Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I having been going back and forth between moving to South Carolina vs. North Carolina. We have made two trips to Western NC and love the are between Hendersonville and Waynesville. Seeing I would still be working in the health care field we don't want to be too far from a hospital ( 20 miles). How far is the closest hospital to Waynesville? It is such a lovely town, but I'm not sure there's enough activity in this small town to keep semi retired people amused. We also love Hendersonville, the Flat Rock area which may be a better choice for more things to do nearby. The one area we might look into in South Carolina is the Beaufort or Bluffton area. It will come down to a choice between the mountain air or the sea air I suppose. Any comments about these locations would be appreciated.
The Haywood Regional Medical Facility is in Clyde, which is a few miles east of Waynesville.
As far as staying busy in Waynesville, I think it really depends where your interests lie. The natural beauty is incomparable and it's certainly an outdoor person's paradise -- I'd hike in the mountains every day if I had the opportunity. It's NOT the place to be if you enjoy upscale shopping malls or five-star dining -- have to go to Asheville for that.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not a resident -- just a frequent visitor to Waynesville who hopes to have a retirement home there someday. Hopefully JBird will check in -- she's a bona fide, fulltime resident who can give you an excellent rundown on the area's activities.
We've somehow missed Hendersonville/Flat Rock on our visits to western North Carolina, but the reviews on these boards seem overwhelmingly positive.
I'm also a frequent visitor and it would be paradise for me to live there! But I LOVE the mountains, you just can't be the scenery there, I think anyway.
I have some experience here. Of couse, these are all my humble opinions... Nothing more, nothing less.
In 2003 - 2004, I began to have serious "Get out of Atlanta" thoughts. At that time, I was closing in on 44 years old. My choices were - coastal NC --I adore Carteret County, in NC - Morehead City, Beaufort, etc. (pron: bow-fort in NC... Bew-fort in SC) --used to live in coastal NC. I looked at homes, thought about it, and also pitted it against a potential move to the mountains at the Western part of the state. I had never lived in the mountains, but I just had fallen in love with Haywood County.
Eventually, it all boiled down to the fact that Western NC seemed to be more of a four-seasons type of place, vs. the beach and ocean towns 2 or 3 seasons at best. The mountains are beautiful in all weather, all seasons... the ocean is, as well - but you can't see it from everwhere in Carteret County. In Waynesville - one of the most beautiful views is from the parking lot of the Ingles on the hill (on Russ Ave). The views are everywhere, and for everyone, not just the well to do. Plenty to do in the area, in my opinion.
Haywood Regional Medical Center is in Clyde - just outside of Waynesville. Harris Regional Hospital is in Sylva, about 20 minutes away (over Balsam Mtn), and Mission / St. Joe's is a very reasonable 35 minutes away for a top notch, nationally rated heart hospital system.
Now keep in mind that I was used to the horrible commute times and traffic of Atlanta. I haven't dealt with anything even approaching that type of traffic since I have been here. I was commuting to Arden (S. Asheville near the Airport) from Waynesville every day. No complaints. 6 mos. ago, I moved to the Newfound Rd area of Canton - just inside the Haywood County border near I-40, as I wanted to be closer to Asheville, and I wanted a bigger yard. Now I am 25-30 minutes to work, and happy as can be. Waynesville is 15-20 min to my West for those "Art after Dark" celebrations on Main St.... and I regularly visit the coast when I need a salty breeze to refresh my senses.
Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions. I brought two HS aged kids with me, and they enjoy it here as well. I wish you much happiness in whatever you do and wherever you may land.
I want to thank you for your opinion on the mountains vs. sea scenario. It's very tough to make a decision until I think I actually go there and see where my heart feels more at home. We live in RI now, close to the ocean ( 35 miles) and seldom get to go there, but when we do I just love the smell of the salt air and the ocean breeze through your hair. But when we went to Waynesville a few years back I thought I'd never seen any thing so beautiful, at least since I had lived in ALaska. The scenery literally took my breath away, in fact we put a bid on 2 acres of land in a new development. They accepted our bid, but two days after we got home they reneged. We were very upset, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I have never been to coastal North Carolina or South Carolina, But we had researched and it seems hurricanes seldom hit south of Charleston so we thought we would look through that stretch of coast between Charleston and Savannah. We tentatively have a trip planned in September and I think once I see the coastal area I will know whether we will return to Western North Carolina to attempt another purchase. You are right about not seeing the ocean all the time down there, but the mountains are everywhere in the Waynesville area. It truly is a gem!!! Thanks for your input. Very much appreciated.
Patty
I want to thank you for your opinion on the mountains vs. sea scenario. It's very tough to make a decision until I think I actually go there and see where my heart feels more at home. We live in RI now, close to the ocean ( 35 miles) and seldom get to go there, but when we do I just love the smell of the salt air and the ocean breeze through your hair. But when we went to Waynesville a few years back I thought I'd never seen any thing so beautiful, at least since I had lived in ALaska. The scenery literally took my breath away, in fact we put a bid on 2 acres of land in a new development. They accepted our bid, but two days after we got home they reneged. We were very upset, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I have never been to coastal North Carolina or South Carolina, But we had researched and it seems hurricanes seldom hit south of Charleston so we thought we would look through that stretch of coast between Charleston and Savannah. We tentatively have a trip planned in September and I think once I see the coastal area I will know whether we will return to Western North Carolina to attempt another purchase. You are right about not seeing the ocean all the time down there, but the mountains are everywhere in the Waynesville area. It truly is a gem!!! Thanks for your input. Very much appreciated.
