spitfirebill wrote: I have a lot of love for the Mountains and foothills of NC, but the mountains will get snow. Not the kind that stays very long. If I was a lesbian, I would go straight (no pun intended) to Asheville. Otherwise, I just don't quite get Asheville. If you go to Asheville, got to 12 Bones down on the river.
The OP said no snow.
My take on Ashville? Hippies, lesbians, more hippies, some hipsters and more hippies.
Asheville gets a good snow (6+ inches) about once every 2 years but it rarely sticks around for more than a few days. School gets cancelled at the mere mention of it though. The 'gay-lesbian/hippy/hipster' population makes it a wonderful place to live and the further you get from the central business district, the more diluted that polulation becomes. Being teachers, you should be warned that the job market here isn't very big and there is a lot of competition (there are 5 universities within an hour of downtown). NC has a set salary schedule based on years of experience and degree, there is little to no negotiating salary with public schools. A friend of mine lost her contract at a private school last spring and has been solidly looking for a couple of months but has yet to land a positon for the fall.
Stuff to do:
Biltmore House.
Drink beer, like craft brew, interested in the brewing process? Brews Cruise
Downtown - park in a garage and stroll around and/or take LaZoom Comedy bus tour. The Friday night drum circle in Pritchard Park has evolved from a spontaneous get together to an organized event - it's pretty remarkable. Depending on when you'll be here there is a free, live bluegrass concert just about every Saturday during the summer.
Blue Ridge Parkway - from Asheville head south to Grave Yard Fields then continue to Hwy 276 to Brevard (great driving road and water falls). While in Brevard (and if you like beer or a cool vibe) head to Oskar Blues brewery. Alternatively head north to Mt Mitchell (highest peak east of the Mississippi) then to Hwy 221, passing Linville Caverns (basically an old mine turned into a commercial cave) back to Marion, I40 west to Asheville. Another cool drive is Asheville south to Lake Lure via Hwy 74A.
Like art/artists? (River Arts District, plus beer and President Obama's favorite BBQ joint, 12 Bones). Actually you should go to 12 Bones, period.
Outdoors stuff - tubing, rafting, ziplines, mountain biking, road biking, and hiking are all available within 10 minutes of downtown.
Food - just about anything you can imagine is available within the City limits. I've lived here 20 years and still use Urbanspoon to help decide where to take guests to eat.
There really isn't anything to avoid, to be honest. This is all off the top of my head. I'm sure I can come up with more if you need it. 
As mentioned previously the PNW is great however there are some areas that do get quite a bit of snow out here. Depending on where you end up depends on how much real estate costs. Where I live $100,000 gets you a big house one some acres. Go to Portland or Seattle and that will maybe get you a run down shack in the bad side of town.
Boise, Idaho? Apparently they don't get much snow, clear skies most of the year, but not the insane heat of someplace like Phoenix.
nicksta43 wrote: My take on Ashville? Hippies, lesbians, more hippies, some hipsters and more hippies.
hey …. I don't fit any of those labels
rebelgtp wrote: As mentioned previously the PNW is great however there are some areas that do get quite a bit of snow out here. Depending on where you end up depends on how much real estate costs. Where I live $100,000 gets you a big house one some acres. Go to Portland or Seattle and that will maybe get you a run down shack in the bad side of town.
$100k will an apartment in a horrible area of seattle, or a small sliver of land in a horrible area of seattle.
Or an unfinished shack on whidbey island (http://www.redfin.com/WA/Clinton/6248-Sunlight-Shores-Ln-98236/home/16687234)
I'd actually go for the shack!
In reply to wbjones:
How long has it been since you've shaved?
(coughhippiecough)
nicksta43 wrote: In reply to wbjones: How long has it been since you've shaved? (coughhippiecough)
Man, I would never fit in there. I can't do the facial hair thing. I've never had it and absolutely can't go without shaving in the morning. I can't recall the last morning I didn't shave.
ScreaminE wrote:spitfirebill wrote: I have a lot of love for the Mountains and foothills of NC, but the mountains will get snow. Not the kind that stays very long. If I was a lesbian, I would go straight (no pun intended) to Asheville. Otherwise, I just don't quite get Asheville. If you go to Asheville, got to 12 Bones down on the river.The OP said no snow.
No, he said little to no snow.
Thanks for the feedback guys, this is why GRM is so great.
I'm excited to hear that there are good roads around asheville, not a big drinker but it sounds like some good culture there, I like that. I'm fine with hippies and lesbians.
A couple of guys in Arizona have mentioned how great it is here and I agree except for the heat. I hate the heat here and have lived most of my adult life in the hot humid southeast. I do work outside so it makes a bigger difference for me. Pruning trees between stucco houses and an all rock ground isn't much fun. I went a few times to the summer autocrosses here and it was too much. My summers were spent on the Massachusetts coast so that probably had something to do with it. Keep it about 10 degrees lower and I'm fine, hence the desire for a higher altitude here, which there is a lot of. How you feel about the heat here is something you'd want to check out first should you consider the southwest.
ATL for the craigslist!
After spending a week in NOLA I'm ready to sell it all & get a tiny place in the French Quarter. I love the heat & humidity, there's a seemingly endless amount of shows/attractions/etc. yet it really doesn't feel like a big city. The traffic wasn't bad either.
In reply to carbon:
I wasn't trying to imply that there is anything wrong with hippies or lesbians. Just that there seems to be a large concentrating of them in that area. I'm not so sure that I like the idea of the hipsters though. We loved visiting Ashville though, always enjoyed it. Personally I prefer Boone, but I like a smaller town.
