Where to relocate in SE? - a luxury - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

03-11-2005, 10:31 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].webtv.net>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") wrote:

> I live in SC and can say with reasonable confidance there are quiet
> roads just about everywhere in the Carolinas.

Except the NC Triangle area. Even in the rural area where I live
(outside the actual Triangle) the roads are becoming clogged with SUVs,
those idiots towing trailers filled with lawn-care equipment, and kids
in mom's Volvo who don't understand what "yield" means.

> Ashville, which I like to
> think of as the "san Jose of the Southeast", while situated in a very
> beautiflu area may be a bit too hilly for you, however. as it's situated
> in the Blue Ridge mountains.

The comparison to San Jose is apt, especially since the traffic
overcrowding is about the same in both towns. A bit worse in Ashville,
perhaps, because the mountains and surrounding national park make
building new roads almost impossible, so the old ones are really clogged.
And they've also got the same high housing costs and property taxes.

The Cycle NC fall ride is from Asheville to Wilmington this year and I'm
really dreading that first leg.

If you want a smallish town, stay away from the corridors around I-85,
40 or 77. SC and NC share something special - a willingness to whore
themselves to any developer who comes along, especially one who
contributes to sprawl.

--
Strayhorn

"Every time a system is made foolproof - a new class of fool emerges."

Prod Harris

03-11-2005, 10:48 AM

psycholist wrote:

> Athens is a really neat place and has an awesome cycling scene.

Cool.

> The
> countryside surrounding Athens is gorgeous! And you're much closer to
> Atlanta.

I've been wanting to go to Athens. I enjoy Charleston and Savannah a lot, and
it's pretty close to there. I'll have to bring my bike.

Matt O.

03-11-2005, 11:29 AM

Strayhorn wrote:

> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].webtv.net>,
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") wrote:
>
>> I live in SC and can say with reasonable confidance there are quiet
>> roads just about everywhere in the Carolinas.
>
> Except the NC Triangle area. Even in the rural area where I live
> (outside the actual Triangle) the roads are becoming clogged with
> SUVs, those idiots towing trailers filled with lawn-care equipment,
> and kids in mom's Volvo who don't understand what "yield" means.

I'm pretty unimpressed with it too. It's amazing how much the central NC sprawl
is starting to look like Los Angeles (but without the culture). Although places
like Chapel Hill are wonderfully villagey, the surrounding roads are not
particularly bike friendly.

Taxes are surprisingly high in NC too. If you're nearing retirement age, SC has
a retiree-friendly tax situation.

Another thing to consider is climate. SC is definately milder.

>> Ashville, which I like to
>> think of as the "san Jose of the Southeast", while situated in a very
>> beautiflu area may be a bit too hilly for you, however. as it's
>> situated in the Blue Ridge mountains.

Absolutely. It's doesn't pass the "3 hours from Atlanta" test either.

> The comparison to San Jose is apt, especially since the traffic
> overcrowding is about the same in both towns. A bit worse in Ashville,
> perhaps, because the mountains and surrounding national park make
> building new roads almost impossible, so the old ones are really
> clogged. And they've also got the same high housing costs and
> property taxes.

Asheville is probably the most expensive place in NC. It's expensive by
national standards, not just Southeastern. But it's one of those special small
places as cosmopolitan as a major city, like Charlottesville, VA, or
Northampton, MA.

What about the other way -- Birmingham, AL?

Matt O.

03-11-2005, 11:30 AM

Gnarlito wrote:

> My parents live in Greenville, SC, which is probably at the outer edge
> of your perimeter. But if you don't mind driving 3 hours to get to the
> northeast fringes of Atlanta and want a small city instead of a large
> town, don't overlook Greenville/Spartanburg.

Isn't George Hincapie from Greenville?

Matt O.

03-11-2005, 11:36 AM

"Strayhorn" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].duke.edu...
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].webtv.net>,
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") wrote:
>
>> I live in SC and can say with reasonable confidance there are quiet
>> roads just about everywhere in the Carolinas.
>
> Except the NC Triangle area. Even in the rural area where I live
> (outside the actual Triangle) the roads are becoming clogged with SUVs,
> those idiots towing trailers filled with lawn-care equipment, and kids
> in mom's Volvo who don't understand what "yield" means.
>
>
>> Ashville, which I like to
>> think of as the "san Jose of the Southeast", while situated in a very
>> beautiflu area may be a bit too hilly for you, however. as it's situated
>> in the Blue Ridge mountains.
>
> The comparison to San Jose is apt, especially since the traffic
> overcrowding is about the same in both towns. A bit worse in Ashville,
> perhaps, because the mountains and surrounding national park make
> building new roads almost impossible, so the old ones are really clogged.
> And they've also got the same high housing costs and property taxes.
>
> The Cycle NC fall ride is from Asheville to Wilmington this year and I'm
> really dreading that first leg.
>
> If you want a smallish town, stay away from the corridors around I-85,
> 40 or 77. SC and NC share something special - a willingness to whore
> themselves to any developer who comes along, especially one who
> contributes to sprawl.
>
> --
> Strayhorn
>
> "Every time a system is made foolproof - a new class of fool emerges."
>
> Prod Harris

