I'm thinking of moving to North Carolina - Should I?

That would be convenient, Susan. Thank you for the encouragement.
The end should be fine, the getting there....oh my!

Update...
I've booked flights to Greensboro for February 2-9. My lifelong friend, Toni, is going to join me and help with the driving, thinking, and figuring.. There is a job fair on the 5th in Greensboro and another on the 8th in Winston-Salem.

I'm finding myself drawn to north of the Triangle area - Rougemont. Anyone know the town? First night we're staying in Hillsborough. Wake County has an incredible school site, so that area has been drawing my attention, too.

Fuquay- Varina for you.
8 new schools, cheap housing, plenty of good outlying areas that will suit you down to the ground.
Welcome to N.C.

:-) I'm on it.

Welcome to the South... We love it here... Greensboro is only 1 hour and 15-30 mins away...
Susan

Cid Sid my grandson goes to West Lake Middle and it is a wonderful school.
Love the Fuquay schools.

Lavina

LavinaMae,
We have the schools just right, now, if we could just get the sand cum soil to grow something other than the local flora, I for one would be more than happy.

Cid, I didn't find much in the way of real estate within 20 miles that suited me for my price. I want at least an acre with a house or manufactured home (not a mobile), 45 minutes from a large city, with lots of elementary schools within 10 miles. Oh yeah, no more than $60K. I may be moving from CA, but I sure don't have the "typical" CA sell out money.

Any one know about the Rougemont area?

I believe Rougemont is expensive, at least there are quite a few horse farms and high end housing developments. I've gone through it a lot on my way to Durham this year.

What about Cedar grove?

Hi
I don't think you will find much in Rougemont for your budget - not with the requirement of 45 minutes from the large city. 45 minutes used to be a long distance, but it is not any longer beacause the roads are more crowded --so spending 45 minutes on the road may not get you all that far away and the prices go up significantly the closer you are to the cities. I would not totally give up (check with a real estate agent to confirm..not wanting to totally discourage you) but the one acre minimum requirement and that distance is a bit tough to find. I recently helped my son look for houses and I think that you could comfortably find one acre...within 45 minutes of a city... (at least a city in the Triangle or the Triad) for about 130-140 thousand. One twenty was flat out impossible. Townhomes yes, but that won't meet your space requirements for the dogs and also the dreaded association fees will really impact you. We recently looked at a fairly new house... in Mebane... three bedroom, vinyl siding, fireplace, neat, clean, well kept and I want to say built less than 8 years ago for 141,000 and I think it would have sold for $138.000..this was on an acre I believe. But, it was in a subdivision (no fees) and not isolated or private if that is what you are needing. The house across the road..built 1996, fully fenced, neat, backed up to a lake (or close to it) fireplace, clean, clean, clean, and beautifully landscaped $151,000. Out towards Efland, Cedar Grove (again subdivisions) 1acre..1.5 acre... ~1100-1400 (tops) sq. feet, built late 1990's - early 2000 - 130's to 160's. We looked for at least 8 months before he found something. I hear now that the houses are sitting a tad longer (not in trouble tho like other areas in nation) and so maybe folks are a bit more motivated and will come off of price. I think to get your price you will have to go out farther. As far as manufactured homes (I think you mean modular right?) we do have modular home communities (very nice) and the cost of those homes are not much off the stick built variety..we have some up close to 300 thousand plus! Good Luck. I know you will find just the right home for yourself. Job first...right? Maybe you will find a job/salary that will allow you to go higher in your housing costs. Also, don't be surprised if there are incentives ($$) to help with the move. If you want to go to the eastern part of the state - I think for sure you will find your price needs and your space needs. Any input from eastern NC?

Hmmm....realtor.com must be 'way off then, because it seems there are a few choices. Lots more with mobiles on them. I'm wanting to avoid subdivisions. The distance from a city isn't to drive regularly, but for some "culture" and monthly shopping. A tiny house is acceptable. In theory, I'd like my own well and septic.

The place and job have to come together. I won't take a job where I wouldn't want to live, because then I'll have to move again, and this is the last time I'm moving.

>>I wouldn't want to live, because then I'll have to move again, and this is the last time I'm moving.

My entire post just disappeared ! It caught and posted the first line and that was it. I checked out Realtor.com and looked at properties in 40-70 thousand range and the only hits were land only and 4 mobile homes in Rougemont.

