Personally, I can't think of anyplace in NC where you could go wrong! You just have to weigh your priorities and determine what YOU want.

Seems to me that everybody here on GWC - coastal, piedmont or mountain - is pretty happy. I chose my area (Raleigh) for the semblance to my home city (Boston - everything there was here, but here you could park! - ah, the good old days). I also chose my area for the proximity to RTP - should I have desired to go back to work (I had many referrals there). In the end, it all worked out very well - I opened my own business and did fine (same business never would have done well back up North). Live and learn. Meanwhile, I got to know Southern gardening - well, a little, still learning.

My kids are close-by ... I moved here and they followed ... not a bad thing, but we are each and all here of our own choosing. They don't live here because of me, and I don't stay here because of them - it all just works.

And, I do love the gardening !

hey zigzag, I hear your area is a good spot for vegetarians. do you know if that is true? I was wanting to move closer to the mountains, but not too far from health food stores.

how is your soil in your town?

michelle

Wow, Michelle - you stopped me cold w/your questions!

Far as I know, vegetarians can get along well most anywhere in these parts, tho' Chapel Hill/Carrboro seem to have a denser population of same and perhaps a few more veggie specific stores. Here in Raleigh and surrounds we have a sprinkling of Whole Foods, EarthFare and, I hear, a new Trader Joe's along with the usual density of commercial grocerys. The seasonal farm stands (my favorites) are struggling for locations - not sure how many more seasons they'll be around ..... such a shame! Recently I had a guest from mid-FL who went all woozey over the local corn on the cob I served - according to him, he can't get decent corn in FL anymore .... now that's just NOT right!

Soil here in the Piedmont (central NC) tends to be mostly clay, but as you can read in other threads here, that can vary widely. What we do have is an extended growing season and with proper soil ammendment, I daresay there's practically nothing that can't be grown in these parts.

HTH.

hehehe, why did my veggie questions stop you cold? one has to consider their top priorities before they move...and I would hate to plop myself down in an area w/o good organic veggies. do those roadside stands (like so. florida used to have) use pesticides? I would assume they do.

I cant take our heat anymore....are the summer temperatures hotter in the piedmont? I thought a piedmont was a plateau, which means an elevated piece of land, right?

you know, about the corn, I cant be sure if I have been eating crummy corn or good corn. I would have to compare once I get a taste of corn up your way. I look forward to it. I do know that no veggie from my own garden has the most unbelievable flavor that a grocery store cant come close to. so, that being said, I wonder if your friend is comparing grocery store corn or roadside stand type of corn.

michelle

hehehe ..... guess just 'cuz I didn't quite expect it, but you're totally correct - priorities must be considered!

My earlier post was very incomplete - as I'm sure a few here will kindly point out - I totally didn't mention the year round Farmers's Markets. I'm somewhat familiar w/the one here in Raleigh - a biggie, THE State Framers' Market - and know there are others too. As for who/what's organic, I know that many are/do, but you'll have to quiz them yourself. In short, I don't think you would have much trouble adhering to your criteria here. Do a bit of googling and you'll find lots of info.

As for the corn .... yes, you would know the difference. I've occasionally fallen prey to 'looks good but cooks up horrible' corn - I call it 'cow corn'. Just plain tough and tasteless. Seems that's the norm where my friend from Fl lives and he's pretty discerning, so I suspect he's tried it all.

Heat wise - it's summer in the South .... time to hunker down w/a good book. There is an explanation for the "Piedmont" designation here, but I forget it just now though I don't recall it referring to any plateau or such - we're just mid-state.

This is a wonderful four season area - mild (mostly) winters, explosively gorgeous springs of incredible duration and exhilarating autumns that just keep on going ... oh yeah, and then there are a couple months of hot summer - but, the other seasons more than make up for that!

So, JMO - a Northerner refugee thankful for being allowed to migrate to this wonderful place!

