NC-Hickory
 

We are considering moving to Hickory from NJ.
Any body have anything to say about this town?
Good or Bad?
Melissa

It is a nice town with much to recommend it. What kind of work do you do?

Could you give more detail as what to recommend it for?
My husband is a accountant and expects to find work in Charlotte.
I am a stay at home mother with 2 children

Melissa

I would recommend Hickory on several different levels - but not as a bedroom community for Charlotte. If he is going to work in Charlotte, move to Charlotte - or some place closer than Hickory!

I have a friend that lives in Hickory and works in CLT. Fortunately, this person does not have to be in the office each day. The commute is approx an hour each way and not all on Interstate highway if I recall. However, the family opts for Hickory for quality of life.

Right now, my husband has about a one hour drive to work in NJ.
I looked at the communities around charlotte and did not find what I was looking for.I really like what I see about Hickory.I have talked to the school and found them to be very warm and welcomning to newcomers.
If he finds work closer than Charlotte, that would be great

Hickory seems to be just what We wanted to mmove to

Melissa

Allrighty then. Move to Hickory and let hubby drive. An hour commute in NJ and many metro areas in not unusual. It's often needed when affordable housing is not available close to a job. I would hate moving from a NJ lifestyle to a NC lifestyle - and continue to drive an hour a day. If your hubby chooses to do so, then so be it. Most people enjoy the drive time they regain for "real life" - time with family, being able to attend soccer games, school functions, etc. rather than spending 2 hours a day in the car. Your husband may enjoy the alone time. I hate commutes - but maybe he doesn't mind them.

PS - You are going to find folks warm and friendly in virtually every NC town.

My advice and something my mother always said when they moved to NC from NJ. "Rent first. Then buy." We lived in a smaller town and while it had positives my mother says she would probably never have ended up letting my father talk her into the town if we had rented first.

It's good advice in my opinion. One I did when I moved away from home too.

Personally I would move to CLT in a heartbeat. It's a great city. It's not like Manhattan by any means.

But, Hickory is nice. It may just bore you or it may be perfect for you. It's a great little town I agree.

But, there are tons of little communities around CLT I'd check out to make sure you are in the right one for you.

An hour commute in NC is not so easy. Did it for years. If I had the chance to move and get away from that and have a 20 to 30 min commute then I'd think about it.

If there is a possibility of husband (and you) socializing with other couples from his work, you would want to add 2 more hours to the weekly commute (unless all of his workmates in Charlotte also live in Hickory). Also, if you & he are fond of big-city attractions (such as sports teams, orchestra, museums, etc), do you really want to add a 2nd hour commute to Fridays, and another for Saturdays? If, on the other hand, these are rarities in your life, then maybe Hickory's the place.
You might want to ask how well Northern transplants are accepted in the social fabric of a smaller Southern community like Hickory.

I'm not really sure what the attraction would be in working in Charlotte and but living Hickory. Your husband's one hour communte in NJ probably only translates to 20-30 miles of driving in traffic but Hickory to Charlotte is 60 minutes of driving on a highway with no traffic for about 60 miles - until you get close to Charlotte when the traffic can be very congested and insane. As at least one other poster pointed out there are plenty of small communities much closer to Charlotte which would still afford you the cultural, artistic, educational and transportation (airport) benefits of being in a large city as opposed to a small a community where there is little to do - except to drive to Asheville or Charlotte to find all of the above. Good advice to visit and/or rent before making this sort of major decision.