Salisbury, NC??
 

Found this town on "Find Your Spot". Had never heard of it before.

We are exploring places in NC for possible retirement - visiting Chapel Hill area Labor Day weekend and looking forward to that.

Find Your Spot calls it the "Paris of the Piedmont" which I'm sure is overstated, but we like artsy towns, that have historic homes, and things going on.

Winston-Salem also looks interesting. Can anyone comment on either??

p.s. I am a little dismayed at the high crime rates in NC (and the South in general). What is this attributed to?

Salisbury NC as the Paris of the Piedmont? No offense to anyone, but that is EXTREMELY hard to imagine.

Winston-Salem is an outstanding town, with more history, nice restaurants and art than you'd expect in a southern city of approx. 150K. If you're already visiting Chapel Hill, W/S is about 1.5 hours west on I-40. Check it out and give Salisbury a pass, IMHO.

Crime rates? What data are you looking at? Is it city-specific? Does it break down rural v. metro? Does it specify types of crimes?

There is a certain level of crime everywhere, but having spent nearly my whole life in the carolinas, I can tell you that it's not an issue that is in the forefront of anyone's mind--there is no sense here of a pervasive state of high crime.

I use to live on High Rock Lake, which has a Salisbury address. This was 12 years ago when property was less expensive. Salisbury is a nice town situated between Charlotte NC and north to Lexington (BBQ capital). I loves the lake area. The schools at that time were not real good, but I have no idea what they are like now.
Its a growing area with great weather.
GB

How's the weather (paticularly the heat and humidity) in Winston-Salem?

Isn't Elizabeth Dole from Salisbury? Or maybe her mother lives(d) there.

The real icee lived in Salisbury and I don't recall him ever talking about it being artsy. But, since he's not an artsy person, don't guess he would!!

Carrboro is "Paris of the Piedmont" not Salisbury. I think they even have a festival for it (Carrboro seems to have a lot of festivals).

I've driven by so I don't know much about the place. But I would come to CH (and Carrboro) on a regular weekend, not a holiday one when the students leave to see the town.

I don't even think I would call Carrboro the Pof the P. Salisbury has a lot of antique shops (not terribly good ones). W-S is a nice small town with a nice city "feel". Having had a large corporation as its base gives it some amenities that other cities of the size have. Location is nice being close to the mountains and the beach.

Salisbury is a small town which would put you in pretty close range to Charlotte. Paris it ain't! It has one good restaurant. My suggestion is to live elsewhere and occasionally drive over to Salisbury and have dinner at La Cava. (Senator Dole's mother lived in Salisbury. I will pass on any further observations about her connection to the state she "represents".)
Winston Salem was my home for over twenty years. I still live about forty minutes away and go there frequently. The city has about 160k and the county a bit over 250k population. Home prices are averaging in the high 100's-200. Not much public transportation, but that is changing. Two of the best hospitals in the State, Wake Forest University Medical Center/Baptist Hospital and Forsyth Hospital are there. The city is home to a thriving arts scene, a marvelous historical area (Old Salem), good restaurants and plenty of theatre (THANK YOU, North Carolina School of the Arts!!). There is a beautiful greenway through the city to Salem Lake for biking, horseback riding and walking. Recreation opportunities abound. In general the city is very safe. The city is about four hours from the beach and an hour from the mountains.
If you have other questions about Winston Salem, let me know. I would be glad to help. Come on down, Y'all.

My cousins who were born and bred in Pittsburgh moved to Salisbury about 8 years ago (he's the head of Food Lion) and about had a coronary.

They quickly moved to Lake Norman and adjusted rather quickly.

I still laugh at Judy moving from a big northern city to a town as small as Salisbury. She really did think that small southern town thing was Urban Legend.

wanderer, crime is related directly to poverty.

I'm proud to say I live in Winston-Salem and it is a very nice place in which to live and raise a family.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we are 4 hours from the coast and much less from the gorgeous mountains. We have a very active arts population and as a matter of fact, my DH and I just just spent a lovely afternoon downtown at a wine festival. The Yadkin Valley (less than 45 minutes from WS) has been named a wine appellation area and has quite a number of excellent wineries.

