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Hello. My husband and I are considering moving down south to southwestern NC or maybe SC. We are currently in Indiana. We have several friends down in the area where NC, SC and GA all meet. We are trying to decide where to go. We are a married couple with two young boys ages 8 & 10, two dogs and a cat. We have always loved the mountains and have been in this area for a visit but have always wanted to return for good. I have always dreamed of living somewhere that we could see mountains from our windows or yard. This makes us lean more towards the area somewhere between Asheville and Tryon, NC. I'm doing lots of research and learning the geography and where the smaller towns are located in relation to the mountains and Asheville. We love Asheville but want to be somewhere that is more rural than urban. We have an income that will allow us to find somewhere to rent or perhaps rent to own but it must be under $750/mo. We will need a minimum of 3 bedrooms and are not interested in an apartment due to the animals. I was wondering if anyone would have any insight as to if I am completely dreaming about finding something affordable. I would appreciate advice/suggestions about the areas/small towns somewhere that one can still see mountains close by. I am doing lots of research in my free time but a friend suggested I open myself up to suggestions from folks who may have experience in living in these areas. We have friends in Campobello SC, Forest City NC, Hendersonville NC, Athens GA and other little places here and there. The issue with asking any of them is that they are all really good friends and seem to each want to talk us into coming where they are, because it is where they are...not necessarily because it is what we are looking for. Thank you for any and all input. Peace.
Last edited by mrschop; 01-02-2013 at 06:10 PM..
Reason: misspelling
Hendersonville is between Tryon & Asheville, but the rents seem a bit high for your budget. There were a couple of 3-bdrm houses for rent under $700 in Tryon, but they show as rented. They probably go fast.
Realistically, your best bet would be a mobile home in that price range. But you might get lucky with the timing & find the perfect house in your range, who's to say for sure? :-)
Given your budget, you will likely have to settle for a mobile home. The western North Carolina area is expensive, especially Asheville. Tryon and Columbus are exepnsive due to the influx of northerners (includes Floridians)(I'm being nice, they are called yankees) who have retired with their stash and expensive homes.
You could research northern Spartanburg County, SC (Landrum, Campobello, Green Creek, Fingerville) or over at Sylva and Franklin, NC. Also Rutherfordton, Spindale, Forest City, NC. Also, consider Toccoa, GA.
Hello. My husband and I are considering moving down south to southwestern NC or maybe SC. We are currently in Indiana. We have several friends down in the area where NC, SC and GA all meet. We are trying to decide where to go. We are a married couple with two young boys ages 8 & 10, two dogs and a cat. We have always loved the mountains and have been in this area for a visit but have always wanted to return for good. I have always dreamed of living somewhere that we could see mountains from our windows or yard. This makes us lean more towards the area somewhere between Asheville and Tryon, NC. I'm doing lots of research and learning the geography and where the smaller towns are located in relation to the mountains and Asheville. We love Asheville but want to be somewhere that is more rural than urban. We have an income that will allow us to find somewhere to rent or perhaps rent to own but it must be under $750/mo. We will need a minimum of 3 bedrooms and are not interested in an apartment due to the animals. I was wondering if anyone would have any insight as to if I am completely dreaming about finding something affordable. I would appreciate advice/suggestions about the areas/small towns somewhere that one can still see mountains close by. I am doing lots of research in my free time but a friend suggested I open myself up to suggestions from folks who may have experience in living in these areas. We have friends in Campobello SC, Forest City NC, Hendersonville NC, Athens GA and other little places here and there. The issue with asking any of them is that they are all really good friends and seem to each want to talk us into coming where they are, because it is where they are...not necessarily because it is what we are looking for. Thank you for any and all input. Peace.
It is doubtful that you could get anything decent with 3 BR in your rental price range in the mountains of NC unless you target the far western corner of NC on the GA border; but it is remote over there if you can handle that. Young Harris, Blairsville, Clayton, Toccoa, etc. are all cute towns in GA. Employment will be difficult if you need to work.
In NC, however, Columbus NC might be doable, Rutherfordton NC, Forest City, NC, Shelby NC, the up and coming town of Kings Mountain NC, etc.
Your best bet as others have said would be in the foothills of SC. Towns in SC like Travelers Rest, Inman, Campobello, parts of Greer, in those areas may suit you.
Check with property management agencies in the areas, some Realtor offices handle rentals too. There are plenty of homes on the market these days, some of those may rent out for a year or so. Hope it all works out for you.
Chiming in from someone stuck in upstate SC who has been trying to find a cheaper rental for 2 years.... Its highly unlikely you will find anything in a safe area that isn't a mobile home in Greenville CO SC for that price. Its cheap....but not that cheap. For 3bed room SF home you are looking at at least 900.
I live in Asheville now (since Dec. 08), If you want cheap, then it will be a run down single wide moble home and probably 2 bedroom. All 3 bedrroms I have seen are 850 or more. Asheville is the most expensive place to live in NC. I have lived in Clyde and Canton as well and it's not much cheaper and there is nothing really there. I have been looking in the rental market for over 6 months now trying to find something better and cheaper and have not had much luck.
Some thing to consider as well is the education. I have a 19yr old who did most of his school here in NC and I was an 11yr old and soon to be 8 yr. I don't like the schooling here. I am from CT and I'm sorry, but you can't beat the schools up north. When I researched the ranking of schools by state back in 08 CT was #3, NC #24 and SC was in the 40's (out of 50). My oldest son did not like the schools and I always had to speak with his teachers because they did not like that he would not show his work or how he got the answer, even though he was always right. He was very bored in class and he only went to daycare in CT. He complained to me when I had him in a daycare here in NC, saying how all they did was play all the time and he did not want to go back.
All of my kids have been put in speech therapy, even though they did not need it. IMO, they do this so they can get the funding for it and use it in other areas. One other thing I hate with the schools here is during winter, they call off school for almost everything. They are not so good with plowing the roads, even here in the "city".
The only place I can think of for cheap rents would be waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy out there in the country. Oh and the apartments here are not cheap either. 3bd cheapest apt, would maybe be $850 and that is where my ex lives and it's not a good place at all.
You may really want to do a good thorogh reseach. I have been living here in the south since 98 and for a while my now ex husband was keeping me here. I have been wanting to move back to CT for a long time. Things just did not work out for me, but I hope you have better luck.
Minimum pay here in NC is $7.25, so you need to consider that as well. Just to give you an idea on expense. My boyfriend works 2 jobs, one at the Biltmore and one at the hospital, he makes about $2,400 a month, my oldest son lives with us and helps with income and pays $100 a week ($400 a month), I get child support and pay $100 a month to help and we are barely making it. We could not afford a rent higher the $1050 if my son moved out, with his help we could only do $1200 and even that is really pushing it. Also I do get help with WIC and food stamps. I could see it being hard if we were eating out all the time and had nice cars and stuff, but we don't and right now we are down to 1 car.
The south is not as cheap as people think. We also pay taxes on food and our sales tax is 7.25%in some areas. So you need to really ask yourself how important is having a mountain from your back yard? Also, maybe living where your friends are is better. Bottom line is what is most important to you and your family. For me it's Education and having things to do as well as family.
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