LOL … yeah, Asheville has had the nickname "little San Francisco for a long time
ddavidv wrote: I worked in Arizona for a week and fell in love with it, mostly because of the weather. My one question, however, is where does a car guy keep his cars? It seems like almost everywhere is urban living with maybe two car garages...what do multi-car guys do for storage? Keep 'em in rental units? If I'm living in a place where I can drive cool cars most of the year, I'm going to have more than two, but I don't like the idea of leaving them parked on the street. Where I come from in the east, we've got lots of places with multiple outbuildings, barns, garages, etc. which I didn't see when I was in AZ, UT or NV.
Most of my friends have a daily that they park outside if they only have one garage spot. Most older houses will have either a one car garage or a two car carport. Newer places usually have at least a two car garage, if you have a house built four car garages aren't out of the ordinary. A few guys I know have a seperate shop in their back yards that fit 1-2 cars also. Things like E-Z-ups or tent things aren't uncommon as long as you don't have an hoa.
ProDarwin wrote:Kia_Racer wrote: I have been looking to transfer to the Winston-Salem area of NC. Doing research online. Mostly because I am tired of the oppressive heat 8 months at a time.What industry do you work in? I live in Winston. Some people love it, some people HATE it here. Asheville is awesome, but I've always heard "bring your own job".
I work in logistics/warehouse. The company I work for has a plant in Winston-Salem. I just need an opening to be able to transfer.
wbjones wrote: Asheville …. we do get snow here … nothing like what you're accustomed to, but snow none-the-less last yr. only one "real" snow … 8 - 12" …. stuck around about 5 days the 2 yrs prior … = 0 inches the 2 yrs prior to that = 3 - 4 snows, each totaling ~ 14" each plus you'll find that anywhere down here, ANY snow at all …even if just blowing around and not sticking, totally shuts down the entire area …. counties aren't equipped to deal with it, and the locals have ZERO idea how to drive on it
Amen, it is a great place to live if you can bring your own funding. I work for the aforementioned school system as there really are not a lot of good jobs that you don't create for yourself. Lucky for NC doesn't pay teachers well enough to stay so you might have a chance at finding work. Most counties throw in a little extra to teacher pay to try to entice talent to stay so look into what the local supplement is if you look at different counties in Western NC. As for Winter and driving, people here cannot drive in the snow and still try to. One thing that works against us is the roads were not built to drive on covered in snow. Lots of twists turns and elevation changes. Makes for really dangerous winter but awesome summer driving. I live out side Asheville proper and like it a lot more than the city proper. You can always look at the neighboring towns and counties as well. I think most of the good info has already been shared.
Aside from the crappy traffic and idiot drivers, I enjoy being in the Charlotte area. Within 30 minutes of downtown Charlotte, you can be in farmer country, though it is shrinking fairly quickly. For gearheads and racers, this place is paradise. All the race teams in the area make finding speed parts that much easier and cheaper. At one time we went 5 years with no snow at all. Most of the time it just snows a few inches once or twice a season. Cars don't rust here, either. You can get to almost every major race track on the east coast within 8 hours of here. Just across the border in S.C. the cost of living is a bit cheaper and it's less crowded.
nicksta43 wrote: In reply to carbon: I wasn't trying to imply that there is anything wrong with hippies or lesbians. Just that there seems to be a large concentrating of them in that area. I'm not so sure that I like the idea of the hipsters though. We loved visiting Ashville though, always enjoyed it. Personally I prefer Boone, but I like a smaller town.
Don't worry, I didn't think you were implying a dislike of hippies and lesbians. They make for cheap used turbo foresters, and ganj 
Asheville is more fondly known as A-SHE-VILLE.
In reply to PHeller:
We are heading to Boise for vacation on two weeks. I like it there and the metro area is 650k people. For some reason that is kind shocking to me.
ncjay wrote: Aside from the crappy traffic and idiot drivers, I enjoy being in the Charlotte area. Within 30 minutes of downtown Charlotte, you can be in farmer country, though it is shrinking fairly quickly. For gearheads and racers, this place is paradise. All the race teams in the area make finding speed parts that much easier and cheaper. At one time we went 5 years with no snow at all. Most of the time it just snows a few inches once or twice a season. Cars don't rust here, either. You can get to almost every major race track on the east coast within 8 hours of here. Just across the border in S.C. the cost of living is a bit cheaper and it's less crowded.
And SC gas is $.20 gallon cheaper than NC
Utah as a whole would be a pretty awesome place to live if it were not for the religious presence and its affect on social activities. I much prefer to be asked which bar I frequent over which church. SLC has great proximity to big mountains and beautiful scenery as well as being very close to a major hub airport, a must when you're young and traveling to see family.
That's my biggest concern, ease of travel back east. I love my friends and my home area (Amish Country Pennsylvania) but its leaving behind whats left of my aging family that has me most worried about living someplace that I might enjoy regardless of its location. On the flip side, condensed summer seasons and a long commute mean that I rarely see my family anyway for half the year. Summer is just incredibly crazy with every night I want to be outdoors. Sometimes I wish I lived someplace with great weather year round, ability to walk/ride to work, and a few weeks vacation to (easily) fly home and spend quality time with parents and grand parents.
I think I'd really like both Santa Fe, NM and Boise, ID if they had direct flights to BWI or PHL.
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