The funny thing about Charlotte is that people that have never lived in NC love it where people who live in NC cant stand it. Winston Salem has a great tri following and is home to the tricows, www.tricows.com. Anybody who follows Gordos blog will know that 2 of his training partners this past summer in boulder live in winston. As for the university, it actually used to be in Wake Forest, but was moved to winston due to a large sum of money being thrown their way by I believe the reynolds family, yes of reynolds tobacco.
I visit both Charlotte and Asheville on a regular basis. I’ve also been to Boone plenty of times. I’d rule out Boone just because … well, why move to the Carolinas and have to endure a lot of harsh winter weather? Boone is just a bit too high in the mountains.
Charlotte is pretty much a big city with a ton of traffic and sprawl. It’s a city facing some big problems, too. The whole region is in drought, but water problems will plague Charlotte for a long time to come.
Asheville is a completely charming little place. It has a dynamic cycling scene. You can go for rides up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and into some of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi, or you can ride along the French Broad River for miles and miles and it’s pretty much flat. There are some great bike shops and there’s an active tri scene. Greenville, SC is less than an hour to the south. George H I N C A P I E lives there. The USPRO cycling championships are there. SetUp events has a number of races in the Upstate of South Carolina which is a very short drive from Asheville.
And one of my favorite things … Asheville still has genuine hippies! As one who isn’t too many years from enjoying the 60s for the second time, I get a real charge out of seeing hippies.
Go check out Asheville and stay at the Grove Park Inn. You’ll get quite an impression of the place.
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You should also consider the Upstate of SC, specifically Greenville. It is allot warmer than Asheville in the winter (5 - 10 degrees makes a huge difference this time of year) and you are still less than 3 hours from winter skiing in Boone. Paris Mountain is 4 miles out of town and is great for hill repeats. The in town neighborhoods are great for running. We could use a few more pools, but it isn’t too bad. If you are mostly a cyclist, then I would prefer Spartanburg. There are a million amazing roads and rides to do from Spartanburg.
Dont get me wrong, Charlotte is a great city (as far as cities go), but being from Atlanta, Charlotte is on the same path, only a few decades behind where Atlanta is size wise, and based on your experience in Cali, it sounds like you may want to try and avoid some of that.
I have lived in NC for 30 years now. 8yrs in the Mtn area west of Asheville and the rest in the Charlotte Area. Charlotte has it’s good and bad. It has changed a ton since I first moved here. If you are going to move in the Charlotte area I suggest you look to the outskirts of Mecklenburg Co or possibly the Union Co area or the Northern area of Charlotte around Lake Norman/Huntersville. Schools are good and a ton of private school options to pick from in the Greater Charlotte area. People complain about the taxes going up around here but my inlaws (who all live in New York) say we NC folks should just keep our mouths shut about taxes. I like the Mtns but Asheville does not appeal to me at all. If you have school aged kids look into the schools pretty hard, in the Mtn area it can get spotty. The roads around Asheville are good for riding as mentioned but the town is to Hippie feeling for me. Maybe that’s what you want. Another area to consider IMO is the Winston Salem/Tanglewood area. It reminds me of what Charlotte was years ago. My absolute favorite area is around the North Wilkesboro in Wilkes Co. Rural mostly with lots of hills and close to I-77 for commute to Charlotte area. Living in the piedmont area of NC has the advantage of easy driving to the beaches or the Mtns. From a Real Estate standpoint things are still going fairly well in the greater Charlotte area. It has slowed down some but there is still a ton of money coming into this area. If you like the “university atmosphere” style of living just head rite up the road to the Triad of Raliegh/Durham/Chapel Hill. Good luck with everything and I hope you really like ACC Basketball and Nascar.
Someone from Charlotte was telling me today over the phone that I really need to check out the Lake Lure area. Have any of you been there?
yes, great area, near Chimney Rock and other cool places
, also check out Lake James if like that type of area
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You should PM David on the forum. He is a great guy. He has lives in Winston-Salem area for 15-20 years. Tell him I said hello. I’m to far removed from living there to offer advice.
Whoever is complaining about Charlotte is too big of a city and have lots of problems probably has never been to a real big city.
Charlotte is a great up and coming city if you pick where you live and has a ton of multi-sport activities going on on a year round basis.
There s a great bicycling time trial series at the Speedway,ton of running races and great master swimming programs. Setup triathlon races already being mentioned.
Also if you are into water toys there is the newly opened one of a kind National Whitewater Center.
Being a hub of US Airways has ton of direct flights to everywhere including Canada,Europe and Caribbean.
NC mountains are ok but compared to the mountains in the West they do not have much to offer.
Charlotte would be my first choice over any mountain town.