If you like Rougemont ...explore farther north to Roxboro (about 15 minutes farther) You won't have to travel for supplies or anything like that - it is a well established town and rural area surround, but you will have to travel to get to a busy city-type atmosphere with malls and highways etc. Roxboro is growing and the folks I have met from there are like anywhere else - mostly friendly! It is more rural. Not as 'wealthy' as the triangle or triad. Not sure about the schools. What do you hope to be teaching (or should I say what age)? If you don't mind adult education...and if you do land north of Durham, give consideration to the satellites for Durham Tech Community College.

Check out franklinstrealty.com - I think you can put in towns, zips for the mls and franklin street realty's own listings.

I am sorry my earlier post was so poorly written like "45 minutes is a long DISTANCE" (SMILE) ...at work and in a hurry.

Yes, I've looked at Roxboro - it looks interesting...here's one I was looking at in Rougemont; http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1062362413&sid=#Detail
and a couple of others. This is a manufactured house, yes? OR do you call it a mobile?

http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1091001579&sid=#Detailhttp://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1074627789&sid=#Detail

Here's another
http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1074627789&sid=#Map

I can spend hours looking at these things. If the price were right, I don't care if it's an old mobile, 'cause then I could build my own place, first a barn with small living quarters and a drive under place for an RV with hook-ups and dump. :-)

http://bestplaces.net is a great site to see stats about areas. Can't vouch for it's accuracy.

http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1089138847&sid=#Detail

I've looked at a lot... :-)

Yes, as you can see, I thought you'd be able to find affordable land in Roxboro. The one property you linked to in Rougemont is a mobile home as is all you posted but the property in Graham (nowhere near Rougemont). I thought you indicated on one of your posts your preference for no mobile homes. That is why I didn't search them via realtor.com when I was looking at Rougemont. I only looked for modular homes or conventional stick built. I am a fan of modulars and tried to convince my son to look at the technology because the construction is so exact / tight. The parts and pieces are factory built (lots of control) (no outside elements) and I think better controlled than stick built. But, the modular homes are linked to mobile homes and so have not been valued like a 'stick built' even tho the standards for modulars are so high. The stigma for mobile homes 'trailers' has forever been linked with the South and is often the subject matter of the stand up comedian. As years have gone by the building/safety standards for mobile homes has also improved. Unfortunately, mobile homes don't fair well in storms and won't escalate in value - financing different and takes into consideration the fact that the values go down and the construction is not considered long lasting etc. Having spent years in Florida, I have experienced wonderfully planned and landscaped 'mobile' home communities - but I have not seen those here in NC. I feel sure they exist but I have not seen.

I would prefer not to have one, but a newer one or a really old one, with the idea that it would be removed eventually.... I didn't realize manufactured and mobile were the same. Guess they both come in on wheels, but it seems one isn't removable...I'm likely wrong.

No, Graham is a ways from there, but still in the Raleigh-Durham area, isn't it?

Hi Laura
No - if I had to say which area I would place Graham --I would say the Triad (closer to Greensboro) It is in Alamance County. (West of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) - maybe about 1/2 hour to 45 min. Saxapahaw (I bet I butchered that spelling) was a mill town - not sure if mills still operational there -- and locals have told me that at one time the state was run from little Saxapahaw (the 'Raleigh" politicians lived there and had owned the mills) A river runs through it with gorgeous boulders and rushing water!! I like it very much. There are tiny mill houses all along the town (not with any meaningful land attached tho.) I like the town alot. Recently some of the mills have been converted to $$ condos...;0( Manufactured houses: I have always thought manufactured homes meant mobile homes -- but modulars are manufactured off site so it gets a tad muddy in the descriptions. Mobile homes are generally brought onto the site and can be left on the wheels or set on 'posts' or piers of (I think) cinderblock. Skirting covers the undersides. I suppose there is nothing to prevent bricking it in place and leaving access to the underside for repairs. I think mobile home construction has changed a great deal and I am not educated enough about the construction pros and cons. I think if you are considering the purchase - please do your homework so that you know what to look for. I don't see why mobile homes can't undergo a traditional type home inspection --like you'd obtain for any mortgaged property. My feeling is that the newer the better the improvement in the construction. Also, if you are financing it, understand the value likely will not go up. Insurance costs may be more (the storms/fires) and maybe you can't get a 30 year loan on a mobile home (longevity issue). But, of course the land value should rise. And, if your plan is to build on the property slowly ..then the mobile home really just has to suit you for a limited amount of time. You would have to consider the costs to heat and cool the building and construction has an awful lot to do with that - that is why I think the newer the better. With the modulars...the sides, floors, roof, etc. are constructed off site at the factor..with traditional materials...then brought in pieces (walls, floor,) with the utilities already attached (plumbing/wiring --even the light bulbs are screwed in, the windows are already in the wall) to the final site...and assembled. That is why I said the walls are plumb, the insulation is perfectly placed (but it is all traditional materials). The building systems are so controlled that there is uniformity that I think can't be found in site built/stick built. No misplaced beams, no bad nailing etc., The modular is fastened to a traditional foundation just like a stick built house.. the roof is erected and ends up with the same construction that a site built roof has.. it is just all done off site. The mobile homes are delivered on flat beds -you have seen them on the highways sometimes one side following the other. And then if it is a double wide the two sides are fastened together.

