Will we like the Lenoir/Hickory area? (Asheville, Wilson: fit in, rent)

[mightbeNC]

I have been reading these forums for a few years now and decided it's probably time I join in and say "hi". Actually, we've been contemplating moving to NC/TN for many years now, but it's never been "the right time". Now it's looking like we are finally approaching the right time as an opportunity may be on the horizon.

We had originally been looking at Knoxville as we loved that area and recently came back from a vacation there, but seems my husband may now have a possible job in Lenoir. I had constantly been reading the Knoxville forums and the western NC forums and they seem very much the same, yet different.

Anyway....I'll get to the point.
Do you think we'll be ok in the Lenoir area? As far as OK, I mean will we be accepted? I've read that many of the mountain towns are not as accepting to strangers - now it could just be those few who didn't fit in or just didn't want to make the effort to join the community. This is where Knox and NC seemed to differ on the these boards. Knox seemed much more welcoming, but maybe it's just because it's a bigger city.

Ideally, we'd like to find a smaller town where we could be part of the community, meet good friends and neighbors, have BBQ's, go to the high school ball games, etc. We are from a very small town in WI, about 5,00 people. It is a very religious town with about 6 churches, everyone knows everyone, no bars in town - you get the idea . However, our town now is very accepting of new people - as long as you're friendly and don't cause a stir of course. LOL We're looking for something of the same sorts.

We have 3 small children, so school is important to us. Will they have a hard time making friends as they're "new"?

About us. My husband and I are 30, kids are under 6 years old. We also have a newfoundland who is our other child. We are very friendly, love being out with the neighbors, bike rides, hikes and just being together.

Do you think we'll like it? I don't necessarily need to be in Lenoir, just that my husband would work there, so within a 20 mins commute or so. Have thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions of towns?
We are praying that this works out as we'd really love to move down and meet ya'll.

Thank you so much for taking your time - I truely appreciate it!

ETA: I guess maybe I should have said that we DEFINTELY won't be making the move unless the job is set in stone. I do realize that this area specifically has been hit hard by the economy.

[GuyFriendly]

You should really visit and determine for yourself.

My wife and I stayed in Lenoir for a couple of weeks 2 years ago as we researched the area. We went to church in Lenoir, shopped there, and went out to eat. Every experience was good.

In the end, we prefer the area from Hendersonville to Asheville, but there were no bad areas anywhere - just good, better, and really good. The people everywhere were great.

Don't know about schools - we are retired and didn't look at them.

Take a week and visit the area. Rent a car. Drive around and ask people. Everyone has their own interests and impressions. Mine might not be yours.

Good luck!

[Raine Carraway]

Lenoir's a lot smaller than Knoxville, but it's not really as secluded and standoffish as some mountain towns are assumed to be. It is large enough that most people are welcoming, especially to those who don't prejudge them and who make an effort to get involved with the local community. Since you seem to be willing to get involved with the community, schools, etc, you should fit in fine.

Lenoir's not quite so small that everyone knows everyone, but there are parts of town and certain restaurants and businesses where it seems that way. We have quite a few churches, but there are also plenty who don't attend, and a few local bars. Most people in the area are friendly as long as you are friendly to them. Like all small towns, there can be the local gossip and things like that, but that's usually worse among families who've been around for a while and have old grudges than towards newcomers.

I don't have children in school, but one of my friends' daughters is excited to be switching schools soon [from West Caldwell to South], and she seems to think it'll be easy to fit in and make new friends.

While Lenoir is a smallish town, there are good places for bike riding, hiking, etc, which you may want to check out. The Lenoir Greenway has paved trails for bike riding & walking [lots of people walk dogs their, too], and there are several smaller walking parks in the area. There's also a small trail system at Tuttle State Forest, west of Lenoir, and unpaved hiking/biking trails in Pisgah National Forest and the Wilson Creek area, about 1/2 hour away.

For Lenoir, there are lots of different neighborhoods that are nice, sort of surrounding town and outside the city limits. Without really knowing your price range or other wants/needs, I'd recommend checking out Lower Creek, Cedar Rock, & Tremont Park [all areas within lenoir]. If you want to be closer to the mountains, Happy Valley & Patterson are nice but very small towns, and the Collettsville area is spread out and near national forest land. Two towns a worth checking out a few miles south and closer to Hickory [the largest nearby city, and closest shopping mall] are Granite Falls & Hudson. Again, both have more of a small town feel, but a lot of people are partial to the area because of the South Caldwell Schools.


I hope this helps some, but GuyFriendly is really right, your best bet would be to spend a week or so in the area driving around, meeting people, and checking out different neighborhoods.

[mightbeNC]

Thank you both for your replies!
Price wise - we're looking around $125,000 - 3 beds/2 baths, that's about the requirements. Been checking our realtor.com just to get a feel for houses, prices, the area, etc and have found some beautiful homes and land.

I guess my main concern is finding a nice community where we won't be disliked because we're new. We have never had problems making friends no matter where we are, as we're just friendly, down to earth people. The town where we live now used to be quite unfriendly to newcomers something terrible when I was in much younger and still in school, but now with so many more new people moving in and the older folks "leaving" it's gotten so much better and everyone really accepts everyone no matter who they are or where they came from.

Otherwise, I'm not at all concerned about liking the area. We've been down there, just not spent a lot of time in Lenoir/Hickory/etc - it's beautiful and people generally are friendly (at least to your face) Plus, a big part of where you live is what YOU make of it and for reasons as that I know we will love it!

Would you say there are certain towns that are "too small" or not as friendly? Or some that you think would be worth checking out?

[living in lenoir]

we just moved to Lenoir in Otober and love it!