Patty
Glad to help. Also, if you are not familiar with the Southern coast... unless you are right on the water... it is very very HOT and Humid. My mother lives by the water in Coastal NC, so it's not so bad, but just on the street side of her house, it is like an OVEN in the summertime. I have relatives in Coastal Mass. and it is different, not as brutal.
Where did you live in AK? My daughter is stationed in Ketchikan in the Coast Guard. She wants me to come out and visit. I hope to do so maybe this year...
Glad to help. Also, if you are not familiar with the Southern coast... unless you are right on the water... it is very very HOT and Humid. My mother lives by the water in Coastal NC, so it's not so bad, but just on the street side of her house, it is like an OVEN in the summertime. I have relatives in Coastal Mass. and it is different, not as brutal.
Where did you live in AK? My daughter is stationed in Ketchikan in the Coast Guard. She wants me to come out and visit. I hope to do so maybe this year...
Again, best of luck to you.
I lived in Anchorage Alaska and then moved to Eagle River which is about 20 miles north of Anchorage. It's very beautiful there, almost unreal it's so beautiful. If you ever get the chance to go to Alaska, do so. It is a trip you will never forget.
I've heard that it's very hot and humid in the summer in South Carolina even on the coast. I am familiar with that kind of heat, beacuse I lived on the Mississippi coast for three years(Biloxi, Gulfport) so I think it must be similar to that kind of weather. My husband and I do need entertainment that a city larger than Waynesville would offer. We love the theatre, sports, historical places, so I thought living near Charleston would fit the bill, but there's always Charlotte or just west of there if Waynesville is too sleepy for us. We're not hikers or kayakers so I'm afraid after a few years I'd be bored there. Plus I will be working for at least another 8 years so like I said - having a good hospital nearby is important. There's so much to contemplate, but we still have time to look around. Take care....
I lived in Anchorage Alaska and then moved to Eagle River which is about 20 miles north of Anchorage. It's very beautiful there, almost unreal it's so beautiful. If you ever get the chance to go to Alaska, do so. It is a trip you will never forget.
I've heard that it's very hot and humid in the summer in South Carolina even on the coast. I am familiar with that kind of heat, beacuse I lived on the Mississippi coast for three years(Biloxi, Gulfport) so I think it must be similar to that kind of weather. My husband and I do need entertainment that a city larger than Waynesville would offer. We love the theatre, sports, historical places, so I thought living near Charleston would fit the bill, but there's always Charlotte or just west of there if Waynesville is too sleepy for us. We're not hikers or kayakers so I'm afraid after a few years I'd be bored there. Plus I will be working for at least another 8 years so like I said - having a good hospital nearby is important. There's so much to contemplate, but we still have time to look around. Take care....
Maybe some of the cities closer to Asheville, or to the East or South of Asheville. Have you been to Hendersonville? That puts you a lot closer to the "action" of other cities. People out that way love H'ville. It also has a little downtown area with lots of shops, etc.
I will go see my daughter in AK this year, I think. She even threatened to send me an airline ticket! That would definitely seal the deal. Thanks for the input.
We moved from the St. Louis area to Waynesville 5 years ago because we fell head over heels for the scenery. My husband had accepted a job in Asheville, so he was commuting that daily. We loved the main street, but it wasn't a very long one... We were also very much in love with our little log cabin on the side of a mountain with it's red tin roof that you could see from the other side of Lake Junaluska. When it came to my husband starting his own practice, we decided that Waynesville was not a growing community as far as younger families, jobs, etc. It was mostly very busy in the summertime with older people coming in from other areas, and tourists. We chose to move to Hendersonville, which seemed much more family-friendly, growth-oriented, and it had a great Main Street. We have been here now for 4 years and we like it a lot and call it home. The housing costs for a newer family are a bit hard to swallow, and we are finding it difficult to move into a larger home, even as renters. The hospitals and entertainment are much better in Hendersonville, but if you wanted it quieter with less traffic, and are a retiree, Waynesville or Maggie Valley might be a good choice that would probably have more affordable housing.
I have also been to the Bluffton area, which is just gorgeous. We love to go to Hunting Island, which in my opinion is the absolute BEST beach around, especially for families with small children. Nice wide beaches, hardly anyone around, beautiful gentle waves...time to plan our next vacation!
I'm not sure I understand all the hype about Waynesville. I grew up in Sylva, which is about 25 minutes west of Waynesville and have been to Waynesville many times throughout the years. Even though it's a bigger town than Sylva, it's very backwoods. The amount of huge, gas guzzling, jacked up trucks is really disturbing, and the town is just overall trashy with not much more than rundown shopping centers and fast food places. Also, the overdevelopment is insane. I would suggest you go further east, towards Hendersonville, or further West where there are actually mountains still visible instead of covered by vacation rentals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Mountains, Sea? Waynesville