Greensboro is about an hour and a half from Raleigh. Can't remember how far Graham is, but not a commute I'd make to work in a school in Wake Co. if that's what you've set your sights on.

The DH just looked up Graham and said it's nearer Burlington, about 50 miles of interstate travel to Raleigh. Off hwy 40.

That sounds about right...an hour..an hour 10 minutes. I live in Hillsborough and it is about 26 miles (25 min) to work (east) to Durham Reg. Hospital. And then another 15 min (east) to the Raleigh line. To get to Burlington via the highway from Hillsborough (west) it is at least another 20 - 25 minutes west. So 60 - 65 minutes.

Laura - Look at the Franklin Street Realty site I posted. FRANKLINSTREALTY.COM Punch in your needs (I went put in $40,000. to 75,000 - I gave you a 15 thousand dollar 'raise' .. I managed to spend your money quite easily!!! It was fun!!) I allowed all types of building types, manufactured single, double, modular and stick. A lot popped up in Burlington (and less than the 75 K) When you go to your job fair - there will be folks there from the Burlington area. (Triad) I think maybe if you are willing to go to .5 acre to 1 acre - you may be able to find something that you will find acceptable. The neat thing about NC is that if you are in the rural area... you can be on an acre and the neighbor next door can have 10 acres...or 100!! So the privacy is there...but you don't always have to pay the taxes for it!! I wish you great luck and great weather. That is the time of my grandson's birthday and we will be freezing in Pennsylvania.

If you are interested in Wake County schools-check out the area around Wake Forest (small town right above Raleigh) and the area around that. I know that the costs of land etc drop sharply above North Raleigh, and there are plenty of WC schools near there. I am thinking of New Light road ( I think is the name of the road). If you go up that road (off rt 98 which is a road that runs east/west and connects WAke Forest to Durham, and is right above N. Ral). Also Franklin County, which is north/north east of Wake county-plenty of land out there, and not too far from Raleigh.
Anyway-look at a map at all the area right above Wake County and to the east.

Regarding modulars, the walls in the module may be plumb but if they don't line the sections up correctly, you have humps in the floors and godawful looking seams in the ceilings! I went with a middle of the line builder and they did a lot of ugly things, especially in the kitchen. They cut an angle wrong on a countertop so instead of recutting it, they just smashed it into the wall and made a big hole behind the cabinet. Then they covered up the portion of the hole that showed above the counter with patching tape and joint compound! And don;t even get me started on the contractor whose job was finishing the house! As long as you are on site to watch what is being done, stick built is better! I've had both......

Sorry you have had those problems. Very discouraging and sometimes no satisfaction to be had with the contractors. I guess there is a downside to everything when it involves other's work habits and ethics. The building magazines / consumer reports are always glowing about the construction of modulars as opposed to site built and of course that is dependent upon the contractors doing it the way it should be. We all know about stick built disasters!!

missingrosie, you're going to be gone the entire week of 2/2-9? BUMMER! I sure appreciate the information! So the Triad and Triangle more or less touch each other? Interesting history on the Graham area. I'll need to bone up on NC history I bet, to get a clear license. Less than two weeks til the Praxis II tests that I need for it.

I'm willing to go less than one acre, as long as I can fence it all and make it very private, either with new plantings or existing. It's what I've been doing here, though I have lots of trees and shrubs around so no one can really see my place without standing in a certain place out on the road, which is 250 feet away. I don't want my dogs riled and upsetting the neighbors. Overall, they are quiet and they sleep in the house with me.

