if you actually want to go south into Charlotte traffic is often a nightmare on I-77 even outside of rush-hour unless you are willing to pay for the toll lane.

OP would do better living somewhere like Clemmons outside of Winston-Salem where it's much easier to get into the city and still only two hours to Boone.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by journey »

On 421, about 32 miles east of Boone, is Wilkesboro. We are in SE Charlotte and when heading NW, Wilkesboro is our favorite foothills town. It's a cool place and happens to be home to the Kruger Brothers (phenomenal band!), a very nice community college, and Merlefest. There are lots of amenities like free town wifi, a community garden, local concerts, parks, good food, lake and river sports, etc.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by tm3 »

Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
I live near your brother and can say that the mountains definitely have colder weather, Asheville is in the 97th percentile of cities its size for crime, and health care has tanked since HCA's takeover of the main hospital in 2019. So I think your idea of visiting not staying is sound.

I'd look closely at Greenville-Spartanburg.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by palaheel »

Shire hobbit wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:56 am We have driven down 321, so off this highway would be perfect, its a nice drive, BIL lives in Boone, I have a brother in Durham as well so northern part of the state would be nice.
I think Winston-Salem would have all of the things you're looking for, or maybe Greensboro. Winston-Salem has a medical school, which tends to attract good medical care. Both Winston-Salem and Greensboro have good access to highways to Boone and Durham.
Nothing to say, really.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by spectec »

I grew up in the foothills vicinity, and now live in the Charlotte area. The Greenville-Spartanburg area is an excellent choice. Another possibility is Gaston County (Gastonia, Belmont, Mount Holly, etc). It's outside Mecklenburg County, which is a huge plus, and yet close enough to have access to the major hospitals. Kings Mountain & Shelby are also possibilities, but a little farther away from quality healthcare centers. Hwy 321 intersects I-85 on the western side of Gastonia, which is your main route into Blowing Rock & Boone through Hickory & Lenoir.
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by 22twain »

22twain wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:50 pm There's also Tryon NC, off I-26 just north of the SC line. It's a small town right at the base of the mountains (bottom of the "Saluda Grade" on I-26 and US-176). I remember seeing horsey stuff, upscale shops, and I think some retirement communities.
I just finished watching an episode of PBS NC's "North Carolina Weekend" show which features a visit to Tryon:

https://video.pbsnc.org/video/memory-makers-snokz8/
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Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Post by radiowave »

Shire hobbit wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:56 am We have driven down 321, so off this highway would be perfect, its a nice drive, BIL lives in Boone, I have a brother in Durham as well so northern part of the state would be nice.
The best tradeoff between distance Boone and Durham and healthcare would be either Winston-Salem (Baptist Hospital/Wake Forest) and Greensboro (Moses Cone and a few other good hospital systems). I've lived in Charlotte, Chapel Hill and Hillsboro. If you want reasonable access to the beach as well as the mountains, then I40 corridor is a better option then Charlotte. If you need access to a major airport, CLT (Charlotte) would be first choice and second would be RDU (Raleigh-Durham). If healthcare access is a major consideration, Duke in Durham or University of NC in Chapel Hill would be a consideration but that puts you 2.5 hours drive to Boone and the mountains.
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