WS is a great place. We are less than 1 hour from Charlotte and Raleigh airports and about 30 minutes (It personally takes me exactly 12 minutes) to get to Greensboro airport. We are accessible, climate friendly, and have excellent post-graduate and medical facilities.

We have pretty darn good restaurants also.

OK, you've all convinced me - WS is worth a visit!

If we have time we will try and drive there while we are in CH.

Can anyone fill us in on the differences between CH and WS?

They both seem like 2 really great places to see and consider.

We may also consider Asheville - have seen some good write-ups.

If anyone can offer a comparison of the 3, I'd be in Heaven!

Looking forward to our visit.

I can't give you comparisons between the three, but I'd pick Asheville in a heartbeat over the 3. I'd choose ANY of the three over Salisbury. I've spent nights there on business travel and never saw a hint of Paris :-)

WS and CH are very different. Both are university towns but a different feel. CH is "big", WS is "small". Don't pay attention to the population. CH is a part of the "Triangle" and it is a metropolitan area basically.
You'll just have to come see. You have gotten some EXcellent first hand observations that I agree totally with from my perspective of living in Charlotte. I would suggest you investigate some longer term visitation to various places. NC is a retirement paradise in MANY areas.

Size: smallest to largest
Chapel Hill, Asheville, Winston Salem.
Proximity to beach: closest to furthest.
Chapel Hill, Winston Salem, Asheville
Proximity to mountains:
Asheville (you are there), Winston-Salem, Chapel Hill.
Quality hospitals: I think it is a tie between Chapel Hill (UNC and Duke) and Winston Salem.
Good airport: Chapel Hill (RDU). Winston Salem second and Asheville a poor third.
Politics: Chapel Hill and Asheville are the most open societies, have the best enviornmental protection records and tend to vote Democratic. Winston Salem is more conservative and tends to vote Republican.
Newspapers: IMHO about even on that score.
Arts scene: All good. I think Asheville probably has a leg up on the quality crafts, but all three have active arts communities. Chapel Hill is so close to Raleigh/Durham it has the benefits of all three communities.
Shopping: Chapel Hill, hands down.
Restaurants: This is a close one. I think Chapel Hill wins (again because Durham and Raleigh are so close) but you won't go hungry in any of them.
Recreation: Asheville. Hiking, biking, gorgeous wilderness, golf, skiing(near).
Does this help?

cmc, just to throw a little wrench into things, many of the Duke residents intern at Asheville hospitals.

My MIL was a nurse for 35 years at the VA and ran the operating rooms and broke in many a Duke resident. She subscribes to the AMA just to keep up with her now world famous former residents!

We are exploring NC for a move in a few (2 or 3) years as well. Chapel Hill looks appealing. I'd prefer Asheville but the company I work for doesnt' have an office there.

I've done comparisions of crime rates as well. Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte both have higher rates than Austin. Not huge, but noticeable. Chapel Hills' is listed as a bit below Austin's. Which is interesting since it is so close to RDU.

Why would being close to an airport make the crime higher? Chapel Hill is fairly small university town that happens to be in a triangle with Durham (a comparatively small town) and Raleigh (relatively large city that has the airport).
To be very candid, I don't think having Duke residents at the Asheville hospital elevates it to the level of Wake, Duke or UNC.
What kind of crime is of concern? I wonder if the two relo posters come from some Shangri-la with no crime at all?
The last poster might enjoy Charlotte. It has a very nice quality of life.

Yes, I come from a VERY low crime area am so am spoiled, but the trade-off is ridiculously high housing prices...

Anyway, starrsville, wondering why you picked Asheville out the the 3 NC places. We've now got that on our list to take a trip to.

wanderer - re your question -
mostly because of location. I will almost always choose a mountain location over one in the "flatlands". This is not to say anything against the other two. I just love almost everything about the Asheville area.

