Relocation Recommendations Invited...

My sister and I have decided to pool resources and live together. (Neither is getting any younger, LOL!) We just don't know where.

Here are our parameters:
1. Mountains or at least rolling hills
2. Elevation between 1700 feet and 2500 feet, zone 6b or warmer
3. East of the Mississippi!
4. Scant need for AC in summer
5. Typically no deep winter snow
6. Affordable home prices
7. Rural but not more than 50 miles from a real city
8. Local population that might support a birdfeed store (usually retirees with a few bucks)
9. College or Jr. College within commuting distance for the kid

Asking for the moon? Probably but we have to start somewhere.

Darius,

I know your sister had some damage from the hurricanes and maybe I'm assuming things without basis, but doesn't she own a home in Fla already?

If so, economically speaking wouldn't it be better to stay there? I know, I know, she doesn't have the mountains there, but she doesn't have the ice and biting cold either, or the fear of sliding off the side of a mountain in your pickup truck. Uh oh, never mind, those are my fears. Sorry.

Late last fall you sent me looking up in the Gainesville area and it was an excellent idea. Property values are still pretty reasonable 20 miles out from the city. They have the rolling hills, horse farms and country stores. They also have Walmarts within a reasonable distance from anywhere.

I just went back to your wants list and the only thing I can't solve is the a/c thing.

http://www.realtor.com/gainesville/nbregion.asp?st=fl&poe=realtor

Take a look at this above and see if there is anything there.

Molly
:^)))

Molly, she misses the mountains, has a fair equity in her Kissimmee home but just wants OUT OF THERE.

North FL could be an option but first call is the Appalachians, NC to VA, either side.

Sorry the Northwest is so far out of range.We have fantastic mountain ranges on both sides of the Puget Sound.Genereally mild winters and summers.The little logging town of Darrington east of us is in the heart of the Cascade mountains and is,or was,inhabited by a lot of former NC residents.Hurricanes,tornados and the likes are unknown,although there might be an earthquake and/or volcanic eruption sometime or other,and it tends to be a bit wet (but good for the ferns and mosses) .

I visited the Oregon/Washington coast year before last, wow. I would love the opportunity to live out there! It's breaktaking.

That sounds like a good idea. After your recent experiences with illness and nobody to help I'm glad to hear that you are considering this move. Happy hunting.

Oh Darius, another change? good luck, I am in no position to give you advice, cause you are looking in an area that I am not familiar with...but the Pacific Northwest is grand....But I think the cost of living is higher than the south east....
good luck with this new venture, I will pop in and see how you are doing (on the post silly....you're too far for me to pop in for real..)

First try this:

http://www.findyourspot.com/

Then research:

www.epodunk.com

I think Mich is your ticket - four seasons!!! We do have high hills! Winters are the pits, but are sometimes beautiful. We're out in the sticks, but the highway is just around the bend and the malls are close!! Besides, then I could meet you in person!! LOL Seldom use AC...
Hope you and your sister get along. I love my sister dearly, but after a week with her I am ready to scratch her eyes out!!!

Darius, ever been to Lavonia, Ga? What you are describing is there. Lake Hartwell is beautiful, seasons are usually mild, has the rolling hills, and lots of wonderful people! Greenville, SC is about 50 miles north, Anderson, SC, about 25 miles north & Atlanta is about 90 miles south of Lavonia.
I spent the best years of my life there.After my husband passed away in 2000, I remarried & moved here to FL. Still hope to go back someday. Hope you find what you are looking for. Melba

Melba, I was going to say Georgia also. They can grow so much there. Somewhere outside of Atlanta. The best of all worlds. They have some fantastic rolling hills.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Lavonia-Georgia.html
Darius, try this link for info on Lavonia.
http://www.watermarkreal.com/

This message was edited Feb 6, 2005 10:24 AM

Thanks, Everyone! I'll check out the links. We are considering the N. GA mountains (Hiawassee to Clayton although building lots go for $50,000/acre), and also Jonesborough TN.

Melba, I'm somewhat familiar with the area around Hartwell (I lived in Atlanta for years and travelled up 85 to see my mother) but I think it's a little pricey anymore. I'll check it out anyway, Thanks.

Robert, I'd love the Pacific NW but not sure all the dampness would be good for my COPD. Plus, our mother is in a nursing home here, and almost all of our family is in the SE.

Sarv, no way do I want to do MI winters!

Darius,
There are lots of places in the Shenandoah Valley (and its surrounding mountains) you should consider. South of Winchester, VA in Shenandoah County there are lots of small towns that are becoming havens for retirees with plenty of money. But they're starting to bid the prices up; you can still find building lots for well under $20K/acre, though.
There's lots of good bottomland where there's much less potential for deep snow (what do you call deep? I'm talking more than 5-6" at a time) or the mountainsides (where I live) where the summer breezes keep us 10 degrees cooler than at the bottom of our 1500' elevation. The only thing that will drive me to close the windows is if the humidity climbs and stays high for a few days so that the house starts to feel damp. There's a community college as well as many small universities and colleges and one large one in Harrisonburg - James Madison U.
Washington, DC is an hour from my house (NOT in rush hour.) If you prefer a little less on the edge of development, go south in the valley, closer to Roanoke or even east toward Lynchburg. They're certainly not cities in the sense of DC, but they have their cultures and other citified goodies as well as higher education and milder climates.
I just moved my mom up here (to Strasburg) from Greensboro last month. She's very happy so far. We get snow, but not the ice she's used to getting in the winter down there. Check it out and come visit. It's gorgeous up here. There's one spot we often travel where, cresting a hill, my DH smiles and shakes his head. "We live here," he'll say then.