The Asheville area is another good place for vegetarians. EarthFare started there and there are plenty of growers associated with the Carolina Farm Stewardship. Unfortunately, their grower guide isn't online.

hmmm... I'm wondering how this became a vegetarian thread? Does this mean that Carolinians are vegetarians? Maybe it's just too hot to respond... or too busy. Hopefully tomorrow...

I am sorry to have butt in on your thread. I think it is interesting to hear what is popular in different cities...and when I saw the location "triangle" a bell rang that I just had to answer. sorry.

oh, you know where else you might find a few answers....I have been reading the forum called city-data.com about the different regions. it is not at all gardening related though....so far less interesting to read.

michelle

Marcia, I'll try to help - those of you who know better jump in. Try on-line or in a gardening reference to find one of those really detailed climate zone maps.

NC is a pretty varied state, with zone 6 in the mountains, 7 and 8 in the Piedmont and zone 8 along the coast. There are lots of pockets where the subzones shift back and forth across a few miles, not to mention the microclimates that are too local to hit the map. Altitude and soil has everything to do with it. Clay gardeners tend to have an easier time of it with some slope for drainage. If you can amend enough and water enough to overcome any glue or rock-like consistency for the heaviest type, it's pretty fertile stuff, but it can warm up slowly in the spring.

Piedmont really means "at the foot of the hills," and we stretch that definition since it runs to the long coastal plain just east of Raleigh, where the clay begins to get a lot more sand in it. I'll bet and hope lots of gardeners from east of Raleigh will jump in to say they've got tons of clay, and one of my Greensboro neighbors has a large deep belt of sand through her clay yard, so that's a very local thing.

The mountains and the coast tend to get more rain than the Piedmont. It seems the last several years in the mid-Piedmont at least have been drier than normal. The mountains are of course a little cooler in the summer, especially at night. They are subject to more surprise late freezes in the spring, and get more ice, sleet, snow than the rest of NC as you'd expect. I would think you'd get a lot more of that in IL, and the only new issue would be mountain roads. Asheville is in a valley, and is a top spot that people from all over like to retire to.

I don't know Holly Springs or Star, but Troy is really lovely. It's at the base of the Uwharrie Mountains that run mid-state from Asheboro south. They are one of the oldest (the oldest?) ranges in the US and have almost eroded away - mostly tall hills now. The zoo is in Asheboro and the landscaping shows just how varied your garden choices are.

I second Triangle John's comments about NC being a great place to garden wherever you choose, due to the long growing season. There are a lot of zone stretchers on this forum, growing everything from delphs that like it cooler than 7 to tropicals that like it warmer than 8. An amazing amount of plants are very happy here.

Thanks zigzag... your info was helpful. Funnny that you should mention the Farmer's Market.... I was just in NC and my daughter's MIL took me there. What a fun time! She also took me to a nursery in downtown Raleigh that's i n an old train station. That was pretty neat. Now I could just kick myself because I forgot all about Plant Delights being close by and they had an opn house! Grrr!

It's okay Michelle, I was just being crabby. :) I was being impatient and was hoping for all these great suggestions.

Joydveenv7! Thank you so much! That's just what I was looking for! Wonderful!!!

Anyone else?

Ok, it's me again ...... so, you know of The Farmer's Market and Logans (the train station place) and, of course, PDN - great! You're on a roll here! There is just sooooo much more ...

The JCRaulston NCSU Arboretum, Duke Gardens, Raleigh Rose Garden, bunches of stuff in Chapel Hill - to name but a very few.

No way can you go wrong relocating to this area. Whether you want to eat it or just gaze at it ...... it's all here.

If you aren't a fan of heat, I think you'd love our mountains. One peculiarity I learned about Asheville is that it is in a "rain shadow." In other words, it gets less rain than surrounding areas just because of the way the mountains there block that side from getting much rain. I've vacationed in Asheville, and it's gorgeous, but I just wonder if it is frustratingly dry for gardeners. Boone and other spots don't have that situation. Just something you might want to research. But you really would love our mountains, I think.

Thanks again Zigzag... sounds wonderful!