A good friend moved there from Atlanta a few years ago and just loves it. It is a big town /small city with lots going on. I'm amazed at the acts coming to town whenever I'm there. Diverse. Liberal. Homage to mountain culture/ origin without looking backward (those who have lived in small town, and small MOUNTAIN towns may be able to relate. Good restaurants. Ecletic shopping. Mostly, just people that I would like to be my neighbors. Lots of outdoor activities. My favorite wine shop in the SE.

If you like "artsy towns, that have historic homes and things going on" you just described Asheville.

The Asheville area is worth considering. Black Mountain. Hendersonville.

Does anyone else miss wildflower? She had just moved to Asheville and absolutely loved it before she died. I think of her often (driving with cats). I miss her.

Good luck with your search, wanderer.

PS - re crime rate comment. I have no idea where that comes from. If I think of ANY state with a "high crime rate" (particularly in the SE) it would NOT be North Carolina. NC is one of the friendliest, least "stressful" states I've traveled. At times, it almost like going back to Mayberry (and not just Mt. Airy) and that comment is made in only the nicest way. Heaven forbid, if I were ever "stranded" on a trip, I would be lucky if it were in NC. People are so nice. Have NO idea why you think it has a high crime rate. Wonder who (and how) is playing with stats.

Thanks everyone for your info. Very helpful. We are so looking forward to our trips.

I've seen/heard several references to crime, especially re: Chapel Hill. There is a site "city-data.com" which lists National Average crime and then town city crime. National average was something like 382 and Chapel Hill was high 500/600s. I live in a place with stats under 100, so it kind of scared me.

Then "Retirement Places Rated" expounded on that, and stated explicitly that "Chapel Hill has a crime problem. Guns have been stolen from stores, and the homes of people who were trying to protect themselves from an onslaught of break-ins".

It's one thing to have college kids joking around and have property damage etc., (but even that would bother me), but quite another when there's a gun problem....

Wow! Sounds very official then. I am surprised by that. I'm going to check out my locations.

Look again at the website. Chapel Hill has the lowest crime rate of the three you are considering - and pretty much spot on the national average. WS is in the middle and Asheville is the highest.

BUT, my little town has the same rate as Asheville - and I feel very safe here. That's one thing I hate about stats. "Numbers don't lie" but what exactly do they mean?

Did they actually use city limits? If so, what is the % of low poverty inside the city limits? As said before there is a high correlation between poverty and crime stats. The article about CH was just that - and article.

Don't know where you are moving from, but 100 is great! Are you living elsewhere in the south? Gun ownership in the south is not unusual.

Oh Lordy! "Mayberry" is in the 600's. (Mt. Airy)

I would not use those stats in choosing a new home. I simply would not.

That has to be the weirdest site I have ever seen to be expected to be taken seriously. Geez. "Statistics" really can be made to say any-thing.

Gretchen - my bad. Didn't mean to imply that it was close to the airport. My abbreviation for Radliegh - Durham was RDU now I remember that is the airport. Homefair.com also shows Asheville and RD with higher crime rates than where I live now. (Austin)

Austin, those stats are warped. Not sure why or how, but they do not accurately reflect the "safety" of several cities I know well and checked. Not sure what is skewing the results, but they are indeed skewed.

I agree about stats - it is very hard to tell what they are - i.e., was the murder a domestic dispute or a random act of violence?

I find "Retirement Places Rated" stats the most comprehensive for what they are - break down violent crime - rape, murder, robbery, and non-violent crime. Appears to be fairly accurate for what it is. But that's why I ask the locals - only they will tell you the truth.

I remember our first visit to Savannah - walking around @6pm with a map trying to find a place to eat. A local stopped in the street in her car (!) and told us to not walk close to the bushes but closer to the street side of the sidewalk at night, as people were known to hide in the bushes and rob people.

This was in the historic district mind you!! I thought perhaps she was just a little paranoid, then the next day splashed across the front page of the paper was the story of a 45 yr old mother who had gone grocery shopping, and she was shot to death in the parking lot!!

I come from the Northeast and no, we don't have a "gun culture" up here, but I am familiar with and know how to shoot guns being married previously to a police officer. However, it's guns in the wrong hands (as in the Chapel Hill story about all the break-ins) that are a problem.