Why not look into Mountain City Tenn.?Prices for land are still pretty reasonable,much more so than the North Carolina side where we have a place.There are no big cities but I think Abington Va.and Boone NC. are pretty great places.Boone has ASU a really good school.Many people are relocating there from Florida.The only thing I'm not sure of is the bird feed store as most of the agricultural stores carry a good selection of bird food and feeders.The whole area is wonderful.

Darius, The upper East Tennessee area (Jonesborough, Johnson City, Bristol, Mnt. City, Elizabethton), is reasonably convenient to East Tenn. State University. You may also want to ask GrannyLois what she thinks as she lives in Blountville.

Darius, I don't guess I'll ever get to move back "home" at this late date, but I always think about two areas, Black Mountain and Mars Hill.

Have you ever thought about having a home with wheels? Sure would save a lot of time packing and unpacking. LOL I hope you and your sister find your dream "forever home" and live happily ever after.
Pati

PS: Spring Creek in Madison County still has reasonable land, and is so beautiful.

downscale_babe, we (Mother, sister and I) lived in Boone for many years. I had a farm out in Todd. The winters are just a bit too cold and Boone real estate has gotten really expensive. Mtn. City & Elizabethton are close to Jonesborough, one of the places we will check out. I know that area well, having travelled from Boone to JC with my aunt to the doctor many, many times. Our mother is in a nursing home in Blowing Rock.

mickgene, we are also considering the general Shenandoah Valley area, from around Roanoke south. I consider 12" or more of snow too much. A year or two before I moved from Annapolis to Boone they had 7 FEET of snow, schools closed a whole month! But, I'll take snow over ice any day...

Pilot Mountain woman!!! You can get the best of both worlds and the land is still cheap.

Also, I believe this is in Virginia but Kibler Valley - hope I'm spelling it right. It is the most wonderful place I can think of and hasn't changed much since I was a child!

Good luck!

Nicole

This message was edited Feb 7, 2005 3:19 PM

One more thing - check out Meadows of Dan, Virginia. I've been up there quite a bit - awesome bed and breakfasts, interesting moutain activities. Cheap land I believe too. Look at Chateaumorrisette.com - it's a vineyard up there and I've been there many times.

Kibler valley is cooler in summer than most other places I can think of around area.

Remember that log/solar home I e-mailed you a pic of a while back? It's in Shelby which I don't think is cool in summer but it was under 90K on 5 acres!! Wish I could live there! I will find the site if you need. It is 2 story though.

Nicole

I agree with you about the winters and the price of real estate in that area.Blowing Rock is probably the most expensive.Even Todd has gotten very high.Our place is off beaverdam rd.It turns into Bulldog Rd.When you cross into Tenn.I guess that we are in the Beth El region of Watagua County.Prices are still pretty low but we are way back.
Mountain City and then the tri city area have much lower prices and the winters are not as severe but you are off the mountain so I wouldn't count on not having air conditioning in the summer.The whole area of south eastern Tenn.and south western Virginia are good to consider.
We have a good friend who is a real estate person in Mountain City.If you are interested I will send you his phone #
Nancy

Darius! I just figured out this morning that downscale_babe is Nancy's screen name! Yesterday I was thinking, WOW Darius is really using the 'lingo' calling people babe! LOL LOL

Nancy love your screen name! Very inventive!!!

Nicooe

Gotta be the Gatlinburg, TN area! Close to Knoxville and BEAUTIFUL!

Hey Darius, just saw this! Well, I ain't gonna let you get too far away! GagalinFl has a great link there. Have you checked the NW corner of GA? Take a look at the temps in Rome http://www.city-data.com/city/Rome-Georgia.html and look in the smaller surrounding towns. Hey, just noticed that Monica is in Kingston and someone else we know is in Cave Springs, just can't remember who :(

Darius, Upper East Tennessee would be my choice for you. I'm thinking Carter County, which includes Erwin and Elizabethton. Lots of mountain views and reasonable cost of living, good access to North Carolina.

Be sure to check it out on your way to Jonesborough.

ncgardenaddict
we relocated to the Carolinas (north and south) about 6 years ago.We were living in south Florida where everything shouts UPSCALE UPSCALE! as I am not really an upscale kind of person I thought being downscale would be fun.I also had to loose some weight.

GrannyLois
I agree with you.When I wrote about the Mountain City area I was talking about the area you wrote about too.I love Erwin and I am a Blue Ridge pottery collector and dealer.I love flowers on pottery or growing.
Jonesborough has gotten a little pricey,don't you think?