I will have to check out the mountains... I am not a fan of heat! In fact sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking about moving to NC but, it gets hot and humid here too. They certainly look beautiful when I fly over them. Thanks Laura!

I've read that NC is second only to FL in the amount of retirees. I was surprised at first but when I think about it...it just seems right. It is a great place with great weather and nice people. I've lived here my whole life but my parents immigrated here and haven't even thought of leaving. I'd suggest staying near the piedmont just so you don't have to worry as much about the extremes of the mountains with cold and snow and the beaches with hurricanes and wind. But since we are in the middle we can on the rare occasion get a little of both. Good luck you can't go wrong in nc!.

hi all,

I am also not a fan of the heat. here in FL it is in the 90s before 9am and still in the 80s at midnight. at what spot in/on a mountain/hill would be the coolest SUMMER temps?

michelle

Hi Marcia and Everybody,

My husband and I moved here 5 years ago from Atlanta but I am a native of Massachusetts. We live in Stokes county on the Rockingham county side. We are 10 minutes from the VA border and love the rural area we have here. We are only 30 minutes from Greensboro (North side) and about 90 minutes from Raleigh. We are 3 hours from Ashville. We have a old farm house with 4 acres and love the rural life we get here in Stokes county. Prop taxes in our county are very low and homes are very reasonably priced.

The weather cant be beat and the long growing season is wonderful. We have a 1/2 acre veggie garden and some good size flower gardens.

I agree with the person that said you really cant go wrong with NC in general we just didn't want to be near a city again.

Keep us posted and Best Wishes with your decision,
Susan

I have lived in NC for 25 years...moved here from NJ. In the time that I have lived in this beautiful state, I have lived in many of it's different cities (Yadkinville, High Point, Goldsboro, Thomasville, Winston-Salem and Archdale) I have also visited many cities as well. Personally I don't think you could go wrong with any place you choose here.
Some of the things that amazed me most was how the first December I lived here we walked around in just light sweaters!And the different kinds of plants and birds there are, just was a wonderment. No matter where you choose to live you will have some likes and dislikes... Right now I live about 90 minutes from Raliegh and 20 minutes from Asheboro. The soil has some clay but in my area not so bad.
One hint though if you are used to living in the city don't move to an area that is too far from one. When I first lived in Yadkinville, the nearest Wal-mart, Kmart, Lowes or anything to do was 35 minutes away!
Keep in touch and let us know what tyour leanuing towards...

Tammy

Thank you all so much! I checked the mountains on Realtor.com and property seems a bit expensive, but you pay more for a view. I've been doing some checking on Lenoir... that looks like a pretty area as well. Hopefully I'll be able to plan a visit for a few weeks and just drive around and spend a few days here and there.

Anyone else???

I know there are great websites where you can compare the temperatures and humidity levels for different cities, and if memory serves, I think Boone might be the coolest or one of the coolest spots in the summer in the NC mountains. So do check out Boone. I'd definitely live there given the chance.

This isn't the best city comparison site I've seen, but if it lets you go to the page where I compared Boone and Asheville, scroll down to the weather section.

Please note that NC has an Asheboro and an Asheville. Asheboro isn't in the mountains, but it is west of Raleigh and has the zoo and nearby Seagroves has a bunch of hand pottery makers and other artists whose work you can buy. FUN NC spot!

Here is a link that might be useful: City comparison site

I should point out this website made me choose a particular zip code for each city, and I had to choose blindly. I think it only offered 2 zip codes for Boone, and it offered many more for Asheville. I probably chose the wrong one for Boone.

I found this link for somebody else with a similar question on NC mountain weather. Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: NC mountains

If you want to move to NC, and feel like you're in NC, move
anywhere but Asheville, Willmington, or the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). Those areas have very large populations that have relocated from all across the country. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just very diverse, and may
also remind you of "home".
Of course this can be a good thing.

However, if you are looking to live the NC culture as well as state, anywhere outside of these big areas would give you
that experience. The triad, Greensboro/Winston Salem/High Point is probably the only group of large cities which still holds onto a NC culture feel.... I can't comment on Charlotte.