**Someone from Charlotte was telling me today over the phone that I really need to check out the Lake Lure area. Have any of you been there? **
Rent the DVD “Last of the Mohicans” with Daniel Day Lewis. Filmed in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas. Stunningly beautiful … and not a bad movie. Madelline Stowe before she got her lips shot full of butt fat and her face injected with poison. Yummy.
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I went to junior high and high school in Charlotte, and just got back from a Christmas visit to the mother-in-law there. I would never live in Charlotte again…lots of urban sprawl, lots of traffic, high crime, and the public schools are not the best. If you plan on your kids going to college, I would think hard about private school for them in Charlotte. My public high school had lots of discipline and drug issues, and from what I have heard, has gotten worse since I went there.
Spot
Really? I would have NEVER guessed you would have been from Charlotte! I have an uncle there and is 'kinda cool - he was into rodeo (now a ferrier for horses) and had an eye patch for an eye taken out in a bar fight! Seriously!
My wife and I moved to Charlotte from Long Island about 2 years ago. As others mentioned, Set Up Events puts on a bunch of races every year.
There are plenty of rural areas just outside of Charlotte where you can ride. As far as riding in Charlotte itself, you are taking your life into your hands. I’ve never seen so many bad drivers in my life. The problem is all the new comers (myself included) have one eye on their map and the other eye on the road signs…which means no eyes on the road. Add to that the ever present cell phone stapled to drivers ears and you have some of the worst drivers in the country.
Aside from that, it’s been a great place to live and we’re real happy. As others mentioned, most of Charlotte’s problems are no worse than other mid-sized cities. Good luck with whatever you decide.
if work is not a problem you cant even begin to compare asheville to charlotte. like someone else said on this forum. charlotte is a decent sized city and for the most part cities are horrible for being a triathlete. the riding in asheville is outstanding,the climbs are not too difficult, lots of 6-8 degree stuff, lots of trails for running,mtn biking,lakes to swim in. i think the population is arund 175k ,charlottes is maybe 1 million. i lived in asheville for 5 years and loved every minute of it. if you can do it with kids still in school, living about 20 minutes or so outside of town is the best bet. scenic views and 4 seasons. charlotte is probably better than most other cities with mild winters,etc, but asheville winters arent bad with the lowest avg high being 46 in winter and the highest summer high being 83 in summer. we didnt have AC, just a window unit for the bedroom on the warmer nights. asheville can get an occasional heat wave,but nothing like other parts of the country. the hiking is excellent as well, or just going and picking apples in the fall. youve always got something pretty to look at. charlotte has big buildings and concrete. although charlotte does have a much better job market, asheville can be tough…PM me if you have any questions. when i was there i had a lot of free time and trained all over the mtns. still know a lot of folks there…
j
another good reason to look forward to North Carolina:
Lake Lure is very close to Asheville. Excellent area. Has a good sprint Tri each yr. Charlotte growth has outpaced it’s infrastructure and now it’s trying to play catchup. You will see yellow barrels on the highways for the next 10 yrs. Asheville, Boone, Wilkes Co. and Winston-Salem areas are the ideal places in the mountains and foothills. Most of the coastal towns are very crowded but Wilmington still is a very nice town.
Yeah, dad worked for IBM, so we moved to NC from New York in 1979 (where we had moved to in 1977 from Rochester, Mn). I never picked up the accent having been a Yankee most of my childhood.
Spot
Not to hijack the thread, but what are peoples’ thoughts on the Raleigh area? I currently live just outside of Philadelphia and am consider a move down to the greater Raleigh area along with my girlfriend and another couple. Any info/opinions on life in downtown Raleigh, Apex/Holly Springs/Fuqua-Varina, Chapel Hill/Durham would be appreciated.
Thanks,
-Tim
I would agree with everyone that suggested Asheville. I am from Ontario & have been to Asheville on business a couple times & loved it. I tell everyone if I was every going to move to the US that is where I would move. I also liked landing in the little airport & being able to see my hotel when the plane circled.
Brad
has anyone been to Lake Rhodhiss near Hickory? I was looking online and because Calif real estate has gone up so much I may be able to buy a lake front home there if I sell my home here. That would be a dream come true.
One more question is there any XC skiing in NC?
Grew up throughout the northeast/midwest (NYC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland) and now live in downtown Raleigh. There’s a reason many leading publications (Forbes, Money, etc…) have ranked Raleigh one of top cities in America. Downtown life is great, tons of recreation in the area, the beach and mountains are only a couple hours away and the cost of living is definitely nice (Relatively speaking).
With regards to your surrounding cities below, it just depends on where you want to live and what atmosphere you’re looking for. All have a different feel and are nice in their own way. Because of growing up in bigger cities/urban areas, living in Raleigh (Which is still no comparison to Philly) kept that feel for me and still gives me perfect access to everything that surrounds the city.