I agree with you DS_babe - can I call you that? lol

I am not an upscale person either - makes me uncomfortable!! I bet it's pretty in Surfside! Never been there myself and - duh! - once again didn't notice your location until this morning! I work in Ft. Mill, SC and if my luck holds plan on moving in the area before too terribly long. I would LOVE to get about 5 acres but to be able to afford it will probably be living in a tent! LOL Talk about downscale! Ha!

Nicole

Darius - are you there yet? Hurry up and get your computer set up!!!!!

Good morning
It is very pretty in Surfside Bch.Much more low keyed and alot quieter than Myrtle Bch.that is until the middle of May when the bikers roll in.That is generally when we roll up to the mountains but we won't be able to do that for a few years.So I have to learn how to do some summer gardening here.I hate the heat and humidity and Bugs and there are so many people until after Labor day.
Nancy

Nancy, my aunt lived for many years in Bethel, off Beaverdam Road... up on Hattie Hill Road. I've been over Bulldog from her house many times going to Mtn. City. She still has the house there but since a stroke lives with her daughter in FL.

Lois, Thanks. That's where we intend to begin looking. I have a cousin in Erwin.

Vi, the NW corner of No. GA might be more affordable than the NE portions. I've actually been to CountryBumkin's house but didn't stay over so I didn't see much of the area.

DS Babe - I don't know what the real estate prices are in Jonesborough, but I can tell you one thing: the admission for the Storytelling festival is out of this world. So possibly other things are, too.

Darius, Next time you get up to Erwin, you'll have to visit Vest Greenhouse - ever been there? It's got a great variety.

Granny Lois
We have been to the story telling festival twice and I know what you mean about it being "upscale" in price but It is wonderful.We lived not far away from the famous story teller Ray Hicks and had a chance to visit him before he died.There are some wonderful story telling events in the area that don't cost an arm and a leg.
Darius
I have friends who live off Stone Mountain Rd.and I have used Hattie Hill to get to their house.I am so in love with the place and hope that we can get back to living there soon.We bought an old homestead that hasn't been farmed in more than 50 years.We have 30 acres that are mostly forrested.We live in a cabin that was built by the man who bought the place in the 70s and built the cabin himself.Way way back.In the winter after the leaves have fallen we can see Beech mountain and the ski resort.That's the closest I want to come to it.I know you will love Erwin.I go there alot.I go down 321to Elizabethton and then use mountain roads to get to Erwin from the back side.

I visited an newly found "cousin" in Elizabethton this past summer...lovely place. Then we went on over the mountains to Boone/Todd to visit LizH and met up with Darius there...Ginlyn and Sgtdot came down from MD to join us in our wee round up...now Darius is a honarary COUSIN...as the rest of us were all cousins...LOL

Darius...no matter where you decide to settle...chances are great that I have a cousin near there...

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!!! LOL Jo

Jo, You are TOO funny!

Hectic here at my sister's in FL but I'll be back to being online a lot in 3-4 weeks.

ds babe, I have worked at the Storytelling Festival as a volunteer the past 5 years and love doing that. Then I get a free pass. Yes, there are many other storytelling events that are either minimal or free, but that festival is just awesome. If you ever go, let me know - maybe we could do lunch ....

Darius, after a lot of thought about replying to your question about where to move to, and I have thought long and hard. ... I have lived many places - Va. , MI, NJ, NYcity, Upstate NY, Alaska, Japan, NC, FL - could go on, It seems to me that the place is not as important as the people, and where ever you land if you seek out the right people you will be blessed with those you can truly call friends. And that my friend is more important than landscape, naturall features, weather, etc. IMHO - Dyson

By the way, once you get away from the lake (like the other side of Ferrum College) The land prices are reasonable here. And there are lots of good hearted people I would be proud to call my friend.

Darius, Violabird was trying to think of me. I live in Cave Springs. There are some really pricey building lots, but some of the land around here is going for 3000-6000 acre. It can get really hot in the summers, but our winters are generally not bad. We're about 60 miles from Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga. We also have 3 colleges in town. Shorter College, Berry College and a 2 year community college Floyd College. We also have a technical school, Coosa Valley Technical College. We would love to have you. Linda --Edited to say when I say in town, I mean Rome because we are about 15 miles from Rome, Ga.

This message was edited Feb 15, 2005 11:33 PM

GrannyLois
again I agree with you about the storytelling festival.We try to go every year but haven't been for the last 2.We will try again this year and if it works out I'll let you know.I would love to do lunch.
nancy

Darius, I think Mars Hill and a little east of it might be good. Have you checked out the prices in Matthews, or Burnsville or that area?
You might want to look at the Marshall area. Close to Asheville and UNC-A but not an expensive tourist area. I called a friend who lives in Alexander, a small community in the western extreme of Buncombe County and close to Madison County. He says all of Madison is pretty resonable. It's a very large and beautiful county.

This message was edited Feb 17, 2005 10:09 AM

Yes, I've thought about Mars Hill, or some community in Madison County. I lived in Burnsville for a bit and they get too much snow.