While I was generally trying to maintain a more positive, "Chamber of
Commerce" type of tone in my earlier posts to this thread, I was struck by
your last line about the "willingness to whore themselves to any developer
.... " That's so true. I just don't know that it's exclusive to the
Carolinas. I left Anderson, SC after getting myself involved in the first
big battle to get zoning instituted. "They" said we'd never get zoning in
our area ... but we fought and fought and got it to a referendum where it
was overwhelmingly voted in. Then the county just started granting
variances to anyone who wanted one and everything we were trying to
accomplish was undermined. The beautiful, rolling hills and farms around my
old neighborhood are now gone ... replaced with planned unit developments,
high-density housing and "stick-built mobile homes." There's not planning,
no consistency, no balance. I got disgusted and moved away to a very small
rural town. Now they're making big plans here.

But I've lived in plenty of other places around the country where it isn't
really any different. So if you've gotta live someplace, Upstate, SC has
great rural areas with plenty of nice roads and beautiful scenery. But it's
also got plenty of characters who think the best use of the land is to pave
it over and/or build on top of it.

Bob C.

03-11-2005, 02:11 PM

>
> What about the other way -- Birmingham, AL?
>
> Matt O.
That's a distinct possibility. The factors pointing NE were Asheville and
that my job is in Norcross, the NE corner of Atlanta. I do plan to look
westish, too, just in case.

Thanks
/F

03-11-2005, 02:17 PM

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:22:13 -0500, psycholist wrote:

> "Frank Drebin" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
>
> Anderson has changed so fast, if you were there long ago, you wouldn't
> know it now.
>
> Hartwell Lake west of town is pretty diverse. You can find areas where
> there are trailers on lakefront land or you can find homes up to $1
> million ... maybe more. You can also find everything in-between. The
> lake is quite large. Above Hartwell is Lake Keowee where all the rich
> Yankees have moved in and built some very pricey developments. This is
> near Clemson (and Clemson University) which is 20 minutes north of
> Anderson ... another nice area you might consider, but one that's a good
> bit hillier for riding. If you go a little south of town you have Lake
> Succession and Lake Russell. Lake Succession is the po-man's lake. It's
> older and most of the lake properties are old, small and dingy. Lake
> Russell has yet to be developed much at all. That'll probably change
> soon.
>
> If you're content to live near the lake and not directly on it, I'd say
> it's wide open for you on Lake Hartwell. I have a brother-in-law who's a
> handyman. He just does odd jobs for a living. He doesn't make much. But
> he lives within sight of the lake in a neighborhood of cozy little homes
> in the 1,500 sq. ft. range. Across the road in one direction, the homes
> go to $350,000. In another direction, they go above that.
>
> Cost of living in this area is quite low relative to most of the rest of
> the country. $150,000 can buy a very nice, 3-bedroom home. I sold a
> 3,300 sq. foot home on a golf course right in town for only $215,000 last
> year. It wasn't exactly new, but the folks who bought it were in from
> Scottsdale, AZ and they thought it was the deal of a lifetime.
>
> Bob C.

Thanks, that was quite helpful. I think I'll go check it out...!
We've been living the high life, too much so - now 2 kids in college...
ow.
But our noses aren't up in the air too much (my mother raised 6 of us
on a waitress salary, my wife's father was a janitor).

Actually nearly all of these posts have been helpful and educational!
Thanks to all.

/F

03-11-2005, 03:30 PM

"Matt O'Toole" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Gnarlito wrote:
>
>> My parents live in Greenville, SC, which is probably at the outer edge
>> of your perimeter. But if you don't mind driving 3 hours to get to the
>> northeast fringes of Atlanta and want a small city instead of a large
>> town, don't overlook Greenville/Spartanburg.
>
> Isn't George Hincapie from Greenville?
>
> Matt O.
>

George and his brother Rich both live in Greenville. When he's home for a
break in May, George is always out at the practice races in Greenville.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

03-11-2005, 03:40 PM

Strayhorn wrote:
....
> SC and NC share something special - a willingness to whore
> themselves to any developer who comes along, especially one who
> contributes to sprawl.

Mind if I quote you on Cyburbia (the urban planning portal)?

Lots of great advice here. You might also look up the sites that list
the most liveable cities in the US, and if "Finding Your Best Place to
Live" is still published (hard copy or electrons) that might help too.

You could also look up local cycling clubs. NC has a state bicycle
progrma (has had for years). SC has a coalition of some sort. Dunno
about GA. My impressions of it are mostly based on a wild week of BRAG
(too hot, humid, rainy, too far to attend from my northern parallel)
and passing through, and though, and through on I-75. I think anyplace
near "Hotlanta" has to approve of sprawl, it's in the municipal code.

HTH

--Karen M.
who moved to my own best place, Grand Rapids Mich, last July...happy
happy happy

03-11-2005, 03:43 PM

oops, I forgot to mention...US Census data could be helpful. How many
people in a city/metro area? How many square miles? Find a density you
are familiar with (your own home town?) and compare with other places.

Turns out that Windsor, ONT is the closest thing to a sister city that
Grand Rapids has in North America. Who knew?!?

census.gov will get you started.

--Karen M.