It all depends on what you're looking for.

Lee in Raleigh

As a northern transplant, I would suggest moving to one of the a diverse cities listed above or Charlotte, which is also wonderfully modern and diverse, and just visiting the more authentic NC small towns.

The natives would probably prefer it, too - bahahaha!

Whew. I cracked myself up. You have to understand, I moved to Raleigh 20 years ago, when it was just starting to modernize, and the natives didn't seem happy about it. :oD

I was in Asheville this past week......Believe me, I am glad it was for only a few days..it's nice but would not want to live there...Whats wrong with your first choices? I live in Star, and its great..friendly folks..not much night life or great resturants..but you can go 25 miles in each direction and find all the fun you want..Star's population is about 800, 15 miles from the NC State Zoo..The county Airport is here,...Oldest Fiddlers convention in the state..The Geographical center of NC..Annual Christmas parade..and excellant soil for gardening...25 miles from Pinehurst GOLF.... 50 minutes from PTI Airport in greensboro ...20 minutes from great lake fun.. water skiing, boating, etc.....no heavy traffic, laid back.....lol....come on down

Im moving to Winston-Salem in in a few months. Ive heard good things.

Once again, thank you all so much! This thread has been so informative.

I've always wanted to move to an older, charming home but have never been able to realize my dream. This move will probably be my last chance so that is my priority. I also want a nice, small, friendly town. It's just me, myself, and I... a 56 year old empty nester who loves to garden, knit, crochet, dabble in watercolors, pastels... just about anything creative and artsy. So I'm not interested in a fast pace, modern city with tons of night life. Looking at Realtor.com I found homes that I would love (from a picture anyway) just about in every town I searched. Fedup... I still think I'll be concentrating in your area. Perhaps Sanford or Seagrove as well. It will be a nice distance from my daughter. So tell me more about Star. Looks like it would be a beautiful area... didn't find many houses for sale there however, but that's just Realtor.com. And you say the soil is good??? Wonderful. Tell me more, please!

Marcia..I sent you a email to your address on Garden Web

Hi Marcia,
As another northern transplant here, I can tell you a little bit about the area, but I'm still learning a lot, as I've only been in NC for two years now. Stay away from Wilmington or the whole Brunswick County beach area unless you're a millionaire...property prices are just too astronomical for the average person, in my opinion. Seagrove is a great place, especially if you're a potter (or maybe you want to take up the hobby in your retirement!) Another small town is Mocksville in Davie County, about 30 minutes south of Winston. There are some old historical houses there, lots of them w/beautiful cottage gardens, and seems pretty nice. Plus Winston-Salem has a lot of artsy places (Piedmont Craftsmens Guild, Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts, Trade Street arts district) that you might like if you're creative.

I don't want to offend anyone if they're of hispanic origin, but it seems that Sanford to Siler City should be called Little Mexico...definitely the influx of illegals to central NC is changing the culture a bit, and affecting everything from schools to grocery stores. I wouldn't feel safe living in many of those smaller cities/towns alone as a single female due to the transient nature of the illegals.

I have only been here since Feb, but I recommend the mountains. I have some great hostas and hydrangeas. One of the benefits of the mountains, is you get to let God do a great deal of planting for you. The bee balm has been so beautiful this year, it almost makes me cry. Swain or Jackson counties are nice because you have the best of both worlds. The peace of the countryside and the benefits of several nice sized towns close by. Look at Waynesville, Sylva, Cullowee, or Bryson City. You can try looking for Whittier, but we are hard to find :o)
No matter what you pick, you will find great neighbors because NC people are great

Marcia, hope you dont mind if I ask......

coorscat, what is your weather like (rain, extreme temps, soil)?

michelle

What about outside of Wilmington? A nice quiet beachy town (if one exists!)

-Lucy

Great question Lucy!!!! Anyone? Anyone? ;-)

I think it's great. Move there!

What's great about it, bumblebeez? (and thanks for you help!!)

