North Carolina

eggman · #1 05/11/13, 04:40 PM

We are thinking of retiring to North Carolina. Inland, away from the beaches. Someone mentioned Aberdeen as an option.
We are looking for a smaller town, but within reasonable distance to good medical care. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Now is the time to brag on your town.

ArmyDoc · #2 05/11/13, 05:21 PM

Don't live there, but if I were to move anywhere, it would be just outside of Charlotte NC. Lots of smaller towns near by with water if you like that. Gorgeous area, and anything you could want from a larger city is in Charlotte. Very nice, clean city.

suitcase_sally · #3 05/12/13, 08:59 AM

I grew up and went to school in Aberdeen. Haven't lived there since 1968, so I'm out of touch. I thought Aberdeen was a small town. At least it was when I lived there (around 1200 people). If you want small, there is a town just south of Aberdeen called Pine Bluff. That's small.

gwithrow · #4 05/12/13, 02:37 PM

we live an hour west of charlotte...beautiful country...affordable and not too far from whatever we might want..or need...

tailwagging · #5 05/12/13, 04:05 PM

Hendersonville.

chickenista · #6 05/12/13, 04:18 PM

I live in the same town as GWithrow.
An hour to get to 2 major cities (Charlotte and Greenville SC) and an hour to a mid-level city (Asheville..that should be called Asheville-Hendersonville). Excellent medical care in all three. One hospital here and others 20 miles away in 3 directions.

Nice enough area. Close to the mountains, rolling hills etc...

Oh.. and very affordable!

DavidUnderwood · #7 05/12/13, 04:22 PM

I live an hour east of Charlotte, hour or so west of Aberdeen.
My wife is settling the estate of her uncle and has about 100
acres to sell in Hoffman (near Aberdeen).
Sand hills. Near Southern Pines, if you like golf.
SuitcaseSally, Aberdeen has matured quite a bit since then.

DavidUnderwood · #8 05/12/13, 04:42 PM

Asheville NC has 15 square miles more incorporated area,
And 23000 greater population than Greenville SC. Asheville
also has more motels and restaurants.
A good bit bigger than Greenville.

partndn · #9 05/12/13, 04:54 PM

I would discourage it.. and recommend you look at South Carolina.

bluemoonluck · #10 05/12/13, 05:09 PM

I used to live in Rocky Mount. It's right off I-95 and only an hour from Raleigh, so it would seem like a good location....but DON'T move there. Lots of drug running due to the area, stupid laws, etc.

I'll also warn you that in some places of NC, the summers are oppressively hot and humid. Up in the mountains is better from what I hear, but just keep in mind that you're looking at turning on your AC the first week of April and leaving it on thru October. If climate is important to you, check that out as well.

MushCreek · #11 05/13/13, 05:25 AM

Greenville SC is much bigger than Asheville, with a metro area population of 1.3 million. SC has tough annexation rules which keeps towns and cities artificially small. On paper, Asheville is bigger, but if you visited, you would see it is just the opposite.

We chose the Greenville area because land is much cheaper than western NC. We are in a very rural area, yet only 15 miles from downtown Greenville.

DavidUnderwood · #12 05/13/13, 09:18 AM

If you look at how Greenville metro calculates population, it
includes 8 counties!

MushCreek · #13 05/13/13, 10:11 AM

My point exactly. This area is starting to experience typical urban sprawl, like the area I left in FL. It's hard to tell where one town ends, and the next one begins. Luckily, the sprawl seems more east and south, so us folks near the mountains still have elbow room.

chickenista · #14 05/13/13, 10:22 AM

It is not about population alone.
Having lived in both, being within a short drive of both, having just been in Asheville last weekend, I can tell you they are vastly different.

Asheville is very nice, but older and a bit more rundown. Asheville is very limited in expansion possibilities because of the mountains. Greenville adn surrounds can sprawl and sprawl.
Greenville's environs offer a massively different, more modern, more city-feel experience.
You have the amazing new waterfront park, great shopping (not that I go shopping anywhere other than thrifts) and all of the really big names that you only hear about on tv. Greenville has the tax base to really improve adn expand. Great festivals. It really is an amazing place to see.
Asheville.. not so much. You still have the old mall from when I was a kid and a newer one down off the highway. Downtown is crowded and cramped with horrible parking and the buildings do need a shape up. The streets are in awful condition.
And traffic! Oh my word. I used to drive to DC and in DC everyday, driven in NYC and environs, Phillie etc.. and Asheville's traffic is worse to me. All of those people crammed in and no room to expand or alter the roadways because of the mountainsides. I no longer even try to get into Asheville on the highways. I use the old backroads.

maxbetta · #15 05/13/13, 02:02 PM

I lived in NC for quite a bit of my life. Zebulon is a nice little country town. Lots of homes and land available, but only a 30 minute drive to some great hospitals, not to mention the city of Raleigh.

Jokarva · #16 05/13/13, 08:32 PM

We live about 30 min W of Asheville, up in the mountains. Moved here from the DC burbs in 2011 and I'm shocked how much more expensive things are here than I thought they'd be...groceries, gas, utilities, cable....just about everything but housing and property taxes. I'm guessing it's the lack of competition locally.....it's put a bit of a crimp in our retirement plans.

It is beautiful though

tailwagging · #17 05/13/13, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenista

having just been in Asheville last weekend, I can tell you they are vastly different.

.

OOO OOOO OOOO did you go to the herb festaval!!!

GunMonkeyIntl · #18 05/14/13, 06:40 AM

We live on the NC/VA border in the Greensboro/Martinsville/Danville area. It is rural and land is cheap. The land is foothills, so it is mostly flat enough to do something with, but very little flood risk . We can be on the coast in about 3 hours, and in the mountains in less than an hour.

There is urgent care within 8 miles, and larger hostipals within 15. Grocery stores and walmart a few minutes away, and city shopping and airport about 45 minutes away.

Too, not to be underestimated, my closest gas station is 3 miles away in VA, where gas is $0.30 cheaper than here in NC. My truck has a 36 gallon tank, so not having to pay NC fuel taxes is a big deal.

Good luck in your search.

Freya · #19 09/12/14, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eggman

We are thinking of retiring to North Carolina. Inland, away from the beaches. Someone mentioned Aberdeen as an option.
We are looking for a smaller town, but within reasonable distance to good medical care. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Now is the time to brag on your town.

OP did you ever decide on a town?

Queen Bee · #20 09/14/14, 11:21 AM

We are in the same county as Aberdeen. You can PM me if you still have questions! Or if you want to chat..don't know how I missed this..