I had great news yesterday which will really help in getting the right job in NC - I've been hired (OH MY, dancing, dancing, dancing) at a school 33 miles from me, multi-age. I'll team teach with teachers who are also the prinicipal and vice-principal of the school, which has about 100 students all together, and I'll be in a K-2 and a 3-4 classroom as a teacher, not an aid, not a substitute (that sure has negative connotations here-inferior), but a full teacher. It's going to be an excellent bridge back to my career and the experience and knowledge I'll glean from these highly skilled teachers is exciting. I'm very much an advocate of multi-age classrooms at the early elementary level, even though I know it is much more work for the teacher. It's so much better for student learning and self-esteem, especially if the approach is one of mastery, not of competition with others to get through the material. I think kids should be taught to compete with themselves, always giving their best effort, which is personal and a source of self-esteem.

I don't have my sights set on any one school district yet, but Wake Co. website is impressive!

Also, if I am able to negotiate this divorce properly, and I started it officially last week with the hiring of an attorney who has no problem with me writing up most of my own declarations that he'll adjust as needed, and properties are sold, I may have enough time to "shop" schools as a substitute before signing a contract, though I'd really like to find the right place to start next fall. I hope to have some time for school observations while I'm there.

Yes, every year we go to PA (boy I wish that kid had been born in the summer..) I have my mom and brother in Saugerties NY and so I just do the complete visit and stay for almost 2 weeks. Rough on them..rougher on me!

CONGRATS!!! (the job!) wonderful! It is all coming together. With your interests in less than traditional education, and NCs availability of alternative/non public schools and different teaching techniques, you should have no problem ending up at a job that is rewarding to you and to your students.

Yes, PA in the winter...yucko! I'm from upstate NY - near PA. I was there in December last year and am in no hurry to go back and probably won't.

Hi 4paws,

I second the Wilmington NC area vote you recieved earlier.
I live in Brunswick County just south of Wilmington and you
can settle in Brunswick or Colombus County, be rural,close
to towns/cities with culture and history and also near the coast.

I would'nt live anywhere else and I am a native NC person.
My parents moved the family to Virgina near DC when I was a teenager and where I came home to .......was here.
(Okay it took a few years but what the hey)

Lauren (2h2o)

Thank you for the vote, Lauren. The zone warmer makes that area appealing in itself. I do have some concerns about zone 7. Seems mighty cold - would I have to lift gladiolus there?

bestplaces.net has a questionaire that results in a list of best places based on your answers. Wilmington and Goldsboro are two of several NC cities for me out of about 50 cities.

It's almost time for my visit and I thought I'd read through this thread again. You all provided so much information and as result I am flying into Greensboro on 2/2 and investigating a wide circle around Hillsborough, attending an education job fair in Greensboro, then heading down to Shallotte to explore north around Wilmington and east to at least Robeson County, then up to Greenville. My good friend from Ithaca is meeting me to be my chauffeur and we're staying at microtels.

Excited...nervous. Hope I find that I can move there with no worries about finding a place with my dogs.

What's the price of gas now, please?
Thanks again for all your input.

I think it was 3.09 last I filled up...I hadn't read thru all this but wow, if you can find an isloated acre with a home at all on it in NC anywhere for 60,000, I'm wondering where. There are more affordable areas than others, but good luck at all in eastern NC, even if you go an hour inland people from other places consider it coastal and are willing to pay more for land. I've seen it really boom the past few years, and teah, it's slowed down but anyone smart would sit on that investment.

you asked about lifting glads, I don't lift mine. there are some heirlooms here (my mom has some for instance) that bloom well every year. All mine come back but of course they aren't the best bloomers for me. Our winter lows are lower than where you're coming form, but it's also hot. our range of temps can be from 0 degrees to 105 in 7b here.

and OMG now that I've read that there's a smoking ban in Raleigh!? WHOA!! does that mean in public places, on the street or what?

I'm headed to the capital now with a carton of cigarettes to smoke in the lobby (think I'll have a few in the elevator, too) and I'm dumping my ashtray right on Gov. Easley's desk.....lol...seriously, what are they thinking, this is North Carolina, people

Tropicana, you are wrong. I've found plenty of listings under $60K. Have you done any searches on realtor.com lately?