If cost of housing/living is going to figure into your decision I think you'll be surprised how expensive Asheville is - more expensive than any other town in NC - at least that's what all the reports we see say. We were in WS last year mid-June for the wine festival and were amazed at how little was going on downtown in a town of that size. Asheville by comparison is always busy and active downtown - especially that time of year. Guess everyone at WS was either in Asheville or at the beach on that weekend!

Yes, cost of living is a very big factor, but coming from where we live, Asheville is downright cheap!

You cannot get a 3br/2ba home here from under 700K that does not need work!!

p.s. What is Cary like?

I just found a web site with pictures of the downtowns of some NC towns. Looks pretty cute.

Mt. Airy also looked adorable, but I think that is too small for us.

I wasn't suggesting Mt. Airy. Most people are looking for the idyllic "Mayberry" kind of town - and I just think it's very cool that Mayberry actually exists = Mt. Airy.

Have you read the Jan Karon books?

I live just outside Pilot Mountain (you may remember when Andy and Barney dated fast girls and left Helen and Thelma Lou at home, the fast girls lived in Mount Pilot!!). Pilot Mountain is about half way between Mt. Airy and Winston Salem. Mt.Airy is a fun place to visit. There is a strong sense of community and it has a lot of charm. We do capitalize on the Andy connection and there is a ton of Mayberryabilia to be found...plus Snappy Lunch, the Blue Bird Diner and Floyd's barber shop. There are a couple of nice shops (High Cotton, Seasons, Meadows of Dan) on the Main Street and one or two decent restaurants. For most services people go to Winston Salem. Home prices are very good, but there is no thriving industry in Mt.Airy. Most of the big employers (textiles) are gone or going. The hospital facilities are 'outposts" of the Winston Salem hospitals. There is no airport within an hour's drive and very limited public transportation. Crime rate is low, primarily drugs, theft and domestic violence.

Woo-hoo, cmcfong! Pilot Mtn! Does that mean you are a "fast girl"? I planned a trip with a stop in Mt. Airy and really enjoyed eating lunch there and a few hours shopping around.

Pilot Mtn....Gooolllll-lee! (Or however you would type what Gomer would say! :-) )

NC is a good state and if you choose Asheville, Chapel Hill or WS, you will not regret it.

I personally live in WS and I find it ideal for raising a family. When my daughter required complicated eye surgery, there were 2 hospitals in the country where the procedure was done: Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in WS. I am grateful to live in an area with a top-notch medical center.

I don't want to detract from Duke Hospital, but WFUBMC has been, literally, a life-saver for us.

wanderer, check out this link to a top 10 retirement list.

http://southeasternretirement.com/topten.htm

Hey starrsville - thanks for the link!

Can anyone comment on Cary?

p.s. I only checked on Mt. Airy 'cause it was right there in th elist - looks adorable!

Starrsville, LOL!

My comment on Cary, a very outdated comment, is that when I grew up in Raleigh we considered Cary to be basically an affluent suburb of Raleigh. I am not sure whether that has changed much.

Another comment I have is that Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill is the most metro area in NC. While all three cities have their own identities, it has the feel of a much bigger, spread-out place--kind of reminds me of Houston. If that's what you're looking for, fine. But as your original interest was in Salisbury . . .

No, we hate sprawl! We'll just have to see!

We are looking for - hard to find - something on the "scale" of a Savannah or Charleston, SC. Very walkable. Feeling of being smallish with a definite downtown. Realls didn't want to go over 50K pop, but some bigger places have "pockets" that make it feel smaller like Savannah.

We definitely don't want a big metropolis, in fact found Charlottesville, VA too busy and spread out.

We like compact, walkable places with some historic interest and charm. Towns that come to mind we've liked - all different, but similar feel - Mantucket, MA, Sonoma, CA, St. Helena, CA, Healdsburg, CA, Calistoga, CA, Camden, ME, and the above Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. We also found Beaufort, SC cute, but didn't like the surrounding area - strip malls, etc.

Are we fishing in the wrong pond?