[TowerTalk] Living in NC...Slipping OT, but Relevant to Towers

[Wilson]

Yes, Joe is right.  We'd be glad to have you in NC, BUT don't think of even 
being close to the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) or Triad 
(Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point).
Asheville and the trendy retirement towns either on the coast or in the 
mountains have problems too.
We are plagued with overpopulation, high income people who drive up land 
prices, and do-gooder governments who are trying to take care of everyone 
and manage everyone's business.
We have onerous planning and zoning regulations and departments who make 
almost everything a pain, even if it's not unusual or outside the norm!
If you don't work at a university, a high tech electronic or drug company, 
or in the government, there's no reason to be here unless you are a doctor 
or lawyer.
It's a fine area, environment wise, but the above and the traffic are 
ruining it.
I bought 20AC and thought I was moving to the "country".  I sure wish I had 
researched the planning/zoning/tax situation first!!  We came because it's 
near where we grew up and have family.

You want to find a depressed county in an environment that suits you.  We 
have quite a range of temperatures, because of the elevation range, 0-6000 
ft!
If industry is lacking and outsiders have not started overpaying for land, 
you can buy reasonably and many such places are "behind" on 
adopting/enforcing the various codes we all love.
This is more serious than you might think.  In the greatest real estate 
depression in generations, my land value went down 25% and my tax went up 
15-20%!!
If no one with deep pockets sues them, the local governments stretch their 
authority to the limits and beyond and WE pay.

You may want to consider the distance to decent medical facilities, but once 
you get in the car there's not much difference between 10 mi and 30.

And remember, realtors may not even have listed the property you really want 
and if they do they have likely managed to inflate the price.  They work for 
the SELLER!
You have to drive the back roads and eat in the diners and read the local 
ordinances to really do well.

Well, let me know if you want to discuss offlist.

73,
Wilson
W4BOH