The dumping of car ashtrays in parking lots, dropped cigerette butts, and general inconsideration of others by so many smokers over the years is why legislation has had to be enacted in many places. Where manners leave off, laws step in. Enjoy your lung killers, and I welcome all smokers to smoke - just don't make me do it, too.

well, you'll love the wads of chaw lying about, esp. in more rural areas...lol

yeah I am wondering what area you're looking in, we paid @140,000 for our place not quite 2 acres and not nearly as private as I'd like it

Not near you, but where I've said. I don't like litter of any sort, anywhere, or other public rudeness (including foul language). Here at the HS, spitting is in. Classless, but then I think the same of people who cough or sneeze on me. I don't spend much time in public places, anyway. I'm not looking at anything fancy in terms of the house. I don't live in anything special now, but I'm relatively private-just no permanant teaching position up here and I have no interest in anywhere else in CA. As I've said, I didn't want to come back here to start, but it wasn't my choice.


NC needs teachers, makes it relatively easy to find a job and get licensed and has a climate I can manage; people are a problem wherever I go. I mostly stick to dogs in my private life, kids in my professional life. I shop for groceries about once a month, use the internet a lot and am happily amused at home most of the time.

Susan51, if you're still here - I'm going to be going up to Danville.

I'm wondering if there are plants I can bring for anyone. I've got some Cape Fuschia that are too big to ship. :-)

I am here and Danville is an good place... You could find a home and some land here for that... It may not be the ritzs but a home is where you make it...
When are you coming to Danville? If I am not working we could meet... I have a girlfriend driving from Il. to visit me this coming week... Let me know when... Danville is anywheres from 1hour to 1 and a half from Greensboro.. I just flew out of the airport two weeks ago to visit my friend from Dave's garden in Il.
I hope you have a very safe trip and let me know your plans..
Hugs,
Susan

Hi, glad you are coming to visit our neck of the woods. Average gas is $3.06 - 3.10. $3.25 is the highest I've seen and $2.99 is the lowest recently. Last night $3.15 on one side of the street and $3.09 on the other. As you go from Hillsborough to Greensboro on I-85 you will pass stations sitting off the highway -- around the Mebane area (between HillsB and GreensB) we have found the lowest prices, so if you can plan for a fill there - you should. There is a brand new 'mall' in Burlington...where all the outlets are -- Mimi's Cafe is on Walthan Blvd. This outdoor mall is to your right as you exit the highway. Easy access on and off. Big stores in there like Dillards etc., and there is a restaurant called Mimi's Cafe that just opened -- tons of food with each meal - if you can plan breakfast there - you won't need lunch. They provide complimentary muffins with the meals (big enough to sit on!) (ok....ok.. sit on with just one "cheek") that will carry you over lunch. I think the breakfasts are 7-8-9 dollars if you get the large ones --but, if you minus out the need for lunch afterward - it is a good deal.

We are driving up to PA for a week during your time period, and then to Saugerties NY (I know you are familiar with upstate NY) and we are NOT looking forward to it - it has been very cold and the gas costs are out of sight - I think I already told you it is my grandson's birthday but we have had to add some extra time for a visit to my mom in rehab who fell and broke everything it seems..trying to give my brother a break (no pun intended).

I feel quite sure you won't find what you are looking for in your price range in Hillsborough - you can find a house but not with land enough for the pups. It has gotten pricey-small historic district, niche businesses etc., etc. But as you have said, you are looking for property out of the way and not necessarily near the hub of a city -but would need shopping etc., within a reasonable distance. If you travel on 86 from Danville to Hillsborough - there are many communities along the way you could explore for property. (You would not work in Greensboro tho --too far.) And there are more rural areas around Greensboro you could check out - but Greensboro is really getting busy and spreading into its closest rural areas, so you may not find a position there within a decent driving distance to property in your price range. As you know schools are everywhere --rural areas too --and good teachers are needed!!

Hey you are going on a wonderful adventure!!!! And you sound like a good planner - you will get a sense of what is out there and run with it. Also - I know this has probably crossed your mind already -- it isn't so much about what you spend --but rather the financing arrangements. So, if you have to spend more for house and acreage than you plan ---but the sellers or the bank makes it affordable through the financing arrangement ---it will give you more choices. I don't think we have had the housing slowdown or the depreciation seen in many parts of the country because we really haven't experienced the huge inflation in house values that went on in those same areas.

Anyway, good luck and enjoy your adventure and I wish you only great luck in your travels. Be safe. The job fair in Greensboro..is it just for that area - or is it a gathering of all school districts?


This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 12:32 PM

This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 12:36 PM

hello everyone. i am not going to comment ever again but i am going to follow this thread as i am interested to see what paws finds out there. plus i am hoping to get to come to north carolina later this year for a visit. i would love to meet some of ya'll, esp. my trading bud tropicanna.