Still waiting to hear about the areas surrounding Wilmington. Anyone...Anyone? :-)

Ok, I was being facetious in my post. The question is : What do you love? Beach, mountains, flat land or hills? Country or City? There's heat everywhere but how much do you want? And how much icy weather?

If you love the beach there are many great places to move and ditto with the mountains.
In my dreams (maybe, someday!) I'm moving to Cruso on the side close to Waynesville- but I have to have lots of hills, don't mind ice and don't like the beach or crowds (and don't mind hillbillies much)

Just a suggestion, move to northern South Carolina and save on taxes. NC is fast becoming the New York of the south with the highest taxes in the region.

Get serious..When you post "Moving to NC,but where???" are we to presume you are retired,independently wealthy,empty-nesters with pristine credit(mtgs are stricter now) and are Baptists who have a wild taste for any kinds of foods.

Most people have to find a job. Have kids and care about their schooling. They want to make the transition in moving as smooth as possible. Site yourself here in a little burg and prepare yourself to find none of the foods and brands you are accustomed to. The bigger cities have had nearly 30 years of people transferring in so that their stores stock other than Southern brands.

Of course, anyone coming from NYC/Long Island will be accustomed to higher taxes than what NC/SC charge.
Comparatively, the highest tax areas in NC are still way below what people pay in the North. Up north, those higher taxes are paying for older infrastructure,denser population/more crime, schools that pay a higher wage to teachers etc.
If you situate yourself in an area close to where there are the most jobs for your skill sets then you will be happier. Even the biggest cities have outer ring towns and counties that are more affordable.
Beach/mountain should be your last consideration if you need to find a job here and get your kids into a halfway decent school (don't get me started on that).
If you really like gardening and like the ease of planting in the sandy loam of Long Island you're going to face a chore of amending most soils you get here unless you've bought the house of a gardener.
It's a lot more complex a process when you seek to move to an entirely different region of the country.
Granted, this is a great region. I'd sooner go from there to here than here to there but where you locate depends on a lot more than its proximity to the beach/mountains.

She said she was retiring in a year.

I think we'd prefer something close to the ocean. (that's just some peoples preference, right?) And I think that Wilmington is the closest city to the beach so I was starting to look around the villages near Wilmington. My husband does need to find a job and we have school age children so work and schools are important. What isn't so important is having the same stores, or the same foods as we have here up north. If anyone knows the outlying areas of Wilmington, we would sure love to hear what you could share.
If not, that's okay too.

Have a great day!

Lucy

Sorry if my post came off as harsh,Lucy but having years experience as a Realtor for transferees to both Carolinas the more info you know up front, the likelier you are not to hear "If only I had known" from your clients a few years later.
I never wanted to hear that I'd failed so I collected a great deal of info about wants and needs first.

That's okay, Dottie. It's just that we're coming down next week and would've liked to have an inside track on towns to visit near Wilmington. Places to feel comfortable in. This message board has so many genuine lovely people who seem so willing to share with their fellow garden buddies.
There's always Google, right?!

lucy

Google is great and you can look at Chamber of Commerce websites for towns in the area. While down here, get a bunch of the local newspapers so you can read about local issues and how the economy is effecting these areas.
You can't ignore the aspects of foul weather and their impacts on the area.
We don't get the tail-ends of hurricanes here as do Jersey,Long Island and Ct. You get the full force hurricane plus you get the northeasters in winter. Wilmington drains a great deal of regional creeks and rivers so flooding is an issue for many in this region.
If you get yourself a North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer you'll see just how much of this region is swamp.
Shallotte has been developing for the last 15 years mostly as an alternative to the pricier areas closer to the beach. That's pronounced 'shell ote' (like boat) with emphasis on the second syllable. I have friends who have condos down there and friends who have the beach houses in Holden Beach (nice to have friends with toys)

If you check back through the pages of the Carolina forum you might come across the "Where do you live?" post. That could connect you with folks who live in that area. South Carolina had a separate topic but the beach living folks could give you more info of the specific type you desire.